Darren Lewis was considered one of the best high school running backs in the nation when he graduated from Carter High School in 1987. He was so good he was on par with Florida high school star Emmitt Smith, who would go on to become a Cowboys legend and one of the NFL’s all-time leading rushers.
Lewis’ stardom didn’t end there. The man nicknamed “Tank” was a two-time All-American and the all-time leading rusher in Texas A&M and the Southwest Conference. He is a Hall of Famer who ranks ninth in NFL history in rushing yards, breaking the SWC career rushing yardage record held by former SMU superstar Eric Dickerson.
“Everywhere I went, he was the standard. He was the Bo Jackson, the Eric Dickerson, the Barry Sanders. In my eyes, that’s how good he was,” former Carter, Texas A&M and NFL running back Greg Hill said. Dallas Morning News In 2013.
Lewis played three years in the NFL with the Chicago Bears, but then his life took a tragic turn as he battled drug and legal problems.
On Friday, Texas A&M University announced that Lewis had died after a battle with cancer. He was 55 years old.
Lewis ran for 5,012 yards and 44 touchdowns during his stellar collegiate career, finishing second in the nation in rushing behind Hall of Famer Sanders in 1988. Lewis led the nation in rushing with 1,691 yards as a senior in 1990 and finished tied for eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting that year.
Dallas Morning News Lewis’ decline reportedly began after he tested positive for cocaine during a pre-draft drug test in 1991. He plummeted from a potential first-round pick to the sixth round, and Lewis checked into a drug rehabilitation center just days after the Bears selected him.
Lewis is from A&M. 12th Man Magazine By 1995, he was squandering his money on cocaine, losing his home, and his marriage ended in 1998, two years after his first shoplifting arrest.
ESPN reported that Lewis was arrested again in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and served time in state prison on robbery charges before being released in 2010.
news Lewis was reportedly sentenced to 27 years in federal prison for robbing multiple Dallas-area stores in 2014. Police said Lewis shot and killed a 7-Eleven employee during one of the robberies.
“Darren is one of the kindest, most caring and likeable players I’ve ever coached,” his former A&M coach, R.C. Slocum, once said. 12th Man Magazine“I have a lot of respect for him… But Darren’s biggest flaw is probably that everyone wants to be his friend, and as a result he’s been influenced badly by a lot of people, the wrong people, and he’s attracted trouble.”
See more Dallas Morning News coverage of Texas A&M here:.
