We're counting down the days to kickoff with “99 Warriors,” the greatest Ohio State Buckeyes by jersey number, as voted by the staff of Eleven Warriors.
No. 59 Tyquan Lewis
Tyquan Lewis was a four-star prospect from Tarboro, North Carolina, who won three-consecutive state titles at the high school level.
DE Tyquan Lewis
2013-17
b. Jan. 30, 1995 (Tarboro, NC)
- Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year (2016)
- All-Big Ten (2016-17)
- Team Captain (2016-17)
- National Champion (2014)
- Big Ten Champion (2014, 2017)
The 6-foot-3, 269-pound Lewis quietly put together one of the most productive careers of any defensive lineman in Ohio State history. He played sparingly during the Buckeyes’ run to the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship, but burst onto the scene during his redshirt sophomore season with a team-leading eight sacks.
Lewis followed that up with another eight-sack season in 2016, after which he was named first-team all-conference by both the coaches and media and earned Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year honors. He surprisingly elected to return for his senior season and led Ohio State to a Big Ten title and victory in the Cotton Bowl.
Lewis is tied with former center Billy Price as the program’s all-time leader in games played (55). He finished his college career with 112 tackles, 36.5 tackles for a loss, 23.5 sacks, six quarterback hurries, five pass break ups and five forced fumbles.
Lewis was selected by Indianapolis in the second round (64th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft. The Colts now have four former Buckeyes on their roster, including safety Malik Hooker, offensive lineman Jack Mewhort and linebacker John Simon.
