Lewko takes Titanic leap

When 2,500 members of the Class of 2010 march to Franklin Field for the University’s Commencement ceremony Monday, senior Jake Lewko will be missing.

While his classmates are graduating, Lewko will be in Nashville, Tenn., training with the Tennessee Titans and battling for a position on the team.

Lewko’s NFL dreams began to feel like more of a reality during his senior season, when professional scouts began showing up at practices to watch Lewko and fellow seniors Chris Wynn and Joe Goniprow.

Last season the Quakers won the Ivy title and Lewko was named co-Ivy League Player of the Year. By March he was among local collegiate athletes performing for NFL scouts.

In the weeks before the draft, teams began calling Lewko for his draft day phone number so that they could call him if he were to be selected.

While the phone calls gave Lewko hope, the linebacker also knew that the calls could just be precautionary.

Out of the half-dozen franchises that expressed interest in Lewko — including the San Francisco 49ers and the Indianapolis Colts — the Titans were not on Lewko’s radar. But during day three of the draft, Tennessee called offering a two-year contract.

“The city’s just awesome, the people down there are great, [and] it’s warmer than Philadelphia,” said the Medford, N.J., native and lifelong Eagles fan of Nashville.

Shortly after receiving the offer from the Titans, Lewko called his former Penn teammate Sean Estrada, who signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent after the 2007 NFL Draft.

“I said … ‘make it hard for them to cut you,” Estrada recalled of their discussion.

“‘Every day go out there, work your tail off, don’t be afraid of the stigma that Ivy League football has — that somehow it’s not as good as some other leagues. Learn the playbook as soon as you can because that’s the quickest way you can stand out in the coach’s mind.’”

Lewko got his first taste of the NFL two weeks ago at a three-day minicamp for rookies, where coaches gave critiques and players learned the intricacies of the Titans organization.

Although Tennessee head coach Jeff Fisher emphasized the orientation aspect of the camp at a press conference, none of the 24 rookies are guaranteed a spot on the team. For Lewko, the camp was the first step in earning a position.

Though entering the NFL from the Ivy League is typically seen as a disadvantage, Lewko has embraced the challenge of competing for a roster spot against high-profile collegiate athletes such as Oregon’s LeGarrette Blount and USC’s Stafon Johnson.

Currently, Lewko sits in fourth on the unofficial depth chart at the middle linebacker position and second at long snapper.

“Going in there, you have some players and some coaches that maybe aren’t sure if you should be there because of your collegiate background,” Estrada said.

Lewko likened his experience at minicamp to his transition from high school to college football. He noted that the coaches “just jumped right in” and began teaching their methods and techniques.

The rookies’ “minds are spinning right now because they’ve got a lot of information. … We’re giving them bits and pieces here and there, and you build,” Fisher said.

In one regard, Lewko’s Ivy background may be his biggest advantage as he balances intense physical workouts with learning the team’s extensive playbook.

During camp, Lewko and his teammates woke up at 6 a.m., played football until 11 p.m., and spent four hours studying the playbook afterward.

Estrada is confident that Lewko’s academic background and intellect will help him stand out.

“Basically everyone who went [to an Ivy League school] has the academic staying power to be given a large information load and be able to process it quickly,” Estrada said.

Lewko may have even more plays to learn. If he does not gain a starting or backup position on defense, Lewko still has the opportunity to make an impact on special teams.

Following the minicamp, Lewko returned to Philadelphia for two weeks before he begins Organized Team Activities (OTAs), which will last until the end of June. But for now, he is enjoying his last few days in Philadelphia — and staying in playing form. The rookies received a workout program to follow for the two weeks in between the minicamp and OTAs.

When he returns to Nashville Monday, Lewko hopes that his uniform number will be the same as it was during his first minicamp — 40.

Though it was just coincidence that he received the same number as Penn’s Owen Thomas, who passed away just days before Lewko went to Tennessee, he hopes it does not change and will request to keep it.

“I let Owen’s brothers know that I had his number and they were thrilled,” he said. “I’m just really pumped that I get to wear number 40 now and represent Owen.”

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