Try as you might, you may find no cleaner player in the entire 2016 NFL Draft process - from an off-the-field standpoint - than Kaiwan Lewis. Lewis, the former South Carolina Gamecock who decided, in the wake of a family tragedy, to spend his final collegiate season closer to home, taking on middle linebacker duties for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights this past year, already has his long-term life plan all mapped out.
Graduate school - he's already well into his master's program, working toward a degree in urban planning - then law school, and finally a future helping the less fortunate as, Lewis hopes, a criminal defense attorney.
Even now the aspiring NFLer holds football camps for young players, has hosted them in New Jersey and South Carolina for a couple of years now, and regularly schedules speaking engagements for troubled youths.
"I want to help people," Lewis told Headlines & Global News recently. "I enjoy helping people."
It's the kind of post-playing days plan and charitable bent that would make any NFL scout, coach or front office member stop and take notice, mark a big "X" in the character column of their evaluation.
But for Lewis, it's not time for all that just yet. Right now, it's training. It's the draft, and it's the NFL. And if Lewis is going to get himself picked later this month and stick with one of the league's 32 squads come the summer, he's got to prove he's as squeaky clean - or close to squeaky clean - on the field as he is off it.
Lucky for Lewis, he's got the brains and, he thinks, the physical playing style to carve out a significant role as a professional.
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Lewis didn't play special teams during his lone season at Rutgers. The lack of depth made him too valuable to the defensive coaching staff to risk a torn ligament or a twisted joint running down on kick coverage.
But every other season of his collegiate career, Lewis took pride in manning a spot on the often-overlooked third phase of football. And though he may not have played on special teams during Scarlet Knights games, you better believe Lewis practiced them.
"Every week. Every day," Lewis said, adding that he considers himself a "humble player."
Humble. Responsible. Leader.
Lewis may not be flashy, may not bring a high profile with him to the draft - though he's garnering interest from plenty of teams, about eight in total at this point, including the Oakland Raiders, New York Jets and Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles - and may even wind up as a priority free agent depending on how things shake out later this month.
But to the man with the post-playing plan and the desire to lead, exceed and excel, it doesn't matter what path he takes to the NFL. Lewis knows he'll get there - at that point, it'll be up to him to make it last.
"I can't control how hard someone else works," Lewis said. "What I can control is how hard I work and being the best person and football player I can be."
