Eugene "Geno" Brenton Lewis (born April 20, 1993) is a
Canadian football wide receiver for the
Edmonton Elks of the
Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the
Penn State Nittany Lions
The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The interco ...
and
Oklahoma Sooners.
Early years
Lewis played four years of football at
Wyoming Valley West. He joined
Ron Powlus and
Raghib Ismail as one of the most heavily recruited players from the Wyoming Valley Conference.
Lewis was recruited to play at Penn State by coach
Joe Paterno, though he also had offers from Oregon and Virginia Tech, among other schools.
College career
Lewis played for the
Penn State Nittany Lions
The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The interco ...
from 2012 to 2015. He was
redshirted in 2012. He transferred to play for the
Oklahoma Sooners in 2016. He played in 51 games, starting 19, during his college career, catching 122 passes for 1,569 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Professional career
Pre-draft
Lewis was rated the 71st best wide receiver in the
2017 NFL draft
The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...
by NFLDraftScout.com.
After going undrafted, Lewis attended rookie minicamp with the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
and
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
in May 2017.
Montreal Alouettes
Lewis signed with the
Montreal Alouettes of the
Canadian Football League (CFL) on June 12, 2017. His first season in the CFL was quiet, playing on only two games and catching seven passes. Lewis briefly restarted his basketball career in November 2017 with the NEPA Stars & Stripes franchise in the
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...
. In the following two seasons in the CFL, Lewis became a starting wide receiver for the Alouettes, playing in all 36 regular season games and catching a combined 116 passes for 1,960 yards with nine touchdowns. Lewis was named a CFL East All-Star following the
2019 season. After the
2020 season was cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic he re-signed with the Alouettes on December 16, 2020. Lewis had an outstanding season in
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
, catching 62 passes for 964 yards with nine touchdowns. His strong play was rewarded as he was named a CFL All-Star for the first time in his career. On December 16, 2021, Lewis and the Alouettes agreed to a contract extension through the
2022 CFL season
The 2022 CFL season is scheduled to be the 68th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it will be the 64th season of the Canadian Football League. The regular season is scheduled to begin on June 9, 2022, and end on October 29, 2022, w ...
. Lewis had an outstanding season with the Alouettes in 2022, playing in 17 regular season games and catching 91 passes for 1,303 yards with 10 touchdowns. He finished second in the league in receptions, and third in both receiving yards and touchdown receptions. He was named the East Division's Most Outstanding Player, earning the
Terry Evanshen Trophy
The Terry Evanshen Trophy is a trophy awarded to the Canadian Football League East Division's Most Outstanding Player, chosen from the nominees of each team in the division. Either this trophy winner or the winner of the Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trop ...
in the process. In late January 2023, as a pending free agent, Lewis took to social media to announce his intention to enter free agency in February.
Edmonton Elks
Lewis joined the
Edmonton Elks as a free agent on February 14, 2023. On June 29, 2023, Lewis was placed on the six-game injured list with a knee injury.
At the time of the injury he had played in three games, and caught 11 passes for 200 yards and one touchdown.
References
External links
Edmonton Elks bioMontreal Alouettes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Geno
1993 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Norristown, Pennsylvania
Players of American football from Pennsylvania
American football wide receivers
Canadian football wide receivers
Penn State Nittany Lions football players
Oklahoma Sooners football players
Montreal Alouettes players
Players of Canadian football from Pennsylvania