Lewis learns ahead of the curve

True sophomores are not supposed to be this good, not yet. True sophomores are not supposed to play, not in the ACC. And true sophomores certainly are not supposed to be on pace to shatter all of Duke's passing records.

But Thaddeus Lewis is not your typical true sophomore. He is Duke's starting quarterback, and he is one of the conference's elite. And if he continues his already-torrid production-let alone improves on it-Lewis will enter the history books as the best quarterback to have ever donned the blue and white.

No, typical is not the word to describe Thaddeus Lewis.

Not the kid who wowed his coaches last July at a cookout at the Durham Rescue Mission, leading a prayer and naturally instructing his teammates, all on his first day on campus. Not the kid who took more sacks than any other quarterback in the conference in 2006, the kid who suffered a concussion one week and still started the next. Not the kid who filled out Duke's spring practice depth chart by himself, the kid who was the starter, backup and third-string quarterback rolled into one 6-foot-2, 190-pound frame.

It's no wonder, then, that Lewis continues to impress his coaches in his sophomore campaign.

"One of the things you always do is have high expectations, but at the same point in time, those high expectations are not just wishfully founded," said Peter Vaas, Lewis' first-year offensive coordinator. "They're founded because Thad is a young man who, all spring, was the only guy around and never once said, 'Hey coach, I need a rest,' never once took the day off, just constantly worked hard and did extra stuff to make himself better."

Then again, comparing Lewis 2006 and Lewis 2007 is like comparing Eli and Peyton. Last year, just months out of high school, he was the starting quarterback almost by default, as returning starter Zack Asack was suspended for the year. There was no viable backup; he started every game but the first and he entered the season opener on the game's second series. Lewis now admits that he failed to fully grasp the new offense until the end of the year, when he led Duke in frustratingly-close losses to Miami and North Carolina.

After taking every snap in spring practice, Lewis spent both summer sessions in Durham, where he devoted himself to football. He practiced timing routes with his wide receivers at all times of the day, and he watched video of himself and opponents, studying tendencies and strengthening his weaknesses for hundreds of hours.

Or, in his most important touchdown pass of the year-a 56-yard game-winning strike to Ronnie Drummer at Northwestern Sept. 15- where he eluded a blitzing defender in the backfield by stepping up in the pocket before he threw.

Those are plays only a more mature quarterback can make.

"I didn't have much experience as a freshman, but at the end of the year, I played every game, and I learned," Lewis said. "You make mistakes, but you go to the offseason and work hard, and you just want to be better than you were the year before."

But most critical to Lewis' growth has been Vaas' arrival as offensive coordinator. By changing Duke's preferred formation from two backs to one, Vaas has encouraged Lewis to mix deep balls with screens and slants that often come from a spread formation. Vaas, a former quarterback that guided Notre Dame play caller Brady Quinn to the Maxwell and Unitas Awards in 2006, urged Lewis to allow his receivers to do more work for him.

And after two middling games in which the sophomore resembled the Lewis of old, he heeded that advice at Northwestern and turned his season around. At one point, Lewis completed 15 consecutive passes, most of them quick-hitters that moved the chains. He followed that performance with a career day at Navy, throwing for 428 yards and four touchdowns. After two more solid performances against Miami and Wake Forest, Lewis had skyrocketed to the upper echelon of ACC quarterbacks.

"He's giving you the keys to the car," Lewis said of Vaas' approach. "He's saying, 'Direct this ship, direct this team down the field.' He's giving you the leeway."

His compiled line from those four games looks like that of a high schooler stuck in Pop Warner: 81-for-133 for 1,206 yards, 13 TD, 3 INT, 301.5 yards per game and a 166.1 passing rating. Before a subpar contest against nationally-ranked Virginia Tech, Lewis was second in the ACC in passing efficiency and tied for first in touchdowns. He has since slipped to fourth and third, respectively, but those are far cries from last year, when he was last in the league in passing efficiency.

One statistic, however, still plagues Lewis: 1-17, his record as a starter. In reality, Lewis has put Duke in position to win more than just one game in two years. Still, the Blue Devils have only capitalized on one of those opportunities. Part of the blame in some of those losses rests with Lewis, who has thrown too many interceptions on key possessions late in games. As Roof likes to say, though, Lewis is still maturing.

The quarterback readily admits that he would much rather exchange losses for wins than break the single-season touchdown record, which he will likely do later this year.

"Numbers don't matter," he said. "What we came here to do is win. If I do shatter the records, fine. But records are made to be broken. Hopefully if I do it, somebody will come across and shatter mine.

"If I throw a 50-yard touchdown, so be it. But if we get the 'W' on the scoreboard, then I did something right, and someone else did something right to help this team get over the hump and win."

Spoken like a man older than his age.