Lewis Opens Up In Candid Interview

Last year, as Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis emerged as Duke's best offensive player, he also happened to become the Blue Devils' best quote. He's candid, forthcoming and shoots from the hip--which is certainly convenient for reporters, given that he's the face of the program.

In one of his first interviews of his senior season, he spoke with The (Raleigh) News & Observer and provided some refreshingly honest answers. Some relevant excerpts (emphasis is mine):

What would it mean to you to help lead this team to a bowl game?

It would mean everything. But it just wouldn't be enough to just get there. If I get there, I want to win it. It would mean so much because when I was recruited I was told we weren't very good and I was told I was part of a change. ... It's only eight seniors that will be able to play this season. For us eight to be remembered as the eight that led this football team to a bowl game ... would be tremendous. It's not how you came in, but how you leave a place. ... It would be big.

What would you say you learned about yourself since your enrollment at Duke?

I can do anything. I can do anything I put my mind to. ... A lot of people don't know that my freshman year, halfway through the semester, I was failing. Thought I was going to fail out of Duke. Picked it up, and I finished with a 2.5 [G.P.A] that semester. The next three semesters I went 3.4. ... I look at it now that I'm about to get a degree in December from Duke University. That's big.

Coming out of Opa-Locka I didn't think about getting in Duke, didn't really know much about the academic standards, what the degree is worth. Now I'm in that elite company with a [degree]. ... I didn't just come to college to play football. I was able to manage both. If I can do it, anybody could do it.