Texas A&M Football: Top 10 Running Backs in Aggie History
By Robert Ford
Darren Lewis had an impressive career at Texas A&M and several of his records still are in place some 30 years later.
The 1987 season, Lewis shared the carries with Keith Woodside, he would rush for 668 yards and helped lead the team to 10 wins and a Cotton Bowl victory.
In 1988, with a No. 10 preseason ranking, the Aggies jumped out the gates slow and ended up finishing 7-5 in Jackie Sherrill’s last season. The lone bright spot was Lewis rushed for a school record 1,692 yards. He would finish with 10 straight 100-yard games to finish the season. Lewis would also become the only Aggie to have 300+ rushes in a single season.
He would end the season second in the nation in rushing and with defensive coordinator R.C. Slocum being promoted to head coach the Aggies had a great foundation for the future. However, the 1989 season did not produce the same results for Lewis. He would only rush for 961 yards on 185 carries.
The staff, including my dad (wide receivers coach in 1989 and 1990), knew they needed to get back to a run heavy offense. Lewis and the offense would bounce back in a big way. After rushing for just 199 yards per game in 1989, the Aggies would rush for 319 a game in 1990. Lewis would have a better season than what he produced in 1988. He would rush for 1,691 yards and score 18 touchdowns. He again was the workhorse with 291 carries.
When the season concluded in San Diego at the Holiday Bowl, Lewis would finish his career with 5,012 yards and 44 rushing touchdowns. He would be the only Southwest Conference running back to eclipse the 5,000 yard mark.
Here’s the career at a glance:
- 5.5 yards per carry average
- 27 career 100-yard games
- Five career 200-yard games
- 113.9 career yards per game average
Lewis would be drafted in the sixth round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears.