| Michigan Wolverines — No. 77 | |
| Left tackle | Sophomore |
| Major: | |
| Date of birth: July 21, 1991 | |
| Place of birth: Scottsdale, Arizona | |
| Height: 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | Weight: 303 lb (137 kg; 21 st 9 lb) |
| Career history | |
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| High school: Chaparral High School, Scottsdale, Arizona | |
College(s):
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| Bowl games | |
| 2011 Gator Bowl | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Taylor Curtis Lewan (born July 21, 1991) is an American football player from Scottsdale, Arizona. He enrolled at the University of Michigan in 2009 and redshirted his freshman season. In 2010, he took over the starting left tackle role from Mark Huyge in the fourth game versus Bowling Green. Lewan is currently the starter at left tackle for the 2011 Michigan Wolverines football team.[2] He was second team All-Big Ten Conference following the 2011 Big Ten Conference football season.
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Lewan's father, Dave, was an offensive lineman at the University of Minnesota. Lewan played his first three years of high school for Cactus Shadows in Cave Creek, Arizona. He was a defensive end before transferring to Chaparral High School for his senior season, where he became an offensive lineman. He helped lead his team to Class 4A-I state championship game during his senior year.[3][4]
Lewan was rated as a four-star prospect by Rivals.com and scout.com. He was selected as the fifth-best player in the state of Arizona and the 194th player nationally by Rivals.com. He was listed as the No. 3 most athletic offensive lineman and the fifth-most agile offensive lineman according to Rivals.com. He was a SuperPrep All-American and the nation's No. 10 overall offensive line prospect. He was selected to participate in the Under Armour All-American game.[5]
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | 40‡ | Commit date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taylor Lewan OT |
Scottsdale, Arizona | Chaparral (AZ) | 6 ft 6.5 in (199.4 cm) | 270 lb (120 kg) | 4.645 | Dec 14, 2008 |
| Scout: Rivals: ESPN grade: 80 | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 20 (OT) Rivals: 194, 16 (OT), 5 (AZ) ESPN: 148, 12 (OT) | ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout and Rivals may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, an average of the two was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:
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Taylor Lewan enrolled in Michigan's School of Kinesiology and redshirted his freshman season.[6][7]
Although Lewan did not play in the 2010 season opener, appeared in 11 games, including nine as a starter, during the 2010 season.[8] He impressed as a reserve in the next two games, earning popularity among the Wolverines faithful for his impressive plays and for "riding defensive linemen like donkeys" in a popular phrase coined by MGoBlog.com.[9]
He was rewarded with a starting role in the Bowling Green game. Michigan's offense displayed one of the top rushing attacks in the country, with quarterback Denard Robinson as the team's leading rusher behind protection by Lewan, David Molk, Patrick Omameh, Steven Schilling and Perry Dorrestein.
However, Lewan also displayed a knack for ill-timed, drive-killing penalties, mostly for false starts and personal fouls. These were attributed to his youth and aggressive nature on the field.[10][11]
In the first quarter of the Purdue game, Lewan picked up a fumble and ran 11 yards with it.[12]
After the 2010 season, Lewan was named by CollegeFootballNews.com to its Freshman All-America second team.[8]
As a redshirt sophomore, Lewan was a starting offensive lineman for the 2011 Michigan Wolverines football team. After failing to draw a penalty in Michigan's early games, Lewan was praised for becoming a smarter player.[13] He was Michigan's starting left tackle in the first seven games of the season and was named to Phil Steele's Midseason All-Big Ten second team.[8] Following the 2011 Big Ten Conference football season, he earned second team All-conference recognition.[14][15] He was an honorable mention All-American selectee by the Pro Football Weekly.[16]
Lewan gained cult status among some of the Michigan football followers after a short interview where he displayed a tattoo of a mustache he has on the inside of his right index finger. In the interview, he displays how the tattoo should be used, putting his finger on his upper lip, taking on an English gentleman voice and saying: "Listen Miss, I just wanna dance!"
His colorful personality on and off the field makes him a popular player on campus.[17][18][19][20]