The Unsung Hero: Darrian Lewis speaks about his goal line interception in the comeback win
West Virginia football safety Darrian Lewis discussed his goal-line interception and the thrill of playing in the Backyard Brawl in a postgame press conference on Saturday.
Any time WVU and the University of Pittsburgh line up, the game means more. Lewis described the experience of playing in the Backyard Brawl as “special.”
“It was exactly what we thought it was gonna be from the atmosphere,” Lewis said. “Part of the joy of getting the dub from being down 10, but just getting it done in general, it was amazing. … It just made it really, really special.”
WVU trailed 24-14 with 9:28 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Mountaineers stormed back to tie the game with 11 seconds on the clock. Lewis said the team believed in themselves, not letting the deficit ruin their drive.
“We were on the sideline telling each other, ‘we won’t quit. ain’t no quit in this,’” Lewis said. “We’ve had, like, a little slight joke in the chat. ‘You believe, ’ You really got to believe,’ and we can win this game no matter what the score is or what’s going on.”
In the second quarter, Lewis recorded a goal-line interception, denying the Panthers a scoring opportunity. He talked through the play.
“So the interception, I still kind of blame myself, because I should have slid down in my zone,” Lewis said. “But secondly, the interception, and I mean keeping points off the board anytime, is huge. So being able to hold not just to three, but hold them to zero, it was a big moment of the game.”
Lewis credits the interception and his unit’s performance to defensive coordinator Zac Alley for putting them in positions to be successful.
“I give all the credit to coach Alley,” he said. “He’s a really smart coach. He’s getting you in great spots, and everybody changes up the looks, showing something else. He’s gonna Blitz. Sometimes, I’m gonna drop. We got a lot for you.”
The WVU defense recorded six sacks, eight tackles for losses and three pass breakups. Lewis explained how the team has prepared for this game for a while.
“Coach Alley put people [in a good position], really good game plan, we practiced it for a minute. He has some speed on the D line instead of just big guys,” Lewis said.
After last week’s loss against Ohio University, Lewis said the team was extra focused, not letting the loss define them.
“We can’t let that define our season, so it made us really get back,” he said. “I found that next week’s practice was really focused on Pitt. It was focused on really getting where we need
to be.”
Offer Alert
Fall camp is here and there’s no better time to sign up with us to get all your WVU intel! Sign up today – $1 for the first week, plus a complimentary year of access to The Athletic included. Join – http://gowvu.us/Join
__________________________________________
• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot
• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting
• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan
•Like us on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok
