Darren Lewis, a former standout running back for Texas A&M, passes away at age 55.
Darren Lewis, a former Texas A&M running back who is most remembered for shattering Eric Dickerson’s Southwest Conference rushing record, passed away on Thursday after a cancer battle. His age was 55. A two-time All-American and the school’s all-time top rusher, Lewis passed away, according to Texas A&M.
Calling himself “Tank” because to his brutal running style, Lewis amassed 5,012 yards in 1987–1990, surpassing Dickerson’s record of 4,450 yards at SMU (1979–82). Before finishing with 4,948 yards from 1989 to 1992, Trevor Cobb of Rice threatened Lewis’ record. Lewis had a sharp decline in his draft stock after testing positive for cocaine at the NFL scouting combine. In round six of the 1991 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears selected him. In 33 career games over three seasons with the Bears, he ran for 431 yards and four touchdowns.
Before being sentenced to prison on robbery charges, Lewis battled with addiction and had numerous arrests. When he was sentenced to 27 years in prison in 2014 for a string of violent robberies in the Dallas region, he was back in trouble after being freed in 2010.
“I did it out of self-interest. “Last week, Darren Lewis told the Bryan-College Station Eagle, “I didn’t think about the individuals I might be hurting; I simply wanted what I wanted.” “It was all about what I wanted at that time.” Lewis’ Stage 4A metastatic squamous cell cancer was treated after he was granted permission to leave prison. His care has lately been transferred to hospice.
