Football: Lewis closing in on multiple records

How do you help a fan base move on from losing a second team All-American?

Break his… How do you help a fan base move on from losing a second team All-American?

Break his records.

So far, running back Dion Lewis has done a fine job of making Panthers fans erase those tense moments they experienced when LeSean McCoy donned a Philadelphia Eagles helmet, cementing the reality that “Shady” wasn’t coming back.

While fatalistic onlookers pulled their hair out trying to negotiate how Pitt could survive after losing its most dynamic offensive presence since Larry Fitzgerald, Lewis arrived at school a semester early to begin his own journey.

It didn’t take very long for the 5-foot-8-inch freshman to make an impact.

At the conclusion of spring drills, Lewis had a stranglehold on the starting tailback position.

Even head coach Dave Wannstedt didn’t expect Lewis to assume the starting responsibilities in such a decisive manner.

“I felt like we were going to be running-back-by-committee this year with LeSean being gone,” Wannstedt said. “I felt like we had a couple kids that were on the team that could help us, and we had a couple incoming freshmen — Dion Lewis included — that would contribute. How it all came together, I wasn’t sure.”

On opening day against Youngstown State, Lewis ran for 129 yards. The next week in Buffalo, he ran for 190 yards, and he hasn’t slowed down.

“I think Dion has been amazingly consistent from day one in his approach to practice, games, meetings [and] everything he does,” Wannstedt said.

In 11 games, the Albany, N.Y., native has accounted for 1,446 rushing yards, which broke the Big East freshman rushing record set by McCoy in 2007. But that isn’t the only one of McCoy’s records that Lewis will look to break before the season draws to a close.

If Lewis reaches the end zone one more time, he will tie McCoy’s freshman scoring record of 90 points. Currently, Lewis has 13 rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown, leaving him six points short of his forerunner.

While he is the most prolific freshman rusher in the history of the Big East, Lewis doesn’t hold the same title in the Pitt record books. When Tony Dorsett rushed for 1,686 yards as a freshman in 1978, Pitt was without a conference affiliation.

Lewis has two more contests to gain 240 yards if he hopes to reach Dorsett’s mark and rewrite the freshman rushing record book at Pitt.

While Lewis’ skills on the field are more apparent with each passing week, Wannstedt notes that his mental approach is as significant as any physical trait.

“[Lewis] has intangibles that are different from most kids, particularly most true freshmen,” Wannstedt said.

“When he’s had success, it hasn’t affected him one way or the other. Does he have talent? Sure, he does. A lot of players have talent, but he has some intangibles that separate him from the pack.”

If “the pack” that Wannstedt referred to includes the nation’s top running backs, then the numbers seem to support the head coach’s statement. Lewis’ 131.45 rushing yards per game average is ranked fourth in the entire nation and is the highest among freshman rushers.

Despite his achievements, there is still one daunting task left before Lewis and the Panthers during this regular season. The No. 5 Cincinnati Bearcats stand in the way of Pitt’s BCS chances.

Pitt will turn to Lewis to control the pace of the game against a rushing defense that ranks sixth in the Big East and 49th in the nation. On the other side of the ball, the Panthers rushing offense is ranked second in the Big East and 32nd in the nation.

Cincinnati’s defensive statistics indicate that the Panthers could find success on the ground during the climactic conclusion of the Big East season.

On Saturday, Pitt has an opportunity to take its program to another level and for its freshman running back to make an indelible mark in Panther history.