Get To Know Your Orange Man - #84, WR Ben Lewis

The Get To Know Your Orange Man series continues its summer run...

Name: Ben Lewis

Position: Wide Receiver

Year: Freshman (Redshirt)

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 201

Hometown: Middletown, Md.

High School: Middletown

2012 Stats: Ben redshirted last year, so 2013 will be his first time seeing the field for the Orange.

2013 Projections: Lewis sits behind a lot of players on a very crowded wideout depth chart, though the post-spring iteration saw him listed third among X receivers behind veterans Jarrod West and Jeremiah Kobena. Especially considering his various injuries to this point (upper body injury in October and an ankle injury this spring), I'd bet he ends up behind at least one more player -- namely Quinta Funderburk -- by the fall. Despite his relative speed (runs a 4.55-second 40-yard dash), his stat line is likely to read zeros across the board this season.

How'd He Get Here?: At the FBS level, Ben received some interest from UConn and East Carolina, but the only other offer he received (other than the one from Syracuse) was from the FCS' Towson.

What'd Scout/Rivals Say?: Rivals was of the opinion that he was a 2-star prospect. Scout also said the same, and ranked him 228th among all wide receivers in the 2012 recruiting class.

Money Quote: As is typically the case with players who don't really see the field, we don't have a ton from Lewis right now. But Dan did provide this note on National Signing Day back in 2012:

"I always felt like I had that potential, but I didn't really realize it until I started going to some big time camps and going against the recruits there -- these highly-ranked cornerbacks -- and beating them one-on-one."

Links of Wonder: Ben's a career-minded fellow, and after seeing the roster of names around Newhouse that had gone on to successful careers (especially at ESPN), he was pretty much sold on going to Syracuse for broadcast journalism.

What Does Shafer Think: Scott Shafer has no known opinion of Ben Lewis, though wide receivers coach Rob Moore had this to say to Syracuse.com late last month:

"(Ben) is not one of those athletes that's just going to roll out of bed and be your top five," Moore said. "He's a guy that is a hard worker and overachiever kind of guy."

Interesting Nugget O'Interest: Rivals recruiting analyst Wayne Yarborough once referred to Ben as "a dangerous man." That's usually a good thing on the football field. I also can't recall any other Syracuse player being described in such a way, unless it was a cliche machine like Jon Gruden doing the describing.

Let Us Get a Good Look Atchya: Here's some highlights from Ben's high school days. In this 2010 video, Ben's no. 21, and shows off some great balance taking hits after the catch, before rumbling for a score. Also present in this video: Ben's parents' phone numbers and email addresses. Avoid contacting them, please.