When redshirt freshman running back Jason Lewis first arrived at ASU last year, he’ll admit he wasn’t fully prepared for what he was about to be in for.

He wasn’t in shape and learning the offense was taking longer than expected. As a result, he just tried to make it up as he went along.

“It was hard,” he said. “I got here late so I didn’t know any plays. I wasn’t conditioned at all. I was just coming out here trying to freestyle so it was really frustrating not knowing anything.”

Through much of last year, Lewis teetered in a strange position on the team. He was too good to simply run with the scout team but wasn’t able to contribute because he was still learning the offense forcing him to redshirt.

Sitting behind the likes of junior running backs Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage gave Lewis the time he needed to learn important lessons like patience and what t takes to be a college student-athlete.

“I really just learned more about the school, how school works and stuff like that,” Lewis said. “It was more of a school aspect of learning year more than anything.”

But Richard and Ballage also taught Lewis, who is likely next in line behind Ballage Richard, how to work hard and what it takes to be a running back at the college level through the way they approach the game.

“Just the way they work, they both play at a high intensity,” Lewis said. “They both play at a high intensity and practice really are…I just try to do the same things they are doing, just to keep it going because if I see them being physical…they’re setting the tone o I just need to finish it.”

Lewis said it was during this last spring that the football aspect of things started to come around. Finally, he understood what he needed to do on every play and things were starting to click.

With running backs coach John Simon, Lewis was getting the opportunity to learn about personal development as well as football, where Simon said Lewis was mentally getting shaper.

“Jason Lewis and I have had some really good conversations about where he is and the things he needs to work on,” Simon said. “Not for the rotation, just personally…Jason has done an excellent job of responding. I think the difference for Jason is he’s starting to understand now how important the meeting room is…the mental part of the game.”

With the continued mental growth, physically, Lewis has improved as well. He’s still 6-foot-3 and 249 pounds, but now he said he’s faster and, despite that larger frame hardly ever feels tired.

“This summer, when we really started getting into it I started feeling way better,” Lewis said. “Now I can go all practice. I don’t get tired as much or at all now so it feels way better.

“Last year it was really bad. I was always tired. This year I’m really good now.”

With all of those physical traits, Lewis stands out immediately and that includes Simon who compared him to one NFL great in terms of what Lewis is capable of doing.

“Jason puts you in the mindset of an Eddie George-type back,” Simon said. “When I say that, (Lewis has) size, but has a skill set to where he’s not just a downhill pounder…I played with Eddie George, Eddie George was a big back but he had the ability to bounce it outside. He could still run.

“J-Lew is a 245-pound man but he still has the ability to bounce the ball outside, still has vision, he still has a skill set where he can still make lateral cuts.”

However, in order to utilize that lateral movement, Lewis has to see the running lanes and that’s something Lewis has been working extensively on.

“My reading has gotten way better in the last two weeks,” he said. “I can read the line of scrimmage way faster than I could early on in camp so that’s something I can work on and get even better at.”