Two years away from coaching, former Bowling Green State University football player and Start head coach Godfrey Lewis has found another avenue in staying connected to the game.
Lewis will shift from his color analyst role on BCSN broadcasts on area prep football games last year. He will join program director/anchor Justin Feldkamp and former Perrysburg head football coach Matt Kregel to host the network's GameDay Tailgate pregame show each Friday evening throughout the 2024 season.
“I always had interest in being a color analyst and analyzing the game,” Lewis said of his first television work last year. “I was a fan of BCSN, and the overall coverage of the sport.
“Analyzing the way the game is played, it was very similar to the preparation of coaching. You're looking at different teams, looking at trends throughout the season, and looking at which teams progress and overcome adversity. All of that stuff was interesting to me. It's fun, and something I do naturally.”
In his new spot, Lewis succeeds former Tailgate co-host Pat Gucciardo, Jr, who has returned to coaching as an assistant at Whitmer, his alma mater.
The team of Feldkamp, Kregel, and Gucciardo had manned the on-field GameDay Tailgate desk the past three years.
“We reinvigorated the tailgate show with Matt Kregel and Pat Gucciardo [back in 2021], and we're trying to find ways to make BCSN bigger and better,” Feldkamp said. “Godfrey's pregame preparation stood out. He told me that he treats game preparation for TV broadcasts on BCSN just like the way he would when he was actually coaching.
“I gathered feedback from staff members here — from play-by-play people to our production directors — and all the feedback about Godfrey was positive.”
In Lewis, 44, the BCSN show gets an experienced, well-rounded football mind who maintains a strong interest in staying connected to the game he has loved since his high school playing days in Canada at Michael Power/St. Joseph in Toronto.
“Each week is about breaking down the performance of each team, and looking at the things that made teams separate themselves in winning,” Lewis said of the show content. “Looking at the scores and stats, analyzing the film, and looking at how the teams line up against each other in different matchups.
“At the end of the day, watching the film is the most important thing to me, to look at how teams match up against each other. You're making predictions on what you feel is going to happen that night and also showcasing athletes and programs across the area with various stories that lead up to the upcoming week.”
For Lewis, his full-time profession is in education with Toledo Public Schools, currently as an assistant principal at Longfellow Elementary.
In his three seasons as Start's head coach (2020-22), Lewis guided the Spartans to 15-13 record overall, including a 13-2 mark and two championships in City League play.
Prior to Start, Lewis had been an assistant for seven years on Doug Pearson's staff at St. John's Jesuit and two years with head coach Greg Dempsey at Central Catholic. He had previously coached in Canada after completing his degree at BGSU in 2003.
“The best benefit for me as an analyst is that I have a lot of relationships with a number of head coaches in the area,” Lewis said of his coaching ties. “I'm familiar, not only with the things that they do from a game-planning standpoint, but also their philosophy with how they approach the game.
“We're putting it all together and using as much information as we can to provide that [picture] to the audience heading into the game.”
It is this studious approach to the game that should serve Lewis, and the BCSN show, well.
“He's genuine, and he knows what he's talking about,” Feldkamp said of Lewis. “He's had the playing and coaching careers and, with this pregame show, his personality is going to shine a little more.
“In some ways, for a game broadcast, the players and the coaches are the stars. With our pregame tailgate show, yes, we're going to have all kinds of feature stories and do interviews with players and coaches. But, due to the nature of the show, in some ways, the on-air personalities become more of the stars. I'm really looking forward to what he's able to bring to the table at our pregame sites.”
The Gameday Tailgate show kicks off Friday night with the Southview-at-Northview, Battle of Sylvania rivalry game.
Lewis has a bond with football because of the game's educational component.
“It's about testing yourself,” he said. “In football, you have to bring the mental and physical aspects, and then there's also a spiritual element when you're putting yourself on the line each week. That [challenge] is one of the most valuable lessons in education, and in sports.
“It's not so much the result, but how you respond to the adversity each week. My philosophy is about self reflection when you play the game, and understanding the commitment you make. You're going to get out of it what you put in. It's a great aspect to apply to life, not just sports.”
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