St. Peter’s Prep class of 2017 quarterback Johnathan Lewis has just been selected to compete in the Elite 11 finals in Los Angeles this summer. Lewis recently committed to play his college football at Rutgers, but his path to becoming an elite high school quarterback started a long time ago.

“My first year of playing football was with the East Orange Panthers when I was six years old,” Lewis said. “My first year I was a kicker and wide receiver. I joined like a month into the season and they already had a quarterback. So I stuck with playing wide receiver for two years. Then, our quarterback moved up to another level and we did not have anyone to throw to me. So I asked my coach if I could change to quarterback. It was another way for me to get the football.”

Lewis admitted he was not yet a star on the football field, but was managing to get noticed quite a bit for his play.

“When I was in sixth grade, I was still playing for the Panthers and I threw for 15 touchdowns that year,” Lewis said.

However, Lewis' football career was suddenly interrupted.

“I took a year off because I had growing pains. My knees hurt so my mom wanted me to rest,” Lewis said.

That time off actually enabled Lewis to develop an affinity for something else outside of football.

“Not a lot of people know this, but I am really into superhero comics and stuff,” Lewis said. “Because I started football so young, I really didn’t do anything but football. I didn’t have a lot of time to just sit down and watch TV. When I stopped playing for my seventh grade year, I started watching a lot of superhero movies. I liked the DC and Marvel Comics ones. I watched like every movie DC and Marvel has put out.”

And what is Lewis’ favorite superhero character?

“It’s tough to choose, but I really like a lot of The Flash comics,” he said.

After that year off, Lewis went on to play for the Brick City Lions, where he became strictly a quarterback. That led to his choice to attend St. Peter’s Prep for high school.

“It was closer to the rest of the schools I had an interest in going to,” Lewis said. “I also had a close connection with Coach [Rich] Hansen. He made me felt like I was at home when I visited.”

Lewis would not jump right into a starting role at St. Peter's Prep as he had to bide his time behind then starter Brandon Wimbush, who now plays for Notre Dame.

“It was a huge learning experience playing behind Brandon. That is where I got all my knowledge from,” Lewis said. “Going into Prep, I did research on Brandon. He was one of the only quarterbacks to go to the Elite 11 pressure cooker. I knew already I would have to just wait and learn.”

In high school, Lewis was forced to overcome another obstacle after breaking his fibula as a freshman during a Junior Varsity game.

However, the way he recovered gave him the confidence that he would one day play football at the college level.

“When I came back from freshman year injury, I knew I had to come back quicker than usual. I put in all that time and effort,” Lewis said. “That effort really made me feel like I was capable of going to the next level and playing.”

That injury helped influence Lewis’ decision to forgo his basketball career at the high school level as football became his main priority.

However, he's managed to stay involved with hoops.

“Last year, I was the manager for our basketball team and I got to practice with the team,” Lewis said. “I was able to help with their drills and stuff. I miss playing. Seeing the team play together really makes me miss playing the game.”

While Lewis has showcased his athletic abilities for quite a long time, he’s developed an excellent reputation off the field as well.

“I got a lot of good feedback from coaches during my recruitment. Growing up, my parents always taught me that the one thing you have to have is manners. So I always treated people how I wanted to be treated. Coaches noticed that and I guess they liked that about me.”