He sprints onto the Rice-Eccles Stadium turf in front of tens of thousands of fans while the student section chants his name. The Utah Utes have just scored a touchdown, and yet all the attention is on him for about 10 brief but exhilarating seconds.
But it’s not quarterback Cam Rising. Or freshman star Nate Johnson. Or wide receiver Devaughn Vele. He’s not even in a Utes uniform.
His name is Austin Lewis. The equipment team’s laundry attendant is 33 years old, has autism, and is universally beloved by players and fans alike.
Lewis’ duties include running out several times a game to retrieve the kicking tee after Utah kickoffs — either to start the first or third quarter, or after a score. This season, each sprint for the tee was timed, the results shown on the stadium’s big screen.
“He’s very proud of the timing and those records that he sets seemingly weekly retrieving that tree,” coach Kyle Whittingham said.
Lewis has worked with the Utes since 2009. He started as a volunteer and worked his way up to a full-time position. Retrieving the kicking tee, he said, has been part of his game-day routine for about the last six years.
“I was nervous the first time I was doing it because I never had experience to grab the tee every game,” Lewis said. “But now I feel confident I can do it.”
Displaying Lewis’s times during home games started this year. But Scott Willis, assistant director of applied health and performance science, has been timing him throughout. He said it started by playfully telling Lewis tee retrievers on opposing teams were faster and there was no way he could beat them.
That’s when the bets started. Willis said Lewis was tasked with beating his own record. If he did, Willis owed him a soda or candy — most likely a Mountain Dew or Watermelon Sour Patch Kids. If Lewis didn’t, he owed Willis.
Nowadays, Lewis has targets depending on what hash mark the tee is sitting. If it’s the furthest one, Lewis’s goal is under 12 seconds. If it’s the middle, under 10 seconds. If it’s the nearest, under eight seconds. If he hits this goal, he gets a point. If he doesn’t, Lewis gets a point. Whoever has the most points at the end of the game receives the candy or soda.
Lewis’ runs have become popular enough at Rice-Eccles that they are now sponsored by Honda. While he does not get compensated for them, he jokes with everyone by saying it’s his NIL deal.
Willis regularly reminds Lewis, though, that his official times are kept by him, not the big screen, which sometimes starts timing him late.
“He was always happy going out to get it, but now he’s even more excited because he’s getting some love,” Willis said.
Willis doesn’t have official records of the times, but offered that Lewis has clocked less than seven seconds at the near hash, about 9.8 seconds at middle hash and about 11.8 seconds on the far hash.
Lewis said he wants to keep getting faster. Tight end Dalton Kincaid has an idea for that.
“I keep telling him every week: When he puts cleats on, he’ll break that record that he has,” Kincaid said. “He refuses to put cleats on.”
Lewis is well aware of the tip, which he’s heard from several players, and said, “I know it’s true.” But he’s not quite ready to make the adjustment yet.
“Cleats is not my thing,” Lewis said. “But one of these days, like maybe [next] summer, I will try cleats and try wearing them and see how it goes.”
People within the organization say Lewis is a delight to have around the locker room, works hard and lightens the mood.
“He came in the facility and a bunch of [Los Angeles] Kings gear and the [Las Vegas Golden] Knights ended up winning,” Kincaid said. “So I got bragging rights for a little while.”
He and Whittingham also eat lunch together occasionally.
Whittingham and others try to motivate Lewis to continue retrieving the tee at a high level. Lewis said Whittingham has told him he’s the fastest retriever in the country.
“I’m the best one,” Lewis said. “That’s what he said to me last year, so I’m going to try and be it again.”
Cornerback Clark Phillips III nicknamed Lewis “Big Aus,” and the two men have a running bit.
“I always mess with him,” Phillips said. “I tell him that he can’t catch me. He always tells me that he’s faster than me, so I always mess with him in that sense.”
Although doing laundry may seem like an unglamorous, thankless job, many in the program speak glowingly about Lewis’s approach to his responsibilities. Utah equipment manager Kelly Sharitt said he “never misses a day,” and that Whittingham was a driving force behind making Lewis a full-time employee.
“Everything he’s gotten, he’s earned,” Sharitt said. “Nothing’s been given to this kid. He’s just worked his tail off and he’s made himself valuable. … There’s a lot of love for Austin in this building for sure.”
