It's crazy to think that North Carolina's Xavier Lewis was a former walk-on.

Lewis is in the same conversation as some of college football's best defenders this season, and now he's able to add Burlsworth Trophy Semifinalist to his bulletin board.

The Burlsworth Trophy is handed out each and every year to college football's best former walk-on, and Lewis certainly fits the bill.

Standing 6-foot, 260 pounds, the Raleigh, NC, native took a chance on himself with the Tar Heels. 

There are no guarantees that any walk-on players are ever going to see the field, but Lewis's work ethic is second to none, and he's clearly one of the best players on this Tar Heels defense.

UNC is lucky to have Lewis around, and that may even be putting it lightly.

As always, there are no guarantees that he's going to win this trophy, but him even making it to the semifinals proves that all of his hard work is paying off.

Not only did the former walk-on reach double-digit tackles in a game this year, but he did so against a team that was ranked No. 25.

The Pittsburgh Panthers were on Lewis's bad side as he finished with 11 total tackles, nine of which were solo, and he added half a sack.

Remember, Lewis began the year with two-sack games in each of his first three, a streak that proved just how dominant he truly is.

Lewis had a pair of sacks in Ireland against TCU, and then had a two-sack game against both East Tennessee State and Clemson.

Looking at UNC's schedule to start the year, Bill Belichick could've easily scheduled three cupcake games, but the only "easy" one was against the Buccaneers.

Lewis was ready for the challenge of both the Horned Frogs and Tigers, and he dominated each game with relative ease.

Even when No. 1 Miami came to town, he was able to record four tackles. This is a player who will stop at nothing to make sure he's one of the best in the nation, and he's certainly on that path.

Seeing as he's only a sophomore, the sky truly is the limit for Lewis. In the 2026 season, he's recorded 43 total tackles, 16 of which were solo, with the other 27 being assisted. 

This is a guy who had just eight total tackles with half a sack last season, but here he is in '26 with his 43 tackles and seven sacks.