Throughout his nine year career as an NFL running back, Jamal Lewis played with some of the best players in football - particularly over the course of his tenure with a Super Bowl Baltimore Ravens team, between 2000 and 2006. But if you ask him, Lewis will tell you that neither the great Ray Lewis, nor Rod Woodson, Shannon Sharpe, Ed Reed, Steve McNair, Deion Sanders, or anyone else who he played beside during his professional career, get the nod as the greatest he's ever suited up with. For that distinction, Lewis says he'd have to recall his days playing college ball in Tennessee, where he shared the backfield with quarterback Peyton Manning.

"I think the best player would probably be Peyton because of his work ethic... just the time that he put in... just the perfectionist that he is, and the leader that he is," Lewis said during an interview with TMZ Sports over the weekend. "Me as a young player coming in playing with him in college, it taught me a lot."

Lewis confessed that coming out of high school he wasn't the hardest worker, particularly during practice. He considered himself a gamer and was totally confident in his ability to perform come gameday. But he says that kind of attitude wouldn't cut it with Tennessee's offensive coordinator at the time, David Cutcliffe, who told Lewis off of the bat that he wouldn't get any playing time until he began to observe Manning's work ethic on the practice field.

Apparently, that Manning motivation worked, seeing how Lewis would go on to help the Ravens win it all in his rookie season before captivating the league for Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2003. That year, he rushed for the third most yards ever in a season (2,066) and set a single-game rushing record (295) that stood until Adrien Peterson eclipsed that total four years later.

Source: TMZ