Tommy Brown was the unlucky Alabama offensive lineman, the one who had to line up across from Terrell Lewis when the outside linebacker — for the first time since April 2018 — got a chance to go after a sack in something more than just a practice.

It was early in the Crimson Tide’s scrimmage Aug. 10. It seemingly didn’t end well for Brown, one of the team’s backup offensive tackles.

“That play’s pretty interesting,” a grinning Lewis said. “You should ask Coach (Saban) about it. ... It was just my first pass rush in a minute, so I kind of wanted to be a little more physical than I have been."

After having two straight seasons derailed by serious injuries and after being forced to sit out most of the spring due to the knee he originally injured last summer, Lewis is finally back and injury free.

Unfortunately for Tommy Brown.

And unfortunately for offensive tackles around the SEC.

"Terrell is ready to go,” fellow outside linebacker Anfernee Jennings said. “Terrell is ready to ball. Terrell, he's gonna do that."

When Lewis takes the field for Alabama’s season opener against Duke, it will be the redshirt junior’s first time playing in a game in nearly 20 months and the first time in two years he’s played in a game without being limited by an injury.

Lewis has had to overcome a torn elbow ligament he suffered during the Tide’s 2017 opener against Florida State, the torn ACL from last summer that caused him to miss all of last season and then some continued issues with that knee throughout the early part of this year.

If not for the injuries, Lewis may be in the NFL right now. Instead, Lewis — who was given a first-round NFL draft grade last year before the knee injury — has now become somewhat of a forgotten man outside of Alabama, enough so that he wasn’t even among the almost 90 players to be named to the preseason coaches All-SEC team.

Now that he’s back healthy though, Alabama is optimistic Lewis may finally be able to have his long-awaited breakout season.

“He’s worked hard all summer,” Tide coach Nick Saban said in early August. “We keep these Catapult (GPS tracking) numbers on guys in terms of what their explosive movements are and how much they can duplicate it, and he’s back to a level higher than he was before he got hurt two years ago. So we’re really pleased with the work that he’s done and how he’s recovered.”

While Alabama held Lewis out of its scrimmage on Saturday, the Washington, D.C. native has taken part in every practice since the Tide began fall camp Aug. 2 and is set to enter the season as one of Alabama’s defensive leaders and as likely the team’s top pass rusher.

“I’m 100 percent, I would say,” Lewis said. “There’s nothing that’s holding me back from doing anything. I feel real good now. ... As far as the spring, strength-wise, I wasn’t where I wanted to be as far as being able to hold the point of attack and go against 300-pound linemen. But now, staying focused with rehab and stuff like that got me right. And getting stronger and then just getting more comfortable with being back on the field, that helped me a lot.”

Saban can attest to that.

Saban was standing nearby for the Lewis-Tommy Brown scrimmage matchup that apparently didn’t end well for Brown.

His reaction to the play was typical Saban, though.

“Saban (doesn’t) say anything,” Lewis said, smiling. “He ain’t going to kiss nobody’s ass. That’s Saban. Actually, he was right in front of it. ... He just saw it and was like ‘Oh, whatever.’”

Matt Zenitz is an Alabama and Auburn reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mzenitz.