Back-to-back injuries in 2017 and 2018 meant Alabama outside linebacker Terrell Lewis was forced to watch 25 games and countless practices from the sidelines.

Missing that amount of football helped Lewis appreciate his return to the field this season but also gave him perspective he could offer to his teammates taking their opportunities for granted.

“Watching games and practices over and over again, [you see] guys that are not putting forth full effort,” Lewis said Monday as the Tide began preparations for their SEC opener Saturday at South Carolina. "You’re like, ‘You don’t even realize how much -- you never know when this might be your last play.’

“Those usually [were] the darkest times, when you see somebody else taking the game for granted or not really cherishing that they get to be out here. When you see guys complain, they get to play football and they complain about the external elements, like ‘Oh, it’s hot. I don’t feel like practicing.' Stuff like that."

Lewis would let his slacking teammates know his feelings.

“It’s something that you tell them either right there on the spot or gradually tell them, ‘Y’all gotta pick up the effort. That’s not how we do things around here,'" he said.

Lewis wanted to join his teammates but was limited to four games in 2017 because of a torn elbow ligament suffered in the season opener. He then missed all of last season because of a torn ACL.

“It was definitely a lot of dark times, and kind of made me have to sit back and just kind of be patient and really just focusing on, ‘OK, how can I get better in this time?’ Instead of just moping and looking to complain basically," he said Monday. “You can’t really complain about the cards you’re dealt, so I kind of just worked through it because I knew God had something planned on the other side."

Despite the missed time, NFL evaluators still took notice of the 6-foot-5, 252-pound pass rusher who recorded one sack in 11 games as a freshman in 2016. ESPN NFL draft analyst Todd McShay’s “way-too-early” 2020 mock draft in May projected Lewis as the No. 10 overall selection.

Lewis had one sack in the Tide’s opener against Duke and added a tackle for loss in Saturday’s win over New Mexico State.

Spending the majority of two years away from the game did not shake Lewis’ confidence in his play as he entered his redshirt junior season.

“I never doubted it,” he said Monday. “I like to see other people doubt me. I like to see how people be like, ‘I don’t think he’ll be the same,’ or ‘Those tragic injuries might change the way he plays the game.’ I don’t really go into a game of football with fear. I know what I signed up for.”