Ray Lewis smelled what that The Rock was cooking a long time ago.

While speaking with TMZ Sports on Thursday, the NFL legend said that he and Dwayne Johnson had many conversations about the levels of greatness they would achieve after leaving the University of Miami, where they were college football teammates.

"One of the encouragements he gave me was, 'Look, you're going to be great at this,'" Lewis said of what Johnson told him back in their Miami days during the early to mid-1990s. "'I'm going to go into wrestling.' He had his whole vision mapped out. I'll never forget it."

The two-time Super Bowl champion even told a story about how Johnson once brought his WWE Hall of Fame uncle, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, out to a Miami football practice in 1994.

Watch Lewis's full account about being Johnson's teammate.

It's pretty amazing that The Rock laid down his blueprint for greatness back then and not only went onto become the most electrifying personality in pro wrestling and a WWE Hall of Famer himself, but also one of Hollywood's biggest box-office cash cows.

He knew what he wanted and went and got it ... and then some.

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