written by: Juan Moore/Outlook News
photos by: Juan Moore/Outlook News & Jason McDonald/CORE 360 Sports
JACKSONVILLE, FL – The Florida heat hangs heavy over the Miller Electric Center as offensive linemen fire off the ball, helmets colliding with a familiar crack that echoes across the practice fields. Coaches study every rep, every step and every finish, knowing roster decisions are built on moments like these.
For most players, it’s another day of training camp.
For Ricky Lee, it’s something much bigger.
Every snap is another opportunity to earn a place on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 53-man roster. Every drill brings him closer to the dream he carried as a kid growing up on Jacksonville’s Westside—wearing the uniform of the hometown team he watched every Sunday.
Home has never felt closer.
The road back, however, has been anything but easy.
Lee’s football journey has taken him from Riverside High School in Jacksonville to two proud Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), through multiple NFL organizations and even the UFL before bringing him back to the city where his football story first began.
Now wearing No. 66, Lee enters one of the biggest training camps of his career as the Jaguars prepare for their Sept. 13th season’s opener against the Cleveland Browns at EverBank Stadium.
For Lee, this isn’t just another opportunity.
It’s a homecoming.
Long before NFL scouts knew his name, Lee established himself as one of Jacksonville’s top offensive linemen at Riverside High School, then known as Robert E. Lee High School. His combination of size, athleticism and determination opened the door to continue his football career at the collegiate level.
Instead of following the traditional Power Four route, Lee chose a path rooted in opportunity and tradition. He began his college career at North Carolina Central before transferring to North Carolina A&T, where he developed into one of the Aggies’ most dependable offensive linemen.
Starting every game during his time at A&T, Lee helped anchor one of the conference’s top offensive lines and earned Second-Team All-Big South honors. His consistent play caught the attention of NFL scouts looking for linemen willing to do the hard work that rarely makes highlight reels.
Today, Lee represents something unique inside Jacksonville’s locker room.
Among the Jaguars’ current roster, he is the franchise’s lone player whose football journey was shaped at an HBCU—a distinction he carries with quiet pride. His path serves as another reminder that HBCU programs continue producing NFL talent, built on discipline, resilience and opportunity.
That chapter of his life has also come full circle.
Sharing the Jaguars’ locker room with Lee is running back Bhayshul Tuten, his former North Carolina A&T teammate years ago, Lee was clearing running lanes for Tuten in Aggie blue and gold. Today, they’re reunited in Jacksonville, chasing the same NFL dream while wearing teal and gold.
Tuten enters his second NFL season expected to shoulder a significant role in Jacksonville’s backfield, making their reunion even more meaningful. The chemistry they built at North Carolina A&T now has the opportunity to continue on an NFL field.
For both players, it’s another example of how the bonds forged at an HBCU often extend far beyond college football.
Lee’s journey to the NFL, however, was never guaranteed.
When the 2023 NFL Draft ended without hearing his name called, he signed with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent. Instead of focusing on what didn’t happen, Lee embraced the opportunity in front of him.
That mindset paid off.
He earned a spot on Carolina’s active roster and appeared in six regular-season games during his rookie season, proving he belonged at football’s highest level.
But life in the NFL rarely follows a straight line.
Over the next several seasons, Lee spent time with the Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns and New York Giants organizations before continuing his development with the Arlington Renegades of the UFL. Every stop meant another playbook, another coaching staff and another opportunity to prove himself.
Rather than allowing uncertainty to define him, Lee embraced the grind. Offensive linemen don’t build careers on statistics or headlines. They build them on preparation, consistency and trust—the qualities coaches value every day.
Eventually, that persistence brought him home.
When the Jaguars signed the Jacksonville native, it became more than another offseason transaction.
It became the kind of full-circle moment every hometown athlete dreams about but few ever experience.
For a player who grew up watching the Jaguars, every practice now carries extra meaning. Every preseason snap is another chance to show that every challenge, every setback and every stop along the way prepared him for this opportunity.
As training camp continues, Lee understands there are no guarantees. Every repetition matters. Every assignment is evaluated. Every block could help determine who earns one of the final roster spots.
Yet regardless of how the final roster shakes out, his journey already represents something bigger than football.
It’s the story of a Jacksonville kid who refused to let obstacles define him.
It’s the story of an HBCU athlete who turned opportunity into a professional career.
It’s the story of perseverance, patience and believing that the next opportunity is always worth chasing.
If Lee earns his place on Jacksonville’s opening-day roster and runs onto the field against Cleveland in front of family, friends and hometown fans, the moment will represent far more than another game on the schedule.
It will represent the completion of a journey that began on Jacksonville’s Westside, continued through two proud HBCUs and weathered every challenge professional football could offer.
For Ricky Lee, the dream was never simply about making it to the NFL.
It was about making it home.