Xavier Tyree Lee (born January 9, 1986) is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
and
wide receiver. He was signed by the
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...
as an
undrafted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
in 2008. He played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
Florida State
Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...
.
Early life
Lee attended
Seabreeze High School
Seabreeze High School is a public high school located in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. The school was named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in 1989.
Notable alumni
* Duane and Gregg Allman, of The Allman Brothers Band, class of 196 ...
in
Daytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal Resort town, resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County near the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coastline, its population ...
. He set Florida's all-time record for passing yards (9,082), completions (549) and touchdowns (98) in
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
. Lee was named Florida's Mr. Football in 2002, and won state 3A Player of the Year honors as a senior. During his senior season, he rushed for 461 yards and 13 touchdowns and was 188-for-304 (62 percent), passing for 3,075 yards with 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He was rated a five-star player and the No. 1 dual threat quarterback in the nation by
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel.
History
Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
. Lee played in the 2004
U.S. Army All-American Bowl
The All-American Bowl is a high school football all-star game, held annually at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Typically played in January, the All-American Bowl is played between all-star teams representing the eastern and western United S ...
. Highly recruited, he signed with
Florida State
Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...
passing up offers by
Ohio State
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
,
Auburn
Auburn may refer to:
Places Australia
* Auburn, New South Wales
* City of Auburn, the local government area
*Electoral district of Auburn
*Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region
*Auburn, South Australia
*Auburn, Tasmania
*Aub ...
, and
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
.
College career
As a
redshirt
Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi
* Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...
sophomore in 2006, Lee played in eight games, including three starts, and passed for 885 yards with 7 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Lee started for the injured
Drew Weatherford
Andrew Skillern Weatherford (born June 22, 1985) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Florida State University from 2004 to 2008.
High school career
Weatherford attended Land O' Lakes High School in Pasco Coun ...
on October 28, 2006, on the road at
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. He also started and won his first game on Saturday, November 4 at home against
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. On August 23, 2007, the eight-month quarterback competition ended when offensive coordinator
Jimbo Fisher
John James "Jimbo" Fisher Jr. (born October 9, 1965) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies Football, Texas A&M Aggies. Previously, Fisher was the head coach at Florida State Seminol ...
named Weatherford the starting quarterback for the Seminole's opener at
Clemson.
On September 29, 2007, Lee replaced Weatherford in the second quarter against
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
and led the Seminoles to a 21-14 victory. Lee finished the game 12-19 with 224 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and 11 rushes for 59 yards. His performance earned him the starting quarterback job and
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...
co-Offensive Back honors for the week of October 1. Lee subsequently gave the starter's job back to
Drew Weatherford
Andrew Skillern Weatherford (born June 22, 1985) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Florida State University from 2004 to 2008.
High school career
Weatherford attended Land O' Lakes High School in Pasco Coun ...
due to poor performance.
Professional career
Baltimore Ravens
Lee decided to forgo his senior season at Florida State, and declared himself eligible for the
2008 NFL Draft
The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, ...
. He was not invited to the
NFL Combine
The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...
, and therefore could only showcase his talent at Florida State's Pro Day, where he was measured in at 6'4", weighed 232 pounds, and was clocked at times of 4.54, 4.64, and 4.76 seconds in the
40-yard dash
The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...
. Despite his workouts and Pro Day results, he was not selected in the 2008 NFL Draft. On May 16, 2008, the
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...
signed Lee as an
undrafted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
. The Ravens signed him as a
tight end
The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...
instead of quarterback. He was released by the Ravens on June 26, 2008.
Arkansas Twisters
Following a brief stint as a
wide receiver for the Southern New Hampshire Beavers of the New England Football League, Lee was invited to the preseason camp of the
Arkansas Twisters
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage la ...
of the
af2
The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...
as a quarterback but was later converted to wide receiver.
Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz
He was a wide receiver and back-up quarterback for the
Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz
The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz were an arena football team. The team began play as a 2004 expansion team of the Arena Football League's minor league af2 before becoming a member of the AFL in 2010. Formerly a tenant of the Ford Center from 2004 u ...
of the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
(AFL).
Las Vegas Locomotives
He played tight end for the
Las Vegas Locomotives
The Las Vegas Locomotives (called the Locos for short) were a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada that played in the United Football League. The team played their home games at Sam Boyd Stadium, home field for the Unive ...
of the
United Football League (UFL) in 2012.
Kansas City Renegades
Lee was signed in April 2013 by the
Kansas City Renegades
The Kansas City Renegades were a charter member of the Champions Professional Indoor Football League based in Kansas City, Missouri. They played their home games at Kemper Arena.
The Renegades were the second arena/indoor team based in Kansas Cit ...
and guided them to their 2nd victory ever as a franchise in the inaugural season of the
Champions Professional Indoor Football League
The Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) was an indoor football minor league based along the Midwestern United States region. The league began play in February 2013. In August 2014, the CPIFL and Lone Star Football League (LSFL) c ...
(CPIFL), completing 10 of 17 passes with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
San Antonio Talons
Lee was assigned to the
San Antonio Talons
The San Antonio Talons were a professional arena football team based in San Antonio, Texas. They played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Their home arena was the Alamodome, following their relocation to San Antonio for the 2012 Arena Football ...
midway through the 2013 season. Originally signed as a wide receiver, Lee played a few games at quarterback when the Talons were hit with a spate of injuries.
References
External links
Florida State Seminoles bioXavier Lee at Arkansas Twisters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Xavier
1986 births
Living people
American football quarterbacks
American football wide receivers
Florida State Seminoles football players
Baltimore Ravens players
Arkansas Twisters players
Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz players
Arizona Rattlers players
Pittsburgh Power players
Kansas City Command players
Las Vegas Locomotives players
Orlando Predators players
Kansas City Renegades players
San Antonio Talons players
Nebraska Danger players