LaTroy Rayshawn Lewis (born November 9, 1993) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

who is currently a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research resp ...

at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

Early years

Lewis attended

Archbishop Hoban High School Archbishop Hoban High School is a Catholic college-preparatory school in Akron, Ohio. It is sponsored by the Catholic religious order Brothers of Holy Cross. History In the early 1950s, Archbishop Edward F. Hoban invited the Brothers of Holy Cro ...

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

. He played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

for the Knights football team under head coach Ralph Orsini. As a sophomore, he recorded 70 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 13 sacks, and an interception. He earned

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

First-team All-Ohio, First-team All-Region and First-team All-Akron honors. As a junior, he earned

First-team All-Ohio, First-team All-Region and First-team All-Akron honors as well after recording 96 tackles and nine sacks. In addition to football, Lewis was an All- North Coast League

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and track athlete in high school as well. Lewis committed to playing college football under Derek Dooley at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

College career

Lewis redshirted in the 2012 season, his lone season with head coach Derek Dooley. Lewis started the 2013 season with a new head coach,

Butch Jones Lyle Allen "Butch" Jones Jr. (born January 17, 1968) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach at Arkansas State University. Jones previously served as a special assistant to the head coach and offensive analyst at the Univ ...

, after Dooley was fired the previous year. He made his collegiate debut in the season opener at home against

Austin Peay Austin Peay (; June 1, 1876 – October 2, 1927) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of Tennessee from 1923 to 1927. He was the state's first governor since the Civil War to win three consecutive terms and the first to die ...

Neyland Stadium Neyland Stadium ( ) is a sports stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. It serves primarily as the home of the Tennessee Volunteers football team, but is also used to host large conventions and has been a site for several National Footba ...

. In his first season as a contributor to the Vols, Lewis recorded four total tackles. As a redshirt sophomore in 2014, Lewis started the season with a solid performance at home against Utah State. Against the Aggies, he recorded his first career sack. Against the

Chattanooga Mocs The Chattanooga Mocs (formerly the Chattanooga Moccasins) are the 16 teams representing the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in intercollegiate athletics. The Mocs compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and ...

on October 11, he had a season-high three total tackles in the home victory. He had eight total tackles, of which five were for loss, one sack, one pass defensed, and one forced fumble. In his redshirt junior season in 2015, Lewis was a solid contributor. On October 10, he had a season-high five total tackles in Tennessee's upset victory at home over the ranked

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...

. Against Vanderbilt at home, Lewis recorded his first and only sack of the season. In the 2015 season, Lewis had 29 total tackles, of which two were for loss, one sack, one pass defensed, and one forced fumble. In his redshirt senior season with the Volunteers in 2016, Lewis put together a solid season on a defensive unit plagued with injuries. Overall, in the 2016 season, he recorded 36 total tackles, of which four were for loss, 2.5 sacks, and one fumble recovery.

Professional playing career

Oakland Raiders

Lewis signed with the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

as an undrafted free agent on May 8, 2017. In the third game of the preseason, against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

, Lewis recovered a fumble for a 65-yard touchdown in the third quarter. He was waived by the Raiders on September 2, 2017.

Houston Texans

On September 4, 2017, Lewis was signed to the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 29, 2017. On September 1, 2018, Lewis was waived by the Texans.

Tennessee Titans

On October 2, 2018, Lewis was signed to the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 24, 2018. On August 31, 2019, Lewis was waived by the Titans.

Houston Roughnecks

On November 22, 2019, Lewis was drafted by the Houston Roughnecks in the 2020 XFL Supplemental Draft. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Coaching career

Michigan

On February 21, 2022, Lewis began working as a

at the

. Lewis was part of the Michigan staff that won the

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

in the 2023 season.

References

External links

Tennessee Volunteers bio

Akron Zips coaching profile

Wake Forest Demon Deacons coaching profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, LaTroy 1993 births Living people Akron Zips football coaches American football linebackers Houston Roughnecks players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Michigan Wolverines football coaches Oakland Raiders players South Alabama Jaguars football coaches Tennessee Titans players Tennessee Volunteers football players Wake Forest Demon Deacons football coaches Players of American football from Akron, Ohio