Lee Ernest Suggs Jr. (born August 11, 1980) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). 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

Virginia Tech Hokies The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams representing Virginia Tech in intercollegiate athletics. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 22 varsity sports. Virginia Tech's men's sports are football, b ...

and was selected by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

in the fourth round of the

2003 NFL draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

. He also played for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

Early life

Suggs attended high school at

William Fleming High School William Fleming High School is a public school, one of the only two public high schools in the Roanoke City area school division, the other being the Patrick Henry High School. The edifice itself is located at 3649 Ferncliff Ave. Roanoke, Virgi ...

. During his 1998 senior year in high school, he rushed for 2,918 yards and 30 touchdowns, capping a prolific high school career and helping boost his ranking among running backs to fourth in the state and 19th in the nation, according to the SuperPrep scouting organization.

College career

While at

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

he set, and still holds the

NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

(FBS) records for most games scoring a touchdown in a single season (14 games in 2002), and for most consecutive games scoring a touchdown (27 consecutive games, from September 2, 2000, through December 31, 2002; 54 touchdowns). Suggs also holds school records for rushing touchdowns in a season (27) and rushing touchdowns in a career (53). His accomplishments at the university earned him a spot in the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Suggs was selected by the

with the 18th pick in the fourth round and 115th overall of the

. In Week 17 of the 2003 season, Suggs rushed for 186 yards on 26 carries for two touchdowns against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

to help the Browns finish with a 22–14 victory. One of his touchdown runs that day went 78 yards long. In 2004, Suggs had his best year as a pro, gaining 922 yards from scrimmage in only 10 games. He was unable to play a full season due to several injuries as well as the acquisition of

Reuben Droughns Reuben Droughns (; born August 21, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for the Oregon Ducks, he was selected by the Detroit Lions i ...

. On August 14, 2006, Suggs was traded to the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

for

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

Derrick Strait Derrick Lee Strait (born August 27, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for three seasons in the National Football League (NFL) during the early 2000s. He played college football for the Oklahoma Soone ...

, but the trade was voided when Suggs failed his physical, and returned to the Browns. He was subsequently cut by the Browns.

Miami Dolphins

Suggs was claimed off waivers by the

on September 3, 2006. He was released by the Dolphins on October 10, 2006.

Coaching career

Suggs was most recently the running back coach at the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

, with his tenure at the school ending sometime prior to the 2021 season. He began his coaching career at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

as running backs coach in 2008.

References

External links

Catholic University profile

Oberlin profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suggs, Lee 1980 births Living people American football running backs Catholic University Cardinals football coaches Cleveland Browns players Miami Dolphins players Oberlin Yeomen football coaches Virginia Tech Hokies football players Players of American football from Roanoke, Virginia Coaches of American football from Virginia African-American coaches of American football 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen