Xavier Tyree Lee (born January 9, 1986) 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

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

and

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

in 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 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL). 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

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

and was signed by the

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

of 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) as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

in 2008.

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 ...

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach is a coastal Resort town, resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona� ...

. He set Florida's all-time record for passing yards (9,082), completions (549) and touchdowns (98) in

. 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. Lee played in the 2004

U.S. Army All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl (currently branded as the Navy All-American Bowl for sponsorship reasons) 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 p ...

. Highly recruited, he signed with

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

passing up offers by

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, Auburn, and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

College career

As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

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 on October 28, 2006, on the road at

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. He also started and won his first game on Saturday, November 4 at home against

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. 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. He most recently served as the head football coach at Texas A&M Aggies, Texas A&M from 2018 until 2023. Prior to that, he led Florida State Seminoles, Fl ...

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 Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

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 List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

co-Offensive Back honors for the week of October 1. Lee subsequently gave the starter's job back to Drew Weatherford 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 NFL draft, 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 (state), New York ...

. 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 Foot ...

, 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

signed Lee as an

. The Ravens signed him as a

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

instead of quarterback. He was released by the Ravens on June 26, 2008.

Arkansas Twisters

Following a brief stint as a

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 West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma to the ...

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 r ...

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 ...

of the

(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 Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada that played in the United Football League (2009–2012), United Football League. The team played their ...

of the United Football League (UFL) in 2012.

Kansas City Renegades

Lee was signed in April 2013 by the Kansas City Renegades 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) ...

(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 season. The ...

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