On April 10, 2005, former Troy All-American Al Lucas passed away from injuries he suffered in a professional football game. Despite his passing, the football legend’s legacy lives on 20 years later. 

Lucas was a star football player at Northeast High School in his hometown of Macon, Ga., before Lucas attended Troy (State) University. Lucas was recruited to Troy by former Trojan assistant coach Brick Haley, who most recently coached at Purdue. 

“He was a phenomenal person,” Haley said of Lucas. “The one thing I always remembered with Al was his smile and his confidence in himself. He came in as a true freshman and was like, ‘I’m going to play and do this and do that.’ It was amazing to see a guy with that kind of maturity as a young man. He was always determined to be the best and his work ethic was impeccable. He worked all the time.”

Haley said when he recruited Lucas it was clear many of the attributes he spoke of were instilled in him by his family.

“I knew there was something special when I met the family,” Haley continued. “The mom and dad were spectacular, really, really good people. I think they had a firm grip on their kids and I thought they did a great job raising them and you could see that with the respect they had and the attitude they brought from their parents.” 

Lucas came to Troy with his brother, Lenny Lucas, another great athlete. It didn’t take Lucas long to become a big part of the Troy defense but in his junior season he became a superstar. Lucas earned All-American honors after tallying 65 tackles, 13 tackles-for-loss and 4.5 sacks. That year he also scored nine touchdowns rushing, really encapsulating his athleticism. 

Tracy Rocker, now the defensive line coach with the Tennessee Titans in the NFL, was Lucas’ position coach at Troy at the time. While Rocker said that he’s had linemen that have been used as extra blockers on offense, Lucas was the first – and only – linemen he ever coached that the offense would also give the ball to.

“He was special,” Rocker emphasized. “Al had a lot of confidence in his ability and if you told him he couldn’t do something, he would challenge you and himself and he would do it. That was just his mentality.”

Rocker echoed Haley’s sentiment about Lucas’ work ethic.

“You never questioned him when it came to the football field, if you told him to be there at 10 (a.m.) he would be there at nine,” Rocker said. “He was a great person, had a great smile and was built like Hercules. He was really an awesome person and a very hard worker.”

LeBarron Black was a running back at Troy with Lucas.

“The thing that stands out the most about Al was that when you think about sports, there’s those one percent of guys that will dominate and be better than everyone else whether they work hard or not. Everyone else (in football) has that blue collar work ethic,” Black emphatically said. “To be that much of a freak of nature as an athlete but still have the work ethic of someone who didn’t have the talent that he did was what made him great.” 

As great as Lucas’ junior campaign was, his senior season was one of the best seasons a Trojan defender has ever had. He tallied 129 tackles, 20 tackles-for-loss and four sacks. Along with helping lead the Trojans to the NCAA Division I-AA (FCS) Quarterfinals, Lucas was the first and only Troy player to win the Buck Buchanan Award, Division I-AA’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Jimmy McClain played linebacker at Troy with Lucas and would go on to play a number of years in the NFL. McClain said that Lucas was an inspiration to he and many of his teammates.

“For me, personally, when he won the (Buck Buchanan Award), that became a goal for me,” McClain said. “When he won it, I thought, ‘Wow, someone from Troy State can win it’ and that was always an award I wanted. He motivated me even after he left Troy to continue to try and lead and be the best player that I could be. When I think of Al, I think of a leader, someone who dominated on the field and an all-around great guy.”

Legendary Troy head coach Larry Blakeney and his wife, Janice, still consider Lucas’ family a part of their family.

“He had an impact on everybody that played on that team,” Blakeney said of Lucas. “He was just that kind of guy. Al’s personality was outgoing and he was a heck of a player. He exerted his energy on the field and off it. I was really proud that we got a chance to coach him.”

Just as he did as a junior, Lucas was once again a force on the goal line as a senior. He carried the ball just nine times but scored four touchdowns. 

“Some seasons he would have more touchdowns than I would,” Black said with a laugh. “It’s a no-brainer, to have a guy that stature and that athletic, why not give him the ball? I wouldn’t want to be a defender on the other side trying to tackle that big joker. I’m an 80s kid, so I grew up with Refrigerator Perry and watching that in the NFL. So, to see that in college was special.” 

Shelton Felton played on the defensive line with Lucas at Troy. The former Tennessee assistant coach now serves as head coach at Valdosta High School in Georgia.

“Al was an older guy and a big brother figure to me,” Felton said. “He’s from the State of Georgia where I was coming from and one of the best players I ever saw in person. He did a lot for the young guys, showing them how to work. He was asked to play offense and defense and no one worked harder.” 

Lucas ended his Troy career among the school’s leaders in tackles-for-loss in a game, season and career. After his college career, Lucas played for the Carolina Panthers in the NFL during the 2000 and 2001 seasons before jumping into a career with the Arena Football League, where he quickly prospered. 

Lucas earned All-Rookie honors with the Tampa Bay Storm in 2003, playing on the offensive and defensive lines. He helped lead the Storm to the 2003 ArenaBowl Championship. After that season, he was one of the most sought after free agents and eventually signed with the Los Angeles Avengers. 

He started all 16 games for the Avengers in 2004 and was considered one of the top defensive linemen in the league. Just 10 games into the 2025 season, tragedy struck. Lucas made a tackle on a kickoff in the first quarter of a game and the player he tackled’s knee ricocheted off Lucas’ helmet. Lucas suffered a spinal cord injury and was pronounced dead at the hospital after arriving. 

Jamal “Smooth” Smith has been a member of the Troy Football staff since 2007, after he graduating from Troy. Smith was also fraternity brothers with Lucas. 

“Al Lucas is the epitome of a person that I would want to be like,” Smith said. “He’s the epitome of Troy Football. He left blood, sweat and tears on this field and he played his heart out. Lord bless his soul, he died on the field playing football and that lets you know just how much he loved the game.”

Following his death, Lucas’ memory was honored when the Maxwell Football Club renamed its AFL Player of the Year Award to the Al Lucas Award. The baseball field he played youth baseball at in Macon, Ga., was also renamed the Albert James Lucas “Big Luke” Memorial Field in his honor in 2006. The AFL also named its Hero Award in Lucas’ honor. 

At Troy, Lucas was inducted into the Troy Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016 and the players lounge in the North End Zone Facility was also named in his honor, the Al Lucas Players Lounge. 

“The person he was is his legacy,” Smith said of Lucas. “If you walk around that building, you’ll see his picture. Everyone remembers him and if you say his name, people will say, ‘Oh yeah, this was Al.’ He was a special guy.”

His family has also carried on his legacy with the Al Lucas Memorial Scholarship Fund. The scholarship fund provides scholarships for student-athletes in Bibb County and Macon, Ga., that embodies his perseverance on the football field and off.

“The ability to keep his legacy alive is an honor,” Al Lucas Memorial Scholarship Fund Director Monique Pitts Taylor said. “The impact he made on the city is remarkable. Kids know him and know the profound impact he made on and off the field and are always excited and honored to receive the scholarship.” 

The Al Lucas Memorial Scholarship Fund is currently attempting to raise $20,000 in honor of the 20-year anniversary of Lucas’ passing. 

While those that knew Lucas, and knew of him, continue to carry on his legacy, along with the other ways that Troy and his family honor him, there is still another honor that has thus far eluded him: the College Football Hall of Fame. 

Lucas has been on the ballot for the hall of fame for a number of years and is clearly worthy of such an honor.

“There’s no question about it to me,” Haley said of Lucas’ worthiness for the College Football Hall of Fame. “The things he did for (Troy) University and the type of person he was and all of the things he accomplished, I definitely thing he’s worthy of that recognition.”