Albert Lucas (September 1, 1978 – April 10, 2005) was an American football player in the National Football League (NFL) and Arena Football League (AFL) who died from a game-related spinal cord injury while playing for the Los Angeles Avengers. Early life and college career Lucas was born in Macon, Georgia; his father was Georgia State Representative David Lucas and his mother was Macon City Councilwoman Elaine Lucas. He attended and played football for Northeast Health Science Magnet High School. While there, he set the school record with a 440-pound (200-kg) bench press. Nicknamed "Big Luke", he went on to play college football at Troy State University. Lucas also served as an assistant football coach at Northeast High. He was married to De'Shonda Lucas with one daughter, Mariah. He was a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. At Troy State, Lucas was a standout player. In his senior year (1999), he won the Buck Buchanan Award as the most outstanding defensive player in NCAA Division I-AA. He was also honored with unanimous All America and All-Southland Football League first-team selections that year, in which he compiled 126 tackles (twenty for losses), 15 "quarterback hurries", four sacks, and two forced fumbles. Lucas played a total of 43 games for the Trojans, and finished his college career with 255 tackles (thirty-six for losses), 25 quarterback hurries, and 11.5 sacks. In addition, he saw some limited action at running back in his junior and senior seasons, scoring seven touchdowns. Professional football career NFL career After making the team as an undrafted free agent, Lucas played in twenty games for the Carolina Panthers over the course of the 2000 and 2001 NFL seasons. He totaled 49.5 tackles, three quarterback hurries, two batted down passes, a forced fumble, and a sack. He was selected by the Frankfurt Galaxy with the fourth overall pick in the 2003 NFL Europa free-agent draft, but chose instead to begin his AFL career with the Tampa Bay Storm. AFL career In his rookie season with Tampa Bay, Lucas had an immediate impact on his new team. He had 19.5 tackles, three for losses, 1.5 sacks, a blocked kick, and a safety, and was a major factor in the Storm's ArenaBowl victory over the Arizona Rattlers. He was named to the AFL's All-Rookie team, and after that season, Lucas was one of the most sought-after free agents in the League,