Ray Lewis Memories: Trevor Pryce

As Ray Lewis prepares to take his place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, teammates, coaches, opponents, family and members of the media reflect on the legacy of the legendary Ravens linebacker with their favorite memories and never-before-heard stories.

Trevor Pryce
As told to Glenn Clark

Trevor Pryce played defensive end/tackle for the Ravens from 2006-2010.

The first time I heard about Ray Lewis I was in college at the University of Michigan.

But before that, in Florida, there was something called the Florida-Georgia game, which was basically the Under Armour All-America Game.

I was selected for the Florida-Georgia game my senior year in high school, and all the kids that played for the state of Florida were basically the best kids in the country, and Ray wasn’t there. So I remember this guy and that guy, including this guy named James Burgess from Miami.

Later, I am at study hall at the University of Michigan, and being the only kid from Florida on the team, my roommate is raving about some kid who plays for Miami who plays linebacker. And I’m like, “Oh, that’s James Burgess.” And my roommate says, “No, that ain’t his name.” And I’m like, “No, it’s James Burgess.” And again he’s like, “No, that’s not the kid’s name.”

Well, come to find out it’s some kid named Ray Lewis. He was a freshman like me, and I had never heard of him. He wasn’t on the Florida-Georgia team; he wasn’t one of those kids or whatever. Later, I watched some of a Miami game on TV, and lo and behold I watch this kid play linebacker who was from Florida. And a lot of the kids from that part of the country all kind of know each other or have heard or each other, but I had never heard of him. So I am watching him play and I’m like, “No, no, that’s not James Burgess.”

That was the first time I saw Ray. It wouldn’t be the last, but that was the first time I saw or heard of him. I was a freshman linebacker, too, but I was not that. I was like, “This kid’s a freshman, holy shit.”

To read all 52 memories of No. 52, visit PressBoxOnline.com/Ray.

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