Former Louisiana State University football player Devonta Lee has died after a years-long battle with cancer, his mother, Lacresia Brown, confirmed to local Arkansas TV station KTVE on Thursday, February 26. He was 26.
Lee played three seasons at LSU from 2019 to 2021, winning a national championship with the Tigers as a true freshman. He later transferred to Louisiana Tech University for the final two seasons of his college career.
“He was a fighter and he loved everybody,” Brown told KTVE. “[Devonta] was a good kid [and would] do anything for anybody. He loved football [and] he gave his all in anything he did. He worked out every day [and was] a very hard, dedicated player [who] never gave up in football. [I will miss] my son.”
Lee was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, in 2022 after feeling a sharp pain in his back while practicing. He underwent treatment and returned to football in 2024 with the Bulldogs.
“The LSU Football family mourns the loss of former Tiger, Devonta Lee,” the LSU football program posted via X on Thursday. “Our thoughts are with his family, friends and teammates.”
Louisiana Tech football wrote, also via X, “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Devonta Lee, a former Bulldog wide receiver. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and former teammates during this difficult time. He will always be remembered as a member of the Bulldog family.”
Lee, a wide receiver, saw action on the Tigers’ 2019 title team, which was loaded with future NFL talent, including quarterback Joe Burrow, and wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase.
Chase, 25, shared an old team photo via his Instagram Story on Thursday, writing, “RIP D. Lee. 🙏 Shit is sickening man. 💔”
Lee is the second former LSU football player to die unexpectedly in the past year, following Kyren Lacy’s death by suicide in April 2025. Lacy, who was 24, was two days away from a grand jury hearing related to his alleged involvement in a 2024 car accident that resulted in the death of 78-year-old Herman Hall and injured one other individual.
He was charged with negligent homicide, felony hit-and-run with death and reckless operation of a vehicle in connection to the accident. The next April, he was involved in a police chase that resulted in a crash. When officers approached his vehicle, they found Lacy dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Lacy’s lawyer, Matthew Ory, defended his client in a February 2025 statement, saying Lacy was not at fault for the accident.
“As the defense attorney for Kyren Lacy, I wish to address the charges of negligent homicide and clarify the facts surrounding this tragic incident,” he said. “On the day of the accident, Mr. Lacy was driving on a road with two lanes, one in each direction. While he briefly passed other vehicles, he safely reentered his lane without incident.”
Ory added, “The collision that resulted in the death of [another driver] was not caused by Mr. Lacy’s actions. The accident occurred directly in front of him when a second vehicle in the oncoming lane crossed the centerline and collided with [the] vehicle, in which he was a passenger.”
Lacy played at LSU from 2022 to 2024, meaning his time in Baton Rouge did not coincide with Lee’s.
