2nd Lt. Rayuan Lane III has been an exemplary soldier for the Jaguars

He's listed as a second-year safety for the Jacksonville Jaguars, eagerly plays as many special teams plays as coordinator Heath Farwell will put him on, and is set for even more defensive duty in 2026.

He's 2nd Lt. Rayuan Lane III (USMC Reserve), a Naval Academy graduate who continues to put the discipline required to make it through a service academy at work for the Jaguars.

"The biggest thing is just knowing that every day you're going to have to grind," he said Aug. 24 after the Jaguars practiced at the Miller Electric Center, referencing how military life has prepared him for the NFL.

"Being at the Naval Academy, every day we were getting up and we were going to work, whether that was with football or school, academics, whatever it might be.

That's the same kind of thing here. Just waking up, putting in that work, and then putting in that extra work."

While service academy graduates in another era had to serve in active duty for five years before entertaining the idea of playing pro sports, Lane is cleared to play in the NFL because of the FY25 NDAA amendment, 10 U.S.C. 8459, which allows service members who obtain employment as a professional athlete to be transferred to the reserves.

Rayuan Lane has been a special-teams demon

As a sixth-round draft pick and a shade under 6 feet and 200 pounds, extra work was the only way Lane was going to make an NFL team. As a rookie, he willingly accepted a heavy load of special teams work because it got him on the field and because he recognizes that playing on punt and kickoff coverage isn't just something to do while biding his time waiting for defensive snaps.

"Special teams is really, really important," he said. "We talk about field position, momentum … just trying to make an impact in any way you can. Obviously, everybody wants to be that guy on defense, and I'm not saying that I'm not going to try to get there. But at the same time, it's owning a role and doing the most you can for your team."

Here's how seriously Lane takes special teams: As a senior at Navy in 2024, he was one of the key defensive starters on a team that went 10-3, won the Commander in Chief's Trophy for beating Army and Air Force and beat Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl. But Lane was also the College Football Network's Special Teams Player of the Year. He returned punts, was the team's gunner on punt coverage and played on kickoff teams.

Lane then led the Jaguars in special-teams tackles with 15 last season. Farwell said he doesn't anticipate any dropoff in second-year safety Caleb Ransaw on one side and Lane on the other in punt coverage.

"Caleb Ransaw has been a fantastic gunner … right there with Rayuan," Farwel said. "Between those two guys, I think we have two of the better gunners in the National Football League.”

Rayuan Lane stresses communication on defense

But Lane naturally wants to be on the field more on defense. He's backing up Eric Murray at free safety and had three tackles in last week's 34-17 loss to Carolina. Lane picked off Trevor Lawrenceon the second day of camp and has been active against the run.

Lane also said he's learning more and more about playing defensive back in the NFL.

"One big thing is communication," he said. "Getting everybody on the defense on the same page within checks and calls, and just understanding how the offense is trying to attack us."

Defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile loves the progress of Lane and Ransaw, and rookie Jalen Huskey behind veterans Antonio Johnson and Murray.

"All the young guys, they're all doing a good job battling it out," he said on Aug. 8. "So, these next few weeks will tell us a lot, and they're all competing really, really hard. So, it's a race to see who progresses the quickest.”

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: 2nd Lt. Rayuan Lane III has been an exemplary soldier for the Jaguars