Richard McBryde called him "Mr. Lewis." Respectfully, of course.

It's the right thing to do when a young man meets a senior member. McBryde, SMU's graduate linebacker, will be the first to admit that any older male he respects will get the "Mr." and the "yes, sir" treatment.

But for McBryde, addressing John Lewis was a different type of salutation. And a different feel of salutation.

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With Lewis' reputation as a civil rights leader from Troy, Alabama, and an original member of the Freedom Riders, it meant the world to McBryde -- also a Troy native -- that Lewis was such a national icon to many. A photo with Lewis is one of McBryde's greatest treasures.

"Mr. Lewis was a great man that the people of city of Troy looked up to," McBryde said. "That picture we took together is a memory I will always have."

On July 17, Lewis died at the age of 80. He battled pancreatic cancer for roughly six months. On Sunday, Lewis' body crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, via horse-drawn carriage, 55 years after he led what was supposed to be a peaceful march for voting rights in what now is known as "Bloody Sunday."

Before coming to SMU, McBryde played at Auburn. While at Auburn, he had the chance to meet Lewis and talk to him for an extended time.

By Sunday afternoon, McBryde's social media was loaded with Lewis updates and information. For legitimate reason, of course.

"Before we took our picture, it was kind of cool talking to him one on one," McBryde said of Lewis. "It was kind of if we knew each other for so long. He was asking who my people were from Troy ... just getting to know each other."

On Bloody Sunday -- March 7, 1965 -- Lewis sustained a skull fracture and was one of several hospitalized during what was supposed to be a nonviolent protest. Following that incident, Congress ultimately passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which got rid of discriminatory laws that had once gotten in the way of Blacks to vote.

"It's a good feeling knowing that Mr. Lewis, a man that grew up in the same area I grew up in, had the heart to fight for equal rights after being beaten by the police," McBryde said. "But it is also sad that we are still doing it today."

Last season, in his first year with SMU, he led the team in tackles, despite starting only 10 of 13 games. McBryde considers Lewis the consummate role model, someone he as a Troy resident can look to as a measuring stick.

He'll play the 2020 season with Lewis heavy on his heart -- someone with all of the leadership qualities he hopes to embody on and off the field.