For my first few blogs I will begin a series previewing current players that I think will have breakout seasons or recruits that will be future stars. Of course the first team I start with will be the Ohio State Buckeyes, the defending national champions and current number one ranked team. Ohio State has an abundance of talent, especially young talent due to the great recruiting classes that Urban Meyer has pulled in #2 overall class in 2013, #3 in 2014, #7 in 2015, and well on their way to a top 10 class for 2016. Normally the players that a casual college football fan would recognize are the skill players like quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers. However certain players go unnoticed when they are at what appears to be a less important position. For example if you were to only watch the ball carrier, you might not notice a dominant lineman or cornerback. Especially with cornerbacks because if a cornerback is doing their job perfectly you wouldn't hear about it because the ball would never be thrown his way. Basically, I won't only be featuring skill positions.
Darron Lee, Linebacker #43, Sophomore: Lee went to New Albany High School in New Albany, Ohio where he played quarterback and defensive back. Lee actually scored 11 touchdowns through the air and 10 on the ground. Lee is a bit of a late bloomer he didn't put up any significant stats until his senior season of high school and was only a 3-star recruit when he committed to Ohio State. I have watched both his high school and college highlights and it is slightly surprising he wasn't rated higher as a recruit. I'm sure that he has improved since high school but he showed a lot of the skills he has now when he was in high school.
He is very speedy for a linebacker (explains why he was a QB and CB) and packs a lot of punch when he hits someone. On more than one occasion Lee has exploded into the backfield and leveled the ball carrier, his speed also allows him to set the edge better than most linebackers. Lee has the speed of a defensive back and the tackling ability of a linebacker. One of the reasons for this is because he is fairly average for a linebacker at about 6'2",230 lbs which may prevent him in terms of true power. He also has above average coverage skills for a linebacker because of his high school days. Last year he had 81 tackles including 16.5 TFL (tackles for loss), 2 fumble recoveries and 2 interceptions. He had a very good season last year as a freshman, but this year he will likely be a true game changer.
http://247sports.com/Player/Darron-Lee-19443
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