COLUMBUS, Ohio — Four years ago, Darron Lee showed up for the start of Ohio State’s summer camp with something to prove.
And then he had to show up again.
And again.
And again.
“He came to camp, like five or six times,” Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer recalled of Lee’s recruitment last year.
A product of nearby New Albany High School, Lee was seeking a scholarship offer from his hometown school, despite not knowing what position he’d be playing at the college level or possessing an offer list of blue-blood backup plans as Ohio State’s targets often do.
But as the summer of 2012 in Columbus hit its stride, Meyer and his staff found themselves with no choice but to offer the 6’3″, 205-pound dual-threat quarterback who worked out with their receivers, cornerbacks and safeties a scholarship.
“I rejected him probably four times,” Meyer said. “Shows you how good an evaluator I am.
“The thing that we loved about him, he kept competing.”
So perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the next time Lee found himself working out in a shirt and shorts with something on the line, the now 232-pounder wowed once again.
After three seasons—including a redshirt campaign—in Columbus, where he found a home at outside linebacker, Lee walked away from this past week’s NFL Scouting Combine as one of the upcoming draft’s breakout players with a performance highlighted by a 4.47 40-yard dash—the fastest of any linebacker in attendance.
“I don’t think I…
Continue Reading: How NFL Hopeful Darron Lee Became Perfect Recruiting Tool for Ohio State
