Here are five things you should know about the newest member of Green & White:
Jack of All Trades
In high school, Lee played quarterback, receiver and defensive back and even spent some time on special teams returning punts and kicks. In his senior year at New Albany High in Ohio, he recorded over 1,700 total yards on offense to go along with his five interceptions on defense. Lee was a three-star athlete coming out of high school, according to 247sports.
Can't Run from Momma
Lee's mother, Candice, is an anchor for WCMH-TV in Columbus and took to Twitter when Verne Lundquist mispronounced her son's name. She tweeted, "#43 for ohio state..his name is Darron (darren, like the Darren in bewitched) tell Verne they r messing with my sons name." Even though he has yet to play a down in the NFL, Lee said he could see himself following his mother's footsteps and becoming a part of the broadcasting industry after his playing career is over.
Undersized? Not So Fast
As a freshman, Lee enrolled in the Ohio State football program as a 195-pound safety. After putting on weight, he moved to linebacker for the Buckeyes, filling the shoes of Ryan Shazier. Lee's current 232-pound frame is still considered to be undersized for his position by many NFL draft experts, but he makes up for his size with speed.
His 4.47 40-yard dash was the best among linebackers at this year's combine and the best since 2007. In fact, the NFL Network simulcasted the combine 40s of Lee and Broncos LB Von Miller — Lee won. Furthermore, Lee's size may actually be one of the reasons head coach Todd Bowles believes he will be a good fit for the Jets. When Bowles was the defensive coordinator in Arizona, he moved Deone Bucannon from safety to linebacker. Bucannon is the same height as Lee and weighs 16 pounds lighter.
The Jets Selected Ohio State ILB Darron Lee with the 20th Overall Pick in the 2016 Draft
Fortune Teller
Something Lee does not lack is confidence. He had offers to be a dual-threat quarterback from Boston College, Duke, and Illinois but wanted to be a Buckeye. However, it was not mutual at the time.
"The most impressive thing about Darron is he came to camp looking for a scholarship offer from Ohio State," said head coach Urban Meyer. "We decided not to offer him yet. Told him to come back. Came back. I think we did it at least four times. And most kids move on and go to a smaller school. And this kid said, 'No, this is what I want. I want to play at Ohio State. I'm going to come back again and I'm going to show you.' " Lee also told roommate Joey Bosa, the third pick of tonight's first round by the Chargers, that he was going to be the next Ryan Shazier, the Steelers' first-rounder in 2014.
Fast Start
Lee started off his career at Ohio State with a bang. In his first game as a starting linebacker, he returned a fumble 61 yards for a touchdown. Fast-forward a few months to his 14th game, where Lee was named the Sugar Bowl MVP. He recorded 7 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and 2 sacks in Ohio State's win over the top-ranked team in the country, Alabama. In the National Championship Game, he had 8 tackles and 1 pass breakup in the victory over Oregon.
