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Jersey Number 2
Lee Hunter
- Position:
- Defensive Line
- Height:
- 6-4
- Weight:
- 330
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Mobile, Ala.
- High School:
- Blount
CAREER AWARDS & HONORS
2025 SEASON (SENIOR)
PRIOR TO TEXAS TECH
HIGH SCHOOL
PERSONAL
- AP All-America Second Team (2025, Sr.)
- FWAA All-America Second Team (2025, Sr.)
- USA TODAY Sports CFB All-America Second Team (2025, Sr.)
- Sporting Illustrated All-American: Second Team (2025, Sr.)
- The Athletic All-America First Team (2025, Sr.)
- CBS Sports College Football All-America Second Team (2025, Sr.)
- PFF All-Big 12 Team (2025, Sr.)
- DCTF All-Texas College First Team (2025, Sr.)
- Panini Senior Bowl Game Invitee (2025, Sr.)
- All-Big 12 First Team (2025, Sr.)
- The Athletic Midseason All-America Team (2025, Sr.)
- CBS Sports Midseason All-America Team (2025, Sr.)
- First-Team Midseason DCTF All-Texas CFB Team (2025, Sr.)
- Panini Senior Bowl Top 300Â (2025, Sr.)
- Bednarik Award Watch List (2025, Sr.)
- PFF Preseason All-Big 12 Team (2025, Sr.)
- Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List (2025, Sr.)
- Outland Trophy Watch List (2025, Sr.)
- Shrine Bowl 1000Â (2025, Sr.)
- Preseason DCTF All-Texas College first team (2025, Sr.)
- Preseason Phil Steele All-America fourth team (2025, Sr.)
- Preseason Phil Steele All-Big 12 first team (2025, Sr.)
- Preseason Athlon All-Big 12 first team (2025, Sr.)
- All-Big 12 Preseason Team (2025, Sr.)
- All-Big 12 Second Team (2024, Jr.)
- All-Big 12 Honorable Mention (2023, So.)
2025 SEASON (SENIOR)
- Staple in the middle of one of the nation’s top defensive lines … put together his best season of his collegiate career as a Red Raider, pushing Texas Tech to its first Big 12 title and a College Football Playoff appearance as a key leader on the field and in the locker room … earned All-America honors for his efforts after being credited for being a driving force behind a defense that led the country in rushing defense as one of the hardest interior defensive linemen to block.Â
- Started in all 14 games at nose guard, finishing with 41 tackles (16 solo), including 10.5 for a loss and 2.5 sacks … marked the most tackles for loss in a single season of his career … led all interior defensive linemen on the team for tackles and was fourth overall for tackles for loss … added three quarterback hurries in the official stats as well as a forced fumble. Â
- Part of a Texas Tech defense that led the Big 12 for scoring defense (11.8), rushing defense (68.1) and total defense (258.3) and ranked in the top five nationally in all three categories … the Red Raiders were the FBS leader in rushing defense and takeaway (32) thanks in large part to his efforts.
- Recorded at least one tackle in 14 games and had multiple stops in 12 games overall … found his way in the backfield for at least a share of a tackle for loss in 10 games, including each of the final six games of the season … vast majority of his tackle for loss total came during Big 12 play or the postseason with only two shared stops behind the line of scrimmage during non-conference play … both of his solo sacks came against Big 12 opposition, meanwhile.Â
- One of four Red Raiders with at least 10.0 tackles for loss, joining linebacker Jacob Rodriguez and outside linebackers David Bailey and Romello Height … the Red Raiders were one of only two FBS teams with four or more players with that total, joining only Indiana … marked the first time a Big 12 program had four players with at least 10.0 tackles for loss since Oklahoma State in 2021.Â
- Received an 80.9 overall defensive grade by Pro Football Focus, easily the highest of his career … ranked 14th nationally among interior defensive linemen with at least 300 snaps for overall grade … was in the top 10 for rush defense grade, which was at 84.5, another career high … ranked fifth on the team with his rush defense grade, further showing how impressive Texas Tech’s front seven was … credited with 26 total pressures over 523 defensive snaps by PFF … only ranked 11th on the defense and second among interior defensive linemen for total snaps as Texas Tech’s depth allowed for rotations.Â
- ALL-AMERICA RECOGNITIONS: a second team All-America selection by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and USA Today as well as a third team honoree by the Associated Press … became the first Red Raider interior defensive lineman to earn All-America honors since Gabe Rivera was a unanimous choice in 1982 … marked the first All-America honors of his career … recognized by other publication outside the NCAA-recognized groups as a first team All-American by The Athletic and a second team pick by Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports.
- ADDITIONAL AWARDS AND HONORS: an All-Big 12 first team honoree by the conference coaches, marking his third career selection as part of the league’s official postseason awards … marked the first time in his career to be a first-team selection … one of six first team honorees on the team and one of three from the defensive line, joining David Bailey and Romello Height … part of the All-Big 12 first team compiled by both the Associated Press and Pro Football Focus … tabbed to the All-Texas first team by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football … preseason candidate on the watch lists for the Bednarik Award (nation’s top defensive player), the Bronko Nagurski Trophy (nation’s top defensive player) and the Lombardi Award (nation’s top lineman or linebacker) … an early pick for several postseason all-star games as well as part of the Shrine Bowl 1,000 and the Panini Senior Bowl Top-300 lists.Â
- SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:
- Combined for eight tackles during non-conference play with two shared stops for a loss and a quarterback hurries in Texas Tech’s three blowout wins … lone tackle in the season opener versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff (8/30) was a shared sack with Romello Height just before halftime … sacked UAPB on 3rd-and-4, setting up a punt that allowed Texas Tech to go four plays for a touchdown to lead 47-0 at the break … followed with two tackles and a quarterback hurry against Kent State (9/6), which led directly to Skyler Gill-Howard’s pick-six in the second quarter … finished with five tackles in the rout over Oregon State (9/13) a week later, his second-highest total of the season … performance included a shared tackle for loss with Jacob Rodriguez on Oregon State’s first drive of the second half.Â
- Kicked off Big 12 play with two tackles at Utah (9/20) and three two weeks later in the win at Houston (10/4) … all three tackles versus the Cougars were at the line of scrimmage .. had two tackles against Kansas (10/11), with one of those resulting in a one-yard loss on the Jayhawks’ opening drive.Â
- Notched his first solo sack of the season a week later at Arizona State (10/18), finding quarterback Sam Leavitt for an eight-yard loss late in the fourth quarter … sack resulted in fourth down and a punt for the Sun Devils, which was returned 36 yards by Coy Eakin to the 12 yard line … the Red Raiders scored a play later to take a 22-19 lead at the two-minute timeout … closed the month of October with three tackles and a quarterback hurry in the shutout win over Oklahoma State (10/25) … part of back-to-back quarterback hurries by the Texas Tech defense midway through the first quarter, forcing a second-down incompletion and eventual punt.Â
- Limited stat line in the win at Kansas State (11/1) but his lone tackle and quarterback hurry came at key moments … stuffed Kansas State rusher Joe Jackson for a one-yard loss on 2nd-and-Goal to start the fourth quarter … was the first of six-consecutive games with a tackle for loss to end the season … had a quarterback hurry on a third-down incompletion that led to a turnover on downs a play later, giving the Red Raiders the ball back near midfield.
- Recorded one of the key plays of Texas Tech’s regular-season win over BYU (11/8) with a late sack of quarterback Beau Bachmeier that resulted in a fumble recovery by Jacob Rodriguez … the Red Raiders took the ball over inside the red zone with 3:40 remaining in regulation and ultimately settled for a Stone Harrington 34-yard field goal and a 29-7 lead … marked the first forced fumble of his career and was one of three takeaways in the win.Â
- Closed the regular season with three tackles in the win over UCF (11/15) and two in the shutout victory at West Virginia (11/29) … made his presence known against his former team early by tackling UCF rusher Jaden Nixon for a three-yard loss on the Knights’ second play of the game … both tackles versus the Mountaineers went for a loss, including one that resulted in a fourth-down stop late in the first quarter … the Red Raiders took over at the West Virginia 33-yard line after the one-yard loss, scoring four plays later on a Caleb Douglas 19-yard touchdown reception for a 21-0 lead … other tackle for loss led to a 3-and-out drive for the Mountaineers early in the second quarter.
- Turned in four tackles in the Edward Jones Big 12 Championship versus BYU (12/6), pushing Texas Tech to a dominant defensive performance en route to its first outright conference crown since 1955 … performance included a tackle for loss, which came on a third-down run early in the second quarter, forcing a BYU punt … the Red Raiders scored on the ensuing drive to take a 10-7 lead.
- Set a season high with seven tackles against Oregon (1/1) in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals … also matched his season high with 2.0 tackles for loss in Texas Tech’s first-ever trip to the Capital One Orange Bowl … stuffed Oregon on its first play of the game for a two-yard loss and did so again a possession later, this time on fourth down to stop a Drive by the Ducks deep into Texas Tech territory … one of the Red Raiders’ top performers defensively in their CFP debut.Â
- POSTSEASON ALL-STAR GAMES: one of five Red Raiders selected to play in the prestigious Panini Senior Bowl … was part of the National Team for the weeklong event, which is annually attended by all 32 NFL teams.Â
- NFL SCOUTING COMBINE: one of a school-record eight Red Raiders to receive an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine.
PRIOR TO TEXAS TECH
- Arrived at Texas Tech after originally beginning his collegiate career at Auburn (2021) before playing the last three seasons at UCF (2022-24) … developed into one of the top interior defensive linemen during his career as a Knight … two-time All-Big 12 honoree, earning second team accolades as a junior in 2024 as well as an honorable mention selection as a sophomore in 2023.
- Played in 38 career games for the Knights, accumulating 131 tackles (66 solo), 21.5 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks over three seasons ... made 23 starts over that span, all of which came over his final two seasons … added a pass breakup at the line of scrimmage.
- Led all FBS interior defenders in run-defense stops (58) and tackles for loss or no gain over his final two seasons at UCF, per Pro Football Focus … combined to play in 1,311 defensive snaps over his career by PFF, grading out at 74.0 overall in 2023 and then 72.1 in 2024 … recorded 55 total pressures over his UCF tenure, including 49 over his final two seasons, which ranks second among returning Power Four conference interior defensive linemen entering the 2025 campaign.
- 2024 SEASON (JUNIOR at UCF): tabbed to the All-Big 12 second team after playing in all 12 games with 10 starts ... finished season leading all UCF interior linemen with 45 tackles, including 19 solo stops ... ranked seventh overall on the team for total tackles … was tied for the team lead with 9.5 tackles for loss, which included one solo sack … frequently in the backfield with six quarterback hurries as well.Â
- Credited by Pro Football Focus with 27 total pressures (of the pass of any kind), which ranked second among interior linemen in the Big 12 ... marked the most total pressures thus far in his career … appeared in 522 defensive snaps, according to PFF, grading out at 72.1 overall by the publication.
- Recorded multiple stops in 10 of 12 games overall and had at least a share of a tackle for loss in nine different contests, including each of the final seven games of the season … combined for 40 of his 45 tackles on the season over the final nine games after starting with five the first three weeks with one stop against both New Hampshire (8/29) and at TCU (9/14) with three sandwiched in between versus Sam Houston (9/7).
- Tallied five tackles with half-a-tackle for loss against Colorado (9/28) before recording a season-high six tackles in a non-conference bout at Florida (10/5) ... posted three tackles and half-a-tackle for loss versus Cincinnati (10/12) ... received his highest PFF grade (80.4) of the season at Iowa State (10/19) after recording four tackles, including 2.0 tackles for loss and one sack … posted four tackles versus BYU (10/26), including one solo stop for a loss.Â
- Performance at Iowa State kicked off four-consecutive games with four tackles after matching that total against BYU (10/26), Arizona (11/2) and at Arizona State (11/9) … had one tackle for loss versus the Cougars and shared one tackle behind the line of scrimmage against both Arizona schools … recorded five tackles in each of the final two games of the season at West Virginia (11/23) and against Utah (11/29) … had one solo tackle for loss against the Mountaineers before posting a season-high 2.5 versus the Utes.
- Named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team in July ... tabbed to preseason national award watch lists for the Outland Trophy, Bednarik Award, Lombardi Trophy and Bronko Nagurski Trophy as well as to the watch list for the 2025 Reese's Senior Bowl All-Star game.
- 2023 SEASON (SOPHOMORE at UCF): an honorable mention defensive line pick on the All-Big 12 teams chosen by league coaches ... appeared and started in each of the Knights’ 13 games his sophomore season ... notched 69 tackles, 11.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks in 2023, which marked the most tackles in the country by a defensive tackle, according to Pro Football Focus ... was the third-leading tackler for the Knights overall.
- Credited with 577 defensive snaps on the season by Pro Football Focus, the most in his career at UCF … publication awarded him with 22 pressures created with one sack, five quarterback hits and 16 additional hurries … received a 74.0 overall grade, which included a 76.9 grade in run defense … both grades were the highest of his UCF tenure.
- Registered first career start against Kent State (8/31) in the season opener and led the Knights with eight tackles (five solo), including a sack … combined for nine stops the next two non-conference games with four tackles at Boise State (9/9) and five versus Villanova (9/16) … started Big 12 play with six tackles and half-a-tackle for loss against Kansas State (9/23) to go along with a pass breakup at the line of scrimmage. Â
- Notched a career-high nine tackles versus Baylor (9/30), including one sack for 18 yards ... had two tackles at Kansas (10/7) ... posted five tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack for eight yards, versus Oklahoma (10/21) ... had three tackles versus West Virginia (10/28) ... posted seven tackles, including 1.5 that went for a loss versus Cincinnati (11/4). Â
- Secured a team-high eight tackles versus Oklahoma State (11/11), including two tackles for loss for five yards ... played key role in holding the nation’s leading rusher in Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II to 25 yards on 12 carries ... held to a season-low one tackle in his only appearance against his future school in Texas Tech (11/18) … had six tackles,  including 2.0 tackles for loss for six yards, versus Houston (11/25) ... recorded five tackles with a half-a-tackle for loss in the Gasparilla Bowl against Georgia Tech (12/22), his second carer bowl appearance.
- 2022 SEASON (REDSHIRT FRESHMAN at UCF): appeared in 13 of 14 games during the Knights' final season in the American Athletic Conference ... missed only the season opener versus South Carolina State (9/2) before seeing action in the next 13 games, including the AAC Championship Game and Military Bowl ... finished the season with 17 tackles (nine solo), including one sack ... tallied a tackle against Louisville (9/9) in his first collegiate game ... made two tackles and recorded his first career sack the next week against Florida Atlantic (9/17) ... recorded four more performances with multiple stops the remainder of the season with three tackles at East Carolina (10/22) and against Navy (11/19) and two at Memphis (11/5) and against Duke (12/28) in the Military Bowl.
- 2021 SEASON (FRESHMAN at AUBURN): redshirt season … did not play in a game for the Tigers as a true freshman … transferred to UCF following the departure of former Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn, who later accepted same job with the Knights.
HIGH SCHOOL
- Attended Blount High School in Mobile, Ala. … one of the top high school prospects to come out of the state of Alabama for the 2021 class … two-way player during prep career for the Leopards.
- Recorded 54 tackles, 20.0 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks as a senior in 2020 for coach Lev Holly … also scored a rushing and receiving TD and had nine catches for 149 yards ... earned first team AHSAA All-State honors as a senior and was tabbed the Lineman of the Year for Class 6A by the Alabama Sports Writers Association (ASWA)  ... named to AL.com A-List of the top recruits for the 2021 class ... was an Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game selection ... made 77 tackles and 23.0 tackles for loss as a junior in 2019.
- Consensus four-star prospect by the likes of 247Sports, ESPN, Rivals and On3 … rated a top five overall recruit from Alabama by ESPN, 247 Sports, Rivals and PrepStar ... nationally ranked No. 7 among defensive tackle prospects by ESPN and No. 11 by Rivals … ranked as high as No. 60 nationally by ESPN and was a consensus top-200 prospect in the country by all four publications.
- Chose to attend Auburn out of high school over offers from the likes of Alabama, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Texas A&M and Oregon, among others.
PERSONAL
- Lee Hunter ... born and raised in Mobile, Ala. ... son of Shirley Tucker ... has three siblings ... has a daughter, Kaylee, born summer of 2020 ... teammates call him "The Fridge."
- Earned a bachelor's degree from UCF in general studies ... enrolled in post-baccalaureate courses at Texas Tech.
NFL Combine Media Day: Reggie Virgil
Friday, February 27
NFL Combine Media Day: Caleb Douglas
Friday, February 27
NFL Combine Media Day: Behren Morton
Friday, February 27
Lee Hunter NFL Network Interview
Thursday, February 26
