Five-star or no-star, every recruit takes a different path to their time in the limelight at Ohio State.
It doesn't always work out this way.
There are thousands of kids every year who grow up in the shadow of Ohio Stadium, dream of wearing the Scarlet and Gray and never get the chance to make it a reality.
Darron Lee wasn't one of them. Born in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, Lee moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee at age three, and again to New Albany, Ohio when he was 12 years old. He didn't grow up wishing to be a Buckeye. He wanted to play big-time football, sure, but it wasn't a Scarlet and Gray dream like everyone he lined up with in high school.
As a junior, Lee helped lead the Eagles to a 9-3 record, bringing home an Ohio Capital Conference championship. He lined up at quarterback, wide receiver, defensive back and even returned kicks, an all-everything player who stood out no matter which position he lined up.
Fiercely competitive, Lee didn't just excel on the football field. He was a track star in high school, running the 100m, 200m and a district champion 4x100 relay group. His personal best in the 100m was a blazing 11.06, an impressive time by any measure but even more so for a 6-foot-3, 205-pounder.
Rivals.com recruiting analyst Marc Givler, who has covered Central Ohio for years, remembers his earliest impressions of Lee.
"Two things that always jumped out about Darron," Givler told 11W. "Were how hard he played – how much he loved the game – and his versatility. No matter where his coach put him, he found a way to make plays."
As with most Central Ohio prospects, the Buckeyes – specifically Luke Fickell – were intimately aware of Lee and what he could do. Fickell saw a playmaker but needed to make sure Urban Meyer saw the same thing. Lee strolled on the grass fields at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on June 10, 2012 with 15 offers to his name, including opportunities from Arizona State, West Virginia, Boston College and others. This camp for Lee, was going to be the one that sealed the deal with the Buckeyes.
Lee's road to Ohio State, and a place in the Buckeyes' 2013 recruiting class, proved challenging, which is exactly how he'd have asked it. Lee didn't have a natural position. J.T. Barrett was committed at quarterback, three defensive backs (Cam Burrow, Eli Apple and Jayme Thompson) were already committed. Ohio's premier athlete Jalin Marshall was in the class and, with questions about exactly how his frame would fill out, it just seemed that the New Albany star couldn't find his way in, but it wasn't for a lack of trying.
It didn't. It did, however, give him a chance to get reacquainted with a friend from his hometown who he'd eventually win a national championship alongside.
"It went well. We had a lot of fun and competed non-stop throughout the day," Lee told us in June of 2012. "I got to catch up with a hometown friend in Vonn Bell and also competed with him throughout the day so that was cool. I worked out at receiver, cornerback, and safety. I didn't get to warm up my arm properly for quarterback so I didn't risk it on that end. I felt that I preformed [sic] pretty decently. Coach (Kerry) Coombs had us working the corner drills extremely hard, but I felt that I held my own."
Giver agreed.
"His camp performance alongside Vonn Bell going into his senior year was one of the best I've ever seen," he said. "He competed step for step with one of hte best athletes in the country and he was doing it at 2-3 inches taller and 20-pounds heavier."
Lee himself felt he'd done enough to warrant the offer and left the camp hoping he'd hear from Ohio State about it soon thereafter.
"They talked this morning about an offer," Lee said. "They are all talking with Coach Meyer tomorrow and then going from there so I should know something then."
Lee didn't hear from the Buckeyes the next day about an offer, but he was told once more what he'd heard for months. Ohio State really liked Lee, but Ohio State wasn't sure how he fit in.
When Fickell talked to him next, it was the more of the same, but with an asterisk: come back to camp again. The Buckeyes wanted to see how Lee would hold up against some of the players they had offered and, perhaps more importantly, wanted to see if Lee's competitive nature would drive him to compete for a spot once more.
It did. He did. He returned to Ohio State and once again stood out in a camp setting full of players the Buckeyes were interested in. At the conclusion of that camp, Saturday, June 23, Lee said he knew he'd done all he could and that what happened next wouldn't be up to him.
"I've done everything I can to earn the offer from Ohio State, and I most definitely hope to get it," Lee said. "My mentality is to come in here and be the best athlete I can be. The Buckeyes like me at safety, and maybe at outside linebacker. The question is how my frame ends up. They told me they'd let me know (about the offer) Monday. They are going to have a staff meeting and I should know then or Monday afternoon. Coach Fickell and Coach (Everett) Withers said they are fighting for me to get the offer."
This time it worked. Lee was offered by the Buckeyes and committed the next day, Tuesday, June 26. On signing day in 2013, Luke Fickell addressed the signing.
Despite adding the Buckeye offer and commitment, Lee's recruiting profile never really changed. He was ranked by one service as a four-star prospect (Scout.com), but a three-star across the others. He was ESPN.com's 28th-ranked player...in Ohio. He was the country's 29th-ranked safety though most never expected him to play the position in college.
As a senior, Lee and the Eagles won 11 games. He was named first-team All-State, racking up 21 touchdowns on offense and five interceptions from his safety position en route to a state final four berth.
For some guys, it's about understanding that the position you play in high school may not be the position you're going to best succeed in. Darron Lee was one of those players. He was put all over the field because he was the best athlete on the team and in some ways that may have hurt his recruiting "stock" but the great players always get found. Then, they get molded.
"We knew he wasn't going to be a quarterback at the next level, but you put him there and get the ball in his hands he makes things happen," Givler added. "I think once he put the QB dreams down and realized he was probably going to end up playing defense, his game took off on that side of the football. I don't think it was so much added intensity as it was a focus. It was no longer 'Hey, I'm playing defense because I'm the best athlete on the team and they need me to do this.' It was 'This is my ticket, and I need to learn this side of the football and perfect my craft here and not just be a great athlete playing defense.'"
The road to the NFL Draft, where Lee was picked by the New York Jets last Thursday, wasn't typical for an Ohio high school prospect. He may not have always wanted to be a Buckeye, but that the goal when he saw what Ohio State, under Jim Tressel, was building. The Buckeyes' juggernaut wasn't taking a backseat to any programs from his SEC-country roots. When Urban Meyer took over at Ohio State, the southern-born linebacker knew he was in a position to find championships.
He knew it was the place that would develop him into the best football player he could be, no matter what position he played. Ohio State became the dream for a reason. The 12th commitment of the 2013 class knew that what Ohio State was building was going to be something special and wasn't going to let competition keep him away from it. He had never backed down from a challenge and the confidence that has become a calling card for him during his two years causing havoc around the Big Ten was evident as a high school senior.
"I’m a competitor, and I want to go against the best every time I strap up," Lee told BuckeyeEmpire.com. "Aside from that, I’m playing with a great group of players and coaches. Coach Meyer was a legend when I was growing up down south, so it’s pretty cool to play for him. Lastly, the chance to be national champions gets me going; but the biggest thing is beating down Michigan for the next four years. That will be very enjoyable."
