University of Arkansas special teams coordinator Scott Fountain has made up a lot of ground in a short period in the recruitment of highly-sought defensive end Tylon Lee.
Lee, 6-5, 240 pounds, of Pace High School in Milton, Fla., isn’t lacking for scholarship offers with more than 30, including ones from Arkansas, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Ole Miss, Georgia, Penn State, Tennessee, South Carolina, Louisville, Georgia Tech and others.
Fountain extended a scholarship offer to Lee in May, but he has been able to make up ground in a short period of time.
“Arkansas kind of got on him kind of late, but they’ve done a good job with him,” Pace Coach Kent Smith said. “Coach Fountain and I go way back. I’ve known Coach Fountain for years.”
Milton is about 25 miles northeast of Pensacola, Fla. Lee said he plans to arrive in Fayetteville today for an official visit and is expected to leave Sunday.
“What he does best is he has a good motor and gets to the ball very well,” Smith said of Lee. “We do quite a bit with him. Played him off the ball a little bit and on the ball. He’s going to be a huge kid when he gets to college and can get on the training table. I think he’s going to grow very quickly into a 285-pound kid who can move.”
Lee reports running a time of 4.8 seconds in the 40-yard dash and based on his film, that looks very accurate.
“That’s about right and the thing is he probably plays faster than if you lined him down and ran him in a 40,” Smith said. “He plays faster than that.”
His speed and athleticism helped him record 61 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles as a junior.
Lee also plays basketball and competed in track and field last year but chose not to run this spring and to focus on speed training.
National recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of CBS Sports Network said he believes development along with Lee’s long term potential gives him a big upside.
“He’s a 3-star plus player with good moves off the ball, needs to gain weight and strength. But he has the tools to become a 4-star player,” said Lemming, who saw Lee in November. “He’s a quick twitch athlete with explosive speed. He looked good when I saw him in person.”
Smith, who played football for two season at Arkansas-Monticello in the late 1970s, is also familiar with Arkansas defensive coordinator Travis Williams and co-defensive coordinator Marcus Woodson.
“My son played at Auburn when Travis Williams was a GA (graduate assistant) at the time,” Smith said. “I know Coach Woodson, the DB coach, very well from his time at Florida State.”
Lee officially visited Central Florida last weekend and has a midweek official visit set to Mississippi State after Arkansas. He also has plans to officially visit Kansas and Miami.
Fountain’s ability to connect with Lee is why he plans to make his way to Fayetteville this weekend.
“He cares a lot about his players,” said Lee, who is looking to make his college decision in July.”I’m looking forward to having good trip.”
Lee said he’s also spoken with Hogs defensive line coach Deke Adams.
Smith said he is as high on Lee as a person as he is as a prospect.
“He’s just a very humble kid,” Smith said. “If you meet him and talk to him, it’s ‘yes sir, no sir.’ Shakes your hand and looks you in the eye. Very appreciative of everything that anybody does for him. He’s just what I call a good kid. I love him to death and want the best for him and I want him somewhere that somebody is going to do a good job of taking care of him.”
While Name, Image and Likeness opportunities might be a concern for a lot of prospects, Lee didn’t bring it up when coaches visited his school during the spring evaluation period that ran April 15 to May 25.
“Probably had 20 to 25 coaches in talking to him and he has never once mentioned NIL,” Smith said.
Email Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline,com
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