Thirty-eight more days till the start of the Purdue football season. It's hard to believe the countdown is growing up so fast. Why, just the other day it felt like we were covering defensive end Ryan Russell. Now we are a day away from the Big Ten media days in Chicago and 38 away from the day we see our boys in the old gold and black take the field for the first time in 2012.
Our featured player today is a guy who had a solid high school career, and now looks to work his way into more playing time this season and also shares the same name as my best friend in the 6th grade; so there's a fun fact for you.
Mike Lee - So. (RS)
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA. (Woodland Hills HS)
Linebacker
6'2" 220 pounds
2012 projection: reserve at linebacker
When Lee joined the team he was able to redshirt, which is great for his situation since we are pretty deep at linebacker as of now. Last season, Lee was able to find a little bit of playing time, but it was minuscule and he was only able to record an assisted tackle.
This season, Lee looks to snag some more playing time as he is listed as one of our key reserves behind Antwon Higgs. Although with the amount of guys we have competing for playing time, Lee will have to work hard to hold onto this position; I don't see it being much of a problem, however. He's been patiently waiting for a chance to play and has a legitimate chance to this season, so I don't think he's going to let anyone take his spot.
Our switch to a 3-4 scheme will also open up some playing time for Lee. He's a speedy ILB and showed that he can get to the QB when he was in high school, where his senior year he notched 17 tackles, 6 being sacks. He also caught 14 passes for over 300 yards and 6 touchdowns, so he's definitely a versitile player. Hopefully this season things will click and he'll have a few chances to get in the backfield and make some noise.
Mike Lee is also an active Twitter user. Give him a follow: @Mikelee38