In the 2024 season, the Texas Tech football team simply was not good enough on either side of the line of scrimmage. Tuesday, the Red Raiders took a serious step toward fixing that issue along the defensive line by adding one of the best transfer defensive tackles in the nation, Lee Hunter.
The senior-to-be played the last three seasons at UCF where he developed into a game-wrecker. In 20224, the 6-foot-4, 320-pounder racked up 45 tackles with ten tackles for loss and a sack. That earned him second-team All-Big 12 recognition.
However, in 2023 he was even better, at least statistically. That season he racked up 69 tackles with 11 going for loss and 3.0 sacks. Amazingly, that was good enough for only honorable-mention all-conference honors.
As a redshirt freshman in 2022, he finished the season with 17 tackles, including nine solo stops. He also had a sack that season.
Welcome to @TexasTechFB and @MatadorClubOrg, Lee Hunter! pic.twitter.com/PCm77Ex1Ov
— The Matador Club (@MatadorClubOrg) December 18, 2024
Coming out of high school, Hunter the Alabama native was a 4-star recruit who was rated by 247Sports.com as the No. 81 overall player and the No. 12 defensive lineman in the class of 2021. He signed with Auburn but spent only one season with the Tigers, a redshirt year that saw him appear in no games.
Now, as a portal target, 247Sports ranks him as the No. 32 overall player and No. 4 defensive tackle in the portal. That makes him one of the biggest fish the Red Raiders could have landed.
Adding bulk and athleticism to the defensive line was a must for the Red Raiders this offseason. With 2024 starting defensive tackle Quincy Ledet Jr. set to exhaust his eligibility at the end of this season, and with backup De'braylon Carroll set to do the same, Tech needed to bring in an alpha to anchor the interior of the defensive front.
That's what Hunter is and he will hopefully be a game-wrecker in 2025. To land him, the Red Raiders fought off some competition from name-brand programs including Florida State, which was hot on his trail.
This is an addition that could change the trajectory of 2025 while also turning heads on a national scene. It is also a reminder that Texas Tech is not messing around in the pursuit of a Big 12 championship.