LH #92

Lee Hunter

Defensive Tackle · Texas Tech

A well-traveled nose tackle who left Auburn after one season and found his footing at UCF before a first-team All-American year at Texas Tech, Lee Hunter was Carolina's second-round pick in 2026.

Lee Hunter's path to becoming a second-round pick wound through three different programs, starting with a redshirt year at Auburn and a frustrated exit before he found stability at UCF and then stardom at Texas Tech. His combination of size, power and gap discipline made him one of the top interior defensive line prospects in the 2026 draft class.

★ First-team All-American (2025)

★ First-team All-Big 12 (2025)

★ Second-round pick, 49th overall, 2026 NFL Draft

★ 2026 Senior Bowl invitee

Path to the league

Hunter is a Mobile, Alabama native who starred at Mattie T. Blount High School before signing with Auburn, where he redshirted in 2021 without playing. He transferred to UCF after one season, citing his treatment under the previous coaching staff, and spent three years with the Knights before transferring again to Texas Tech for his senior season in 2025. Carolina drafted him in the second round, 49th overall, in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Career highlights

Hunter's best college seasons came at UCF, where he posted 69 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and three sacks in 2023 to earn honorable mention All-Big 12 recognition, then followed with a second-team All-Big 12 season in 2024. At Texas Tech in 2025, he anchored the nation's top-ranked rushing defense and earned first-team All-American and first-team All-Big 12 honors.

2025 season recap

In his lone season at Texas Tech, Hunter recorded 30 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks across 12 games while anchoring one of the country's best run defenses. The performance, combined with a Senior Bowl invitation, cemented his status as a top interior defensive line prospect and helped him hear his name called in the second round by Carolina.