As a sixth-grader, CJ Lee’s Mighty Mites football coach threw out a question to the entire team. He wanted to know if anyone could punt.
“I said, ‘Sure, I can,” Lee recalled. “I’ve played soccer since I was five. Kicked the ball ever since.”
And done it extremely well.
Now a standout punter for his high school football team, Lee led the South Central Association by averaging 37.4 yards per kick his senior season and was named to the all-conference first team as both a linebacker and punter. His accolades continued last week as he was selected to the Missouri Football Coaches Association’s all-state first team.
Lee is the first Tiger to receive first team all-state honors since Kyle Poynter, who was named to the first team as a kick returner in 2008. He is only the third HHS football player named all-state the past decade. Chance Hunter was named a third team kick returner in 2016.
Lee was Houston’s top tackler in 2018. But HHS coach Eric Sloan said what he was able to do with his leg was just as valuable.
“He was huge for the field position game. He could flip the field for us,” Sloan said. “I think a lot of our defensive success was his ability to put teams in bad positions by pinning them close to their own end zone.”
A three-year starter at punter, Lee increased his average every season. His 28.6 yards per punt as a sophomore improved to 34.2 last season and more than 37 this year.
“It’s a bunch of little things: keeping your head down, making sure your toes lock out, kicking off the arch on top of your foot, following through and the drop is a big key,” Lee said about his technique. “It’s like a car –– if one thing messes up, it won’t go well.”
Lee worked early in his career with former HHS assistant coach Vince McCrosky. Sloan said Lee continued to improve the last two years with a strong work ethic.
“He naturally had a little bit of talent and worked hard from that,” Sloan said. “He didn’t miss a day in weight room and would stay after practice to work on the punting or kicking game. He was usually one of the last ones back into the locker room.”