John Ehret offensive lineman Khayree Lee worried before the season that colleges would not see the vast improvement he made over the summer.
Kirk Kelley, a former Ehret offensive lineman who played at Troy in college, preached patience.
“I was like, ‘Dude, once they see that you actually dropped the weight you needed to drop and they can see that you can move on film now, you’re out there running 30 or 40 yards chasing a play,’ stuff like that are the things I’ve been pressing on him,” said Kelley, a 2015 Ehret graduate who returned to his alma mater in January so he can help coach the offensive line.
Lee has lost close to 50 pounds since he arrived at Ehret as a freshman in 2019. Now a junior, the 6-foot-5, 337-pound interior lineman is among the newest LSU commitments from the weekend after the Tigers defeated Alabama on a two-point conversion play in overtime.
Lee attended the game and had a field-level view of the winning pass from quarterback Jayden Daniels to tight end Mason Taylor.
“It was an unreal moment,” said Lee, who had planned to make his commitment no matter the game’s result. “I was nervous, and I wasn’t even playing. I was just happy they came up with the win.”
Lee weighed 385 pounds when he started high school. Coaches at LSU and Ehret told him he could have a chance to play in college if he lost the weight.
Ehret coach Reggie Rogers said he could tell Lee had potential because of his long arms and what he said were “skinny ankles,” an indictor that he could have some foot quickness.
“Everything you look for in an offensive lineman,” Rogers said. “He had to work to drop some weight, which he did. He worked extremely hard.”
Lee began to show some quickness as a sophomore.
“I’d probably have to see the East Jefferson game,” Rogers said. “I saw a difference in him. He was moving faster and finishing his blocks off, not as tired. The work was starting to kick in for him.”
Kelley, who played on the Troy team that defeated LSU in 2017, taught him better technique.
“Understanding blocks,” Kelley said. “Understanding angles to take to get to your blocks. Understanding working double teams. Understanding being front side of a double team versus being back side.”
Another big jump Lee made this season, Kelley said, “was on the boards. The Xs and Os. Understanding play calls. Who you got to work to. Understanding who we have to ID in our run schemes. That, and his leadership are the biggest things I noticed this year.”
Ehret (5-5) will face Rummel (5-5) in a first-round Division I select playoff game 7 p.m. Friday at Yenni Stadium.
The Patriots are healthy after several injuries led to a winless start through five games before a five-game sweep through District 8-5A.
His hope is to keep playing through November and into December.
“His confidence is through the roof,” Kelley said. “He loves being nasty. He loves finishing blocks. We have to get on him sometimes about referees telling him you can’t jump on guys after you finish putting them on the ground. ‘I know you want to do it. Unless you take them to the ground, you can’t jump on them.’
“He loves being aggressive. He loves being physical. Sometimes you listen to him on the field, he’s laughing when he’s out there running. It’s crazy.”
