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One day after picking up an official offer from the Washington State staff, Damion Lee, a two-way athlete out of Palm Springs, Calif., pulled the trigger and committed to the Cougs on Thursday evening.
Lee, who announced his verbal commitment on Twitter, picked Washington State over a known offer from BYU. According to 24/7 Sports, Lee is the No. 87 athlete in the country for the 2017 recruiting class. Ken Wilson is Lee’s primary recruiter.
The 6-foot-2, 175-pounder is listed as a receiver by several recruiting outlets, but will play nickel or safety at Washington State in a hybrid role.
Lee is a freaky athlete, possessing top-end speed and reportedly running a 10.5 100-yard dash. He placed No. 13 in the CIF Southern Section track championships as a junior and also excels on the hardwood at power forward.
Through six games this season, Lee has played mostly on the offensive side, hauling in an impressive nine balls for 280 yards and five scores. He also has an interception. As a junior, Lee played well defensively, recording 30 tackles, five sacks and blocked a punt.
Overall, it looks like Wilson and the Washington State staff have uncovered yet another freakish athlete that fits their their “SpeedD” mantra. Lee should fit in well in that hybrid role we’re seeing Shalom Luani play, though he’ll likely need a year or so to add some size.
The commitment comes on the heels of Washington State rattling off a pair of impressive wins over Idaho and Oregon, and is a breath of fresh air after seemingly never-ending bad news on the recruiting front over the last couple weeks.
With Lee in the fold, Washington State now holds 12 verbal commitments in the 2017 recruiting class. After losing a pair of defensive backs in Charles Watson and Tayari Venable, the Cougars now have three total in the current class and five defensive prospects in total.