Skinny necked QB now a first rounder

CHICAGO - The 'Skinny-necked quarterback from New Albany' is now a member of the New York Jets. Former Ohio State linebacker (and one-time under-recruited quarterback out of the Columbus suburb) Darron Lee was selected with the No. 20 pick of the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft and is another Buckeye to go in the first round.

Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer was not exactly sold on Darron Lee as a senior in high school and if not for Luke Fickell and others pounding their fists on the table, Lee's NFL dream may have never happened, or at least would have taken a much different journey. Thankfully for Lee and for Ohio State fans, Meyer did offer a scholarship and the rest is history for Lee.

Meyer would refer to Lee as that Skinny-necked quarterback from New Albany later in Lee's career, a testament to the work that Lee put in on becoming the player that he is today and here on Thursday, that player is also a first round pick.

Lee did not play during his first year at Ohio State as he bulked up from the 195-pounds that he reported to campus at to the 232-pounds that he measured in at the NFL Scouting Combine at (Lee was listed at 228-pounds in the 2015 season). In 2014, Lee beat at Chris Worley in a highly-contested battle for a starting position and never looked back en route to starting the next 28 games of his career.

During those game, Lee totaled 147 tackles, 27.5 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, three interceptions and three fumble recoveries. Lee was named a second-team AP All-American after the 2015 season and was named the defensive MVP of the Sugar Bowl win over Alabama in Ohio State's 2014 National Championship run.

The question was always in place by NFL personnel if Lee was big enough to play the linebacker position in the NFL but former Buckeye linebacker Ryan Shazier was one of the trendsetters of the 'smaller' linebacker role, a role that Lee should do very well with on the Jets defense.