From 2022-2024, Lee Hunter played for the UCF Knights. In three seasons, Hunter recorded 131 total tackles and 5.5 sacks. After the 2024 season, Hunter decided to hit the transfer portal.
In the end, Hunter
eventually decided to transfer to Lubbock, Texas, to play for the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Getting Hunter from the transfer portal — as part of a reported $7 million spend on the defensive line alone — was one of the biggest reasons why the Red Raiders had one of the best transfer classes in 2025.
After the conclusion of today’s 2025 Big 12 Championship against the BYU Cougars at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, acquiring the former Knight from the transfer portal worked out tremendously for the Red Raiders in 2025.
Texas Tech defeated BYU by a final score of 34-7 to clinch the first Big 12 Championship in school history. The win marked the first time since 1955 in which Texas Tech won a conference championship outright, and that was back when the school played in the Border Conference.
Ranked No. 4 at the moment, it’s likely Texas Tech will earn a bye for the first round of the 2025-26 College Football Playoff. With Hunter on the team in 2025, Texas Tech is now 12-1 overall and will be one of the 12 teams competing for the 2026 National Championship. All 12 of Texas Tech’s wins were by at least 20 points, and it was also the first 12-win season in school history.
Hunter made First Team All-Big 12 Defense. Before the conference championship game, Hunter recorded 30 total tackles and 2.5 sacks. Today against BYU, Hunter made a huge impact.
Hunter recorded 4 total tackles and helped shut down BYU’s offense. BYU headed into the championship game ranked No. 11 in the country, and a win would’ve gotten them into the playoffs, but Hunter and the Texas Tech defense had other ideas.
While on some level it’s nice to see a former UCF Knight enjoy success, Hunter’s move to Lubbock is indicative of what UCF head coach Scott Frost meant when he said, “College football is broken.”
The only reason Hunter is in Lubbock and not Orlando is because he rightfully chased life-altering money. He would have been stupid not to. But the fact that such an incentive exists at the college level is why some coaches and fans are disillusioned with the current state of the sport.
Now, UCF fans will watch a former Knight in the CFP this winter. With Hunter on the defensive side, Texas Tech will be a tough team to beat.
