Donte Lee emerging as a threat at wide receiver for Liberty

Donte Lee transferred to Liberty from Division II Shaw with a lot of fanfare. The Flames had to battle with several other schools for his services when he was in the transfer portal a year ago. He committed to the Flames over approximately 30 offers after entering the portal. His offer list included NC State, UCF, Iowa State, West Virginia, James Madison, Boston College, Old Dominion, Washington State, UTSA, Marshall, USF, Coastal Carolina, Western Kentucky, and several more. He took official visits to Liberty, NC State, and UConn. Getting him to the Mountain was a big win for the Flames.

At Shaw, he redshirted in 2022 before a breakout redshirt-freshman season in 2023 for Shaw as a wide receiver and kick returner. In 10 games played, Lee had 26 receptions for 402 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also had 13 kick returns for 326 yards and a touchdown with a long of 98. For his exploits, Lee was named All-CIAA first-team as a kick returner and to the all rookie team. Lee is originally from Baltimore, Maryland where he attended Dunbar High School

Coming in from the D2 program, it took Lee a little bit of time to make the transition to playing at the higher level. He needed to put on weight, learn the offense, and handle all the adjustments that come with a new home. His first year on the team showed flashes of his potential, but he finished the year with 10 catches for 148 yards and a touchdown.

“Last year, I call it buffering,” said Liberty wide receiver coach Tony Washington of Lee’s first year at Liberty. “He looked like he was buffering sometimes. You’re not playing as fast as you like.”

With a year under his belt, it sounds like Lee is ready to take the next step. He’s been able to adjust to the more physical FBS game and has a full year of being in the system and learning the offense. Now, he’s ready to explode into a much larger role with the Flames. The coaching staff has been extremely high on him during camp as one of the standouts, and he could be the team’s go to receiver this fall.

“Donte, he provides a different level of speed,” Washington said. “Donte, he is probably the fastest guy, if not the second fastest guy, on the team. This year, he’s been lights out. He’s playing fast. He’s getting behind the defense. When you’ve got a guy who can be lightning in a bottle and take it 50 any given time, that’s a big thing to have on your offense.”

Lee is hoping to step into a larger role for the Flames who were severely lacking a go-to receiver last season. No receiver had more than 510 receiving yards and no one reached 30 receptions on the season. It hampered the team’s offense at times and has been a big focus for the coaching staff since the end of 2024.

“After spring and summer, I feel like the game definitely slowed down for me,” Lee said earlier during camp. I started to actually see the coverages and what the defense is in. Everything really slows down for me and I’m able to play way faster than I was before.”

Since the end of 2024, Lee focused on gaining weight and leaning into the playbook a little further.

“Definitely want to put on weight,” he said. “I want to get to a bigger frame, around 190-200 pounds. In the off-season, I really put on weight and got into my playbook. The playbook was really hard, coming from a Division II school. The playbook here was pro-style. I had to get adjusted to that and put more time into my playbook.”

The Flames will be looking for several players to step up and help at receiver. In addition to Lee, there are other transfers who are entering their second year in the program including Tyson Mobley and Elijah Canion. Reese Smith and Darius Copeland will also hopefully be at full strength and healthy throughout the season. Liberty also added transfers to this year’s team at the position in Jamari Person and Casey Cain.

“Donte Lee has had a great camp,” said head coach Jamey Chadwell. “Jamari Person has had a really good camp. Those two have really stood out consistently and done some good stuff all the time, we need that. I think Jamari, Donte, and Tyson Mobley have made some good plays. I’m pleased with the effort they are giving. I’m pleased with the plays they are making. I think they are blocking on the perimeter well.”