Lee Hunter

Lee Hunter (born July 2, 2002) is an American professional football nose tackle for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Auburn Tigers, UCF Knights and Texas Tech Red Raiders. Hunter was selected by the Panthers in the second round of the 2026 NFL draft.

Early life Hunter was born in Mobile, Alabama, where he grew up. He played football at Ben C. Rain High School as a freshman before transferring to Mattie T. Blount High School. As a junior at Blount, Hunter, playing as a defensive lineman, recorded 77 tackles, 23 tackles-for-loss (TFLs) and eight sacks. He then had 54 tackles, 20 TFLs and 4.5 sacks as a senior while helping Blount to the Class 6A quarterfinals, being selected first-team all-state for his performance.

College career Hunter redshirted as a true freshman at Auburn in 2021, seeing no playing time. He entered the NCAA transfer portal after the season, claiming that the team's players were treated "like dogs" under head coach Bryan Harsin. He transferred to the UCF Knights, playing in 13 games while recording 17 tackles during the 2022 season. Then, as a sophomore in 2023, he was named honorable mention All-Big 12 Conference after recording 69 tackles, 11 TFLs and three sacks. In 2024, he totaled 45 tackles, 9.5 TFLs and one sack while being named second-team All-Big 12. He transferred to the Texas Tech Red Raiders for his final season in 2025.

College statistics

Legend Bold Career high

Professional career

Hunter was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the second round (49th overall) of the 2026 NFL draft.