By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

Baylor's coaches and players have always believed in Jay Lee. Strangely, particularly for the position he plays, the problem has been getting Jay Lee to believe in himself.

"Jay is probably one of the hardest-working guys I've ever been around," said senior quarterback Bryce Petty. "And I really respect that about him. He comes to work every day. I just don't think he sees his full potential. He's got a lot of potential; he just needs to see it. And I think every year, he's started to tap in more and more."

It basically took injuries to the top four returning receivers, but the fourth-year junior from Allen, Texas, has finally come into his own this season. Ranked among the league leaders in every receiving category, Lee has caught a team-high 19 passes for 294 yards and four touchdowns in helping the No. 6/7 Bears get off to a 3-0 start going into Saturday's Big 12 opener at Iowa State.

"I think it's helped him a lot, just being able to get out there and gain a lot of confidence and make plays that he felt like he could make," said receivers coach Kendal Briles, "but now he's being asked to make, and he's answering the bell. Being able to do that and gain that confidence, it definitely helps him."

Although somewhat overshadowed by the emergence of freshman sensation KD Cannon, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Lee has definitely solidified Baylor's claim as Wide Receiver U. Even with All-American Antwan Goodley, seniors Levi Norwood and Clay Fuller and sophomore Corey Coleman all sidelined with injuries, the Bears didn't miss a beat in dominating wins over SMU, Northwestern State and Buffalo.

Lee, also bothered by a pulled hamstring during preseason camp, was motivated to get back on the field in a hurry, "because I think I still have something to prove to everybody."

"Coach Briles knows about me," said Lee, who had 22 catches for 309 yards and one TD as a redshirt sophomore last season, "but I feel like other people around the nation don't know. I just wanted to put that on game film and tape to let them know who I am."

Lee had a solid opener against SMU, catching a team-best eight passes for 83 yards, including a 12-yard TD pass from Seth Russell. But he had a true breakout performance in the 63-21 win over Buffalo, hauling in a career-high nine passes for 136 yards and a pair of TDs.

"That's his whole deal is he's got to get out there and do it, and he's got to believe in himself," Petty said. "I think these three games have helped, but it's not just about these three games. It's about camp and spring ball and every year. The more he gets out there, the more confidence he gets."

Kendal Briles saw the potential in Lee five years ago as a 16-year-old junior at Allen High School. Catching passes that year from quarterbacks Matt Brown and Tucker Carter, who signed with TCU and UTSA, respectively, Lee had 53 receptions for 1,013 yards and 16 touchdowns.

"He was a really young guy, and we thought he had a very big upside," Kendal said. "We thought that his ability wasn't where it was right then. We felt like he would be a big-time player, and obviously he's starting to produce and show that."

A consensus state top-100 prospect and ranked as the nation's 34th-best wide receiver by Rivals.com, Lee had offers from the likes of Oregon, Nebraska, Arkansas, Louisville and Iowa. He picked the Bears over Iowa in his final decision and was the only receiver in Baylor's 2011 signing class.

"We're deep at receiver and we weren't going to take a guy unless we really thought he could contribute," Art Briles said at the time. "But with (Lee), we certainly feel like he can do that. He just fits what we're looking for - he's big, he's rangy, he's fast and he has a lot of desire."

Baylor's 2011 receiving corps included future NFL standouts Kendall Wright, Terrance Williams and Josh Gordon, along with Tevin Reese, Lanear Sampson, Goodley and Norwood. That left Lee on the sidelines and the scout team, getting beat up by the first-team defense every week.

"Terrance and Lanear told me how they did their scout team time, and how they just balled-out every time they went out there," Lee said. "So when I went over there, I just tried to give them the best look. And anything in the air, I just went up and got."

With Gordon and Wright both gone, there seemed to be an opening for Lee going into the 2012 season. But he suffered a strained posterior cruciate ligament in his knee early in training camp that sidelined him for six weeks and ended up with zero catches.

"It was just a healing thing. I did a lot of rehab with (former Baylor trainer) Mike Martin," Lee said. "I basically got to sit there and watch and just do my rehab. It was a tough time for me, but I just leaned on God. When I came back, I saw a little bit of action when Lanear would go deep or something like that."

Again last year, it seemed like a perfect time for a breakout season. And Lee did make five starts and played in all 13 games. But he was only sixth on the team in receptions (22) and yards (309) and didn't have a touchdown in the last 11 games.

There were flashes, though, and he finished strong with a season-high five receptions for 80 yards in the 52-42 loss to UCF in the Fiesta Bowl. It was his 50-yard catch that helped the Bears tie it up, 28-28, early in the third quarter, but that was also the play that motivates him to this day. He was stopped on the 1-yard line.

In the season-opening win over SMU, he dragged a defender with him into the end zone on the 12-yard TD pass from Russell.

"I just thought back to the offseason, during the summer, when we were doing sled pulls," he said. "We were pulling 90 to 100 pounds for 35 yards. And I was thinking in my head, `Just keep your feet moving and let's drive to the finish line.' And that's what happened."

With Goodley and Coleman both returning for this week's game, and Norwood and Fuller both scheduled to get back for next week's game at Texas, Lee could see his touches go down. But he's not worried.

"This is Antwan's last year; Levi and Clay, too. So, I know they're going to lean more on them, but I've just got to be patient," he said. "I know when I get the chance to touch the ball, I'm going to make the most of it. I love my teammates and I love what they do, because I know when they touch the ball, they're going to do great things, too."

And with so many weapons on the field, there's no way a defense can cover everything.

"If they double-team Antwan or me or Corey, then we're going to take full advantage of it," Lee said. "We're going to watch film and see what they do on the back end, and then we're going to attack it."

Lee said he learned at Williams' feet and continues to get feedback from his former teammate after games. And a good sign that he now believes in himself is that Lee is starting to take to heart what people have told him all along.

"It's always been a goal for me to try to get to that next level," he said. "And I've had people come to me and tell me I can do this and that. But ultimately, it's up to me. I just try to go out there every day and give it my all, give a little extra effort. I'm going to go out there and do what I can do for this team."

Did You Know?
Jay Lee is part of a pipeline from Allen, Texas, that includes former All-American center J.D. Walton, now a starter with the New York Giants, and sophomore defensive tackle Byron Bonds. His full name is Jonathon Franklin Lee, but usually goes by just Jay.