Will Lee discusses his move to A&M, cornerback room
When Mike Elko took the Texas A&M job, he knew he had to address the cornerback room quickly. One of the first players to show faith in the new Aggie coach was former K-State corner Will Lee, who transferred to Aggieland on Dec. 10, 2023.
"I know it’s a great program here, I know what coach Elko is capable of and he’s going to change everything around here. He has a right path of moving things in a forward direction," Lee said during a press conference with members of the A&M media corps.
Lee, an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection last year, had another reason to leave the Wildcats for the Aggies -- proximity to home.
"Family played a big role in my commitment and coming here. My dad and grandparents moved to Houston, (when he was in third grade). Texas A&M being an hour down the road and me and coach Elko having a close relationship, it really made it an easy decision for me to come here," he said. "When I was at K-State, no family members were there (for home games)."
Lee arrived in Aggieland with a catch nickname: "The Blanket", which was bestowed upon him by junior college teammates after opponents simply refused to throw his way for "four or five games."
"It really shows what kind of person I am when I cover," Lee said of his nickname. "It’s not going to be easy to get open on me."
Lee, who racked up 42 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, eight passes defensed, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 2023, has consistently run with the first team since arriving at A&M. But he's not alone in being a new arrival; transfers Dezz Ricks, Donovan Saunders and BJ Mayes have joined freshman Terry Bussey and sophomore Jayvon Thomas in a vastly different cornerback corps.
"I’ve learned that we’re real athletic and we’re not going to step back from a challenge. We’re going to be great and attack everything with a full head of steam," he said. "(Elko) says play at one speed. We play at one speed every day, and that’s fast."
Even though the corners have been brought together just in the past few months -- Lee from K-State, Saunders from Cal Poly, Mayes from UAB, Ricks from Alabama, joining holdover Thomas and freshman Bussey -- Lee said the transition has been a smooth one.
"The cornerback room here has been great. Everyone welcomed each other in with open arms. We’ve got the end goal to be great, start and play. We’re just a family, we’re family-oriented and we just went everyone to be great," he said.
Lee wasn't the only Wildcat to join the Aggies this offseason; offensive coordinator Collin Klein also made the move from Manhattan, Kan., to College Station. Even though he's on the other side of the ball from Klein, Lee had plenty of praise for him.
"Being with him and Kansas State and seeing him do a lot with a little, then home coming here and having all the pieces that we need, I know he’s going to do great and put things together perfectly," he said of Klein.
While Lee will have to make some adjustments in terms of going from Kansas State to A&M, he is looking forward to the biggest change -- going from the Big 12 to the SEC.
"I feel like you’ve got good football in every conference, but I feel the SEC is the closest thing to the NFL, so it’s gonna be dudes on every team we play, so we’re just going to come out here and attack," he said.