Bio Blast: Meet Top 100 Michigan offensive tackle signee Malakai Lee

Michigan officially signed Top 100 Honolulu (Hawaii) Kamehameha Secondary offensive tackle Malakai Lee Wednesday. 

Here’s a complete breakdown of everything you need to know about the towering blue-chip lineman. 

The Skinny 

Height: 6-7
Weight: 310
Industry Ranking: No. 128 overall, No. 12 offensive tackle, No. 2 in Hawaii
Interesting Facts: Navy All-American 

Recruitment

Michigan looked like the clear early leader for Lee early on in his recruiting process after he visited Ann Arbor as a junior and offensive line coach Grant Newsome traveled out to Hawaii to meet with him early this year. That trip helped Michigan secure what ended up being a decisive Victors Weekend official visit. Lee strongly considered Alabama, Georgia and Texas as the SEC’s allure enticed him, but his extremely strong connections with the Wolverines helped the program secure his commitment June 27. Texas pushed for a flip but never gained significant traction.

He Said It

“I’m really lucky to have been recruited by elite schools,” Lee told On3. “But Michigan is special to me because Coach Newsome, Coach Moore and the staff have always made me and my family a priority.

“I was able to go there four times and Coach Newsome and Coach Moore came out to see me every chance they had. Also, going to the ‘Big House’ for my first college game was something that stuck with me. I could see myself playing there.”

They Said It

“You look at him, right?. It’s the size, but, for a young man his size, he’s athletic. He brings that for us at our left tackle position. He brings tenacity, he brings physicality. That’s the type of football that we want to play, but he also brings leadership to his teammates. Just his presence alone, it makes us a better team.” — Kamehameha Secondary head coach Kaeo Drummondo.

Scouting Report

“Malakai Lee stacks up really well with the group in terms of a size and movement perspective. He’s very large and athletic. When you watch him on film, he moves really well for his size. That’s all we have to go on right now. He hasn’t really been on the national circuit. He’s in a group of offensive tackles in that 50-100 range that we may not have a lot of in-person exposure to. Seeing him in the all-star circuit will be really big. But just going off of the film, we feel like he stacks up well among that group from a size and movement skills perspective. I do think there could be volatility with that group as we get more exposure to them. All-star games will be big for those guys.

“But I really like the physical tools and what he brings from a physical traits perspective. There are certainly some areas that he can continue to improve. He’s so tall, so he has a tendency to play a little high sometimes. But the size and movement skills are things you can’t teach. He looks really good in those areas.” — Rivals director of scouting and rankings Charles Power.