Columbia University Athletics

2021
 
Saw action in one game as a senior defensive back and on special teams … Made one tackle on the year … Made tackle in the season finale at Cornell (Nov. 20).
 
2020
 
Season canceled due to COVID pandemic.
 
2019
 
Saw action in two games as a sophomore defensive back and on special teams … Made one tackle on the season … Made first career tackle on special teams at Princeton (Oct. 5) … Saw action vs. Georgetown (Sept. 28) and at Princeton (Oct. 5).
 
2018
 
Saw action in two games as a first-year defensive back … Also played on special teams … Played at Harvard (Nov. 3) and at Brown (Nov. 10).
 
HIGH SCHOOL
 
A 2018 graduate of Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora, Ill., where he played three years of varsity football for Head Coach Paul Murphy … Three-time All-DuPage Valley Conference selection from 2015-17 … Earned DVC Academic All-Conference honors … Named team captain as a senior … Made 17 tackles, intercepted two passes and broke up two passes as a senior defensive back in 2017 … His best game performance was a two-interception, four pass breakup contest in which he allowed just three passing yards … Made 24 tackles and broke up 17 passes despite breaking his hand a junior … Guided the Warriors to a DVC title and Class 8A state semifinals appearance as a junior … Made 43 tackles with one interception and 10 pass breakups as a sophomore … Ranked the nation’s No. 72 FCS recruit by HeroSports.com … Ranked as the No. 19 overall high school player in Illinois, No. 100 cornerback in the nation and Three-Star recruit by 247sports.com … Ranked as the No. 2 defensive back recruit in Illinois … Ranked the No. 13 recruit in the Ivy League and one of the top 100 recruits nationally by HeroSports … Two-time IMG national champion in 2015 and 2016 and won Pylon National Championship in 2016 in 7v7 football with his team Midwest Boom … Also competed in track and field for two years … Competed in the 400-meter dash with a personal-best run of 50.02 … Earned Martin Luther King Character Award and Service Above Self Award in 2018 … Involved in several community service activities including the Link Unlimited Scholars organization in Chicago.
 
PERSONAL
 
Born Derric Hayden Lee on October 28, 1999 in Orlando, Fla. … Son of Ron and Elizabeth Jahna-Lee … Has two sisters Tina and Shayla … Cousin Tara Addison graduated from Columbia in 1992 and cousin Jeffrey Lee graduated from Penn in 1998 … Nickname is D-Lee … Hobbies and interests include traveling, reading and playing Fortnite on Xbox … Favorite class/subject: anatomy … Favorite sports figure: Jackie Robinson … Favorite sport other than football: Half-Pipe snowboarding … Committed to Columbia on February 4, 2018 … Chose Columbia in order to be a part of an up-and-coming football program in an excellent academic setting … Also said it felt like home and was the most comfortable of all the schools he visited … Selected Columbia over 18 total offers from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn, Dartmouth, Brown, Cornell, Army West Point, Navy and Air Force … Enrolled at Columbia College … Majors in the Earth Institute.