Former Alabama Linebacker Named a Team Captain at USC

Former Alabama linebacker Shane Lee has quickly adapted to his new environment, he was named a team caption at USC, voted on by his teammates. Lee transferred to USC in January after spending three seasons in Tuscaloosa.

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Lee, a former four-star prospect earned a starting role as a true freshman in 2019 after Dylan Moses suffered a season-ending injury in fall camp. He led all SEC freshmen in tackles with 86, added 4.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. The Maryland native earned Freshman All-SEC and Freshman All-American honors. He spent the next two seasons working as a reserve and special teams contributor when Moses returned in 2020 and Henry To'oto'o transferred to Alabama in 2021.

Lee has played a crucial role in USC’s early developments of returning to national relevance. Trojans head Lincoln Riley has been vocal about the leadership Lee has brought to the program.

“He’s been critically important,” Riley said in April. “Bought in from Day 1. One of his reasonings, and we had a few guys like this, when we talked in his recruitment for wanting to come here was being a part of this culture change and being a part of this flip. That was important for him, not just himself as a player or as a student. It was well beyond that. He’s been very aggressive about his leadership. He didn’t wait long to kind of get to know everybody.

“Some guys wait till they get comfortable, and then you see the leadership come out of them. He’s been pretty aggressive from the jump, and we needed him to be, along with others. His voice on our football team right now, it’s a strong voice. He’s one of a few guys we brought in here that came out of successful winning programs. Has an idea of what it looks like. His aggressiveness and passion as a leader and consistency has been very very positive for us. He’s got a critical role for us right now.”

Riley even compared his impact to that of Jalen Hurts when he transferred to Oklahoma from Alabama.

Lee was apart of an Alabama team that won a national championship in 2020 and played for another one last season, so he knows what it looks like to be a part of a winning culture. The senior linebacker brings veteran leadership and experience to a roster that added 14 players via the transfer portal.