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Steve Turkington saw the potential of what Teflon Lee could be early on in his Baraboo High School football career.
As a sophomore, the Thunderbirds' lanky wide receiver outleapt a defender and hauled in a pass right in front of Turkington before racing 40 yards for a touchdown.
“I said, ‘That’s that kid’s potential,’” Turkington said. “He wasn’t consistently doing that at that age, but he had the potential to do it. I’ve always known that about him.”
Always a rangy receiving threat, increased speed and agility thanks to track and field has Baraboo senior Teflon Lee poised for big things this fall.
After playing primarily as a blocking receiver last fall and a successful track and field season this past spring, the senior is ready to maximize that potential and help the T-Birds continue to soar in their debut season in the Mississippi Valley Conference.
“I’m kind of trying to do what it takes to be a winner and step up, because a lot of those guys left so I want to set a good example for the younger guys and be a key role in the offense,” Lee said.
Standing 6-foot as a freshman, Lee was always one of the taller people in his class and a natural fit at wide receiver. Lee, now 6-4, admitted that despite his height advantages he “just didn’t have as much body control.”
“So I couldn’t move as well out of my cuts and breaks,” he said.
Teflon Lee, who was named the Baraboo boys track team's Outstanding Field Athlete this past spring, credits the high jump for helping him the most because "you have to bring speed into a jump, and that's what you do as a receiver."
That began to change when Lee began competing for the T-Birds' track and field team. Participating in primarily the jumps and as part of the sprint relays, he said that the array of events helped him begin to control his body mass better.
It also helped him develop better agility to where he was named the Baraboo boys’ outstanding field athlete for the past season. Lee participated in the long, triple and high jump, including the latter two and on the T-Birds’ 400-meter relay at the Division 1 Sauk Prairie regional.
Among them all however, Lee said that high jump has played the biggest role in preparing him for this season.
"You have to bring speed into a jump to get vertical, and that’s what you do as a receiver,” he said. “And for sprinting … from my sophomore to junior and senior year, I’ve gotten way faster.
“It really works on your calf muscles and shins, and everything just gets so much stronger down there, and your fast twitch muscles; the explosiveness that comes from track definitely correlates to football.”
Baraboo senior Teflon Lee hauls in a pass during a drill at a recent Thunderbirds practice.
Those skills weren’t fully on display last season. The T-Birds were utterly loaded at wide receiver last season, with graduated seniors Brady Henry, Caden Agnew and Riley Weyh combining for 64 catches, 838 yards and five touchdowns.
Sharing that wealth was difficult for Turkington and Co.
“We just had some really good receivers last year. There just weren’t enough balls to go around,” he said.
Still, Lee played a pivotal role in the T-Birds' offense serving as a blocking receiver to help spring his senior counterparts. While that could have been disappointing, Lee had a different mindset.
“If they need me to block and if blocking helps the team win, I’d rather do that than complain and sit on the sidelines,” he said. “It’s a team sport, so the team comes first.”
Teflon Lee spent last season as primarily a blocking receiver, largely due to the T-Birds depth at the position. It was a role he was happy to undertake because of what it meant to the team's success.
Turkington knows that won’t be the case this season. With a diverse skillset and a rangy body that can beat defenders for jump balls, Turkington said that “he’s going to be really tough to defend one-on-one.”
“I always knew he had the skill and the ability, and it’s only gotten better as he’s gone along,” Turkington said. “We have some other good receivers again, but Teflon is the main guy.”
Coach: Steve Turkington, ninth season, 29-47.
Last season: 9-3 overall, 5-2 Badger Small Conference, lost 29-13 to Rice Lake in Level 3 of WIAA Division 3 playoffs.
Outgoing: The Thunderbirds reached new heights last season thanks in part to an exceptionally talented 20-man senior class, led by the duo of Luna Larson and Kane Mahoney. Larson, now at Wisconsin, earned Badger Small Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors, as well as first-team all-league honors, while Mahoney was named the league’s Co-Offensive Player of the Year and was a second-team edge rusher. The pair accounted for 2,747 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns, and Larson threw for 881 yards and another six scores. In all, Baraboo lost nine All-Badger Small picks.
Returning: Even with the significant losses, Baraboo isn’t in full rebuild mode. Senior Haeden Bowar and junior Ross Liegel return in the trenches after earning second-team honors at guard and defensive lineman, respectively, last fall. Bowar helped the T-Birds accrue over 3,800 yards of total offense and 32 touchdowns, while Liegel had 37 tackles, four sacks and a tackle for loss. Also back are honorable mention selections Isaac Pelland, Kyle Felt and Ben Burgess.
Outlook: Even with the significant production losses offensively, Turkington believes this year’s group “could be the most balanced offense we’ve had.” Spearheading that charge will be first-year starting quarterback Luke Vittengl, who threw for 190 yards, a touchdown and five interceptions in four games. He’ll have plenty of help up front with Bowar and Felt returning, and Liegel jumping to the other side of the trenches. There’s plenty of weapons too, led by Teflon Lee at wide receiver and a litany of running backs fueled by Pelland and Burgess. Pelland will lead the charge defensively but Turkington said they will rotate plenty of players. That should help them avoid the fatigue he said hurt the T-Birds in their season-ending loss to Rice Lake in the Division 3 quarterfinals.
Sept. 16;at La Crosse Central
• Home games in BOLD CAPS
• Games are at 7 p.m.
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Always a rangy receiving threat, increased speed and agility thanks to track and field has Baraboo senior Teflon Lee poised for big things this fall.
Teflon Lee, who was named the Baraboo boys track team's Outstanding Field Athlete this past spring, credits the high jump for helping him the most because "you have to bring speed into a jump, and that's what you do as a receiver."
Teflon Lee spent last season as primarily a blocking receiver, largely due to the T-Birds depth at the position. It was a role he was happy to undertake because of what it meant to the team's success.
Baraboo senior Teflon Lee hauls in a pass during a drill at a recent Thunderbirds practice.
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