Stampeding Through the 2025 USF Football Roster: #0 CB Jarvis Lee
The advent of the number zero means we have a couple more players to cover before kickoff.
PLAYER: Jarvis Lee
POSITION: Cornerback
YEAR: Junior
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 5’11", 185 lbs.
HOW DID HE GET HERE? Lee played three seasons at Clay High School outside of Jacksonville before transferring to IMG as a senior. He received mid-to-high three star marks and offers from a handful of power conference schools, including Georgia Tech and Virginia, where he took official visits. He actually committed to Georgia Tech in November of his senior season, but ended up decommitting and flipping to USF in December.
He saw a decent amount of action as a true freshman in 2023, playing in 12 games and making four tackles in special teams and rotational work.
HOW WAS HIS 2024 SEASON? He took a big leap in the offseason and was listed as Kajuan Banks’ backup at nickelback. Lee didn’t start any games, but appeared in every one and was a constant presence in the secondary throughout the season. He put an end to the Southern Miss game with a sack-forced fumble-fumble recovery trifecta on the Golden Eagles’ final drive, which was his first time doing any of those things at the college level. Later in the season, he was involved in very nearly the goofiest play of the season against UAB when he recovered an apparent Sean Atkins fumble on a punt return… and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown. Atkins was unfortunately ruled down, but the play lives on at 0:54 below.
Lee got more playing time as the year went on, predominantly as a slot corner. He ended the season with a bang in the Hawaii Bowl when he made a great late-second play to punch the ball out of a San Jose State receiver’s hands as he was reaching for the end zone, forcing a touchback and keeping six points off the board. One of the plays of the year, if I do say so myself (0:55 below)!
Lee finished the season with 14 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, a sack, and those two forced fumbles. Per PFF, he had the sixth-most snaps of any USF cornerback (I would say the Bulls went six deep at corner last season, and Lee was #6), and the second-most at slot corner behind Banks.
SPOT ON WEEK ONE DEPTH CHART: Lee is listed as a co-starter at nickel along with Banks.
WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT IN 2025? As we’ve mentioned before, I wouldn’t be stunned to see USF shuffle around the secondary a bit the season. They have a lot of promising options but haven’t quite found a winning combination yet. No matter what, I think Lee will be part of that equation. It was great seeing him gain playing time and confidence throughout 2024, and he appears to have a shot at making the slot corner position his own in 2025.