Alabama ties run deep for top tight end prospect

SportsOrange Beach tight end Lee Steele discusses the upcoming season during Baldwin County HS Football Media Day on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, at United States Sports University in Daphne, Ala. (Mike Kittrell | preps@al.com) Mike Kittrell | preps@al.comLee Steele’s most cherished childhood memories are as vivid today as they were 12 years ago. As a 5-year-old visiting his grandparents in Flomaton, Steele remembers his Grandpaw wearing a Crimson Tide T-shirt and a straw Alabama hat as he cheered on his favorite college football team. Those special moments began the journey that will ultimately lead the junior at Orange Beach High School to a scholarship to one of the country’s top programs, whether it be Alabama or elsewhere. “I am definitely an Alabama fan right now because it’s the team I grew up cheering for,” Steele said. “My Grandpaw, who passed away when I was 5, was the biggest Alabama fan in the world. “I stayed home with him every day when I was 4 and 5 and we watched Daniel Boone or John Wayne or Alabama football. He is my motivation and definitely why I play football and even basketball. That is my purpose for playing. Him being an Alabama fan and me being from the state of Alabama carries a lot of weight.”Steele, who stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 220 pounds, will soon face more than one major decision. First, he has to decide which sport to pursue.Orange Beach’s Lee Steele dunks against St. Paul’s in a prep basketball game Tuesday, February 3, 2026, in Mobile, Ala. (Mike Kittrell | preps@al.com) Mike Kittrell | preps@al.comIn basketball, he has already eclipsed 1,000 high school career points with two seasons remaining. He is considered a major-college prospect as an athletic wing scorer. In football, he caught 25 passes for 341 yards and a touchdown as a sophomore. His right wrist is adorned with rubbers bracelets of football programs recruiting him the hardest -- Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, Ole Miss and, of course, Alabama.“I’ve played quarterback and then receiver for most of my life, so I understand the schematics of playing football,” Steele said. “Playing tight end in high school comes with a lot of things. You have to be able to move and have the body to play the position. I just began playing tight end at the end of my freshman year. It takes a lot of God-given ability.”Orange Beach coach Wade Waldrop expects a major increase in Steele’s production this season. “He’s just scratching the surface of what he will be,” Waldrop said. “I think a lot of the attention he’s gotten has been based on that end product people expect to see. This month is the first time he’s caught a ball in the summer with us because of some injuries. His development is in its early stages in terms of being an in-line and off-ball tight end. He’s played wide receiver and defensive back some for us, but he will move home this year to play tight end and play some at outside linebacker. He’s the youngest of four boys, so he’s tough. He carries that competitiveness with him into everything he does. Ability-wise and in terms of measurables, he’s got every one of them.”Steele is ranked No. 19 in AL.com’s Best in Bama, a ranking of the top overall high school football prospects in the state regardless of grade or position.This week in HS Sports: Alabama’s coach without a whistle has the right ideaAlabama high school volleyball: See the top teams in AHSAA Double-A PrivateESPN high school schedule features prominent Alabama father-son comboAre Pell City, Mary G. Montgomery out of options in wake of playoff ban?AHSAA expands Class Double-A football playoffs to include every teamSince 1989, Randy Kennedy has been covering sports in Alabama and beyond -- covering high schools, Auburn, Alabama, SEC sports, recruiting and as a columnist. He is in charge of AL.com's Best in Bama recruiting...