Logan Lee feels blessed to be Iowa’s old married man
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Compared to his Iowa football teammates, junior defensive tackle Logan Lee stands out, but not just because of his full beard.
Lee is the only player on the Iowa football team who is married.
Saturday will be a special day for Lee as Iowa will face South Dakota State in the much-anticipated season opener before a sellout crowd at Kinnick Stadium.
But that’s only part of why it’s special.
Saturday, Sept. 3 has added significance because it marks exactly two months since Lee married his high school sweetheart, Tori Verbeck, in Geneseo, Ill.
They tied the knot on July 3 and approximately seven months after the 22-year old Lee had bent down on one knee and asked Verbeck to marry him.
That milestone moment occurred at a Citrus Bowl event on Dec. 30, 2021 in Orlando, Florida, and two days before Iowa would face Kentucky in the Citrus Bowl.
Iowa lost the game, 23-20, but Lee gained his life-long companion in a moment that was caught on video by the Iowa football team’s videographers as some Lee’s teammates lingered nearby.
His teammates stayed hidden because they didn’t want to spoil a surprise that really wasn’t a surprise if you knew Lee’s background.
“That was pretty neat that we had some guys that were able to catch that moment,” Lee said. “It’s definitely a special time. I was just very blessed and very fortunate that those guys were able to do that for me.”
Lee and Verbeck first started dating as high school sophomores, and they had been acquainted since seventh grade.
They were best friends and soul mates.
So, when Lee enrolled at the University of Iowa in 2019, he knew that marriage was on the horizon because he had found the person with whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life.
“I’m an individual who was dating to marry,” Lee said at Iowa’s weekly press conference on Tuesday. “We started dating sophomore year in high school and I felt pretty confident this was going to be the case.”
Part of being married is making sacrifices and Lee’s wife has certainly met that requirement in the brief time they have been married.
“It’s only been two months and three weeks of that I was in camp,” Lee said. “With that being said, I haven’t really had the full experience quite yet.
“We’re finally starting to live together and having somebody to be able to live with and talk about everything with, it’s a great opportunity.”
They’re not living alone, however, as Lee still shares their house with some of his Iowa teammates.
“We’re doing the first year because we signed a lease,” Lee said. So, we’re doing one year. I have a big room. I have a walk-in closet. We have two living rooms, so we figured we could make it work for a year.”
Lee’s wife is a substitute teacher and usually doesn’t get home from work until around 4:30 p.m., while Lee rarely arrives home before 6:30 p.m. due to his busy schedule as a student-athlete.
“It has restructured my priorities a little bit, just being able to try and balance my time and everything,” Lee said. “It’s a pretty cool opportunity being able to go home and talk to somebody about anything I want to talk about every single night.”
But with being married comes some friendly harassing from his Iowa teammates.
“He’s the old married man, so we tease him and everything,” said senior linebacker Seth Benson. “But he’s a great guy and we love his wife.”
It also helps that Lee’s wife, who competed in track and field at Wisconsin-Whitewater, is knowledgeable about football.
Her older brother played football at Division II Truman State and is now coaching football at their high school alma mater in Illinois.
So, if Lee wants to talk football with his wife, she’s ready and able.
“Their whole family is very involved with football, so, it’s pretty neat,” Lee said.
Lee feels so fortunate to have found the love of his life, and to have her along on this journey together.
Though, it’s extremely rare for an Iowa football player to be married, Lee seemed destined to be an exception.
And while his teammates might tease him, they also respect and admire Lee’s maturity and commitment.
“That’s his values and what he loves,” Benson said. “It’s something that is important to him and that’s him. He was ready and he made the decision, and he gets crap for it.”
From a football standpoint, the 6-foot-5, 275-pound Lee is part of an Iowa defense that is considered the strength of the team.
Lee is listed as the starter at right defensive tackle after having started all 14 games at that position last season.
“I’m very confident with the way we made things come together towards the end of camp,” Lee said “Things really started to mesh and I’m very excited for this team. We haven’t had a single snap as a 2022 unit, but I think we have a lot of potential.”