It’s understandable to suffer from a bit of Western Carolina fatigue at this point in the offseason. There have been an awful lot of former Catamounts joining the program over the last few months.
It’s certainly a jump from the FCS to the FBS — let alone the Power Four level. It doesn’t always translate. But Censere Lee, one of those FCS transfers, isn’t worried about the transition. He’s confident in his play — and his fellow Catamounts.
“I don’t think it will be a big difference,” Lee said last month at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “It will just be on us knowing it’s better competition, but with knowing the offense, if you’re a playmaker, you’re gonna make plays anywhere.”
Lee — a 5-foot-11, 175-pound wideout from Clearwater, Fla. — is one of three former Western Carolina playmakers to join the Panthers this offseason, along with Desmond Reid and Poppi Williams. And they’re not alone. Kade Bell is the offensive coordinator, Jeremy Darveau is the offensive line coach and JJ Laster is the wide receivers coach.
It helps to have Lee, Williams and Reid around to serve as intermediaries between the new offensive coaching staff and the players who aren’t familiar with Bell.
“A pro from this is it’s bringing us together, so it’s easy learning the new players,” Lee said. “Us as a receiver group, we’re very tight. We’re getting to know each other very well, we meet, we’re always talking and learning each other.”
It might sound a little crazy, but the expectation is to snap the ball between seven and 10 seconds from the end of the previous play. That’s fast. That’s Tennessee fast. That’s what Bell has slowly been installing this spring.
“It means being explosive,” Lee said. “He wants to line up fast, run the play fast, catch the defense off and might get a free play here and there.”
Of course, that up-tempo offense isn’t rigid. It’s when the situation calls for it. If the offense needs to slow down and kill some clock, Bell is ready to do it. But it’s an offensive system that is going to move fast, score points and continue to do so even if there’s a lead. It’s certainly a difference from how the old offense operated.
Lee, who spent two seasons at Western Carolina, was impressive. He isn’t the biggest, strongest wideout, but he’s fast off the line, smooth in his route running and able to take the top off of opposing defenses.
He led Western Carolina in just about every receiver category last season, hauling in 40 receptions for 719 yards (18 yards per reception) and eight touchdowns in 10 games.
Lee was an outside receiver for the Catamounts, with just about 86% of his snaps coming out wide, and according to PFF, he racked up 234 yards after catch (5.9 YAC/routes run), averaged just about 2.5 yards per route ran, hauled in 5-of-13 contested catch opportunities and converted 24 first downs.
He did have a handful of concentration drops last season, which points to his continued growth under Bell and Laster, but it was a seemingly uncharacteristic jump from his first season at WCU. So, there’s plenty of potential when looking at his all-around game — thriving as an intermediate range wideout at Western Carolina.
“I’m very fast and athletic; I love to jump,” Lee said. “I love to run routes, in and out kind of guy, and I like the tempo. I don’t like waiting on someone else to do anything. The tempo really helps with the momentum of the game.”
The tempo, the increase in passing volume, is something that Lee has stressed to his new teammates. And it’s been taken well. There’s a lot of excitement when it comes to the new system and all of the changes that it entails — different routes, new motions and all sorts of innovation.
Lee actually entered the portal before Bell took the job at Pitt, and he received some interest once he hit the portal. But with Bell coming to Pitt, and the relationship that has been built there, it was a no-brainer. The trust was already there, and it’s hard to find that sort of trust in the current age of college football.
Bell offered the trust, and Pitt offered the opportunity that Lee always dreamed of.
“Growing up, I always wanted to play Power Five, big stage, show everybody what I can do,” Lee said. “With me being considered undersized my whole life, got a chip on my shoulder.”
Lee is well-equipped to join the Pitt wide receiving corps. If there’s one thing that Bell has stressed, it’s speed. Tempo. Lee is fast, yes, but he’s shifty and agile, too. It’s the perfect skill set for the new scheme, and he should be a nice fit outside.
And with fellow Western Carolina star Poppi Williams in the fold, the two led the Catamounts in receiving in each of the last two seasons (Williams in 2022 and Lee in 2023), their speed is a factor. Lee is confident in who is faster though.
“Oh, me, 100%,” Lee said with a grin.
