From breathing techniques to baptizing Iowa teammate, Logan Lee charts unique path

IOWA CITY — Caden Crawford approached fellow defensive lineman Logan Lee with a once-in-a-lifetime question.

“It almost choked me up a little bit just to think about it,” Lee said. “Nobody’s ever asked me to do that.”

Crawford’s request was for Lee to baptize him in the Christian faith.

“I didn’t even know I could do it until he asked,” Lee said Tuesday.

After getting the OK to perform the sacrament from Grace Community Church in North Liberty, Lee baptized his fellow defensive lineman during the bye week outside of Crawfordsville in Washington County.

“I’m very blessed, very grateful for that opportunity,” Lee said.

The baptism followed some preparation so Crawford “understands what he’s committing to” and “understands the ins and outs,” Lee said. Crawford shared his testimony right before the baptism in a pond on a 56-degree October day.

As for how to physically baptize someone, Lee said there’s “not much to it.”

“Submersion,” Lee said. “There wasn’t a whole lot of technique to it.”

Unique approach to breathing

Iowa football does “a lot” of nasal breathing after workouts.

“It helps reset your parasympathetic nervous system so that you’re able to recover better and get into an optimized recovery window,” Lee said.

Lee takes the post-workout nasal breathing to another level.

For “close to a year,” Lee has been taping his mouth shut overnight so that he breathes more through his nose.

“I don’t do it every night, but I try to do it most nights,” Lee said.

⧉ Related article: Iowa’s Logan Lee leads with maturity, becomes ‘more productive player’

Breathing more through your nose has myriad health benefits, ranging from lowering blood pressure to reducing anxiety, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Reading the 2020 book “Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art” by James Nestor inspired Lee to take up the mouth-taping regimen.

“That’s kind of where I got the idea,” Lee said.

Any discomfort from Lee’s nighttime routine subsided quickly.

“Ultimately, you’ll get used to anything,” Lee said.

Lee has it down to a science at this point. It goes just over his lips, so his mustache goes unharmed. Surgical tape works best, he has discovered.

The 6-foot-5 defensive lineman hasn’t seen a direct impact on his in-game performance, but it has affected other aspects of his life.

“I noticed a lot of difference in my allergy symptoms and my conditioning a little bit,” Lee said.

What has worked for Lee might not work for everyone. The Sleep Foundation and Cleveland Clinic recommend consulting with one’s doctor before taping their mouth shut. Risks include impairment of breathing and possibly an allergic reaction to the tape.

Lee’s attention to smaller details like breathing — something other athletes may overlook — is not a surprise to head coach Kirk Ferentz.

“He's the only married guy on the team, and it makes perfect sense,” Ferentz said. “That probably kind of fits in the same package.”

They fit because of Lee’s maturity, not his matrimony, the married Ferentz clarified before getting in any trouble.

“Not that I do breathing techniques just because I'm married,” Ferentz said. “There's no correlation there.”

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