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Lee an unheralded contributor among ‘Bama’s vaunted front seven
By John Hollis
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He was a unanimous four-star prospect coming out of one of Georgia’s most storied high school programs and had his choice of schools between the likes of Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Auburn and Clemson.
But Crimson Tide linebacker Dillon Lee never became the star and household name that so many young men envision when choosing their college football destination.
His relatively unremarkable collegiate career will come to an equally-as-quiet conclusion out in the desert following Monday night’s national championship game between the No. 2 Crimson Tide and undefeated and top-ranked Clemson.
But don’t mistake Lee’s time at Alabama as unproductive.
He was one of those so-called “glue” guys that coaches always rave about. The kind of special player who isn’t as talented as some of his NFL-bound teammates, but one whose daily energy and effort becomes contagious and make the programs go.
Lee has been one such player during his four years playing for coach Nick Saban, making plays when he can while doing whatever is asked of him for team’s greater good.
It helps that he can play, too.
It was the unsung Lee who delivered the interception in the waning minutes of the Cotton Bowl to preserve Alabama’s 38-0 whitewash of Michigan State. And it was also Lee who played a key role in the Crimson Tide’s corralling of LSU running back Leonard Fournette back on Nov. 7. Fournette managed a season-low 31 yards on 19 carries in Alabama’s 30-16 victory.
Often the forgotten man among a heralded Crimson Tide front seven that features a slew of former five-star recruits who will soon be NFL millionaires, Lee will likely be in the starting lineup on Monday night with the idea of helping to keep of Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson in check.
An excellent open-field tackler who runs well, the 6-foot-4, 242-pound Lee was a star at Buford (Ga.) High School.
But climbing the depth chart at Alabama isn’t easy because of all of the talent the Crimson Tide gathers. Lee has been a reserve linebacker for the bulk of his career and his game action has been mostly limited to special teams.
But he was ready when opportunity knocked. Lee, who started one game as a junior, notched the first of his six starts this season at inside linebacker in the season-opener against Wisconsin.
He started again at LSU, tallying three tackles, one interception and his first career sack. Lee has played well enough to warrant starts in four of Alabama’s previous six games, including in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta against Florida in front of friends and family, and against Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl. Lee came up and played in the box area against the Spartans, matching his season-high with six tackles as the Crimson Tide limited Michigan State to just 29 yards rushing.
He enters Monday night with 24 tackles, two interceptions, one pass breakup and one quarterback hurry to his credit.
And he’ll be ready to add to those totals.
John Hollis is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Georgia and Florida.
