Former Andalusia High School football standout Montel Lee added another notch to an already illustrious career at Ferrum College in Virginia when he was named to the American Football Coaches Association 2017 Division III All-American team.

“It’s a dream come true,” Lee said. “It’s a blessing from above. It just shows the hard work that everybody put in this, not just me. It was my teammates, my coaches and my family. We all did our part. Yes, one person gets the award, but this is far from an individual award. It’s a team award in my eyes and God is great all the time.”

Lee becomes just the third player in Ferrum College history that has been selected as an All-American.

Playing defensive tackle, Lee had 45 tackles, including 35 solo tackles and 24.5 tackles for a loss.

He led the USA South in tackles for loss, as well as sacks with 14. He holds the school record for four sacks in one game, 14 sacks in one season and 41 sacks in a career.

“I’m very proud of Montel and his four years at Ferrum,” head coach Rob Grande said. “He accomplished a great deal as an individual, but has maintained the importance of winning as a group and always enjoys his teammates’ successes. He has certainly earned this recognition on the field. This is a great day for him and his family and a great day for Ferrum football.”

During is time at Ferrum, Lee has become one of the most decorated player in the school’s history. He earned USA South Defensive Player of the Year honors in each of the past two seasons. During his freshman season, Lee was named Defensive Rookie of the Year. He was also a three-time All-Region selection by D3football.com.

He is also just one of five Ferrum student-athletes to earn All-Conference first team honors four times since Ferrum began competing in all sports in the USA South.

Lee will graduate from Ferrum in the spring of 2019 with a major in education and a minor in coaching. Lee says he is also trying to pursue his dreams of playing professional football one day.