ATHENS, Texas — It was an exciting Tuesday for two young athletes at Athens ISD.
From pop warner to the Friday Night Lights, Kendrick Marshall and La’Zavion Lee have been a team on and off the field and now they're taking their games to the college level, together.
"Seeing myself going to the next level and doing things that I didn’t see myself doing, and give myself another chance to play ball again, what I love," Lee said.
Marshall and Lee are Texas College Football’s newest commits. The two of them acted as anchors for a strong Athens defense this past season, with Lee being named to the All-District first team as a cornerback and Marshall being recognized as an honorable mention defensive lineman.
Both grew up in East Texas playing together, honing the types of skills that the Texas College football program looks for.
"What we try to do is we try to build our team from East Texas. East Texas is a mecca of football, and so anytime you can come to a school like Athens and get two quality guys that’ll help us with our program, that’s exciting for us," Randy Butler, director of athletics at Texas College said.
It wasn’t an easy journey for either of these young men. Marshall didn’t become a full-time varsity player until this past season and Lee has always bounced between his passion for football and track. Ultimately though, their paths led them to the Steers.
"It was a challenge at first, I didn’t see myself going anywhere with football at all. So my next option, I was just going to go into work. But I got another chance to play, so I’m going to give it all I got," Lee said.
Aside from what they did between the lines, coaches at Athens have been really impressed by the way both players have grown as people throughout their high school careers.
"And again both of these kids are great, to tease to the guys sitting in this room, the younger guys, of showing up every day, being committed and working hard, what that gives you. And it gives you what they got today," Zac Harrell, Athens head football coach, said.
Next up for Marshall and Lee: summer training camp. Then they’ll officially have to trade that Athens maroon in for Texas College purple, when their season begins in Arizona, with a trip to Ottawa University Surprise on September 21.