Elijah Lee had a security job at Chiefs’ camp. Now he faces them in the Super Bowl
Soon after the Chiefs moved their training camp to Missouri Western, some security was provided by students at St. Joseph Central High as community service.
That’s how Elijah Lee found himself stationed at different spots near the dual fields, helping fans find their way and thinking about the day he might find himself on the field instead of above it.
“I just sat there hoping I could be down there some day,” Lee said.
He’ll happily settled for his current position opposing the team he grew up following.
Lee is a reserve linebacker and special teams player for the San Francisco 49ers, who meet the Chiefs in Sunday’s Super Bowl.
Lee moved from St. Joseph to Blue Springs for his final two years of high school and played a dominant role for coach Kelly Donohoe’s teams that went a combined 27-1.
A two-time Buck Buchanan Award winner as the Kansas City metro’s top linebacker, Lee has never been far from the Chiefs’ sphere.
He went to games at Arrowhead Stadium “in the nose-bleed section,” and watched teams of Derrick Johnson, Tamba Hali and Justin Houston.
When it came time to pick a college, Lee stayed close to home and attended Kansas State, a school represented by three players in the Super Bowl, all teammates in Manhattan. Lee played in college with 49ers cornerback DJ Reed and Chiefs wide receiver Byron Pringle.
“How cool is that?” Pringle said. “It’s a blessing to against the guys I competed with at Kansas State.”
Those Wildcats teams split a pair of games against Texas Tech, with Patrick Mahomes’ team winning in Lubbock in 2015 and the Wildcats defending home turf in 2016. Lee had an interception of Mahomes in that game.
Lee was taken by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round in 2017 but was with the 49ers by the time the season started.
He started five games in 2018, including one against the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
This season, Lee spent the first half of the season on the practice squad, the rest of the year suiting up. He started once.
Now, he’s preparing for the biggest game of his career against the team he knows so well.
“It’s kind of crazy when you think about it,” Lee said. “I’m now in the Super Bowl playing against them. It hasn’t hit me yet.”