Former Lakeland High School football player Justin Kee became a magnet for awards as a senior offensive lineman for the Winston-Salem State University Rams.

Near the end of the season, his accolades included a selection to the All-Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association First Team, the USA College Football Division II Second Team and the Beyond Sports Network 2014 Division 2 Football All Super Region Third Team.

“I finally put everything together, and it showed, and it paid off,” Kee said.

He noted he spent countless hours watching film over the summer and working out.

And he was able to play every game in 2014, unlike 2013 when he had a high ankle sprain and missed the last five games of the season.

This did not mean that the 2014 season was injury-free, however, but rather that he avoided serious injury and was able to push through the injuries he had.

He had knee issues from the beginning of the season, he tore a main ligament in his wrist and wore a cast from week five to the end of the season and also experienced minor sprains in both ankles.

“Coming into the season, I decided to get my weight down,” Kee said, adding he was at 290 this time, rather than 315 in previous years. “I was more versatile, more mobile.”

He said he was more flexible, having done a lot of stretching in the summer. He also spent a lot of time training with a strength and conditioning coach.

“We worked on a lot of power lifting in the summer,” he said.

The Rams went 9-2 overall this year, producing a strong season, even though it had a disappointing finish with a 21-17 loss to Virginia State University in the CIAA championship game.

“Justin Kee was a strong anchor for us,” said Kienus Boulware, who just finished his first year as head coach of the Rams.

Boulware said he is not shocked that Kee is receiving the honors that have come his way.

“We’ve been pretty successful over the last five years, averaging over 10 wins a season for that period of time, and it’s not because we’ve got great coaches,” he said. “It’s because of guys like Justin Kee.”

Kee’s recent first-time awards followed up his selection earlier in 2014 to the preseason All-CIAA team.

Though an offensive lineman does not have statistics to his name, he is certainly responsible for generating team stats and for helping running backs, quarterbacks and receivers achieve their stats.

Kee said, as an offensive lineman, he takes pride in rushing stats the most.

“That shows how physical you are,” he said. “I like being physical up front.”

Through 11 games in 2014, the Rams had 453 rushing attempts, which yielded 2016 yards, equaling an average of 4.5 yards per carry.

Glenwood Ferebee, a former college coach and Kee’s former coach at Lakeland, put those numbers in perspective.

“To be able to come out with an average of 4.5, that’s almost unheard of as a collective group,” he said. “That says a lot about him and his offensive line mates.”

Ferebee recalled his time coaching Kee when the lineman was a senior for the Cavaliers.

“I always knew he had the potential and drive to be good,” Ferebee said. Despite injuries and other roadblocks that came along for Kee, the coach said, “He never gave up on his dream.”