MISSOULA — Small-town athletes compete for the Montana Grizzlies all the time, but the adjustment is one those from the Treasure State's larger cities don't quite always have to make.
Jaxon Lee is no different, as the UM senior safety spent most of his life growing up in Belgrade before moving to even smaller Philipsburg, where he spent the first three years of his high school life playing 8-Man football.
"I had to go to basically football school," Lee said about his arrival at Montana. "At 8-man, we have Cover 2, two-deep halves, and then here we have so many different calls that I can still barely know. It's like we have so much going on all the time.
"And in 8-Man, you weren't really thinking a whole lot. It was just a lot of athletes out on the field and guys being fast running around."
Still, Lee was a major part of the Flint Creek 8-Man dynasty that recently happened for the co-op between Drummond and Philipsburg. With him on the team, the Titans went back-to-back in 2017 and 2018 as 8-Man champs.
Lee would go on to taste 11-Man football when he transferred his senior year to play at Sentinel High School in Missoula, but it's those small-town roots he carries with him everywhere he goes.
"I always try to sneak in Phillipsburg, Montana, when we're doing our little video shoots," Lee said. "I mean, my whole family's still there. I feel like I'm P-Burg, even though I got a whole bunch of Missoula people I'm thankful for. But, it's just kind of where I started my journey I feel like and that that's where I owe it all to.
"It was a lot of fun, actually, because, I was meeting so many people all over the state and getting friends all over. I'm really glad that I went from all three towns, really."
Once Lee got to Montana as a highly touted local recruit, he played right away as a freshman on special teams where he starred for two seasons.
Then last year, Lee broke out as a backup safety who cracked the rotation, and once he settled in he began to make an impact for the Griz as he tallied 49 total tackles (3.5 for loss) and picked off two passes and recovered a fumble.
"The first few games, I mean, I was pooping my pants, you know, I was a little afraid, super nervous, and just had to kind of get the jitters out," Lee said. "But then once you kind of go throughout the season, first couple games, you start relaxing and get to play a little faster, stop thinking so much, and yeah, it got really fun towards the end."
Twice Lee returned turnovers for touchdowns for the Grizzlies last year — an interception against Northern Colorado and a fumble recovery in the playoffs against Delaware — as he made his mark for a program he dreamed of playing for his whole life, saying his teammates and facing Montana State have been among the highlights of his time at UM.
"When I was in a young age, I was wearing a Grizzly onesie and whatnot," Lee said. "You just grow up wanting to do this. Coming to all the home games all the time, telling gramps, 'Hey gramps, I'll be down there someday.' It was like ... that's all I ever wanted to do. So always so thankful for the opportunity."
And his opportunity isn't over yet, as there's still plenty of football left to be played, with Lee wanting to leave everything on the field.
"I don't want to ever leave this place and say, 'Oh, I should have done this. Should have done that.' I just kind of want to leave here and be like, Yeah, I did. I did my time, and I did well, too, and I'm happy with how I did. So just enjoy it while I can."
