Carl Lee III (born February 6, 1961) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

in the seventh round of the

1983 NFL draft The 1983 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1983, at the New York Sh ...

, and played with the Vikings for all but his final season with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

. From 1996 to 2005, Lee was the head football coach at

West Virginia State West Virginia State University (WVSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, land-grant university in Institute, West Virginia, United States. Founded in 1891 as the West Virginia Color ...

and compiled an overall record of 34 wins and 75 losses (34–75) during his time with the Yellow Jackets. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Marshall Thundering Herd The Marshall Thundering Herd is the intercollegiate athletic collection of teams that collectively represent the Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Thundering Herd athletic teams compete in the Sun Belt Conference, which are memb ...

. In 1995, he was inducted into the Marshall University Athletics Hall of Fame for his collegiate career in football and track and field.

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

Lee was selected by the

in the seventh round of the

. He played 11 years for the team from 1983 to 1993. During that time he started 144 of 169 games and had 779 tackles, 31

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

, returning two for

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. He made the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

New Orleans Saints

In 1994, Lee joined the

. In his only year with the team he started eight of 12 games, recording 28 tackles and two interceptions. After the 1994 season, Lee retired after 12 years in the NFL. He finished his career starting 152 of 181 games, recording 799 tackles, 31 interceptions, two touchdowns, and seven

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

recoveries.

Coaching career

Following his retirement from the NFL, in January 1996, Lee accepted the head coaching position at

West Virginia State University West Virginia State University (WVSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, land-grant university in Institute, West Virginia, United States. Founded in 1891 as the West Virginia Color ...

. After the 2005 season, he resigned his position as head coach, and during his ten seasons with the Yellow Jackets, Lee compiled an overall record of 34 wins and 75 losses (34–75). On February 17, 2022, it was announced that Lee would become the head football coach for South Charleston High School, his alma mater. On February 5, 2023, it was announced that Lee resigned as head football coach of South Charleston.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Carl 1961 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen African-American coaches of American football African-American track and field athletes American football cornerbacks American male track and field athletes Coaches of American football from West Virginia High school football coaches in West Virginia Marshall Thundering Herd football players Marshall Thundering Herd men's track and field athletes Minnesota Vikings players National Conference Pro Bowl players New Orleans Saints players South Charleston High School alumni Sportspeople from South Charleston, West Virginia Players of American football from Kanawha County, West Virginia Track and field athletes from West Virginia West Virginia State Yellow Jackets football coaches