BOISE, Idaho (CBS 2) — You might recognize this guy!

Former Boise State linebacker Darren Lee and his family are cheering on the broncos ahead of tonight's big game against Airforce.

It's been a few years since Lee has been on the blue field, but since graduating in 2016 he's joined a new team. He's now an officer with the Boise Police Department.

Cbs2's Haley Kramer caught up with Lee earlier Friday to talk about his time on the Blue and how he's continuing to serve the Boise community.

"It's at the point now where people playing were like a freshman when I was there and so I remember and I'm like oh I don't know how they're going to be. I watch them now and I'm just like holy cow they're fantastic," Lee explains.

Lee will be watching tonight's game at home with his family, which has grown from three-four since saying goodbye to the Blue.

While at Boise State he studied criminal justice.

"We get emails all the time as students and BPD was hiring and they had their hiring process and that email got sent out and my wife was like you know maybe you should do that, and I was like maybe I should do that! And it worked out," Lee said.

While he admits he didn't know much about law enforcement when he joined. He quickly realized he loved the job, and the community.

"The support that they've given Boise State football and support that they've given to Boise Police Department we really do feel it," said Lee.

Looking back, one of the biggest moments in his football career came his sophomore year.

After a rough start to the season, the Broncos made it to the Fiesta Bowl and beat the Arizona Wildcats 38 to 30.

"It was just exciting to see when a whole group unifies on a goal, everybody does their part to kind of the cog in the wheel kind of thing and to make the machine work and it worked out. It actually did," said Lee.

That teamwork is just one of the lessons he has brought from the field into his career.

"Coach Harsin always told us there are only certain things in life you can control, there's a lot of things that are out of our control in this world but your attitude your effort and your focus, that's in your control," Lee said.

Another lesson... Don't hesitate.

"In football, if you hesitate that's when you get beat or possibly even get injured and I think the same thing goes for a police officer," Lee continues. "I think there are certain situations where decisions need to be made and you don't have time to hesitate you need to be able, you're getting called there for a reason and so your job is to show up and there's no reason to hesitate. Just do what needs to be done to fix the issue."

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