It’s not much of a surprise to anyone within a 30-mile radius of New Orleans, but Tulane coach Curtis Johnson has named redshirt freshman Tanner Lee the starting quarterback for the 2014 season, making it official earlier this morning.
“I am ready to name Tanner. Tanner Lee is our starting quarterback,” Johnson told Tammy Nunez of NOLA.com. “He is starting for us this year and I think he’s going to have a great season, a great career. Devin Powell played great (so far in camp), so did Nick (Montana), but I think Tanner is our guy.”
Lee, a three-star prospect from the recruiting class of 2013 (according to 247Sports), has held a strong grip as the front-runner for the starting position for weeks now.
The Jesuit High School product shined during Tulane’s spring practice session and has got off to an impressive start to fall practice, outshining both challengers in incumbent Nick Montana and sophomore Devin Powell.
“It’s great,” Lee said after Saturday’s scrimmage, where he completed 13-of-21 pass attempts for 162 yards and a touchdown. “I’ve still got to work. I still have a ton of work to do before the Tulsa game. So does our offense. We’ve got to continue to execute to become more perfect in our practice.”
Coming out of high school, you could tell that Lee had unrefined potential. Standing 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, he had above-average arm strength and field vision, stood tall in the pocket and did a nice job avoiding pressure—but it was obvious that he was lacking in other areas.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnJEvJeIuSo]Johnson’s decision to redshirt him his first year with the program allowed him to develop and mold into the kind of quarterback that is a fit for the Green Wave’s system.
“The thing that I’m really impressed with him about is he’s shown a lot of leadership and a lot of consistency,” Johnson said. “He doesn’t lead by yelling and screaming at guys. He just leads by example. He just throws it in there. If there are some bad plays, he shrugs it off. He’s a guy you love throwing the ball to you.”
Lee will have the difficult task of managing an offense that struggled to score 24.8 points per game, finishing No. 108 in the nation in team passing efficiency (110.4).
Tulane won seven games last season and made its first bowl appearance since 2002, but relied heavily on an aggressive, in-your-face defense that forced a ton of three-and-outs and dared you to take risks. However, with key components missing from the front seven, the Green Wave will undoubtedly need much more production from their offense—mainly via the quarterback position.
If Tulane wants to sustain consistency and have another winning season in its first as a member of the American Athletic Conference, Lee will need to take his abilities and continue to improve over the next few weeks as he settles in as the Green Wave’s next gunslinger.
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