Any great football team is centered around a great leader. And more often than not, that leader is the team’s quarterback.
Serving as the face of an organization, the quarterback carries with him an honor and a weight unlike any other player. Like any good leader, a victory will result in all the praise being given to his teammates while a defeat will be a burden in which he takes upon himself.
Tulane is currently in the process of saying farewell to and trying to replace such a leader. It became official, just weeks ago, that former starting quarterback Tanner Lee will be a Nebraska Cornhusker in 2016, leaving the Green Wave with a large hole to fill.
Lee, who was with the school for three years, made an impact on his teams in high school and college as well as his community and thus it will not be just his play that will be missed in Louisiana. Lee won the starting job his redshirt freshman season the same year that the team joined the American Athletic Conference (2014) and from the get-go, he turned heads.
Number 12 started 10 games as a freshman for the Wave, racking up a plus-100 quarterback efficiency rating. His sophomore campaign didn’t see him slow down at all, as his QB rating climbed to 109.8 and his numbers in interceptions fell drastically.
However, it wasn’t just Lee’s college football success that will be remembered in New Orleans, but his athletic ability elsewhere. Being a native kid from the Big Easy, Lee’s success was well documented heading into his college career.
In high school at Jesuit High, he led his football team to three trips to the state playoffs and one district championship. It didn’t end there, though. He also found his niche on the baseball diamond, lettering three years. While on the team, Lee helped them win the state title his sophomore season. He would go on to receive the Louisiana American Italian Renaissance Foundation scholarship for his off-field efforts.
As New Orleans and the state of Louisiana says goodbye to their college team’s quarterback, they aren’t simply saying farewell to another nameless face and number. Instead, they are parting ways with a young man who was born and raised in the Big Easy and whom many had the privilege of following since his high school days.
Lee begins a new chapter of his life in Nebraska with the Cornhuskers, and although he will be required to sit out the 2016 season, he will get his chance to play the following year (perhaps two if the NCAA deems him eligible for a sixth season).
While it will be strange to see Lee sporting the red and white now, the people of Louisiana, and specifically New Orleans, will watch knowing that whatever he accomplishes next will be thanks to, in large part, his time in the Bayou State.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
