Will the legacy of Joe Montana live again on the gridiron?
Tulane third-string quarterback Nick Montana entered the fourth-quarter of the Green Wave’s 31-6 loss to Rutgers after freshman starter Tanner Lee suffered an apparent shoulder bruise and back-up Devin Powell proved ineffective.
Montana went 5-for-5 for 18 yards in his short appearance against the Scarlet Knights. His light performance in the remnants of a fourth-quarter blowout was nothing eye-opening, but Montana’s grasp of the playbook in combination with Powell’s inconsistencies showed Green Wave coaches enough to give him the first-team snaps at Tuesday’s practice while Lee recovers.
“Nick did a better job (than Powell in the Rutgers game),” coach Curtis Johnson told NOLA.com. “He had less time but he did a better job. He knows what to do and he knows how to do it so we just have to decide on that if it comes to that.”
The current narrative directs Montana as the next guy up—odd to say for a quarterback with the name “Montana”—if doctors inform the coaching staff that Lee’s injury is more serious than originally thought.
Montana’s chance at regaining the starting position he secured for most of last year’s 7-6 campaign, and holding on to it, depends on the pace of Lee’s recovery.
“We are going day to day with this thing,” Johnson said. “He has until Tuesday to get back…when (or if) the docs say he can’t go, then we will make a decision.”
Reading between the lines suggests Johnson will err on the side of caution in deciding if his freshman and potential four-year starting QB should return, even if the Green Wave are on a timely bye week. Any casual football fan knows that interjecting an injured player back in the game before he is ready can end with devastating results for both the player and team.
Tulane (1-4, 0-1 AAC) can’t afford uncertainty at quarterback when it plays a critical AAC game at home against UConn, also 1-4, on Oct. 11. Normally an injured starter is only half as good as a healthy backup. Johnson knows playing Lee before he is healthy enough to withstand hits could jeopardize the longevity of his young QB’s career and damage his team’s chances of securing a “W” in the most winnable game left on the schedule.
Ironically, Johnson has already played the game of “sit-or-start” with a quarterback recovering from a shoulder injury. Montana separated his throwing shoulder in a win over North Texas, six games into the 2013 season. He sat out the next two games before returning for the remainder of the year, but his productivity diminished considerably following his return.
Montana was subsequently benched early in the second-quarter of the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl in favor of Powell after inexplicably tossing an interception that UL Lafayette sprinted 82 yards the other way for a touchdown. Montana’s entry in the fourth-quarter of the Rutgers’ game last Saturday was his first play in regulation since his New Orleans Bowl benching.
If Johnson had sat Montana longer than two games after his shoulder injury, perhaps his quarterback would have played better down the stretch. Signs point to Johnson ensuring he doesn’t make the same mistake with Lee.
Tulane quarterbacks coach Aaron Price concurs with Johnson’s renewed confidence in Montana, telling NOLA.com during Tuesday’s practice that the senior quarterback is resembling more of his pre-injury form.
“His arm strength has never been better,” Price said. “He is as strong as he’s ever been, he is as quick as he’s ever been. The transformation he made from spring to fall is something I’ve never seen in a guy before.”
Price’s praise for Montana’s vast improvement from spring ball to fall practices puts the severity of Montana’s shoulder injury in better perspective. The coach’s words also signify the deep faith the coaching staff has in Tanner Lee as the long-term leader of the Green Wave attack. Even after crawling back to true-form, Montana still has to prove his value as a starter is greater than the youthful potential Lee brings to the table.
For Montana to resurrect his career and recapture control as the team’s top gunslinger, he must, first, hope Lee isn’t ready to practice next Tuesday so he gets a shot at starting against UConn. Then he must play an interception-free game against the Huskies, or mask an interception with two or more passing touchdowns and a victory.
Johnson’s leash on Montana will be tight and short if he’s given the chance to start against the Huskies, but a big performance from the senior may persuade Johnson to sit the young Lee for the rest of 2014 and allow him to learn from the well-traveled Montana.
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