In the run-up to Big Ten Media Days, I wanted to get a
little insight on new Nebraska quarterback Tanner Lee, so I decided to give Steve
Calhoun a call.
Calhoun runs the “Armed and Dangerous Football Camp,” and
has worked with quarterbacks like former Nevada QB Cody Fajardo, former USC QB
Cody Kessler and former Nebraska star Taylor Martinez. He has also mentored
current Nebraska back-up quarterback Patrick O’Brien since his days in high
school.
Calhoun’s excitement
about what Lee, a two-year starter at Tulane, can do
in his first season with the Huskers was noticeable and he offered some pretty
unique insight into the intricacies of Lee’s game.
The following is our conversation in its entirety.
Hail Varsity: So just
to start, I just want to hear about your experience with Tanner? When did you
meet? What did you think of him? What’s your relationship like?
Steve Calhoun: “I got a chance to meet Tanner a couple years
ago when he was at Tulane, and that was the first time I saw him at the Manning
Passing Academy, so I got a chance to meet him there and was a big fan of him because
that was the year [Heisman Trophy winner Marcus] Mariota was at the Manning camp and Jameis Winston and all
those guys and he actually out-threw all those guys and I was like, ‘who is
this kid?’
“Some of the local coaches from around New Orleans let me
know who he was. He was very impressive. And, you know, got the chance to see
him again this summer and talk to him and he knows that I work out with Patrick
O’Brien so we talked a bit about Patrick and just caught up a bit. He likes
Nebraska and Lincoln and… So, yeah, we were just able to catch up a little bit.”
HV: What’s he like
off the field?
SC: “He’s pretty outgoing. Not a quiet type of person,
really engaging, you know. Just a normal person, I mean he doesn’t have a big
ego. You would never think he’s a starting quarterback at the University of
Nebraska. He’s just a regular guy.”
HV: That attitude
seems to have kind of won over his teammates, gotten him the respect of his
teammates at Nebraska. I just keep hearing that he’s got that leadership factor and then,
obviously, going to Chicago to represent them at media days, that’s a big deal
too. Do you see those same qualities in him?
SC: “Absolutely. I mean, the way he handled himself a couple
years ago, when I first saw him, just how engaging he was knowing there’s a
bunch of high profile quarterbacks there and he wasn’t, um… he didn’t shy away
from the competition. He just kind of embraced everything that had to go along
with being at the Manning Academy, throwing next to Mariota and Jameis
and you can really tell that people gravitate to him and I know his
teammates at Tulane and at Nebraska will follow him into battle. That wasn’t
hard to notice.”
HV: For a team like
Nebraska, going through a little bit of a transition this year, is having a guy
like that at that position important from a psychological standpoint?
SC: “Oh absolutely, there’s no doubt about it. I think that’s
the one quality that a quarterback needs to possess: the leadership, the
intangibles of being able to command grown men and getting them to follow you.
You can be the best quarterback in the world but if your teammates don’t want
to run through walls for you and follow you into battle and really take care of
you, then you’re going to struggle, because that chemistry won’t be there.
“I always talk to my young quarterbacks today, if you’re
ever walking through campus and somebody wants to pick a fight with you, if
your lineman first don’t come and jump in front of you and say, ‘nah,’ or your
other teammates that see that, if they don’t jump in front of you and take that
away from you, then you don’t have the respect from your team. If they let you
get beat up, that’s a clear sign that they don’t respect you.
“I don’t see that being Tanner at all.”
HV: What is it about
his game that has impressed you the most?
SC: “He’s a natural thrower of the football. It doesn’t look
like it takes a lot of effort for him to throw it, just how tight the ball is
spinning and the accuracy. He always looks like he’s in control. He really
understands his body and he’s never off-balance. I’ve never really seen him
throw off-balance. He’s always got a great base, which allows him to be accurate.
And then how clean the ball comes out every
time, it’s like, hardly ever… I don’t think I’ve seen him throw a wobbly
pass in the two years I’ve seen him throw at the Manning Passing Academy.
That’s the one thing that stands out to me.”
HV: What about going
the other direction, what are some pieces of his game that need a little bit
more work?
SC: “He needs to definitely continue to work on his
footwork. He’s not the most mobile guy, but he needs to be able to evade
pressure in the pocket with subtle movements that create a little more space
for him to get the ball off. And that’s every quarterback (that takes time to
develop that). With him being 6-4, he needs to continue to work on his
footwork.
“He’s been out of the game for a year and hasn’t played in a
live setting, especially when they start playing against the real Big Ten
teams.”
HV: He seems to be
coming into a situation in Nebraska that feels like a perfect marriage between
the two of them, Nebraska needed a quarterback, and Tanner needed to find the
right scheme. Now that he’s here, what’s the ceiling for him this season?
SC: “I think he could be one of the top quarterbacks in the
country. With the offensive guys he’s got around him and the way he can throw
the ball and command the offense… now, I’m not sure how much of the playbook
Nebraska showed in the spring game, but the little bit that they did show, he
looked like he was in complete control and knew where everybody was, knew all
the checks, all the protections and all that stuff, so I think he can definitely
be one of the top quarterbacks in the country.”
HV: It seemed like
when he was at Tulane, the numbers won’t jump off the page but he was getting
hit all the time and facing constant pressure. Feels like that could have
depreciated his standing with some of the national people that will only look
at his numbers and some highlights.
SC: “Right. I don’t think (sacks and pressure will be an
issue). Coach Langsdorf is going to tailor the offense especially for Tanner,
just like he would for Patrick (O’Brien). They have different strengths and
weaknesses but that’s the job of the offensive coordinator, to not expose the
weaknesses of your quarterback. So I think he’ll have it dialed in exactly so
Tanner can be successful.”
HV: Seems like
there’s been a lot of hype surrounding him, and it’s really picking up steam
lately, can that almost be a negative thing weighing on a team or a player?
SC: “I don’t believe so. I mean, guys… me as a quarterback,
I’d welcome that pressure because it’s going to make me focus harder, work
harder to make sure I can keep the media and the critics quiet. But it’s about
the guys on the team, you don’t play for the media and the TV stations, you
play for the guys that are next to you in the locker room. You hear that
‘Tanner’s going to be an unbelievable quarterback, one of the top guys,’ but
you want to prove that to your teammates first before you prove it to any fan
or anybody outside that stadium.”
HV: And Tanner’s that
type of guy?
SC: “Tanner’s that type of guy. There’s no doubt about it.”
HV: So I’m coming
from a situation in Oklahoma where I just watched Baker Mayfield sit out a
season after transferring and then come back stronger than ever and surpass
expectations. And it seems like that’s becoming more common when you look
around the college football landscape, seeing guys come back with a new
mentality, a new approach. What is it about sitting out that season that helps
those guys?
SC: “I really believe it just makes you more hungry. For you
to have to sit out a full year and not be able to go into battle with your
teammates that you’ve been grinding with a practicing with day after day, and
you don’t get a chance to participate and help them get those wins or if your
team lost and you feel there was something you could have done to help your
team win, I think it just makes you more hungry and appreciate the game more.
And that’s what I believe pushes those guys forward and helps those guys have
that type of success.”
HV: Last thing I
wanted to ask you is if we could just kind of play a little over/under with
some of Tanner’s numbers for this season. When he was at Tulane, his high for a
season was about 1,900 passing yards. So, I’ll ask you: over or under 2,000
yards throwing the ball this season?
SC: “Way over. At least 3,500.”
HV: Okay, okay. His
high at Tulane was 12 passing touchdowns; I’m assuming you’re going to go over
again?
SC: “(Laughter) Yeah. I would say between 22 and 28.”
HV: Interceptions at
Tulane was 14, his high in a season. Over or under there?
SC: “He’ll be under that. He’ll definitely be under that.”
HV: Last one: 52
percent was his season high at Tulane for completion percentage. Over under
there?
SC: “He’ll be over that. I think he’ll be low 60s, I’d say
62, 64 percent. With the design of the offense and great receivers and Coach
Langsdorf, who’s a great offensive coordinator. With Coach Riley right there
overseeing the whole program, he’s a great offensive mind. I definitely see him
over 60 percent.”
You can also read the full story on Lee from Media Days
here.
Derek is a newbie on the Hail Varsity staff covering Husker athletics. In college, he was best known as ‘that guy from Twitter.’ He has covered a Sugar Bowl, a tennis national championship and almost everything in between (except an NCAA men’s basketball tournament game… *tears*). In his spare time, he can be found arguing with literally anyone about sports.
