Photo: Southern quarterback Bryant Lee is stepping to the forefront as the team’s No. 1 quarterback. By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN, Advocate sportswriter
Bryant Lee is the clear frontrunner — and pretty much the winner — in the quarterback derby between two sophomores at Southern.
“He’s starting to separate himself from the rest of them, and so therefore he’s going to have to get a few more reps to see what type of poise he’s going to have in directing what we want him to do,” SU coach Pete Richardson said.
The job is Lee’s to lose.
Throughout the early stages of preseason camp, Lee and sophomore Warren Matthews have been sharing the work with the first team.
Fifth-year senior quarterback J.C. Lewis, the No. 1 the last two seasons, has worked third, with redshirt freshman Gary Hollimon fourth and junior C.J. Byrd, who started games in October, sidelined after a car accident.
By Wednesday, Lee was taking the majority of repetitions with the first team. And as Southern closed its practice with up tempo team-on-team drills Wednesday morning, Lee took all of the snaps.
The plan is for Lee to continue getting that much work. Thus, the competition to be No. 1 is over, unless Lee struggles.
“We’ve got to start honing in and getting him more reps, so he can get the confidence and build the chemistry of the wide receivers,” Richardson said. “Then we have to see how he’s going to handle this team under pressure. The next couple of weeks, we’ll zero in on what he does best.”
Lee (6-foot-2, 195 pounds) threw for 571 yards and three touchdowns and four interceptions. He was 51-for-87 (58.6 percent) and he is the team’s top returning rusher, with 302 yards and five touchdowns on 67 carries.
“I wouldn’t say ‘pressure,’ but as a football player I have to step in and take over,” Lee said as he arrived at camp. “I feel as though I know the playbook more.”
Matthews (6-3, 230) was a nonqualifier in 2005 and redshirted last season. Because of his physical tools as a runner and strong-armed thrower, Matthews factored into the race to be SU’s No. 1. He also improved tremendously in conditioning and in becoming a better passer and learning the offense since last fall.
The quarterback in the current offense, especially because SU has a young, thin offensive line, will have to run more.
“I feel good about both of them,” SU offensive coordinator Mark Orlando said about Lee and Matthews. “We’ve got the potential to be able to play two.”
Lee, who went 27-1 as a starter at Hahnville High, is considered by the SU staff to be a gamer. In the 2003 Class 5A state championship game, he tied a title-game record by throwing four touchdowns in a 41-35 victory over Evangel Christian Academy of Shreveport. Lee came on in the final three games of last season, as Orlando returned to his role of offensive coordinator.
With Lewis injuring his shoulder early in the second quarter, Lee came off the bench to throw for 138 yards and a touchdown and rush for 102 yards and two scores in a 34-17 victory over Texas Southern.
Then, Lee went 1-1 as a starter, losing his first start Nov. 11 to Arkansas-Pine Bluff 45-20 but then winning his second start Nov. 25 in the Bayou Classic 21-17. He was Southern’s MVP of the Bayou Classic.
Lee was redshirted in 2005 and began last season third on the depth chart.
“That (experience) helps out a great deal,” Richardson said. “This is a funny game. Once you get a little experience and play in some big games, you come back with a lot more confidence and you’re able to work a little harder in the offseason knowing you’re expected to do.”
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