Southern QB Lee racking up stats, wins

Photo: SU QB Bryant Lee

By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN, Advocate sportswriter

Honors from all around.

The accolades are getting stacked right alongside the victories for Southern sophomore quarterback Bryant Lee. Monday, the Southwestern Athletic Conference named Lee as its Offensive Player of the Week.

That continues a trend for Lee, who is 5-1 as a starter at Southern.

In every victory in which Lee has had a meaningful role, save for a 12-2 win over Prairie View on Sept. 15, he has received some form of honor.

In chronological order:

*SWAC Newcomer of the Week in coming off the bench, tag-teaming with C.J. Byrd and running and throwing for his first collegiate touchdowns in a 38-20 win over Alabama State a year ago.

*SWAC Newcomer of the Week in coming off the bench in the second quarter and rallying SU to a second-half, 34-17 win over Texas Southern.

*Southern’s Bayou Classic MVP in his second game as a starter, leading the Jaguars to a 21-17, fourth-quarter win over Grambling.

*Southern’s MEAC/SWAC Challenge MVP and Louisiana Sports Writers Association *Offensive Player of the Week after leading SU’s rally in the second half for a 33-27 win over Florida A&M.

*The Chicago Football Classic Offensive MVP in a 23-6 win over Mississippi Valley State.

The latest SWAC honor came after Lee was 23-for-33 for career highs of 305 yards and four touchdowns as the Jaguars overcame a 21-point, second-quarter deficit to beat Tennessee State 41-34 Saturday at A.W. Mumford Stadium.

“It was great. Execution, that’s all it takes,” Lee said.

Saturday, the Jaguars played the first half without their top playmaker, senior wide receiver Gerard Landry, who had been suspended after being ejected for throwing a swing in the fourth quarter of the previous game.

“The offensive line blocked great for me,” Lee said. “They gave me the time to get the ball to the playmakers.”
Lee, who redshirted in 2005, has won his last five starts after a three-interception debacle in a blowout loss to eventual Western Division champ Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

In the five-game run, he’s 108-for-157 (68.8 percent) for 1,124 yards, nine touchdowns and no interceptions. Twice, he’s rallied SU in the fourth quarter (against Grambling and Tennessee State) and once, against Florida A&M, he led a second-half comeback.

Plus, he came off the bench in the second quarter against Texas Southern, notching a second-half comeback victory.

“You have to stay pretty calm, on and off the field,” Lee said. “Just going over reads and key is the main thing.”

Including his run at Hahnville High, Lee is now 32-2 as a starting quarterback.

“He’s making progress,” Southern coach Pete Richardson said. “He still missed some key reads (Saturday), but overall he has the confidence of the team. They know he’s going to deliver when he gets an opportunity.

“The more he plays, the better experience he gets, the more the game will slow down for him.”