With all the talk about how good recruiting has been going for the Nebraska football team, it can seem as though the current squad is being largely ignored. That changed in the last few days when Stewart Mandel and Fox Sports recently released a list of players they believe are going to be breakout stars. Mandel put together a list of 15 such players and Huskers quarterback Tanner Lee was smack dab in the middle of that list.
The list, of course, is based on how players performed during their individual spring practices so it's hardly the most scientific in the world.
Someone like Lee might look like a giant killer against his own team's defense and then struggle when the real games are on the line. On the other hand, considering the uncertainty that will be omnipresent when the regular season does kick off, it's nice to see Lee getting some recognition.
The known unknowns of Tanner Lee and Nebraska football
Mandel points out in his article that one of the reasons Lee has made his list is because when it comes to possible "breakout" players, the quarterback has plenty of experience. "Lee is hardly an unknown, having started most of the 2014 and '15 seasons at Tulane before transferring." Mandel wrote. At the same time, the Tulane transfer did not put up eye-popping numbers when he was playing for the Green Wave.
There's always the chance, as has been the narrative so far, that Lee's struggles were due mainly to him still being young and the talent around him being rather poor. The quarterback ended up leaving his former school because they switched from a passing offense to an option-based attack. Lee wanted to go somewhere he could put the ball in the air.
Just how good he'll be at doing that against Big Ten talent is still very much a question.
Positive news keeps coming for Nebraska football
One thing that is certain is the Huskers are looking like media darlings again over the last few weeks. The team recently made ESPN's Top 10 recruiting classes list and that was before Chase Wiliams committed to the Huskers.
Now a quarterback, who is definitely still going to be a big question mark heading into the season is getting some love as well.
Lee did indeed have himself a very good Spring Game and it's no surprise he won the starting job. Completing 13 of 19 passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns is enough to make Husker fans lick their chops as we head into the fall. Any good press the team can get, considering the growing pains that might come from the start of this season, is a positive.
