Controversy no more

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By Cedric Meyer

The LSU quarterback controversy is officially over. It only took Jarrett Lee one half of football to entrench himself as the Tigers’ starting quarterback for the foreseeable future.

The injury suffered by Andrew Hatch will surely make the switch a lot easier for Coach Miles, but it’s safe to say Hatch has been walking a tight rope anyway after less than stellar performances against Appalachian State and North Texas. He didn’t endear himself to anyone in either of those games completing just 55 percent of his passes for a pedestrian 202 yards combined.

Things didn’t get much better at Jordan-Hare on Saturday night. Miles predictably went with Hatch over Lee to start the SEC road opener. And it yielded the same uninspiring results as the first two games.

Anyone can look the stats and say two of six for 16 yards probably isn’t the second coming of John Elway. But it was the pocket awareness that was painfully lacking as evidence by his 10 runs.

It was the inaccuracy he displayed in several times over the course of the first half. And it was the Hail Mary pass at the end of the first half that didn’t even make it to the endzone which sealed it for me. Hatch just isn’t the SEC caliber quarterback needed for a powerhouse program like LSU.

Lee looked just as awful during the first half, and when he threw that inexplicable interception for a touchdown, you got the feeling the Tigers were in big trouble. Not only for the rest of the game, but for the rest of the season.

After Hatch left the game for good it seemed like a weight was lifted from the red shirt freshman’s shoulders. Instead of worrying about rotating, he could just go out and play football. And you could see Lee’s confidence rising with every snap.

After completing one pass in the first half, which went to Auburn’s Gabe McKenzie for a touchdown, Lee settled down going 11 of 17 for 182 yards and two touchdowns. He showed everything Tiger fans were looking for on one play, his first career touchdown pass to Chris Mitchell.

Down 14 to three midway through the third quarter, Lee lined up in the shotgun on third and 10. Auburn blitzed, sending seven defenders his way. Lee showed the intelligence to recognize the one-on-one coverage down field. He showed the moxy and toughness to stay in the pocket even though he was surely going to get hit. He showed the pure arm strength to deliver a near perfect touchdown strike to Mitchell while being dragged to the ground.

We’ve reached the point of no return this season. Lee has to be given a chance to be “the man” even when Hatch recovers from injury. There are going to be growing pains; that’s expected from a young quarterback. But Lee’s upside is far too great to be kept on the bench, especially when the other options are equally risky.

Last Saturday, LSU left Auburn with a huge victory, but more importantly, Les Miles left Jordan-Hare with a quarterback.

Originally Published: Issue 706 - September 24, 2008

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