By the end of spring practices
this year most people had
penciled in senior Tyson Lee
as the starting quarterback for
2009. There were also those
who anointed freshman Tyler
Russell as “The Chosen One”
and assumed that once he
arrived on campus he would
win the starting job. The one
man almost no one talked
about was redshirt sophomore
Chris Relf.
In early August, coach Dan
Mullen referred to the quarterback
race as “dead even”
between Relf and Lee. Relf says
that solid effort in the off season
has evened the race.
“I just worked hard all summer,”
Relf said after practice last
Wednesday. “I’ve been working
on my footwork, working on
my arms and throwing with the
receivers every day.”
At 6’3″ and 235 pounds Relf
is an athletic specimen who
looks the part of an SEC quarterback.
He has the strongest
arm of the three quarterbacks
and is a talented runner, but his
downfall in the past has been
inaccuracy throwing the ball.
He also had trouble learning
Mullen’s new offense early in
the offseason. However, coaches
are now saying that Relf is
throwing more accurately and
making steady progress with
the new offense.
Mullen said last week he is
no longer adding anything new
to the playbook and that now
is the time for polishing everything
the players have learned
over the summer, which is good
news for Relf.
Lee, on the other hand, is
considered one of the smartest
players on the team and has
had very few problems learning
the new offense. At one
point Mullen even had to slow
Lee down so that the other
players could catch up. Lee is
an extremely accurate passer
and clearly knows the playbook
well. He started eight games last
year and threw for 1,519 yards
and seven touchdowns on the
season, earning the respect of
his teammates. The only knock
on Lee is his size. Listed at
5’11”, he has struggled at times
seeing the field over the offense
lineman and at 200 pounds,
many have wondered how his
body will handle the hits he is
likely to absorb in the spread
offense. Lee believes Mullen
when he says that the quarterback
race is dead even, though
he acknowledges that starting
eight games last year gives him
an edge.
“Leadership and experience
always help,” Lee said. “The
more experience you have on
the field the better it is for the
team.”
Lee has the right attitude
about the competition, saying
Wednesday, “It’s a friendly
competition. We’re all looking
to win, so whoever needs to
play to get the win, that’s who
needs to be in the game.”
The likely scenario is that
both quarterbacks will spend
significant time on the field
in packages that cater to their
strengths. The split could be very
similar to what Mullen did with
Chris Leake and Tim Tebow
in 2006 when Florida won the
National Championship. Leake,
the starter, was a senior, a leader
and a vertically-challenged
pocket passer known for accurate
throws. Tebow was a big,
strong athlete who came onto
the field in short yardage situations
and option plays.
Relf is making a run at the
job, but Mullen’s comments at
SEC Media Days in July point
to Lee eventually being declared
the starter.
“We really need Tyson Lee
to step up for us, to be a
senior, to give that leadership,”
he said. “We might rotate the
other guys and play more than
one quarterback, but we do
need him as a senior to be a
steady leader and a winner for
us out there on the field, to get
our program going in the right
direction.”