'08 FB Class Review: QB

About 5 months late, I'm finally getting around to this. We start out with the QBs. Technically this position shouldn't be here as no quarterback was recruited (or at least nobody committed) in the '08 class. This was somewhat understandable as at the time there were going to be 4 scholarship QBs on the roster. As we know that quickly changed when Riddell transferred and Henig quit. Tyson Lee did decide to walk on in the spring out of junior college though, and seeing as how he was given a scholarship after impressing in spring practices, he is basically an incoming recruit. On we go.

Tyson Lee
Ht: 5'11" Wt: 190
Scout	****
Rivals	N/A
ESPN	N/A

A JUCO transfer out of Itawamba CC, Tyson Lee did not have a single D-IA offer. He did have a handful of D-IAA and D-II offers(I'm not bothering to look them up) but decided to walk on at Mississippi State instead. Lee enrolled in December in order to go through spring practices and his performance there earned him a scholarship.

You may be wondering how good can this guy possibly be if he couldn't even get an offer from the likes of Florida International or Tulane. Well, his height probably played a significant factor. He is listed at 5'11 which means he is more like 5'10. Sure there have been some successful QBs that short but that is far from an ideal height.

Tyson Lee is a dual threat quarterback that put up some impressive numbers in junior college.
He led the country in passing efficiency and was in the top 5 in every passing category as a freshman. His sophomore year, Lee was 201/323 for 2,308 yards and 12 TDs and finished 3rd in the country in passing yards per game with 230. He also broke the school record for career passing yards with 4,432. Pretty good resume.

Lee also had arguably the best spring and secured at least the backup spot. In the two scrimmages he was a combined 31/45 for 328 yds, 2TDs, and 2 interceptions.

As you can see from the numbers accuracy is Lee's strength, at least on short to intermediate passes. I've heard a few people say that his deep ball is erratic though. Even if true that doesn't seem like a big deal. Of the 4 returning WRs, none are really the deep threat kind of guys.

Position Grade: N/A.
I'm not giving a grade because of the unique circumstances I've already described. They didn't go after a QB in this class because they thought they had 4 returning. Understandable even though I disagree with it. Two left the team though and quite frankly MSU just got extremely lucky that Tyson Lee fell into their lap. You never know until he faces some SEC competition, but based on his JUCO days and his spring performance, it looks like MSU had at the very least a competent backup fall right into their lap just when they needed it most. He'll likely be #2 on the depth chart come September. If Carroll goes down to injury I think its possible Lee might be able to take over without to big of a dropoff. Basically, thank god Lee decided to come here. I shudder at the thought of Chris Relf as the only other QB on the roster.