UNIVERSITY PARK, Penn. - As questions swirled around the future of his head coach and what lies in store for his own career, Tanner Lee was only focused on the upcoming six days as he met with reporters following Nebraska’s 56-44 loss to Penn State.
While Mike Riley’s time with the Huskers is widely expected to come to an end after next Friday’s regular-season finale vs. Iowa, there’s also the question of whether that game will the junior quarterback’s last time in an NU uniform.
Regarded as a potential first-round draft pick by NFL analysts during the offseason, Lee remains in the conversation to forego his senior season and declare for the 2018 NFL Draft.
For now, though, Lee had no interest in speculating any further than his next game against the Hawkeyes.
“I’m just extremely focused on Iowa,” Lee said. “That’s a game we want to come out and play well, so I’ll worry about everything after that.”
It came mostly after the game was already well out of hand, but Lee still posted one of the best individual performances of his career in Saturday night’s loss, completing 26-of-41 passes for 399 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
That marked the eighth-highest single-game passing total in school history and pushed his season yardage up to 2,938, the most ever by a first-year Husker quarterback.
With one game still remaining, Lee ranks fourth on NU’s single-season passing list and needs just 62 more yards to become only the fourth Husker ever to eclipse 3,000 yards in a season.
With 260 more yards, the New Orleans native would pass Zac Taylor (3,197) for second on Nebraska’s all-time season passing yards chart and trail only Joe Ganz (3,568).
That’s why Riley said he has little doubt Lee had the talent to take the next step on to the NFL. But with plenty of experience with future pro quarterbacks - namely Sean Mannion, Matt Moore, and Derek Anderson - Riley said he would be very honest with Lee when their conversation eventually comes about.
“My history with guys like this who have that possibility is that if they want my advice and want to talk, I’m all open to that,” Riley said. “But it’s all very personal, and I will support whatever he would like to do.
“Is he ready? Oh, he’s got all the tangible things. It would probably be great if he could play another year of college football, but as far as what he’s got, he’s definitely a prospect.”
Another key layer to Lee’s upcoming decision is the fact that because some of his previous college credits from Tulane didn’t transfer over to Nebraska’s business program, he’ll still be six hours shy of graduating in the spring.
As a result, he wouldn’t be eligible to participate in the 2018 Reese’s Senior Bowl, leaving him without an extremely valuable week-long showcase in front of NFL scouts and personnel.
It’s also hard to say what another year in Lincoln would hold for Lee given Riley’s looming status, as a potential coaching change could leave Lee in a system not nearly as well suited for his skill set.
All that aside, offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf - who coached quarterbacks with the New York Giants and worked with two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning prior to joining Riley at NU - said the adjustment from college to the pros was more difficult than most people realize.
“I think it’s hard for a guy as a rookie in the NFL,” Langsdorf said. “I think there’s a big learning curve there, so I don’t know if you’re ever really ready. But physically, for sure. He’s tough and has all the tools, but I don’t really like encouraging guys to go early.
“I just think that it’s so valuable to get game experience in college and be able to stay with it. He’ll have to determine that after the season as he’s moving forward.”
