Tanner Lee might be one of the newcomers to make their Husker debut on Saturday but the junior quarterback has plenty of college experience.
Lee played his first two seasons at Tulane before transferring to Nebraska. During that stop, the Louisiana native suffered a broken bone in his throwing hand and a shoulder injury. However, Lee is looking forward to taking that first hit this weekend as NU's starting signal caller.
"It's been a long time since I've been out there in live action and I miss that," said Lee. "Being in the position I am now, I feel extremely humbled and lucky and blessed for that and I'm just extremely ready to get back to playing football."
Although he's never taken a snap for the Big Red in a game situation, Lee was voted a captain by this teammates this past weekend.
"It's probably one of the coolest experiences so far in my life I think," Lee said. "It's just extremely humbling when I heard my name called. Hopefully it means my teammates respect me. It just makes me want to work harder."
After sitting out last season because of transfer rules, Lee is now ready to take the reigns of head coach Mike Riley's pro-style offense.
"Coach Riley has given me an unbelievable opportunity to come here and I want to do everything I can with that opportunity," said Lee. "I'm just extremely lucky to be here and playing at a school like this with its traditions. It's not something I take for granted."
Saturday's crowd of nearly 90,000 will be the largest Lee has ever played in front of. And while he'll try to stay focused on football, he will also soak in the Memorial Stadium atmosphere.
"I can't wait," Lee said. "I've been an underdog more often that not in my playing career and it's going to be a lot of fun to have a great home crowd. It's just something I've always wanted, always dreamed about."
Nebraska's season opener against Arkansas State kicks off at 7 p.m. Saturday in Lincoln and will be televised by BTN.
