Following ritual, Vad Lee will begin his work day at Bobby Dodd Stadium early. The Georgia Tech quarterback tries to be the first player out of the locker room, sharing the field only with the kickers, punters and the quiet of a near-empty stadium.
“I just like to get out there first and just run around, get loose, just get the adrenaline all up and get the ‘wowness’ out of the way already,” Lee said with a giggle.
Lee will have perhaps a little more wowness than normal to subdue Saturday. After signing as a highly touted recruit in 2011 and then waiting behind starter Tevin Washington for two seasons, Lee will make his first career start Saturday against Elon in the Yellow Jackets’ season opener. It is the most anticipated debut of a Tech quarterback since perhaps the first start of Donnie Davis’ ill-fated career in 1993.
He does not appear to be in danger of being overwhelmed by the moment.
“I guess it’s a milestone that I’ve reached, or whatever,” he said.
At the age of 20, Lee is merely being cast as the quarterback who can raise the elevation of Tech’s spread-option offense. The Jackets’ rushing offense has ranked fourth in the country or better in coach Paul Johnson’s five seasons, but Lee is a significantly better passer than his predecessors, Joshua Nesbitt and Tevin Washington, while still also possessing a dangerous running game.
While the Jackets are no one’s favorite to win the ACC, players harbor confidence that this season can end in the Orange Bowl. The potential of the sophomore from Durham, N.C., to couple with Tech’s powerful rushing game with efficient passing is no small reason.
Said guard Will Jackson, “I think he can be a very, very special player in this offense.”
The Lee package, though, goes beyond playmaking flair. He has a leadership style that seems to come naturally. He carries himself with a charismatic blend of confidence and humility. He often is the team member organizing players together for workouts and hospital visits.
“Mentally, and how he is off the field, if I had a son, I’d want him to be like Vad Lee,” Jackson said at the ACC media-days event in July. “He’s almost a perfect human being. Impeccable character.”
Jackson paused, measuring the weight of his words.
“I guess I’m putting a lot of pressure on him, calling him Jesus.”
As a redshirt freshman a year ago, Lee played varying amounts behind Washington. The highlight of the season is not up for debate — coming off the bench to lead the Jackets to a 68-50 win over North Carolina in the highest-scoring ACC game ever. Lee drove Tech for 55 of the points – seven touchdowns and two field goals in an 11-possession span — with a flurry of clutch passes and drive-extending runs.
“The kid makes plays,” Johnson said following the game.
At the very least, though, to think that Lee can summon this magic on a weekly basis rates as highly optimistic. He occasionally demonstrates his inexperience with excessive daring in the passing game. Johnson and quarterbacks and B-backs coach Bryan Cook caution him against trying to do too much, a bad habit.
“Don’t try to live up to everybody else’s hype,” Johnson said, echoing his caution to Lee. “You’ve got 10 other guys out there playing with you. You don’t have to do it all.”
As an option quarterback, he is still developing. Mastering the triple option, the base play in Johnson’s offense, will take time. As quarterback, Lee is charged with making the split-second decision on whether to give the ball to the hard-charging B-back or keep it himself based on how the defense is reacting to the play.
“You’re in the stands, you think it looks simple,” Lee said. “It may look simple: Vad should have pulled that. But it’s a tough job.”
It is a skill that only repetition can teach.
“Because once you do it again and again, you just feel it,” Cook said. “He’ll get a knack for it. He’s a smart kid.”
Beyond beating Elon, Lee has simple but lofty aspirations for Saturday.
“I just really want to execute the offense to the best of my ability and to the best that it can be done,” he said. “Do everything that’s asked of me. I want to score a lot of points, obviously. Maybe a couple touchdowns and just getting the ball in the playmakers’ hands.”
He isn’t sure if he’ll be the same excitable figure he was a year ago, rousing teammates to the point that they kid him that he could celebrate after a 2-yard gain.
“Last year, I used to get all excited and stuff, which I’d never done before,” Lee said. “I didn’t do that in high school. I don’t know where that came from. I guess I was just so happy to play, and it was just coming out.”
While Justin Thomas, his fleet backup, is expected to also receive playing time, Lee will have little uncertainty that the ball will be his.
A season, and perhaps an era, begin. More milestones lie ahead.
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