BOULDER, Colo. — Zac Lee won't say it, but maybe the stress was a little greater and the weight a little heavier than he imagined.

It came with playing a high-profile position in a high-profile football program.

For a while, maybe Lee was having a little trouble being the starting quarterback at Nebraska.

New quarterback, young offense, media pressure, fan expectations — there's no way to really prepare for it all, Husker center Jacob Hickman says.

“It can make for a stressful situation,” Hickman said. “I think he just kind of learned how to shut that out now, and he's just going out there and playing.''

Hickman said Lee has seemed more calm and relaxed since returning to the controls, and subsequently having more fun. Plus, the NU offense has become a little more quarterback friendly and some responsibility has been lifted.

Perhaps, Hickman said, Lee once felt like he had to do more, only to discover that only one thing is important —winning.

So peek inside the red face mask on Friday as Nebraska tackles Colorado and maybe you'll see a hint of a smile from the junior from San Francisco.

“It's just go out there and do whatever it takes to win,” Hickman said, “and I think he's doing just that.''

After starting the first seven games and then sitting against Baylor, Lee took over after the first quarter against Oklahoma, reclaimed his starting job and directed wins over Kansas and Kansas State that secured the Big 12 North title. He's throwing less, running a little more and realizing that managing the game and minimizing mistakes are paramount. The NU defense can do the rest.

It's different now than earlier, when both outside and self-imposed pressure likely wore on him. Before, the offense required that he do more, and some injuries around him made things even tougher.

“I think that was just my competitive nature — wanting to win badly and just overdoing things, trying to make plays maybe when they weren't there,'' Lee said.

Lee said he takes a simpler view now.

“In the end it's football,'' he said. “Whether or not you've got a bunch of media people on your butt or there's 86,000 people in the stands, it's still football. I just try to go about it like that.''

Lee's season has been unusual in recent Husker history. You would have to go back to Craig Sundberg in 1984 to find the last time an upperclassmen lost the job at quarterback only to reclaim it and finish the season as the starter.

Tight end Mike McNeill recognized Lee's journey and made it a point to seek out Lee after the 17-3 win over Kansas State last Saturday night.

“I went up and I said, ‘I'm proud of ya,' just because I just feel like he never got down, he never quit,'' McNeill said. “At that position, it's a little bit different. You don't know if you're going to see the field again. He went to practice and he did the same work that he would have done if he was the first-string quarterback, and he just kept competing.

“I can only imagine that he feels pretty good.''

Lee offers little when it comes to his feelings — few play it closer to the vest with reporters than the son of former NFL quarterback Bob Lee. He simply says he's felt comfortable the whole way — when he was playing, when he was sitting behind Cody Green, when he resumed his duties.

But he does go as far as saying that not playing at Baylor and watching Green start against Oklahoma made him appreciate the second chance.

“I think it just made me realize once again how much I just love playing football and how much I want to be out there,'' he said.

How Lee has come back:

• In the last three games, Lee is completing 63.3 percent of his passes with just one interception. In his previous four against BCS opponents, Lee was at 50 percent with five interceptions.

• Lee has started to run for some of the positive yardage that NU offensive coordinator Shawn Watson envisioned before seeing Lee be hesitant with the football for much of his first seven starts.

• Lee has handled a redefined role in an offense that changed and, according to Watson, will “let him grow.''

“He's been able to settle in without having a lot of undue responsibility put on him,'' Watson said. “He's done a really nice job of taking what we've given him.

“We still have a lot of work to do — and he knows that, I know that, we're very aware of that — but he's starting to settle in to a better management mode.''

Taking care of the football has become his highest priority, so Lee heard about it after his goal-line interception just before halftime against Kansas State. The challenge has been made to run at the right times, so Lee was ready for Watson when Lee made a bad choice another time against the Wildcats.

“I didn't even have to say two words to him,'' Watson said. “He knew right then what he did. He said, ‘I know, I got it, I will not let it happen again.' And he didn't.

“He doesn't make a lot of mistakes now. He's learned that a quarterback has to be efficient. It's about wins, not stats. It's about wins. And he's embraced that role.''

It was either that or keep watching. And Lee didn't like watching.

But Watson said those five quarters on the sideline might have led Lee to where he is now — with a North Division title on his resume.

“I think that time that he sat down and watched. ... it helped him get away from it,'' Watson said. “I think it does a couple things: It helps you appreciate having the opportunity to play and what it means to you to play, and then it helps you also take an inventory of where you're at and what you need to do.''

The pressure or stress? Sometimes you can only hit the release valve yourself.

“You got a lot of people that have opinions about you,'' Watson said. “Hopefully he doesn't read 'em or hear 'em, but that's why you got to be thick-skinned and (have) no memory.''

Watson believes he is starting to see some of the well-rounded quarterback he hoped to develop. And Lee is even having some fun evolving.

“For the most part he's taking care of the football, he's playing within the offense, he's doing what Wats and the offensive coaches are asking him to do,'' NU coach Bo Pelini said. “And I think we've been pretty efficient.

“Success breeds confidence. I think that's the case with Zac right now.''

Contact the writer:

444-1042, rich.kaipust@owh.com

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