Jason Lee '02 Quarterbacking German Football League Team

July 8, 2002

July 8, 2002, Greencastle, Ind. - 2002 DePauw University graduate Jason Lee, who quarterbacked the Tiger football team, thought that a loss in November's Monon Bell game to Wabash would be his last opportunity to compete on a football field. But Saturday, Lee was in action as the quarterback for the Saarland Hurricanes of the German Football League, days after joining the squad as a player-coach. Saarland battled the Stuttgart Scorpions to a 17-17 tie.

The 'Canes roster (click here) lists Lee as #12 (he wore number 4 at DePauw; you can view photos from Saturday's game by clicking here). Listed alongside Lee's name, under the column that's headed "previous year," is DePauw University. According to DePauw head coach Nick Mourouzis, the German team was in need of a QB and is quite familiar with DePauw signal callers: last season, the Hurricanes were quarterbacked by 1998 DePauw graduate Bernie Haskins (read more here). "Their coach knew that Bernie was from here and that Jason had broken several records, so that's why he really wanted him," Mourouzis says.

The region of Saarland and the town of Saarbrucken, where the team's stadium is located, is approximately two hours from the city of Frankfurt and about four hours from Paris, France. Despite the allure of European culture and the opportunity to continue playing, Lee, who was set to be an assistant coach at DePauw this season, needed some prodding from Mourouzis before deciding to go. "I told Jason, I said, [DOWNLOAD VIDEO: "Once-in-a-Lifetime" 537KB] you're crazy if you pass up the opportunity, because it's a once-in-a-lifetime deal. You're getting paid to go over there and travel to Europe --- you can't beat that. He told his mother that I was more excited than he was for the opportunity for him, but it is a great opportunity for him and he can't pass it up," Mourouzis says. (BONUS CLIP: [DOWNLOAD VIDEO: "Nick on Saarfield" 318KB])

Lee's mother, Sarah Whitfield, says, "Jason and Bernie have spoken several times recently just to make sure this was something Jason wanted to do. He will be there until September 15th, although he might stay a bit longer and do some traveling. Jason feels he is getting the most out of the athletic ability he was given, and is very excited about getting the chance to play."

Jason Lee left Indiana for Saarland on July 1. His mother adds, "I would like to personally say thank you to both his football and baseball coaches, Nick Morouzis and Matt Walker. I have been truly blessed to have 2 wonderful coaches/people looking after Jason during his 4 years at DePauw. They both have had nothing but great things to say about Jason ... Watching Jason play the Monon Bell Game with a torn ACL [anterior cruciate ligament] proved to me what kind of person he is. He never quits, is always striving to do his best, whether it be academics or sports, and tends to be a bit tough of himself. I guess he gets that from me. I could not be any more proud of Jason right now." Lee's future plans may include coaching in the USA, or law school.

Among the records that Jason Lee set in just two years at quarterback under Mourouzis are single-game marks for pass attempts, pass completions and passing yards in a game (41 of 72 for 486 yards against Hope on September 16, 2000), and single-season records in each of those categories during the 2001 campaign (he completed 256 of 459 passes for 3,034 yards). Lee also threw for more than 300 yards in 6 of the team's 10 games in 2001.

[DOWNLOAD AUDIO: "Tiger Pride" 406KB] "It just makes us proud to have someone go over there and contribute, help in the German football program," says Mourouzis, who took 18 DePauw players to Wolfsburg, Germany in the spring of 1998 to compete. "It was just a fantastic experience."