Jason Lee '02 Talks of QBing in German Football League, Previews Monon Bell

November 11, 2002

November 11, 2002, Greencastle, Ind. - Jason Lee, a 2002 DePauw University graduate who was the football team's starting quarterback, says playing in the German Football League this summer was "the experience of a lifetime," but it's one he almost passed up. Lee wasn't sure he wanted to accept the opportunity to play in Germany, where he knew no one, and didn't know what the style of play would be like. But at the urging of DePauw's head football coach Nick Mourouzis, the QB relented and now says he's glad he listened to his coach.

Lee played eight games for the Hurricanes, and made his home for the summerin the city of Saarbrucken, in southwestern Germany. "I looked at it as a paid vacation I had over the summer, so it was a great experience and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," he says. Team members had most weekdays off, and Lee took advantage of his free time, traveling throughout Europe, Switzerland and France.

Lee, who was known for guiding DePauw through a number of comebacks, says those experiences helped him in Germany. The young quarterback engineered a fourth quarter comeback in his next to last game with the Hurricanes. He says the competition in the German Football League was only slightly tougher than what he faced in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, noting that in Germany, [DOWNLOAD VIDEO: "GFL vs. SCAC" 793KB] "Each team had four or five guys who were very good, probably we wouldn't see at this level, would be a little better than this level; and then there were a handful of guys that wouldn't play at this level, so overall competition was a little bit better team-wise, but there were some individuals that stood out and some individuals that didn't stand up to the norm." 

Opportunity knocked for Jason Lee because another former DePauw quarterback, 1998 DePaue graduate Bernie Haskins, had previously played for the Hurricanes, leading the team to a 14-2 record in the summer of 2000. When Saarland's coaches learned of Lee and how he had shattered some of Haskins' offensive records, they made the call to Greencastle setting the stage for Lee's move to football's professional ranks. Now that he's back in the states, Lee says he's frequently asked about his European experience, but the questions usually focus on his off-the-field experiences there. "My parents especially were just concerned about the life-- like what it was like-- other than football, of course. Moms are always worried about injuries. When she knew I wasn't injured, the questions I got were mainly about the life experience I had." 

Since returning to the United States, Lee has honored his prior obligation to assist this year's DePauw football team, helping defensive line coach and 1973 DePauw graduate Tim Hreha with the scout team. Lee's job has been to help prepare an offense and a defense similar to each week's competition for DePauw's starters to practice against, in order to closely simulate game situations.

Once the season is over, Lee hopes to head to law school, and is currently applying to several programs, including those at the University of Notre Dame and Indiana University. But his final challenge of the current campaign is a big one: Lee is helping the Tigers prepare for Saturday's Monon Bell game in Crawfordsville, where the 7-2 Tigers will battle the undefeated Little Giants. [DOWNLOAD VIDEO: "Monon Preview" 401KB] "It's going to be a good game, Wabash is a very good team this year. I think we're a better team, as well -- we've improved; we've got a lot of seniors. We're playing very well right now, so I think it'll be a pretty evenly matched game."

Learn more about Jason Lee in this previous story.

Back