ATLANTA — It’s one thing to be the hot newcomer, the one with all eyes on him thus a right to the attention based on the timing. It’s another to command a group from the beginning to end with no outside boost to help one keep that command.
That territory is now Jordan Ta’amu’s to navigate.
Ta’amu certainly seized his opportunity to be Ole Miss’ starting quarterback last season, with 320.8 passing yards per game over the last five games and three wins in the final four, but now he has to be the man for an entire season. Now Ole Miss can only hope it’s a continuation of where he left off.
“When he came in, his first seven possessions were scoring drives. I think he got the players’ attention pretty quickly,” Ole Miss coach Matt Luke said. “That’s what I was most impressed with, him being in tough situations, taking a two-minute drive on the road at Kentucky and winning that game. I think he earned the respect of his teammates quickly.
“I’m looking forward to seeing him now having a full offseason, a full spring, full summer to build that rapport and to built that leadership, because this is his team.”
Through that offseason, Ta’amu’s subjects got more or less the same person they got in November.
“The dynamic doesn’t change at all,” Ta’amu said.
In many ways, Ta’amu is still the quiet Hawaiian he has always been, even with the spotlight on him as the starting quarterback. Offensive lineman Sean Rawlings has noticed Ta’amu has been more willing to speak this offseason, but he still does so on his own terms.
“I’m the person to pull that guy to the side, 1-on-1. My goal was to do that this summer and I believe I did that,” Ta’amu said. “I knew they needed a leader, so I stepped up.”
More than the presence of a season-long starting quarterback, the Rebels will need more production from Ta’amu. He will be supporting a defense that has had its struggles recently, ranking 12th in the Southeastern Conference in yards per play allowed in each of the last two seasons, and a defense Luke admits has to answer how it will stop the run. But producing at a high level is the only reason he is here.
Ta’amu is listed at 6-foot-2, 212 pounds now, but he was not always the image of a SEC quarterback. He said he was 175 pounds coming out of Pearl City High School in Hawaii; 29 touchdowns to four interceptions in a season and championship game appearances in consecutive years was not enough to merit consideration from the schools he desired, so he was forced to go the junior college route to New Mexico Military Institute.
There, he did it again, throwing for 32 touchdowns and running for seven as a sophomore. It was then that he finally got the chance at a premier program.
After all the years of toiling in relative anonymity, the sudden spotlight has done nothing to change his preparation.
“Last season, I went into every game like I was going to start and I have the same mind-set,” he said. “I am named the starting quarterback so I will work harder, but I’m going to be the same guy, the same player for myself and my team.”
Outside of the aforementioned leadership characteristics, Ta’amu did make it a priority to become more accurate, something that should unlock a new ceiling for him. He used his 66.5 percent completion percentage to average 210.3 yards per game last season; it’s easy to see how even a slight improvement over 12 full starts could result in something close to a 4,000-yard season.
Luke assigned no numbers to the potential, but he knows it is there.
“I think he’ll only continue to grow in (offensive coordinator) Phil (Longo)’s offense,” Luke said, “and I think he’ll have a heck of a season.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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