• By RANDY ROSETTA
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Jan 22, 2010 - Page: 1C

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With the spring semester officially under way, the LSU football team is one man closer to the player limit it needs to be.

But that one player isn’t who many people thought it might be, as the quarterback corps remains unchanged.

Jarrett Lee is still at LSU, enrolled in spring classes and will go through spring practice, which begins Feb. 25.

Lee’s father, Stephen Lee, said Thursday his son is focused on doing whatever he can to push starter Jordan Jefferson in spring practice after a sit-down, heart-to-heart meeting with offensive coordinator Gary Crowton.

“He’s real excited to be back,” Stephen Lee said. “I think in his heart and mind, he understands better now exactly what happened to him (in 2008), and he’s ready to see if another year of maturity and sitting back and learning will help him. He’s very eager.”

When asked recently, LSU coach Les Miles has steadily maintained Jarrett Lee would stay with the Tigers.

A rising junior, Jarrett Lee started eight games as a redshirt freshman in 2008 but lost the job late that season and started only once in 2009.

During his season as the primary starter, Lee connected on 143 of 269 passes for 1,873 yards and 14 touchdowns.

But he also threw 16 interceptions, seven that were returned for touchdowns.

Last season, Lee saw spot duty in the first eight games before getting thrust into duty in the second half of a 24-15 loss at Alabama on Nov. 7.

Lee also started the following week against Louisiana Tech and struggled, hitting on only 7 of 22 throws for 105 yards.

“He just wants another chance to show that he’s grown up and can be successful at this level,” Stephen Lee said.

While Lee is staying put, the LSU roster did change this week once school began.