Steers quarterback Lanham expected to continue progress from 2018

When the Graham Steers football team kicks off its 2019 season at Hirschi on Aug. 30, the Steers will be in a unique situation. The Steers will feature a young team, but it will also feature an experienced team. Behind center for his second year of starting will be junior quarterback Hunter Lanham.

It does not happen too often when a quarterback starts at the varsity level as a sophomore, but it is a role that head coach Kenny Davidson knew that the young quarterback could handle.

“He started JV as a freshman so he had some experience,” Davidson said. “It’s a lot faster out there under the lights, but I knew he would be able to handle it.”

It was not easy at first.

Much like the Steers, Lanham faced growing pains early in the season but played a large role in the Steers’ eight-game winning streak included a postseason victory against Godley. In that game, Hunter threw for 273 yards and four touchdowns on 11-18 passing and a quarterback rating of 144.7.

Much improved from his first start against Hirschi last year in which he threw for four interceptions (one of which was returned for a 65-yard touchdown) and a rating of 36.2.

Lanham’s first season was filled with some bumps, but he grew as a quarterback as the season went on. He finished the season with 2802 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions while averaging 233.5 yards per game.

“It wasn’t just Hunter,” Davidson said. “It’s unusual to have so many sophomores starting together on a varsity team and they really grew together.”

The young quarterback opened up the season by throwing eight interceptions total in losses to Hirschi, Mineral Wells and Brownwood.

For the rest of the story, see the Saturday, Aug. 3 edition of The Graham Leader.