Forget Me Not: Ryan Tannehill Surging Past Sophomore Counterparts

It's not often that a quarterback can be drafted eighth in the NFL Draft, set the franchise record for passing yards in a season (3,294) by a rookie, and lead a severely under talented team to a respectable 7-9 record, and STILL fly under the radar.

Yet Ryan Tannehill did just that in his inaugural 2012 season.

While the NFL world was in an uproar over Andrew Luck, RGIII, and Russell Wilson, the rookie out of Texas A&M fell through the cracks.  Unnoticed, seldom talked about, and hidden in the shadows of his playoff bound rookie counterparts.

Heck, he was even an afterthought at his alma mater, otherwise known as "Johnny Football U."

But within the confines of Dolphins headquarters, Ryan Tannehill was anything but an afterthought.

He was the future.  He was the savior.  He was the new face, on the new logo, of a new era of Miami Dolphins football.  Even Offensive Coordinator Mike Sherman couldn't hide his excitement, saying that Tannehill would make the biggest leap of any second year quarterback this season.

And now, three wins and one 13 play, 75 yard drive later, the rest of the world is beginning to catch on.

Ryan Tannehill has arrived.  In-fact, dare I say, he's starting to surge.

In his dust, he's left fellow draft mates Brandon Weeden and Andrew Luck, both of whom who were outplayed by Tannehill earlier this season.  For those of you keeping count, that makes Tannehill 3-1 against his fellow quarterbacks.

Remember, he already out-dueled Russell Wilson last season in what continues to be the last regular season loss for the almighty Seahawks.

But those three were merely opening acts to the performance Tannehill gave us on Sunday. An Emmy deserving performance on the eve of the 65th Emmy Awards later that night.

Tannehill took over with a little over four minutes left, trailing by a field goal, tucked deep inside his own territory.

And then, just like that, the kid of 2012 became the man of 2013.

With every perfectly placed pass (Tannehill was 9-12 on the drive with two drops), and every converted third down (3/3 on the drive), you watched the former forgotten son turn into the golden child.  And then, with 42 seconds left, and one yard separating Miami from its first 3-0 record in over a decade, Tannehill put the finishing touches on what would be his finest hour:

A perfectly thrown, masterfully executed one yard lob pass to rookie TE Dion Sims that sent Sun Life Stadium into a Marino-esque frenzy.

You'll never see Ryan Tannehill on the front of Sports Illustrated.  He'll never be the topic when you turn on the T.V..  And you'll surely never find him while flipping through the pages of ESPN the Magazine's Body Issue.

But make no mistake about it, the Miami Dolphins have found their franchise quarterback.

And he's quietly surging past his Sophomore counterparts.


(This article can also be found at standingosports.com/main)