LOS ANGELES – Since Long Beach Poly shocked the high school football world by having a turnaround for the ages and winning a PAC-5 title, quarterback Tai Tiedemann has grown three inches, added 20 pounds, and immersed himself inside the Jackrabbits playbook.
"Tai's progressing pretty good," said Long Beach Poly head coach Raul Lara.
Now standing 6-foot-4 and up to 180 pounds, Tiedemann will enter the 2013 season as the man under center for the Jackrabbits. Fellow quarterback E.J. Jackson, who Tiedemann split time with last season, transferred to Narbonne leaving Tiedemann the job for the taking.
Although, Tiedemann doesn't look at it that way.
"I'm always ready for competition," he said.
When he went to Long Beach Poly before the start of last season, he did so knowing he would be behind Jackson. He proved worthy enough to be able to split time. Once the Jackrabbits started their epic postseason run towards title No. 19, he was the team's primary signal caller.
So now with Jackson out of the picture and an enhanced leadership platform, how does he get his team ready for the treacherous repeat bid ahead?
"I just ultimately need to keep my team in check," Tiedemann said. "I just need to keep everybody in line."
Lara echoes those sentiments.
The Jackrabbits weren't "in line" at the start of last season. What made last season's title run so epic was the fact that they were 1-3 to start the season. Included in that was a 56-0 loss to eventual City champion Narbonne.
It was the Jackrabbits worst loss since 1916.
After the 1-3 start, Poly went on to win 11 in a row and claimed their 19th CIF Southern Section championship. Poly always has a target but after a few unPoly-like years and a less than stellar start to 2012, the Jackrabbits were back.
"If anything we're letting them know that you're not going to sneak up on anybody now," Lara said. "We're approaching this year that we have a target on our back and everybody wants to knock us down so we need to be ready."
In Tiedemann, Lara has a quarterback intent on making sure that point is driven home.
Even though he wasn't counted on to make a tremendous amount of plays being under center for a run-heavy team, Tiedemann's calming demeanor proved necessary and helped him insert himself into the starting lineup.
"(When he steps) in the huddle, you can tell the huddle changes," Lara said. "That's what won him the job last year. Now he's just got to learn how to be a quarterback that's going to take what the defense is giving him instead of trying to force it."
Tiedemann is certain he can be that guy thanks to his comfort level in the Jackrabbits offense.
"I had a whole year to get situated (after transferring from Lakewood) and thank God I have another year to back my team up and just get the plays down even more sufficiently and just come out there and play and try to lead my team again to another championship," he said.
The Jackrabbits also have Josh Love at quarterback, a transfer from Tesoro. He'll be a junior next season and Lara says, "He'll play some."
There's also rising junior Dalton Anderson, who saw very limited action last season.
But as for Tiedemann, "Tai, right now, is the guy," Lara says.
