The QB crystal ball
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BY STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star
Football coaches typically abstain from dealing in supposition. At this time of year, especially, they have a sharp dislike for peering too far into the future, holding tightly to a one-game-at-a-time approach.
Fans and pundits, however, are free to ponder the future as it applies to Nebraska’s quarterback picture. So gaze into your crystal ball, if you will. Does Zac Taylor retain the starting quarterback job in 2006? Or does Harrison Beck take over the reins? Can Josh Freeman, the 6-foot-6, 230-pound heralded recruit, make an immediate splash?
We broach the issue knowing circumstances like injuries can alter the landscape. We ponder the future at the position knowing that plans often change suddenly, as was the case Nov. 12 when true freshman Beck burned his redshirt in the 10th game of the season after Taylor absorbed a teeth-rattling hit in the fourth quarter and departed to the sideline with his ears ringing.
We gaze into the crystal ball remembering that nobody could have anticipated the ballyhooed Beck beginning this season mired at No. 3 on the depth chart before rising to No. 2 around midseason. Indeed, some had expected Beck to push Taylor for the starting job in August. It didn’t happen then.
Will it happen in the spring?
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Nebraska wideout Nate Swift expects Taylor — who recovered well from his concussion against Kansas State and will start today at Colorado — to capture the No. 1 job again next season.
“I think it will all pan out in spring ball,” Swift said. “I think Zac will still be the No. 1 guy, and I think Harrison will be a great quarterback to come in if Zac goes down.”
The prevailing sentiment in the program is Taylor’s season of starting experience gives him a distinct advantage, as does the fact Nebraska’s starting quarterback enjoys about a 3-to-1 ratio in number of practice snaps compared to the top backup. These factors are particularly critical because the Huskers use a read-intensive West Coast system that requires quarterbacks to make snap decisions regarding coverages, alignments, blitzes, etc.
“Zac went through spring ball last year, and was here all summer,” Swift said. “He’s started all season, so he’s definitely a lot more calm (than Beck). He just gets in the huddle and says the play and goes. With Harrison, he’s a little more anxious.”
Perhaps Beck’s anxiousness will subside with more playing time. To this point, however, Nebraska coach Bill Callahan has shown a tendency to stick with his starter for entire games. Callahan said he plans no changes in the way he uses Taylor today even though Beck’s redshirt is no longer an issue.
Callahan’s curt assessment since the K-State game: Taylor’s the starter, Beck’s the backup. End of story?
“Obviously, I want to take all of the snaps,” Taylor said. “I’m kind of being a little selfish. But I think that’s every quarterback’s point of view — especially when it’s a tight game, you want to be in there for all of the plays.”
Taylor, a junior, has led Nebraska to a 6-4 record (3-4 Big 12), completing 55.1 percent of his passes for 2,094 yards and 14 touchdowns, with 10 interceptions. Husker coaches like the way he manages the offense. They praise his decision-making ability and appreciate the fact his interception count is just over half of Joe Dailey’s total of 19 picks (vs. 17 touchdowns) last season.
Callahan emphasized that game experience is “invaluable” for any quarterback.
“When you get out there, and you’re at the controls, and you’ve thrown all the different routes against all of the different coverages, it really helps,” Callahan said. “Just look at these quarterbacks around the Big 12. Bret Meyer at Iowa State is a perfect example of a guy who’s gotten better. Even Vince Young at Texas went through some growing pains and got better.
“They all get better with time and experience.”
Taylor agreed, saying he’s made steady progress since the start of preseason camp. In addition to starting this season, he was a second-team junior college All-American in 2004 at Butler County (Kan.) Community College.
“I feel much more comfortable in the offense right now,” he said. “I’m understanding which receiver to go to on a particular play against a particular coverage, and the timing we need. I think that early in the season, I knew where I needed to go with the ball, but the timing wasn’t there. I was a second late. I might have gotten the completion, but it wasn’t as good a completion as we could have gotten.
“Those are the type of things fans probably wouldn’t have noticed, because maybe I didn’t even throw the ball on a particular pass play. Afterward, when you watch the film, you think, ‘Oh, wow, that could’ve been a big play.’ ”
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Freeman plans to graduate from Grandview (Mo.) High School a semester early and arrive in Lincoln in time for spring practice. This season, he threw for nearly 2,900 yards and rushed for more than 400 in leading Grandview to a 7-4 record. He completed 65 percent of his passes and threw 32 touchdown strikes.
Asked this week if he expects to play immediately at Nebraska in 2006, Freeman said, “It all depends on how fast I learn everything. My goal is to play. But if I end up redshirting, I won’t be mad.”
Freeman said he’s coming to campus earlier than most freshmen “to get a jump on everything. I heard the offense is tough. Harrison told me it’s pretty tough to learn.”
The complexities of Callahan’s system leave one to wonder how quickly young quarterbacks can adapt. With Beck, there were other issues early in the season. For instance, in mid-September, Nebraska offensive line coach Dennis Wagner said, “Harrison is the most talented quarterback we have, but his huddle management has to get better.”
Beck, though, received good reviews for his poise in the huddle in the fourth quarter of the K-State game. However, it’s difficult to draw many conclusions about him based on one quarter of play. He remains something of an unknown entity at the college level.
“Harrison’s learning all of the time,” said Husker offensive coordinator Jay Norvell. “He got some great experience against Kansas State, and he’ll go through the offseason and get better. It kind of is what it is. Guys get confidence from playing.”
The 6-2, 210-pound Beck has a “hell of an arm,” Norvell said. “But so does Zac. I mean, Zac has a big-time arm as well. We’re real fortunate to have a couple kids in our program who really have live arms. They can throw vertical and intermediate passes. They can throw deep-out cuts.”
If a perception exists that Beck’s arm is significantly stronger than 6-2, 205-pound Taylor’s, Norvell pours cold water on it.
“There are guys in the NFL who couldn’t do a lot of the things Zac does,” Norvell said. “He’s a talented kid. And Harrison can do some of those things, too. But there’s a comfort level you have to achieve.”
Beck will increase his comfort level by getting repetitions in practice, Norvell said. Beck should benefit greatly from a December of bowl practices.
It’s a tricky balance — preparing the starter while also allotting enough snaps for the backup to feel comfortable.
Beck has focused in practice on establishing timing with receivers and growing accustomed to the speed of Division I-A defenses, Norvell said. It’s seldom noted that at Countryside High, Beck’s statistics dipped from 2,300 passing yards and 21 touchdown completions as a junior to 1,695 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior.
“Harrison’s confidence rises every week,” Taylor said. “He has a lot of confidence in his throws. You can tell that when he really knows where he’s going with a pass, he really unleashes the ball. He was making a lot more mistakes in two-a-days (in August) and early on in the season. But since we started playing games, and he gets more practice time every week, he really progresses.
“He knows his reads. He knows where receivers are supposed to be. And really his timing is getting a lot better.”
Taylor, meanwhile, knows fans often form a fascination with backup quarterbacks. With backups, fans can let their imaginations run wild. Until a backup sees game action, his limitations are unknown, his potential boundless. He’s often the most popular player on the team.
“It doesn’t bother me,” Taylor said. “It’s how things are going to be.”
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Callahan said he “loves having great quarterbacks around. You can never have enough good ones.”
Does Nebraska have enough good quarterbacks on hand?
“I think we’re getting there,” the coach said. “I feel confident that with Zac having a year under his belt, he will be a better player, a more productive player. Harrison has learned, and when his time comes, I think he’ll thrive.”
Callahan is prohibited by NCAA rules from commenting on Freeman until the player signs a letter of intent.
As Callahan accumulates quarterbacks, a question arises: Would Nebraska ever ponder a two-quarterback system?
Probably not under the current regime.
“I don’t think in the long run it’s any good for your team,” Norvell said. “The players need to get used to having a guy in there who’s leading them. And there’s not enough practice reps to get everyone reps.”
As spring practice nears, ample discussion will begin about a quarterback battle. Taylor will enter drills as the clear-cut favorite, based mostly on experience. Beck will try to make a charge. It’ll be intriguing to monitor Freeman.
“I can’t worry about all that,” Taylor said. “I just keep trying to lead the team. Whatever happens, happens. I’m going to keep working hard regardless of whether I’m the starting quarterback or not. I’ll let the media deal with the quarterback controversy.”
Ah, the dreaded c-word. He said it; we didn’t.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
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