QB Witt learning as fast as he can
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BY STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star
Quarterback Patrick Witt winces when he thinks about it — what it might have been like had he waited until this summer to join Nebraska’s football team instead of graduating from high school in December and enrolling at NU in time for spring practice.
Although Nebraska has veteran quarterbacks ahead of him on the depth chart, Witt feels a sense of urgency.
“I’m playing catch-up right now,” said the 6-foot-4, 220-pound player from Wylie, Texas. “But I feel I’m doing a good job of shortening the gap, shortening the learning curve as fast as possible.”
Not that Witt necessarily has to rush. After all, he knows either senior Sam Keller or junior Joe Ganz likely will emerge as Nebraska’s starting quarterback this coming season. For the most part, Witt said, he’s trying to learn from the veterans.
Witt evidently has learned well because Husker head coach Bill Callahan said Wednesday that Witt is everything the coach saw on film during the recruiting process.
“It’s like when you pick a guy in the (NFL) draft — you want to make sure the pick has credence,” Callahan said after Nebraska’s fifth of 15 spring practices. “You want to make sure the pick has value. You want to make sure it is what you saw. That’s what I’m pleased about — Patrick is what we thought he’d be.
“He’s an outstanding quarterback with tremendous upside. He’s got size, a quick release, his mental attributes are outstanding. He can learn quickly.”
There is plenty to learn, Witt said, which helps explain why he graduated from Wylie High at midterm. He said trying to learn Nebraska’s version of the West Coast offense in preseason camp — which features 29 practices in August before the season opener — would be “pretty ugly” for him.
Spring practice isn’t exactly a picnic.
Four days a week — on the days Nebraska practices — Witt wakes up at 5:45 a.m. to be ready for 6:30 a.m. team meetings. He then goes to class, eats lunch and heads to practice. He also meets with coaches on the weekends to get an edge. Sleep? Well, he’s not getting much, he said.
Nevertheless, he relishes the challenge and the opportunity.
“It’s a lot to think about,” he said of the Husker offense. “Walking up to the line of scrimmage, you have to set the (pass) protection. You have to make reads. You have to get us out of bad plays and into good plays. You just walk up to the line, take care of what you can, and play it from there.
“I’m just trying to learn on the fly. Coach Callahan and (assistant) Coach (Shawn) Watson really have thrown it all at me. I’m just trying to stay in my playbook, trying to study as much as I can. I’m trying to get things going and learn from my mistakes.”
Witt listens closely to Ganz, Keller and junior Beau Davis.
“They might drop a little comment that helps you here and there,” Witt said. “I just want to execute. When I’m asked to go in there (under center), I want to really capitalize on the opportunity.”
So, could Witt be ready in time to play against Nevada in Nebraska’s Sept. 1 season opener, if he were needed in an emergency?
“I’m burning the candle at both ends to be ready as quickly as possible, whether that means playing or just being knowledgeable on the sidelines,” he said.
Meanwhile, Zac Lee, a transfer from San Francisco City College, just wishes he could join Witt and the rest of the quarterbacks in practice competition. The 6-2, 210-pound Lee expresses frustration as he sits out the spring with a left knee injury suffered in last season’s final game.
His lateral collateral ligament and hamstring became detached from his fibula when he was hit while airborne. He didn’t tear any ligaments.
“It’s been difficult watching, to say the least,” said Lee, who has four seasons to play three at Nebraska. “I still have the same goals; it just might take me longer to reach them.”
Lee, who threw for 3,400 yards and 35 touchdowns last season, said he should be healed in time for preseason camp in August. For now, he tries to soak up as much of the offense as he can while watching parts of practice and attending team meetings. He also is able to run along the sideline and do upper-body weightlifting with the team.
He said he likes Nebraska’s offense because “the quarterback has the power. You want to be able to do what you see (at the line of scrimmage). You have an answer for everything, so you’re not going to get stuck in a bad situation.”
Watching practice this spring, “I have the play sheet and I’m reading every play when the coaches call it,” he said. “I try to see what I’d do in my head, and see if I’m right — just staying in it mentally as much as I can.”
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
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