Sam Keller's career as a Cornhusker came to an end with a season-ending injury on Saturday against Texas, NU coach Bill Callahan said Monday.
BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Sunday, October 28, 2007 7:00 pm
You want a Joe Ganz story? Which one? The high school football coach has too many for a 15-minute phone conversation.
OK, let’s see, how about this one? Yeah, this sums up Joey.
It was the second round of the Illinois high school playoffs and Ganz was doing his usual circus act, playing everything but the tuba for Amos Alonzo Stagg High School.
He was the team’s quarterback, free safety, punter and kicker his senior year.
The kid was pretty good, pretty great in this game. He ran for two touchdowns, intercepted a pass and hit so hard that he put two guys out with injuries.
When it was over, a reporter asked Coach Tim McAlpin what he had to say about his guy.
“Joe Ganz,” the coach said, “was born to play football.”
It’s a story worth noting this week, for Ganz’s time has come sooner than many expected.
Nebraska coach Bill Callahan announced Monday that Ganz would be the Huskers’ starter at Kansas on Saturday, the result of a season-ending injury to senior Sam Keller.
Keller was the mouthpiece of this team, standing at the podium after games even when the questions weren’t easy to answer. He was closing in on the school single-season record for passing yards. He threw for more than 2,400 yards and 14 touchdowns.
But his Husker career ended abruptly last Saturday in Austin, Texas, under the weight of Longhorns defensive end Eddie Jones, who landed on him with 2:37 left in the game.
Keller stayed down for several minutes. It looked ominous then. It looked worse later, when he left the locker room after the game, a sling holding his left shoulder in place.
Callahan wouldn’t get specific about the injury, but Keller’s dad, Mike, said his son suffered a broken collarbone.
“We couldn’t be more pleased with everything he’s done for us,” Callahan said. “He’s a good kid, a classy individual. He was a real leader for us during some real troubled times this season.”
The coach said the loss of Keller “hurts us, but this also creates an opportunity for Joe Ganz to step up. He’s ready to do that.”
Talk about a tough opening act. The fourth-year junior will get his first start against a Kansas team that ranks fifth in the country in total defense.
It’s not exactly the best game for NU to try to break a four-game losing streak.
Don’t worry about Ganz, says his former teammate, former Husker quarterback Zac Taylor.
The guy from Palos Heights, Ill., has what Taylor calls a “Chicago attitude. He doesn’t take stuff from anybody.”
As far as Taylor is concerned, Ganz has been ready for showtime for some time now.
“He’s been ready for it the last three years,” Taylor said. “I know Joe didn’t want it to happen like this, but he’s the most confident person I’ve ever been around in my entire life. He knows this offense way better than I ever did.”
Ganz looked cool in replacing Keller against Texas, completing two of three passes to finish the drive with a touchdown.
He also showed his mobility, scrambling for 12 yards on one play when no one was open.
And after the game, Ganz demonstrated the confidence Taylor was talking about.
“I want to get my team to a bowl game,” Ganz said. “It’s my job to win these next three games and get our team to a bowl game. We can end the season on the right foot. If it falls on my shoulders, I love the pressure.”
His game experience is minimal. While backing up Taylor and Keller, Ganz has thrown only 17 career passes.
Despite that, Callahan said Ganz has received quite a few practice reps during this season and is “very well prepped.”
“He’ll be competitive on Saturday, he will give it his all. I think our team and staff have the utmost confidence in his ability.”
Callahan said true freshman Patrick Witt and junior Beau Davis are fighting for the backup spot behind Ganz.
What Ganz does have that neither Taylor nor Keller had is fast enough feet to make plays running when the pocket breaks down.
“You really haven’t seen that with me,” Taylor said. “I’m slow, Sam’s slow. With Joe, he adds a whole different dimension.”
The coach back in Illinois will attest to that.
When McAlpin had Ganz run an option for the first time as a sophomore, he took it 55 yards.
In his career at Amos Alonzo Stagg, which plays in Class 7A, the second-highest classification in Illinois, Ganz threw for 3,428 yards and rushed for 1,328 more.
“It happened quite frequently in our games that he’d just make a play you wouldn’t expect,” McAlpin said. “You’d think he’s going out of bounds, then he’s not. He’s 15 yards downfield.”
But maybe the thing McAlpin admires most is how positive Ganz always remained about football and the Nebraska program, even on the down days.
And there were sure some of those, certainly this fall, when Callahan awarded the starting job to Keller.
The day after learning it was Keller’s job, Ganz met with the media.
“I have to be there for my teammates,” he said. “I can’t let myself be down. If Sam gets hurt, it (can’t) screw up the whole season. I can’t allow that. I have too much respect for my coaches and teammates to do that.”
A few reporters scribbled those words into their notebooks, but no one thought much of them at the time.
But now his chance is here, surely not the way he expected or wanted it to come, but here nonetheless.
“You know, a lot of guys would have not hung it out or went to a different school,” Taylor said. “It really speaks a lot about his character.”
Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7439 or bchristopherson@journalstar.com.