1994

[Pennsyhusker]

While it isn't ideal that we have only one scholarship quarterback on the roster, the fact is Bunch is a pretty good backup. I think he could run the offense effectively if he had to. I just think of 1994 and after Frazier we had Berringer and Turman. That isn't exactly a ton of depth either. Everyone is nervous that our number three QB right now is a true freshman walk on. Mat Masker. But Turman, though a fan favorite, was probably not really even a D-1 caliber QB. Of course, in 94, as we saw in the KSU game where Turman started, we also had a great defense and a great offensive line. But still... you get my point. We are not the only NU team, historically, to be thin at QB, nor are we the only team today overall that is thin at QB.

It would have been nice to have two elite talent QB's on our team this year. But in modern college football, elite QB's aren't going to tolerate riding pine for long. I wish Tristan well at Oregon State. Our starting QB is now Adrian Martinez. The team is his. His backup is Andrew Bunch. That is the reality. That is our team now. Time to look forwards not backwards

 

[HudsonValleyHusker]

Also had Lawrence Phillips.

 

[Pennsyhusker]

Also had Lawrence Phillips.

Yes, as we all know, that team was loaded with talent. So having a sketchy third string QB was not the danger it is now. The situations are similar, but not identical. Still... had Berringer also been lost for the season, no way we go undefeated with the Turminator at QB.

Another difference between now and 1994 is the style of offense. I think Frost's up tempo offense puts more pressure on a QB to make quick decisions. If Masker became our QB the offense would have to be dialed back. In the 1994 offense it was possible to dial back the playbook and rely on I back Left, I back right, Fullback trap up the middle, because power football was a key part of what we did. I doubt that would be true in Frost's system, despite the rhetoric to the contrary.

But the point remains... lots of teams, now and in the past, have dealt with depth issues at QB. We just need to accept what the situation is and move on.

 

[otismotis08]

We're also not winning a NC this year. This is a momentum-building season.

 

[TwinsRRUs]

The backup QB is always the favorite once the starter starts playing poorly for a few plays...

So when was the last time during a season that the fans didn't call for the backup QB to be put into the game because the starter made a couple of mistakes?

Would any fan really call for Bunch to be put into a game that 2AM is struggling, i.e. for a series to let 2AM relax a bit and get settled down while the coaches talk to him?

 

[Pennsyhusker]

The backup QB is always the favorite once the starter starts playing poorly for a few plays...

So when was the last time during a season that the fans didn't call for the backup QB to be put into the game because the starter made a couple of mistakes?

Would any fan really call for Bunch to be put into a game that 2AM is struggling, i.e. for a series to let 2AM relax a bit and get settled down while the coaches talk to him?

I think that would all depend on just how poorly Martinez is playing.

 

[TwinsRRUs]

I think that would all depend on just how poorly Martinez is playing.

My guess is that it would have to be pretty bad for it to happen.

Either that or have Bunch absolutely light it up in mopup duty a couple of times before 2AM struggles... that would probably make the fans get the idea that Bunch could be better, but I don't envision something like that happening.

 

[ridge22]

I don't know that we can make an accurate judgement on either AM or Bunch right now. Martinez has only played in an All Star game in like the last 18 months. As far as calling Bunch a pretty good backup I don't know about that either. All I have see from either one is in the spring game and they weren't allowed to get hit.

After hearing all of the bull shit last year about how great Tanner Lee is and how the defense is going to be so much better with Diaco from the local media I have come to a simple conclusion. I have to see something with mine own eyes before I come to a conclusion. For me it will probably be after the Colorado game before I have much of an opinion and the QB situation.

 

[oldjar07]

Yes, as we all know, that team was loaded with talent. So having a sketchy third string QB was not the danger it is now. The situations are similar, but not identical. Still... had Berringer also been lost for the season, no way we go undefeated with the Turminator at QB.

Another difference between now and 1994 is the style of offense. I think Frost's up tempo offense puts more pressure on a QB to make quick decisions. If Masker became our QB the offense would have to be dialed back. In the 1994 offense it was possible to dial back the playbook and rely on I back Left, I back right, Fullback trap up the middle, because power football was a key part of what we did. I doubt that would be true in Frost's system, despite the rhetoric to the contrary.

But the point remains... lots of teams, now and in the past, have dealt with depth issues at QB. We just need to accept what the situation is and move on.

I think we're rewriting history here. Frazier was a heisman caliber qb. Berringer was projected highly as a draft pick. I don't know much about Turman, but he was certainly a division I capable qb. Every one of those guys is probably better than any of the qb's we'll have available this year.

 

[Pennsyhusker]

I think we're rewriting history here. Frazier was a heisman caliber qb. Berringer was projected highly as a draft pick. I don't know much about Turman, but he was certainly a division I capable qb. Every one of those guys is probably better than any of the qb's we'll have available this year.

Huh?? My only point is that the 94 team had about the same depth at QB as our current team. I made no claim that Martinez and Bunch are as good as Frazier and Berringer. As 94 showed, despite their talent, both Frazier and Berringer got injured, forcing us to use Turman as a starter for one game. Depth was my point, not the comparative quality of the first two guys.

And if you think Turman was a better QB than anyone we have now, you are insane.

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

And if you think Turman was a better QB than anyone we have now, you are insane.

The past is how we choose to remember it.

 

[Bugeater]

Huh?? My only point is that the 94 team had about the same depth at QB as our current team. I made no claim that Martinez and Bunch are as good as Frazier and Berringer. As 94 showed, despite their talent, both Frazier and Berringer got injured, forcing us to use Turman as a starter for one game. Depth was my point, not the comparative quality of the first two guys.

And if you think Turman was a better QB than anyone we have now, you are insane.

Turman was a pretty solid #3 who did a great job when called upon. Other than Martinez, I wouldn’t necessarily say all the other qb’s at UNL today are better than Matt. Someday they might get a chance to prove themselves like Matt was able to.

The thing I liked about Turman was the no panic mentality he had against KSU or Okie State, just went about his business calm and collected.

 

[Pennsyhusker]

Turman was a pretty solid #3 who did a great job when called upon. Other than Martinez, I wouldn’t necessarily say all the other qb’s at UNL today are better than Matt. Someday they might get a chance to prove themselves like Matt was able to.

The thing I liked about Turman was the no panic mentality he had against KSU or Okie State, just went about his business calm and collected.

He was better than Masker only because he had been in the system longer and knew the offense. And he had one hell of a supporting cast on offense to mask his deficiencies. He was a marginal passer at best and not very fast, strong, or elusive as a runner. He was a calm and collected guy who could get guys lined up properly and then hand off or pitch the ball to a running back. But had we been forced to use him the rest of the season we would have lost some games.

 

[Pennsyhusker]

But beyond 94, look at some of Osborne's other teams. Several years saw us with sketchy depth. I think of 84 with Sundberg at QB. He was a decent QB, but depth behind him was not good

 

[Bugeater]

But beyond 94, look at some of Osborne's other teams. Several years saw us with sketchy depth. I think of 84 with Sundberg at QB. He was a decent QB, but depth behind him was not good

1994. As Frank Sinatra used to sing, “it was a very good year.”

 

[Husker4real]

It’s a great comparison if Bunch turns out to be as capable as Berringer. I hope that is the case.

My frustration with the Gebbia transfer is that it puts NU right back in a position of being thin and fragile at the QB spot. How many seasons in the past 15 years or so has NU had a backup QB that was a walk-on or former walk-on that was brought in only for organizational depth? I guess last year counts as one where the top two were scholarship players. Tommy Armstrong’s freshman year was another.

 

[saluno22]

It’s a great comparison if Bunch turns out to be as capable as Berringer. I hope that is the case.

My frustration with the Gebbia transfer is that it puts NU right back in a position of being thin and fragile at the QB spot. How many seasons in the past 15 years or so has NU had a backup QB that was a walk-on or former walk-on that was brought in only for organizational depth? I guess last year counts as one where the top two were scholarship players. Tommy Armstrong’s freshman year was another.

QB on roster over the last 15 years (not sure if I got the order within each year correct)...

2003
Jammal Lord Sr
Joe Dailey Fr
Mike Stuntz Jr
Brett Lindstrom Sr
Garth Glissman So
Zach Miller Fr (Redshirt)

2004
Joe Dailey So
Beau Davis Fr
Mike Stuntz Jr
Garth Glissman Jr
Zach Miller RFr (Transferred to UNO)
Jordan Adams So (Redshirt)
Joe Ganz Fr (Redshirt)
Ryan Goodman Fr (Redshirt)

2005
Zac Taylor Jr
Beau Davis So
Joe Ganz RFr
Jordan Adams So

2006
Zac Taylor Sr
Joe Ganz So
Beau Davis So
Sam Keller Sr (Transfer Redshirt)

2007
Sam Keller Sr
Joe Ganz Jr
Beau Davis Jr
Zac Lee So (Redshirt)
Patrick Witt Fr (Redshirt)

2008
Joe Ganz Sr
Zac Lee So
Patrick Witt RFr
Beau Davis Sr
Jim Ebke So (moved to LB)
Kody Spano Fr (Redshirt)
Zach Ruiz Fr. (Redshirt)

2009
Zac Lee Jr
Cody Green Fr
Kody Spano RFr
Latravis Washington Jr (moved from LB)
Taylor Martinez Fr (Redshirt)
Ron Kellogg III Fr (Redshirt)

2010
Taylor Martinez RFr
Zac Lee Sr
Cody Green So
Latravis Washington Sr
Ron Kellogg III RFr
Kody Spano So
Brion Carnes Fr (Redshirt)

2011
Taylor Martinez So
Cody Green Jr (Transferred to Tulsa)
Ron Kellogg III So
Brion Carnes RFr
Tyson Broekemeier Fr (Redshirt)

2012
Taylor Martinez Jr
Ron Kellogg III Jr
Brion Carnes So
Tyson Broekemeier RFr
Bronson Marsh RFr
Tommy Armstrong, Jr. Fr (Redshirt)
Ryker Fyfe Fr (Redshirt)
Evan Williams Fr (Redshirt)

2013
Taylor Martinez Sr
Ron Kellogg III Sr
Tommy Armstrong, Jr. RFr
Tyson Broekemeier So
Ryker Fyfe RFr
Johnny Stanton Fr (Redshirt)
Evan Williams RFr

2014
Tommy Armstrong, Jr. So
Ryker Fyfe So
Johnny Stanton RFr
Tyson Broekemeier Jr
Zack Darlington Fr (Redshirt)
AJ Bush Fr (Redshirt)

2015
Tommy Armstrong, Jr. Jr
Ryker Fyfe Jr
Tyson Broekemeier Sr
Zack Darlington RFr
AJ Bush RFr (now the starter at Illinois)

2016
Tommy Armstrong Jr. Sr
Ryker Fyfe Sr
Patrick O'Brien Fr (Redshirt)
Tanner Lee Jr (Transfer Redshirt)
* Zack Darlington (Soph) made an appearance at QB late in the Music City Bowl.

2017
Tanner Lee Jr
Patrick O'Brien RFr
Andrew Bunch So
Tristan Gebbia Fr (Redshirt)

2018
Adrian Martinez Fr
Andrew Bunch So
Matt Masker Fr
Noah Vedral So (Transfer Redshirt)

 

[TheBeav815]

QB on roster over the last 15 years (not sure if I got the order within each year correct)...

2003
Jammal Lord Sr
Joe Dailey Fr
Mike Stuntz Jr
Brett Lindstrom Sr
Garth Glissman So
Zach Miller Fr (Redshirt)

2004
Joe Dailey So
Beau Davis Fr
Mike Stuntz Jr
Garth Glissman Jr
Zach Miller RFr (Transferred to UNO)
Jordan Adams So (Redshirt)
Joe Ganz Fr (Redshirt)
Ryan Goodman Fr (Redshirt)

2005
Zac Taylor Jr
Beau Davis So
Joe Ganz RFr
Jordan Adams So

2006
Zac Taylor Sr
Joe Ganz So
Beau Davis So
Sam Keller Sr (Transfer Redshirt)

2007
Sam Keller Sr
Joe Ganz Jr
Beau Davis Jr
Zac Lee So (Redshirt)
Patrick Witt Fr (Redshirt)

2008
Joe Ganz Sr
Zac Lee So
Patrick Witt RFr
Beau Davis Sr
Jim Ebke So (moved to LB)
Kody Spano Fr (Redshirt)
Zach Ruiz Fr. (Redshirt)

2009
Zac Lee Jr
Cody Green Fr
Kody Spano RFr
Latravis Washington Jr (moved from LB)
Taylor Martinez Fr (Redshirt)
Ron Kellogg III Fr (Redshirt)

2010
Taylor Martinez RFr
Zac Lee Sr
Cody Green So
Latravis Washington Sr
Ron Kellogg III RFr
Kody Spano So
Brion Carnes Fr (Redshirt)

2011
Taylor Martinez So
Cody Green Jr (Transferred to Tulsa)
Ron Kellogg III So
Brion Carnes RFr
Tyson Broekemeier Fr (Redshirt)

2012
Taylor Martinez Jr
Ron Kellogg III Jr
Brion Carnes So
Tyson Broekemeier RFr
Bronson Marsh RFr
Tommy Armstrong, Jr. Fr (Redshirt)
Ryker Fyfe Fr (Redshirt)
Evan Williams Fr (Redshirt)

2013
Taylor Martinez Sr
Ron Kellogg III Sr
Tommy Armstrong, Jr. RFr
Tyson Broekemeier So
Ryker Fyfe RFr
Johnny Stanton Fr (Redshirt)
Evan Williams RFr

2014
Tommy Armstrong, Jr. So
Ryker Fyfe So
Johnny Stanton RFr
Tyson Broekemeier Jr
Zack Darlington Fr (Redshirt)
AJ Bush Fr (Redshirt)

2015
Tommy Armstrong, Jr. Jr
Ryker Fyfe Jr
Tyson Broekemeier Sr
Zack Darlington RFr
AJ Bush RFr (now the starter at Illinois)

2016
Tommy Armstrong Jr. Sr
Ryker Fyfe Sr
Patrick O'Brien Fr (Redshirt)
Tanner Lee Jr (Transfer Redshirt)
* Zack Darlington (Soph) made an appearance at QB late in the Music City Bowl.

2017
Tanner Lee Jr
Patrick O'Brien RFr
Andrew Bunch So
Tristan Gebbia Fr (Redshirt)

2018
Adrian Martinez Fr
Andrew Bunch So
Matt Masker Fr
Noah Vedral So (Transfer Redshirt)

Man 2011 is when it started. Since then they just haven't been able to recover the numbers as far as having more than 3 scholarship QBs on the roster at once. Even then it's like you get to 3 for one season and then it dips down to 1 or 2, or the backup you have is a holdover from an old system who doesn't fit the current offense.

 

[hddude55]

Also had Lawrence Phillips.

... and The Pipeline. I am much more concerned about pancake blocks than the need to play a third string qb.

 

[dand84]

I am more concerned that we are realistically 2 deep at QB.

 

[SLOHusker]

Are there any players at other positions that played decent high school QB that could be moved?

 

[dand84]

Cam Taylor, Mazour, Lamar Jackson. Probably a few more.

 

[Husker4real]

Thanks saluno22 for the rundown.

I blame Carl Crawford for the entire thing. Had he not opted for $170 million baseball career, NU’s QB situation after Crouch would look a little better.

But man, aside from a handful of names (Zac Taylor, TMart, maybe Ganz and Armstrong), that is a pretty underwhelming list of names.

 

[SLOHusker]

I don't doubt Frost is already talking to a few players and they might start getting some snaps in practice. Cam Taylor looks like he could be more than adequate playing QB:

 

[Pennsyhusker]

Thanks saluno22 for the rundown.

I blame Carl Crawford for the entire thing. Had he not opted for $170 million baseball career, NU’s QB situation after Crouch would look a little better.

But man, aside from a handful of names (Zac Taylor, TMart, maybe Ganz and Armstrong), that is a pretty underwhelming list of names.

Exactly. Our quarterback recruiting has been lackluster. I won't say "awful" because some of our starting QB's have been pretty decent. But we have not had a true "difference maker" at quarterback since Crouch. I think Taylor and Ganz were the two best QB's we have had who were pure passers. Tommy and TMart were gifted athletes, and won us some games based on that athleticism, but were not effective against the better teams and were turnover train/wrecks. I actually think our best dual threat QB, post Crouch, was Jamal Lord. The others? Good grief. Tanner Lee? lol. Sam Keller? lol. Joe Dailey: fish out of water in Callahan's system. And having backups like Ryker Fyfe and Ron Kellogg and Beau Davis is just absurd.

 

[REGPrimus]

Exactly. Our quarterback recruiting has been lackluster. I won't say "awful" because some of our starting QB's have been pretty decent. But we have not had a true "difference maker" at quarterback since Crouch. I think Taylor and Ganz were the two best QB's we have had who were pure passers. Tommy and TMart were gifted athletes, and won us some games based on that athleticism, but were not effective against the better teams and were turnover train/wrecks. I actually think our best dual threat QB, post Crouch, was Jamal Lord. The others? Good grief. Tanner Lee? lol. Sam Keller? lol. Joe Dailey: fish out of water in Callahan's system. And having backups like Ryker Fyfe and Ron Kellogg and Beau Davis is just absurd.

This is exactly what I have thought all along. QB recruiting has been below where it needs to be for such an important position. That along with player development!!

 

[jflores]

I don't think any team is going to be very deep at QB in the modern game let alone the not so modern game we sort of have warm fuzzy feelings about.

Just not enough qbs to go around to start on 100+ teams plus decent backups. Water will seek it's own level and all that.

Hell look at Bama... arguably more dominant than we were in the 90s and no one in the country can name their third team QB and their rare co-starter situation is between two young guys. Which will fix itself after this season.

 

[jflores]

Oh yah and from another thread...OSU and Bauserman

 

[Spectrumalaska]

Taylor Martinez was a difference maker before he got hurt. Fastest player I ever saw play QB at Nebraska.