- Messages
- 22,898
- Likes
- 101,317
Frost says current Husker QBs eager to compete – portal addition or not
BChristophersonSTAFF
Scott Frost's current Husker quarterbacks know the deal.
"I've sat down with every player after the season, this last week, and talked to those guys and they know we're looking for one," Nebraska's head coach said Thursday night during an appearance on the 'Sports Nightly' radio show. "We may get one, we may not. I feel good about what we have in that room, and I think both of those guys are really anxious to learn some new stuff and from a new guy, and I think they're looking forward to the competition whether there's a new one or not."
With the signing of Richard Torres on Wednesday, the Huskers still have only three scholarship quarterbacks on their roster heading into 2022, which is the thinnest number you would dare have.
New offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mark Whipple said he's "had a ton of calls" when it comes to portal possibilities at QB. He also said he had a strong first impression of meeting the guys currently in that room, including sophomore-to-be Logan Smothers, freshman Heinrich Haarberg and walk-on Matt Masker.
Smothers, as of this moment, might be declared the favorite at the position based on the fact he started the final game against Cockeye and played quite well for three quarters.
"Logan cares. I thought he played three quarters of great football. The last play of the (third) quarter actually really hurt us," Frost said of a fumble issue that blew up a potential big play, which came just a few plays before a punt was blocked and returned for an Cockeye touchdown. "We had a simple exchange that we work on all the time. We lay the ball on the ground and sometimes that's the quarterback's fault, sometimes that's the running back's fault. But I think if we hadn't done that we would've had a big gain on the play...
"We need a team that when something bad happens, we fight back even harder instead of having bad things stack on top of each other. And we followed that with a safety and a fumble on our next two drives. Overall I thought, just like every time he's gotten a chance, he played well. I think he's only going to keep getting better. I'm excited about him and Haarberg and the rest of the guys at the position, and we'll see if there's another one that we can add to that group."
Frost was also asked during the radio appearance with Greg Sharpe about Haarberg's development behind the scenes during a redshirt season in 2021.
"Really excited for him. It's hard to come in as an 18-year-old and be ready," Frost said. "I've played in the same league that he played in (in) high school ... It's good football. There's probably some high school kids that play in leagues that get them a little bit more ready for college. He came in and his talent stood out immediately. I thought he looked great early and then sometimes when you get overloaded with information, you take a little step back and then from there it was just gradual improvement."
Frost used the words "supremely talented kid" to describe the Kearney Catholic grad, and said the Huskers now just need to keep bringing him along.
Asked what traits he looks for first in a QB, he said the top one is someone who can process information quickly.
"It doesn't matter if you can throw and run as well as anybody in the country," Frost said. "If you can't see the game and be one step ahead, and be making quick correct decisions, then all the talent in the world doesn't matter. When you watch the great ones play, they're a step ahead."
Frost noted that he used to stand behind Marcus Mariota at Oregon and try to go through the progressions just like the QB was doing. "And by the time I'd get to, in my eyes with no rush, the spot where he should throw the ball, the ball was ready out, just because he saw the game so fast. There's an 'It' factor too. You've got to have a guy who's at his best when the chips are down and can create."
While former Husker QB Adrian Martinez on Thursday announced he'll be playing his final season at Kansas State, the Huskers are looking for their future options at the position not just in the portal but also through the national recruiting method, including adding Torres to the equation on Wednesday.
While Torres is recovering from a knee injury that disrupted much of his 2021 season, he'll enroll early and Frost is optimistic about what he can be.
"Big, tall guy. His arm talent is elite. We were just shopping for quarterbacks and looking at a lot of highly ranked guys, and I fell in love with him from the minute I saw his tape. ... Really excited to get him around Coach Whipple, and the offense. I think his arm talent is elite. I also think he has a lot of growth to do as an athlete that's going to make him a dual-threat guy. Really excited to start working with him."
Some other items:
– Frost said what new O-line coach Donovan Raiola teaches is lockstep with what he believes. "I spent a bunch of time with him and watched the techniques that he teaches. His way of simplifying things but allowing guys to be really aggressive, I think is going to make us better."
– Nebraska had one O-line addition in Justin Evans-Jenkins on Wednesday. The prospect had a ton of offers early, and then his recruitment slowed down some. Frost gave some possible explanation of that. "He's right on the border of what we're looking for size-wise. And I think probably some people stepped back away from him because of his size." But Frost pointed out playing with guys like Aaron Taylor and Matt Hoskinson who weren't prototypes in frame necessarily, but were very good.
"Justin's a kid, I just love his demeanor. I love the way he plays. I love the aggressiveness he plays with. ... I just believe in who he is as a player ... It really came down to offering him late because I wanted to make sure whoever the O-line coach was (was) on board with someone like him. We brought him in on the last weekend and made him a Husker."
– Frost reiterated there are possible center options on the roster post-Cam Jurgens, including Nouredin Nouili, Ethan Piper and Trent Hixson. He also noted, "There might be a new addition or two there (on the O-line) before the dust settles."
– A caller said he'd like to see Ron Brown coaching on the offense. Frost gave an answer that perhaps further tips off where he's leaning with his final full-time assistant coaching hire.
The veteran coach Brown served as the running backs coach to finish the final two games of the 2021 season, after being an offensive analyst. Frost has one full-time position still open, and he repeated on Thursday that he has a good idea what he's going to do. He could use it for a full-time special teams coordinator who doesn't have other coaching duties, with Bill Busch seemingly a leading candidate.
Frost could potentially also have a coach in an analyst's role meet and review film with the running backs, but just not instruct on the field, with the handling of those duties needing to be figured out if such a route were taken. Frost has said it won't be long until the final piece of the plan is put out there.
Responding to the caller, the Husker head coach said Brown is one of the best people he's been around and that's why he's in the building, and appreciates both the football and life advice he receives from him.
"As long as I'm here, I'm going to have him around if I can. He's a lot older than he looks, though," Frost said good-naturedly. "So sending him out on the road recruiting and doing all those things, he'd probably do anything for the University of Nebraska and the football program. But I love having him in the role I have him in so that he can be of assistance to me."
BChristophersonSTAFF
Scott Frost's current Husker quarterbacks know the deal.
"I've sat down with every player after the season, this last week, and talked to those guys and they know we're looking for one," Nebraska's head coach said Thursday night during an appearance on the 'Sports Nightly' radio show. "We may get one, we may not. I feel good about what we have in that room, and I think both of those guys are really anxious to learn some new stuff and from a new guy, and I think they're looking forward to the competition whether there's a new one or not."
With the signing of Richard Torres on Wednesday, the Huskers still have only three scholarship quarterbacks on their roster heading into 2022, which is the thinnest number you would dare have.
New offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mark Whipple said he's "had a ton of calls" when it comes to portal possibilities at QB. He also said he had a strong first impression of meeting the guys currently in that room, including sophomore-to-be Logan Smothers, freshman Heinrich Haarberg and walk-on Matt Masker.
Smothers, as of this moment, might be declared the favorite at the position based on the fact he started the final game against Cockeye and played quite well for three quarters.
"Logan cares. I thought he played three quarters of great football. The last play of the (third) quarter actually really hurt us," Frost said of a fumble issue that blew up a potential big play, which came just a few plays before a punt was blocked and returned for an Cockeye touchdown. "We had a simple exchange that we work on all the time. We lay the ball on the ground and sometimes that's the quarterback's fault, sometimes that's the running back's fault. But I think if we hadn't done that we would've had a big gain on the play...
"We need a team that when something bad happens, we fight back even harder instead of having bad things stack on top of each other. And we followed that with a safety and a fumble on our next two drives. Overall I thought, just like every time he's gotten a chance, he played well. I think he's only going to keep getting better. I'm excited about him and Haarberg and the rest of the guys at the position, and we'll see if there's another one that we can add to that group."
Frost was also asked during the radio appearance with Greg Sharpe about Haarberg's development behind the scenes during a redshirt season in 2021.
"Really excited for him. It's hard to come in as an 18-year-old and be ready," Frost said. "I've played in the same league that he played in (in) high school ... It's good football. There's probably some high school kids that play in leagues that get them a little bit more ready for college. He came in and his talent stood out immediately. I thought he looked great early and then sometimes when you get overloaded with information, you take a little step back and then from there it was just gradual improvement."
Frost used the words "supremely talented kid" to describe the Kearney Catholic grad, and said the Huskers now just need to keep bringing him along.
Asked what traits he looks for first in a QB, he said the top one is someone who can process information quickly.
"It doesn't matter if you can throw and run as well as anybody in the country," Frost said. "If you can't see the game and be one step ahead, and be making quick correct decisions, then all the talent in the world doesn't matter. When you watch the great ones play, they're a step ahead."
Frost noted that he used to stand behind Marcus Mariota at Oregon and try to go through the progressions just like the QB was doing. "And by the time I'd get to, in my eyes with no rush, the spot where he should throw the ball, the ball was ready out, just because he saw the game so fast. There's an 'It' factor too. You've got to have a guy who's at his best when the chips are down and can create."
While former Husker QB Adrian Martinez on Thursday announced he'll be playing his final season at Kansas State, the Huskers are looking for their future options at the position not just in the portal but also through the national recruiting method, including adding Torres to the equation on Wednesday.
While Torres is recovering from a knee injury that disrupted much of his 2021 season, he'll enroll early and Frost is optimistic about what he can be.
"Big, tall guy. His arm talent is elite. We were just shopping for quarterbacks and looking at a lot of highly ranked guys, and I fell in love with him from the minute I saw his tape. ... Really excited to get him around Coach Whipple, and the offense. I think his arm talent is elite. I also think he has a lot of growth to do as an athlete that's going to make him a dual-threat guy. Really excited to start working with him."
Some other items:
– Frost said what new O-line coach Donovan Raiola teaches is lockstep with what he believes. "I spent a bunch of time with him and watched the techniques that he teaches. His way of simplifying things but allowing guys to be really aggressive, I think is going to make us better."
– Nebraska had one O-line addition in Justin Evans-Jenkins on Wednesday. The prospect had a ton of offers early, and then his recruitment slowed down some. Frost gave some possible explanation of that. "He's right on the border of what we're looking for size-wise. And I think probably some people stepped back away from him because of his size." But Frost pointed out playing with guys like Aaron Taylor and Matt Hoskinson who weren't prototypes in frame necessarily, but were very good.
"Justin's a kid, I just love his demeanor. I love the way he plays. I love the aggressiveness he plays with. ... I just believe in who he is as a player ... It really came down to offering him late because I wanted to make sure whoever the O-line coach was (was) on board with someone like him. We brought him in on the last weekend and made him a Husker."
– Frost reiterated there are possible center options on the roster post-Cam Jurgens, including Nouredin Nouili, Ethan Piper and Trent Hixson. He also noted, "There might be a new addition or two there (on the O-line) before the dust settles."
– A caller said he'd like to see Ron Brown coaching on the offense. Frost gave an answer that perhaps further tips off where he's leaning with his final full-time assistant coaching hire.
The veteran coach Brown served as the running backs coach to finish the final two games of the 2021 season, after being an offensive analyst. Frost has one full-time position still open, and he repeated on Thursday that he has a good idea what he's going to do. He could use it for a full-time special teams coordinator who doesn't have other coaching duties, with Bill Busch seemingly a leading candidate.
Frost could potentially also have a coach in an analyst's role meet and review film with the running backs, but just not instruct on the field, with the handling of those duties needing to be figured out if such a route were taken. Frost has said it won't be long until the final piece of the plan is put out there.
Responding to the caller, the Husker head coach said Brown is one of the best people he's been around and that's why he's in the building, and appreciates both the football and life advice he receives from him.
"As long as I'm here, I'm going to have him around if I can. He's a lot older than he looks, though," Frost said good-naturedly. "So sending him out on the road recruiting and doing all those things, he'd probably do anything for the University of Nebraska and the football program. But I love having him in the role I have him in so that he can be of assistance to me."
Last edited:
