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I read Satterfield's comments to suggest it's now
1. Sims
2. Purdy
3. HaarbergJ
.Steven Sipple•about 1 hour
Just from watching videotape of Jeff Sims’ time at Georgia Tech, Nebraska offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield couldn’t tell precisely what the Huskers were getting in the the transfer quarterback.
Oh, mind you, Satterfield had an excellent idea. But the coach knows it’s easier to measure certain elements of the passing game in a live setting. We’re talking about a QB’s accuracy, velocity, touch on deep throws, and ability to throw on the run.
Well, Satterfield had a bird’s-eye view of Sims during Nebraska’s spring practice, and the coach came away extremely confident in what he saw from the 6-foot-4, 220-pound junior.
“I’m excited — very, very excited,” Satterfield told HuskerOnline this week. “I mean, he’s super dynamic. He’s to a point now where he’s not afraid to pull the ball down and run.”
I thought that was an interesting place to start the conversation — with Sims’ running ability — but Satterfield’s assessment helps illustrate Sims’ maturity as a quarterback.
“I think a lot of times young quarterbacks who have his skill set want to hang in there and throw the ball because they don’t want people to say that they’re not passers, they’re runners,” Satterfield said. “I think he’s over that. I just think he’s wanting to do whatever it takes to win. Just do whatever it takes to move the ball and get first downs.
“He’s got really, really, really, really, really good arm talent. Off the tape from Georgia Tech, I just couldn’t tell exactly how good it was going to be. But he handles those key elements pretty well — pretty special.”
For those counting at home, Satterfield used “really” five times in highlighting Sims’ arm talent.
Just saying.
“First off, when you watch him throw, he’s 6-4 and 220 and looks bigger now,” the coach said. “That ball really comes out of his hand. Some guys are that way and they don’t have the ability to throw shallow crosses and have the necessary touch and take some of the velocity off of it. He does have that ability.
“He’s going to keep grinding, keep working hard. Now I’m just excited to see where it all goes.”
Sims essentially locked down the starting job in spring ball, putting significant distance between himself and sophomores Chubba Purdy and Heinrich Haarberg. Sims helped himself in the April 22 Red-White Spring Game, completing 9 of 13 passes for 139 yards while adding a 7-yard touchdown run.
He does look excellent running the ball. But as Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule emphasizes, Sims is a pass-first quarterback who also can run. He just happens to be an excellent runner. Those types of QBs cause defenses the most headaches.
Satterfield also praises Sims’ work ethic.
“He’s a grinder and he knows a lot of football,” the coach said. “He’s been taught by some really good coaches, and he’s played in a lot of games. He’s got a maturity about him. He doesn’t really freak out when things aren’t going well.”
A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Sims started 23 games for Georgia Tech. In three seasons at the school, he completed 364 of 633 passes (57.5%) for 4,464 and 30 touchdowns, with 23 interceptions.
This past spring, Satterfield asked Sims to improve his completion percentage and cut down on turnovers. Sims made progress, Satterfield said.
We’ll see how much this fall.
“He works at it,” Satterfield said. “He knows how to watch film. This month, when I get back with him, we’ll talk defenses and what we’re looking at when we’re studying defenses and how we attack certain defenses.”
Satterfield said all of his quarterbacks can focus more on fundamentals this time of year.
“In May and June, it’s not as much about our plays or our schemes as it is honing in on the fundamentals of football,” he said. “Coming out spring — after watching (individual) drills and scrimmages and routes on air — you see what we need to work on. Once we isolate those areas, which we have, now we’re just attacking through drills.
“We can slow down and really teach and be specific without having to worry about getting a bunch of plays ran.”
The 6-2, 210-pound Purdy played in six games last season — his first for Nebraska — with two starts. He completed 22 of 48 passes (45.8%) for 147 yards with no passing touchdowns and three interceptions. He rushed 24 times for 73 yards (3.0 ypc) and two touchdowns.
“He’s a competitor,” Satterfield said. “It may not always look pretty, but he’s going to find a way to move the ball and get first downs. I trust him with the football. I just think he need to continue to grind on the fundamentals, grind on learning defenses and how to attack defenses.”
Meanwhile, the 6-5, 210-pound Haarberg has captured the coaching staff’s imagination with his size and athleticism. He’s a specimen for sure. But it gave people pause to watch Haarberg complete only 2 of 9 passes in the spring game.
“I think spring games used to be fun when nobody really cared about them,” Satterfield said. “In our spring game, we divided it up so we could have a real game, and some of the guys weren’t always throwing to guys they were normally throwing to.
“Heinrich hasn’t played a lot of football in front of crowds. The body’s going to feel different in that scenario. It’s going to be a little more intense whenever you’re in those environments. I think continuing to be in those situations will help him.
“But I’m not alarmed at all. I think he had a really, really good spring. He made a huge jump. If he goes into the game and plays quarterback for us, I’m just fine with it.”
1. Sims
2. Purdy
3. HaarbergJ
.Steven Sipple•about 1 hour
Just from watching videotape of Jeff Sims’ time at Georgia Tech, Nebraska offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield couldn’t tell precisely what the Huskers were getting in the the transfer quarterback.
Oh, mind you, Satterfield had an excellent idea. But the coach knows it’s easier to measure certain elements of the passing game in a live setting. We’re talking about a QB’s accuracy, velocity, touch on deep throws, and ability to throw on the run.
Well, Satterfield had a bird’s-eye view of Sims during Nebraska’s spring practice, and the coach came away extremely confident in what he saw from the 6-foot-4, 220-pound junior.
“I’m excited — very, very excited,” Satterfield told HuskerOnline this week. “I mean, he’s super dynamic. He’s to a point now where he’s not afraid to pull the ball down and run.”
I thought that was an interesting place to start the conversation — with Sims’ running ability — but Satterfield’s assessment helps illustrate Sims’ maturity as a quarterback.
“I think a lot of times young quarterbacks who have his skill set want to hang in there and throw the ball because they don’t want people to say that they’re not passers, they’re runners,” Satterfield said. “I think he’s over that. I just think he’s wanting to do whatever it takes to win. Just do whatever it takes to move the ball and get first downs.
“He’s got really, really, really, really, really good arm talent. Off the tape from Georgia Tech, I just couldn’t tell exactly how good it was going to be. But he handles those key elements pretty well — pretty special.”
For those counting at home, Satterfield used “really” five times in highlighting Sims’ arm talent.
Just saying.
“First off, when you watch him throw, he’s 6-4 and 220 and looks bigger now,” the coach said. “That ball really comes out of his hand. Some guys are that way and they don’t have the ability to throw shallow crosses and have the necessary touch and take some of the velocity off of it. He does have that ability.
“He’s going to keep grinding, keep working hard. Now I’m just excited to see where it all goes.”
Sims essentially locked down the starting job in spring ball, putting significant distance between himself and sophomores Chubba Purdy and Heinrich Haarberg. Sims helped himself in the April 22 Red-White Spring Game, completing 9 of 13 passes for 139 yards while adding a 7-yard touchdown run.
He does look excellent running the ball. But as Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule emphasizes, Sims is a pass-first quarterback who also can run. He just happens to be an excellent runner. Those types of QBs cause defenses the most headaches.
Satterfield also praises Sims’ work ethic.
“He’s a grinder and he knows a lot of football,” the coach said. “He’s been taught by some really good coaches, and he’s played in a lot of games. He’s got a maturity about him. He doesn’t really freak out when things aren’t going well.”
A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Sims started 23 games for Georgia Tech. In three seasons at the school, he completed 364 of 633 passes (57.5%) for 4,464 and 30 touchdowns, with 23 interceptions.
This past spring, Satterfield asked Sims to improve his completion percentage and cut down on turnovers. Sims made progress, Satterfield said.
We’ll see how much this fall.
“He works at it,” Satterfield said. “He knows how to watch film. This month, when I get back with him, we’ll talk defenses and what we’re looking at when we’re studying defenses and how we attack certain defenses.”
Satterfield said all of his quarterbacks can focus more on fundamentals this time of year.
“In May and June, it’s not as much about our plays or our schemes as it is honing in on the fundamentals of football,” he said. “Coming out spring — after watching (individual) drills and scrimmages and routes on air — you see what we need to work on. Once we isolate those areas, which we have, now we’re just attacking through drills.
“We can slow down and really teach and be specific without having to worry about getting a bunch of plays ran.”
“Chubba really kicked it into another gear in the last 10 days of spring practice — really took a jump,” the coach said.
The 6-2, 210-pound Purdy played in six games last season — his first for Nebraska — with two starts. He completed 22 of 48 passes (45.8%) for 147 yards with no passing touchdowns and three interceptions. He rushed 24 times for 73 yards (3.0 ypc) and two touchdowns.
“He’s a competitor,” Satterfield said. “It may not always look pretty, but he’s going to find a way to move the ball and get first downs. I trust him with the football. I just think he need to continue to grind on the fundamentals, grind on learning defenses and how to attack defenses.”
Meanwhile, the 6-5, 210-pound Haarberg has captured the coaching staff’s imagination with his size and athleticism. He’s a specimen for sure. But it gave people pause to watch Haarberg complete only 2 of 9 passes in the spring game.
“I think spring games used to be fun when nobody really cared about them,” Satterfield said. “In our spring game, we divided it up so we could have a real game, and some of the guys weren’t always throwing to guys they were normally throwing to.
“Heinrich hasn’t played a lot of football in front of crowds. The body’s going to feel different in that scenario. It’s going to be a little more intense whenever you’re in those environments. I think continuing to be in those situations will help him.
“But I’m not alarmed at all. I think he had a really, really good spring. He made a huge jump. If he goes into the game and plays quarterback for us, I’m just fine with it.”
