best QB to ever run the option at NU

Who is it already?!

  • Eric Crouch

    Votes: 17 18.7%

  • Tommie Frazier

    Votes: 48 52.7%

  • Scott Frost

    Votes: 4 4.4%

  • Turner Gill

    Votes: 21 23.1%

  • Jammal Lord

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Jerry Tagge

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Steve Taylor

    Votes: 1 1.1%
  • Total voters
    91
IMHO, many people quickly think of Tommie.  Being the GOAT and having 2 national championships doesn’t hurt, would lend itself to this conclusion.  

I like Turner.  He was a magician with the ball.  Great timing, fakes, ball control etc...He was also over shadowed by sharing the backfield with Rozier and Craig, not to mention Fryar.  Turner was the maestro of that symphony.  Had he won a natty or 3, he’d be remembered a little differently IMHO.  

Truly a tough call as all we’re phenomenal.  With a break here or there, they could all be considered the “best”,  

 
lo country said:
IMHO, many people quickly think of Tommie.  Being the GOAT and having 2 national championships doesn’t hurt, would lend itself to this conclusion.  

I like Turner.  He was a magician with the ball.  Great timing, fakes, ball control etc...He was also over shadowed by sharing the backfield with Rozier and Craig, not to mention Fryar.  Turner was the maestro of that symphony.  Had he won a natty or 3, he’d be remembered a little differently IMHO.  

Truly a tough call as all we’re phenomenal.  With a break here or there, they could all be considered the “best”,  
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I'm not educated enough to say who was best, but Turner was certainly my favorite.  When he'd take the snap under center, do that half reverse spin, pause just the right amount of time, then head down the line....gads man, that was a thing of absolute beauty.

 
MichiganDad3 said:
Ganz? Tagge? Humm? Ferragamo?
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Pelini used the zone read, Ganz is ineligible. 

Taylor threw for more yards and TDs than Tagge, Humm and Ferragamo, while having a better completion percentage than everyone other than Tagge (who had one year over 60% at 190 attempts). 

 
Cdog923 said:
Pelini used the zone read, Ganz is ineligible. 

Taylor threw for more yards and TDs than Tagge, Humm and Ferragamo, while having a better completion percentage than everyone other than Tagge (who had one year over 60% at 190 attempts). 
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Defense was allowed in the 70s. QBs and receivers were treated like football players back then, not like princesses. I don't think it is possible to get a fair stat comparison from the old days to current times.

 
Cdog923 said:
Pelini used the zone read, Ganz is ineligible. 

Taylor threw for more yards and TDs than Tagge, Humm and Ferragamo, while having a better completion percentage than everyone other than Tagge (who had one year over 60% at 190 attempts). 
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Completion percentage is really hard to compare across eras, though, and given today's general accelerated pace, so are yards. 55% completion rate in the 70s was good enough to be an All-American.

 
brophog said:
Completion percentage is really hard to compare across eras, though, and given today's general accelerated pace, so are yards. 55% completion rate in the 70s was good enough to be an All-American.
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MichiganDad3 said:
Defense was allowed in the 70s. QBs and receivers were treated like football players back then, not like princesses. I don't think it is possible to get a fair stat comparison from the old days to current times.
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This is true; it's hard to take stats like that in a vacuum. You could also say that Tagge, Humm and Ferragamo played on much better teams, too. 

 
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Cdog923 said:
Pelini used the zone read, Ganz is ineligible. 

Taylor threw for more yards and TDs than Tagge, Humm and Ferragamo, while having a better completion percentage than everyone other than Tagge (who had one year over 60% at 190 attempts). 
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Ferragamo was a transfer and only played 2 seasons at DONU

 
PasstheDamnBallGuy said:
I dont think he belongs on this list overall, but Armstrong had a really strong pitch game, that was probably underutilized by both staffs. Maybe it just seemed better because of how lacking we were in that are for a long time, but I felt really confident in him making a play once out in space running the option. His fake pitch specifically was one of the best I think.  Now his read option decision making was another story. 
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Man, that option at Michigan with the game on the line just about made me cry tears of joy.

Too bad he wasn’t used in that role more.

 
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We had a number of good option operators over the decades.   Frost Gill and Frazier we obviously among the best based on the team success.  Newcombe would have been great as well I feel.   I voted Frazier but it was really a tie between Frazier and Gill.  Gdowski may well have been, had he had the opportunity, the best pure QB with all the skills we ever had and I hold Gill in the highest regard that way but he never did it on the field so it's hard to rate him up that high without more evidence.  Lord was a dam fine option QB as well and he and Frost were probably the best runners when carrying the ball in the option itself.  Crouch was obviously a great running QB but doesn't make my top ten overall as he didn't really run the 'option' as well because he seemed to outrun the RBs and get out of relative position too often to make the pitch man a bigger threat.  He liked to carry it himself and did well but you want your QB to be just one of the options not 'the' option.   

I'm sure there were some second and third string QBs over the years that were great option QBs but didn't excell in other QB aspects and therefore didn't have the starting role.   

Frost was easily the most powerful runner at QB and would have been a hell of a fullback, linebacker, tight end, DE, etc.   He was a GREAT athlete and maybe one of the best ever.   I think if i were recruiting and could take Frost I'd probably have about 30 of him on my team.   He could be an all american at about half the positions I suppose.   Frazier could have as well but pound for pound Frost was the better athlete.   Lord was also a very powerful runner with some extra get around as well.   Any of these guys would be a great addition to our team IF the offense was built to fit them.   

I think an interesting questions is Could Scott Frost be the QB for his own offense?    I'd like to think so because decision making is the key ingredient but his throwing, especially on the deeper throws, may be the suspect one.   I know if his son plays the game, we ought to offer him a scholarship when he hits 3rd grade or so.   

 
This is one you really don't need to overthink.  I saw Frazier Gill Taylor Frost, Crouch.  I evidently saw but don't recall Gdowski ( that says something right there.)  I remember a couple QB's trying to fill the void after Steve Taylor.  They floundered around a little bit; there was Keithen McCant and Mickey Joseph.  Then this young kid named Frazier came in and it was like somebody turned on a light switch.  Or lightning in a bottle.  All they did was " win win win no matter what!"

I really find it quite incredible that he did not win a heisman.  litterally one of the best two option QB and leaders ever. 

 
84HuskerLaw said:
Frost be the QB for his own offense?    I'd like to think so because decision making is the key ingredient but his throwing, especially on the deeper throws, may be the suspect one.  
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The guy I voted for in this poll is Gill, and he's also the guy I would vote for in a poll on former Husker QBs playing in the new offense. Gill himself once said he wished he could throw more in that old power I offense because he was so good as a runner and passer. He was really a fantastic passer in his time, and if he were able to work with a guy like Mario he'd really be something else.

 
It surprises me how many people are saying Crouch was the best option QB at Nebraska. He just simply was not. He was one of the most talented and athletic QBs Nebraska ever had; certainly he was the fastest (or one of them). But better than Frazier at running the option? Not a chance. 

Tommie Frazier was simply masterful at running the offense. I realize he had the advantage of running it for Tom Osborne, but he was just nearly perfect. It always seemed as if Crouch was almost fighting against the option. He was not smooth, he was simply so fast that he made it work. 

Tommy was the best...hands down. After him, probably a tie between Gill and Frost. Gill was a bit smoother, but Frost seemed to have a clear understanding of how to exploit the defenses he played against and the power running ability to shove it down their throat if need be. 

So for me, it's very, VERY easy: 

Tommy Frazier


then:
Gill/Frost

Steve Taylor

Eric Crouch

In terms of best QB? I would put Crouch much higher....tied with Frost behind Frazier, but NOT best OPTION  QB by a long shot. 

 
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