BellyOption

Just now, Nebfanatic said:

We also had terrible WR depth last year and we need bodies in practice. He was never going to see the field and concussions were the reason. 

You know nothing about this situation.

Pretty good read.

Darlington

31 minutes ago, Nebfanatic said:

Just because he moved to WR really doesn't mean anything. He was never going to see the field in any real action due to injury 

Wrong. He was running with the 1s and 2s last fall before he had a shoulder injury that took him out of camp for a couple of weeks.

Saw his Twitter post. He said he is joining the Army.  If he gets his degree, he'll go in as an officer.  Most definitely a team player.  Someone mentioned that he didn't play QB because of his injuries.  That's definitely not true because he moved to WR.  Always felt like he had the potential to be a scrappy QB.  Regardless, we need more guys with his attitude and perspective.  

It seems that Fulmer was able to quickly adjust his system to his best athlete at QB. Is there any reason why Nebraska can't be like 1998 Tennessee for the 2016 season, and be like 1997 Tennessee for the 2017 season. If Fulmer can do it, why can't MR?

Because he's not Fulmer. Fulmer's teams, especially in the '90s, were crazy good. Fulmer was a phenomenal coach and had a great staff around him. Nothing in his past or present makes me say that about Riley.

The concussion specialists on campus are truly leaders in the field. They have tested him multiple times since he stepped on campus two years ago. He has passed every test with flying colors and has been given a clean bill of health by the concussion specialists. He also has the unwavering support of his parents. Finally, he is bigger, faster and stronger than probably any other skill player on the team. He knows the risks. His parents know the risks. The concussion specialists know the risks. And, he has prepared his body in a way that gives him the best opportunity possible. He wants to play.

All I'm hoping for is that this young man is simply given a legitimate shot at earning playing time. If he's given a legit shot and it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out. But, based on the kind of competitor he is, I expect him to be a contributor at some point - IF he's given a legitimate shot. #GBR

What has me baffled is Darlington. He went from being no. 2 in the spring to no. 4 in fall ball. Must be having a terrible camp.

I'm with you. He looked the most comfortable and natural in the spring game. From my understanding, he wasn't given much of a shot when fall camp started. It's like the coaches decided he wasn't their guy or something. Didn't play any plays in the first two scrimmages. Would be interested in knowing why he wasn't getting the number of reps the other two were.

Serious question.... What are the chances that Darlington gets a chance to win the startin job over Tommy

I'd guess slim to none before the season. Putting a freshman in to start against a very good BYU defense is rolling the dice a little much. TA is the much safer choice going into the season, regardless of what the fears ar about him.

Purely from a non-football view, do you start the guy who has experience and then put in someone else if the starter struggles? Or, do you start a freshman and, if he struggles, replace him with the guy who has shown over 2 years that he completes half of his passes? The effect on the psyche of those players could be big.

 

Riley has already said several times that he likes to stretch the field vertically which is the weak part of Darlington's game but you don't have to be able to throw it 70 yards to stretch the field. If you can put it on the money at 40, that'll do.

 

 

It's yet to be seen if we have the personnel on the receiving end of those long balls to even make that a point that matters in our quarterbacks.

 

And, it's yet to be seen whether Darlington can throw the deep ball. He wasn't called on to do it on Saturday. People seem to accept the "deep ball weakness" and "less athletic" stuff as fact. That sounds more like people simply repeating the TV announcers. We haven't seen what he can or can't do in these areas.

Darlington played well, but he missed throws too. And remember, he is going against the White team defense here. His stock is certainly rising and he looks much more lik a QB with his going through progressions than any of our other guys.

 

However, going through a couple progressions is not some kind of rare superpower. Let's be honest -- Darlington is probably in a similar boat as many, many other freshman QBs around the country. If he is thrown into the fire as a starter, he will probably play like one. So Tommy should still be the favorite.

 

Thinking about it that way, I'm worried about the offense this year. I think between ZD and Fyfe (if he stays?) and of course TA, we'll have guys who can run it at an inconsistent, "shows some flashes" kind of level, which obviously doesn't bode too well for our overall prospects. But if we want to project to the future, you hope that all of these guys will get a chance to improve in leaps and bounds with coaching. And of course, keep an eye on '16 QB recruiting.

Darlington indeed missed one throw when he scrambled and missed Turner. That leaves 3 other incompletions. One where he was hit during his release and two drops. He was 7/11 and 1 TD. If the receivers don't have the drops, then he would've gone 9/11 with 2 TDs. Both of them should've been catches and McKitt would've walked into the end zone. His lone actual miss was one I'm sure he'd like to have back. The thing that stuck out to me was how relaxed he looked. Didn't seem like a freshman.

I can't help but feel the health considerations are going to keep Darlington away from serious contention this year, as good as he looks.

 

Otherwise, I feel Tommy should have a battle on his hands in fall camp. AJ seems very talented, but not ready.

I hope you're wrong and I think you're wrong about the staff's opinions on Darlington. He's live and going full contact. What we don't know about him and Bush is what those first 14 practices really looked like? Was Bush's performance on Saturday an anomaly? I had heard that he threw quite a few picks during spring ball and Darlington had not. But, there was so much chatter about Bush. Was that just the media or does the staff really believe that?

Based on Saturday, Darlington should be the backup, at least.

Darlington could make anybody's offense go. I watched the HS video of him and he always makes the read, is instinctive and gets the ball out quickly. Riley won the Fiesta bowl in 2001 with a short, heady quarterback (jonathan smith, now the OC at Washington) who just seemed to make plays and wa a winner. That's Darlington.

 

But man, that hit that took him out- wasn't even much of a pop. Makes me wonder if he is going to last long. Hate to see talented players get head injuries.

Agree with you. Am a fan of Darlington.

Point of clarification: Riley wasn't the coach at Oregon State in '01. That was Dennis Erickson.

 

 

 

 

 

So...am I to assume nobody is concerned about head injuries with Darlington anymore?

I know he doesn't stutter and has been cleared by some of the best doctors around regarding head trauma

Hope they are right. I would love for the kid to have a great career here but, it's not worth potentially having major problems the rest of his life.

 

Best of luck to him.

Agree. My concern is with his safety.

Absolutely. I mean, it's obvious he wants to play. But major head injuries are serious serious business. I'd seek opinions from doctors that aren't in any way affiliated with the school just in case, but if every doctor says he's no more at risk than any other player? I'd start him. I'm confident that it's only the history of head injuries that's holding him back.

Dr. Semyon Slobounov, a director of virtual reality/traumatic brain injury research laboratory at Penn State, is overseeing Darlington's recovery, as is central Florida-based Dr. James M. Ray

 

NU has one of the best brain trauma centers in the country and it's right there on campus. In addition to those specialists, I would imagine the NU center is well aware of his progress.

I agree with what most everyone is saying on here. Darlington had the best day, clearly.

What I don't understand is this accepted notion that Darlington is simply not the athlete that those other two guys are. Of the QBs, who has the fastest 40? Anyone want to guess where Darlington falls on that list? Who benches the most? Wanna guess?

In this system, the QB doesn't need Crouch or Martinez speed. They need to be fleet of foot and get out of pressure. And, a way to avoid pressure is to be a good, quick decision maker.

I think TA will be the starter because it will feel much safer to the staff. He's been in the wars and BYU has a good defense. It'll be a lot easier to start the incumbent and replace him than to start a frosh and then put in a guy that has a lot of question marks.

Based on performance:

Darlington

Armstrong

Bush

Brockmeier

Prediction:

Armstrong

Darlington

Bush

Brockmeier