Norvell at Big Red Breakfast

[BIGREDFAN_in_OMAHA]

http://www.journalstar.com/huskerextra/doc...e2043915428.txt

 

Norvell: Keller, QBs will be bright spot

BY STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star

Friday, Dec 15, 2006 - 02:58:52 pm CST

 

Sam Keller

 

OMAHA — Because he’s officially a walk-on, quarterback Sam Keller can practice with the Nebraska football team only as long as classes are in session.

 

Because the semester ended Friday, so did Keller’s season.

 

“That’s why we’ve been killing him in practice lately,” Nebraska offensive coordinator Jay Norvell said. “He’s been stepping on his tongue.”

 

Not to mention impressing coaches.

 

Sure, Nebraska will miss having senior Zac Taylor under center next season. After all, Taylor last month was named Big 12 offensive player of the year.

 

However, “The talent at quarterback here next year will be better than it has been since we’ve been here,” said Norvell, in his third season with the Huskers, referring mostly to Keller.

 

Nebraska apparently will go into spring practice with five quarterbacks — Keller, junior college transfer Zac Lee, sophomores Joe Ganz and Beau Davis, and incoming freshman Patrick Witt of Wylie, Texas.

 

A 6-foot-4, 230-pound transfer from Arizona State, Keller has impressed Nebraska coaches and teammates seemingly since the moment he stepped foot on the Lincoln campus in late August. Judging from Husker coaches’ comments in the past few months, right up to Norvell’s assessment Friday, Keller is the clear favorite to replace Taylor as starter.

 

Norvell, speaking at the Big Red Breakfast, said Keller has a “very quick release and is very accurate.”

 

“He’s a very, very smart and mature guy,” Norvell said. “He’s a pretty athletic, big and physical guy.”

 

Keller has one season of playing eligibility remaining. Although he had to sit out this season per NCAA transfer rules, Keller was able to gain a strong grasp on Nebraska’s relatively complex West Coast offense, Norvell said. Keller did a good job of attending quarterbacks meetings and digesting information, Norvell said.

 

In fact, the coach said, Keller essentially approached each game week as if he were going to play. He took weekly QB exams along with the rest of Nebraska’s signal-callers.

 

Keller flashed his prowess as a passer on the scout team while also getting to know his teammates.

 

“Some kids have ‘it,’ ” Norvell said. “When they walk into a huddle, there’s a spark — that’s what Sam has.”

 

A native of Danville, Calif., Keller in 2005 played in seven games for Arizona State and threw for 2,165 yards and 20 touchdowns, with nine interceptions. He completed 58.7 percent of his throws and was sacked 15 times as the Sun Devils compiled a 3-4 record in that span.

 

Keller was named Arizona State’s starter in August near the end of preseason camp, then was demoted to second string the following day, prompting his transfer to Nebraska.

 

Meanwhile, Lee and Witt “will add immediate depth and competition at the position,” Norvell said.

 

Other tidbits from Norvell’s speech:

 

* Nebraska reserve I-back Cody Glenn has not been cleared to participate in Cotton Bowl practices because of the foot injury he suffered Nov. 11 at Texas A&M. “The injury is a little more serious than we thought,” Norvell said.

 

* Carl Nicks’ late-season emergence at right tackle has left Husker coaches expecting big things from him next season. “He’s going to be a fabulous player,” Norvell said. “He has every tool you want in an offensive lineman. He’s the kind of guy who can be a dominant player.”

 

* True freshman defensive end Pierre Allen, who arrived on NU’s campus standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 225 pounds, apparently has benefited from meals at the training table. “He’s gained 35 pounds,” Norvell said. “He doesn’t even look like the same person.”

 

* As for Cotton Bowl opponent Auburn’s defense, Norvell said, “Their front is not overly big, but it’s very, very quick. They try to smother you with their corners, put their safeties in the box and make it hard for you to run.”

[Eric the Red]

True freshman defensive end Pierre Allen, who arrived on NU’s campus standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 225 pounds, apparently has benefited from meals at the training table. “He’s gained 35 pounds,” Norvell said. “He doesn’t even look like the same person.”

 

Holy Crap

[AV Red]

I thought Jay was describing me and my freshman year when he said, “He’s gained 35 pounds,” Norvell said. “He doesn’t even look like the same person.”

 

But I'm not 6'5"

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Great article and that's definately a huge weight gain!!!!! Sounds like Sam is going to be seriously impressive!!!!!

[gamecocks]

I've heard of the freshman 15 but that is amazing. 35 pounds of probally all muscle is awesome.

[HuskerNCo]

Oh my Gosh!!! Holy Moly!!! You go Pierre Allen...

What a force he will be!

 

If I gained 35 pounds...I'd probably be divorced!! Just kiddin'

[HUSKER 37]

Oh my Gosh!!! Holy Moly!!! You go Pierre Allen...

What a force he will be!

 

If I gained 35 pounds...I'd probably be divorced!! Just kiddin'

 

 

Hmmm.

I've gained an average of 10 lbs every year since I met my Wife..I think she's trying to feed me to death.

[husker rob]

i hope that he has gained muscle and not table muscle.

 

35lbs of just weight is not a good thing at all.

[Eric the Red]

I thought Nicks came through in the big 12 game

[husker rob]

i have a question that hopefully someone can answer. if Sam Keller is a walk-on, and walk-ons can only practice with the team when classes are in session, what about all of the other walk-ons that are on the team, like the tight end that has caught 3 TD's this year, Teat-----something or other? i cant spell his name.

 

or is it just the walk-ons that are red-shirting?

[HuskerJosh82]

Awsome articel. But it didn't say anthing about Keller being a Heisman canidate while he was at Arizona St. Is that just a rumor?

[HUSKER 37]

Awsome articel. But it didn't say anthing about Keller being a Heisman canidate while he was at Arizona St. Is that just a rumor?

 

They mentioned it as a possibility in the local papers after he came in as a Sophmore, for the injured starter (Paul Justin? or Andrew Walter?) in a Bowl Game and passed for over 300 yards..If memory serves me.

 

Can't seem to find a link.

They usually don't mention Heisman and ASU in the same sentence (or Paragraph) but people were pretty excited about Sam because of "his poise and uncanny accuracy".

 

 

ASU 2006 QB preview

 

Unable to cut/paste from the above link

 

but this one is also interesting..

 

Took Sam Keller to lunch the other day, and I'm buying it all: the Hamburger AND the hype

 

Keller will make ASU into a contender

 

Dan Bickley

The Arizona Republic

Sept. 16, 2005 12:00 AM

 

Took Sam Keller to lunch the other day, and I'm buying it all:

 

The hamburger and the hype.

 

"Whatever it is, he's got it," former ASU quarterback Paul Justin said. "You just look at the kid, and you want to follow him." advertisement

 

 

 

 

It's true.

 

After 75 minutes in his presence, I was ready to play offensive line. Except that would get him killed, and we can't have that a year before Arizona State contends for a national championship.

 

This new quarterback is that special. He's rough around the edges yet cool in the pocket. His rugged charisma fills up a huddle and a stadium. And even though he just woke up (yeah, it's 1 p.m., so sue him), his furnace is already burning.

 

"Some guys look at football like it's work," Keller said. "I'll never get like that. I live for this game. I live for this position."

 

More accurately, he lives for the rush of big games and good fights.

 

"When I played basketball, I could stand out there and hit threes all day," he said. "But I like mixing it up. I'm a little bit different."

 

So is his résumé. In his past four games, Keller nearly rallied ASU past Arizona, and would've if a receiver hadn't dropped a crucial pass; he outplayed Kyle Orton for MVP of the Sun Bowl; he passed for a country mile against Temple; he became a star, if not a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate, while slicing up Louisiana State's spider-web defense.

 

It is one of the best foundations a starting quarterback has ever had in college football, which is great except that Keller is still mad at himself over the loss to LSU.

 

"I was playing mind games with their safeties all night," he said. "And on the last drive, I over-analyzed things. I out-thought myself. I didn't trust what I was seeing."

 

On that final drive, Keller threw two passes down the gut of LSU's defense, each for big gains. On the stalled series, he went across the middle two more times, and both fell incomplete. On third down, he figured LSU would finally wise up, and so he threw the ball to the outside.

 

On film, he saw the middle was wide open yet again, and he missed what could've been a game-winning touchdown.

 

"I spent two nights thinking about how things would've been different if we won that game," Keller said. "No offense to Pac-10 teams, but that was LSU, an SEC power, a team that won a national championship two years ago. We win that game, and we're there. We win that game, and we could've run the table. I beat myself in the head over that."

 

The new kid is so much different than his predecessor, the polished Andrew Walter. Keller has earrings in both lobes and a patch of scruff on his chin. While his delivery is not pretty, his confidence is well above the speed limit.

 

In last year's Sun Bowl, ASU coach Dirk Koetter called a daring passing play on third and 1. On the field, Keller reacted by pumping his fist with excitement. The play worked, but when it was over, Koetter reminded his quarterback not to give away such precious secrets.

 

Keller nodded his head, and then he patted his coach on the backside. That's chutzpah.

 

Then again, that's how this kid went from fifth string to second string his first week on campus, impressing everyone with his personality and his command of the playbook.

 

"You're supposed to learn the offense," Keller said. "You're the quarterback. You distribute the ball. It shouldn't be that difficult."

 

There is an amazing vein running through ASU's quarterback tree. As a boy, Walter once drank from a creek that runs through Camp Tontozona. Bruce Snyder climbed through mountains of snow to get to Jake Plummer. To this day, no one insults Tucson better than Danny White.

 

And then there's the story of Justin, who was quarterbacking for a team in Frankfurt, Germany in the mid-'90s. At the time, Keller's father worked for NFL Europe, and one day, before a really big game, little Sammy came up and asked to play catch with Justin on the sidelines.

 

And that's what they did, former ASU legend to future ASU legend.

 

"I don't want to say too much because he's just getting started and I don't want his head to explode," Justin said. "But he's got it. He'll make it happen. He's got this, 'I don't give a (expletive) attitude, I'm going to get the job done.' You can always look to Sammy for leadership."

 

So consider this season the appetizer. Next season, ASU will have four big-time transfers on the field and a defensive line that could be among the nation's most dominant units.

 

Keller's senior season will come 10 years after a brash, fiery quarterback led ASU to the brink of a title (Plummer) and exactly 20 years after a brash, fiery quarterback led ASU to a victory in the Rose Bowl (Jeff Van Raaphorst).

 

"I've never won a championship on any level of football," Keller said. "And we can do it here."

 

Doubt at your own risk.

[BIGREDFAN_in_OMAHA]

i have a question that hopefully someone can answer. if Sam Keller is a walk-on, and walk-ons can only practice with the team when classes are in session, what about all of the other walk-ons that are on the team, like the tight end that has caught 3 TD's this year, Teat-----something or other? i cant spell his name.

 

or is it just the walk-ons that are red-shirting?

In th OMH today there was clarification about the fact that Keller transferred and had to sit out the mandatory year he could only practice with the team while classes are in session.

[California Husker]

* True freshman defensive end Pierre Allen, who arrived on NU’s campus standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 225 pounds, apparently has benefited from meals at the training table. “He’s gained 35 pounds,” Norvell said. “He doesn’t even look like the same person.”

 

I wonder what sort of...uh hum... training routine he's been taking part in? 35 pounds? That doesn't seem ...uhhh... natural.

[Hunter94]

yep, hope the kid is not on "roids"............or other gowth/muscle enhancers.....