Ganz never loses motivation

[bennychico11]

http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2008/0...ad090914904.txt

 

link has video with Ganz interview

 

It hadn’t felt like a chore to watch football, but now it seemed a rotten way for Joe Ganz to spend a few hours.

 

“(It) sucked, just terrible, watching all those games on TV. It was awful,” said the man now intent on being the man. “I couldn’t even watch some of those games.”

 

Ganz was referring to last December, fresh off the bitterness of a losing season. Here was all this football on TV, but no game to play. Rare is a linebacker’s hit that hurt as much as that.

 

“It’s just a feeling you don’t want anymore,” Ganz said Monday, two days before spring practice begins with him as Nebraska’s No. 1 quarterback.

 

If you don’t think that’s a big deal, then you don’t know the story of Ganz, one of those talents who for a great while seemed destined to forever play the role of humble guy in the shadows.

 

But opportunity arose late last season, deep into the fourth quarter of a game against Texas. Sam Keller went down. The backup stepped up.

 

With NU driving and behind by 11 points, the new leader came into the huddle. How’d he handle this? Confidently. That’s Joe, everyone says. Always confident. A touchdown was soon on the board.

 

Pressure doesn’t melt him like it does some. Senior receiver Nate Swift thinks of all those practices. When was Ganz the best? Answer: When the clock was running out.

 

“In practice, two-minute drill, it’s the best thing he ever does,” Swift said. “He’s always scoring, taking them right down the field whether it’s first defense, second defense, whatever.”

 

It was amid the pressure of that Texas game, Husker senior offensive lineman Matt Slauson said, when he knew Ganz could be something special.

 

“Everybody always knew Joey was good,” Slauson said. “But they didn’t know he had that in him.”

 

Three starts and 1,399 passing yards later, Ganz comes into his final season at Nebraska as a perceived budding star, a fan favorite, from anonymous guy to the one signing autographs at the airport.

 

A few weeks ago, Ganz was in Omaha catching an airplane back to his parents’ home in Illinois for spring break. People kept saying hello, wishing him good luck.

 

“You don’t just think they’ll recognize you in street clothes going to the airport, but it’s pretty cool, kind of a surreal experience to have people recognize you and say nice things,” Ganz said.

 

On Monday, someone asked the guy who is finally the front-runner at quarterback about motivation. What does he chase this spring now that everyone’s finally chasing him?

 

“I’m just not going to let anybody take it from me now that I’ve gotten to where I want to get to,” he said. “I have to work that much harder not to let anybody take it from me. I’ve worked too hard to let somebody come up and take the job from me.”

 

You’d be hard-pressed to find many who would predict Ganz won’t be the starter for the season opener against Western Michigan.

 

Still, if anyone knows what it’s like to be the guy being counted out, it’s Ganz. And so he said he’s not dismissing his competition — Zac Lee, Patrick Witt, Beau Davis, true freshman Kody Spano.

 

“I would expect those guys to compete just the way I did when I was the second or third guy,” Ganz said. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from them and they can expect my best, too.”

 

Coach Bo Pelini said Ganz will come into spring ball as the starter, but believes the competition at quarterback is going to be very good.

 

“Everybody will get plenty of time to show what they can do,” Pelini said.

 

But it’s obvious the other guys have plenty of catching up to do. The head coach says things like “the sky’s the limit” when talking about Ganz.

 

“At this point in his career, he’s only touched the base of his talent of how good he can be,” Pelini said. “There’s a lot more out there for him and he understands that.”

 

Ganz said he was “relieved” that Shawn Watson returned as Nebraska’s offensive coordinator. Alabama was courting Watson for a similar job in January.

 

Watson and Ganz have reviewed all of the quarterback’s performances last season. Watson delivers reports on each game with grades and notes.

 

Ganz was good, but the quarterback wants to be better. Got to cut back on turnovers, not force things. He threw seven interceptions last season. It’s still painful to watch any of them on film, he said.

 

But he’s glad he got to experience it all — the good, the bad, all lessons learned.

 

“I’ve been in the heat of battle now,” he said. “I’ve been against top teams, the team that won the Orange Bowl. So I know what to expect. It just gives me that much more confidence going into spring.”

 

He’s confident, but also tired. The losses are old. This season must be special.

 

Said Ganz: “The worst thing in the world is losing.”

[Landlord]

I full heartedly disagree about losing being the worst thing in the world..

[husker B-rent]

I full heartedly disagree about losing being the worst thing in the world..

 

maybe not the worst thing, but for athletes it really sucks! and i mean it feels worse for an athlete than it does for a fan.

[Landlord]

I know, i've been one.

[xkbubo]

well unless he was talking out of his ass we know he'll do whatever it takes to WIN!

[hack]

[HuskerTrucker]

I like Joey, and hope he performs well enough to win the starting position, if so, he damn sure deserves to be one of the leaders of this team.

 

Go Joey!!

[hack]

Published Friday | March 28, 2008

 

NU Football: Bo sees traits of a leader in Ganz

 

BY MITCH SHERMAN

WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

LINCOLN — Safely removed from that wild November and all the scary offensive numbers, Nebraska receiver Nate Swift is ready to admit Joe Ganz caught him by surprise.

 

Click to Enlarge

 

"I expect the other quarterbacks to compete just like I did when I was the second or third guy," NU's Joe Ganz said.

 

"I think everybody was a little bit surprised," Swift said. "Everybody knew Joe was a good quarterback. He was that guy in the shadows, just waiting for his chance."

 

The Huskers didn't know Ganz had it in him to throw for nearly 1,400 yards in three games after Sam Keller went down Oct. 27 with a season-ending shoulder injury.

 

Although Nebraska won just one of those games, Ganz pieced together the most prolific three-game passing display in NU history.

 

And this spring, as he prepares for his senior year as Nebraska's returning starter at quarterback, Ganz isn't sneaking up on anyone — not on the field or away from it.

 

At 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds out of Palos Heights, Ill., Ganz doesn't come with all the shiny parts and smooth edges of Keller or even two-year starter Zac Taylor before him.

 

That makes little difference around here, where an incumbent QB carries a higher profile than everyone but, well, the new head coach.

 

And the new head coach, by the way, said he's impressed with Ganz.

 

"I like Joe," Bo Pelini said. "I think he is a leader. He has a tremendous amount of confidence, and I think he is a good football player. At this point of his career, he has only touched the base of his talent. There is a lot more out there for him. He understands that.

 

"He is very intelligent. You put that together with the work ethic he has, and the sky is the limit."

 

Pelini, for the record, said all that this week, two days before the Huskers opened spring drills. It ranked unchallenged at the time as the highest praise delivered by Pelini about one of his new players.

 

Apparently, the quarterback's feelings about Pelini are mutual.

 

"I love Coach," Ganz said. "His door is always open, and his mentality is definitely welcomed around here. He knows how to motivate us. He's a player's coach. I'm very excited to get to work for him."

 

All the attention has come as something of a system shock to Ganz, who completed 10 passes in his career before starting Nov. 3 against Kansas.

 

He gets recognized regularly around Lincoln. In Omaha this month, Ganz found himself at the center of attention during a stop at Eppley Airfield en route home to Chicago for spring break.

 

"You just don't think they would recognize you in the airport in street clothes," Ganz said. "But it's kind of cool, a surreal experience to have people come up and say nice things."

 

Does it create pressure?

 

"No, Ganz said, "but it is spring ball. Maybe I'll feel more pressure in the fall."

 

Ganz began this spring as the leader by a wide margin to retain the No. 1 job. Still, he will compete with Zac Lee, Patrick Witt, Beau Davis, plus newcomers Kody Spano and Jim Ebke.

 

"I expect the other quarterbacks to compete just like I did when I was the second or third guy," he said.

 

Ganz's November experience, though, may give him an edge too significant to overcome.

 

Against Kansas, Kansas State and Colorado, Ganz completed 86 of 148 throws for 1,399 yards with 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

 

The numbers are likely skewed because of the nature of those late-season games. Nebraska surrendered 172 points in his three starts. Nothing Ganz could do about that, other than reduce his interceptions — an offseason area of emphasis, he said, after reviewing his work on film.

 

The new attention is nice, Ganz said, especially after he sat for most of four seasons. He didn't play at all in 2004 or 2005.

 

But the waiting didn't bother him nearly as much as the losing last fall. After the Huskers finished 5-7, Ganz said he could hardly stand to follow the bowl season.

 

"It was terrible," he said. "That's just a feeling that guys don't want anymore. We don't want to lose. It's the worst thing in the world. I hate it. I know everybody else on the team hates it."

[zE bOp]

It's funny, if i recall correctly, the vast majority of fans last year at this time considered Keller as DA Man; Ganz was viewed as a 'gamer', but did anyone really take it seriously that he should be the starter over Keller? Well, ok, there were a few...very few.

 

Of course, after Ganz had a few surprisingly impressive showings, suddenly Ganz 'loyalists' were just popping outta the woodwork: GO FIG!

 

Actually, i was pretty amazed at how well Ganz did, though he did show a fair amount of expected sporadic behavior and poor decisions. I think he cost us the CO game in the 2nd half--though he was lights out in the first. (Of course, the defense couldnt stop anything in that game either).

 

Like any new starter, he has a tendency to force the ball into areas where he shouldnt, hence the INTs. I expect that to change with the experience he gained last year and i think he can blossom into a very very good QB, a threat even. His running ability certainly is a big plus, though he's no Pat White.

 

However, I'm really interested in seeing what kind of competition Lee and Witt bring to the table. I dont expect either of those guys to overtake Ganz, but Witt sorta reminds me of Sam Bradford 'lite' in his style, and they say Lee is probably a better runner than Ganz. And whats the word on this Spano guy? Is it possible to have another QB in CFB named Kody? WEll, at least he spells it with a 'C'!

 

So, who knows? One thing that is certain though, if somehow Lee or Witt overtake Ganz, either prior to or during next season, there will be plenty of fans saying, "I told you so..."!

 

BUT, I am pulling for the Joey-nator all the way--who can't love a guy like that? It will be exciting to see him show his stuff next year...

 

 

 

[MUTigerFan]

Here's a pic of young Joe from last year's Spring Game, just in case ya forgot what he looks like.

 

[hack]

It's funny, if i recall correctly, the vast majority of fans last year at this time considered Keller as DA Man; Ganz was viewed as a 'gamer', but did anyone really take it seriously that he should be the starter over Keller?

 

 

i wasn't one of them. i freely admit that. i also admit i was way too hasty in my judgment. i said on more than one occasion that "nobody holds a clipboard like joe ganz!"

 

well that clipboard must have been magical or something because he lighting it up toward the end of last season.

[zE bOp]

It's funny, if i recall correctly, the vast majority of fans last year at this time considered Keller as DA Man; Ganz was viewed as a 'gamer', but did anyone really take it seriously that he should be the starter over Keller?

 

 

i wasn't one of them. i freely admit that. i also admit i was way too hasty in my judgment. i said on more than one occasion that "nobody holds a clipboard like joe ganz!"

 

well that clipboard must have been magical or something because he lighting it up toward the end of last season.

 

Yeah, i also was decisively in keller's camp, but what got me after Ganz took over were all the fair weather fans that were suddenly promoting Joey all over the place. Goes with the territory , i guess.

 

Ganz is better than i thought he was, and now i think, if he could be/been playing more yrs at NE could develop into a chase daniels type player, or the TTech guy. But, though i think he will be very good next year, dont see that he can get to that level in one more year...

[huskerswrkhavoc]

I know, i've been one.

 

as have/am i...

 

when you're in the heat of that moment.. NOTHING is worse than losing.. it's all you're concerned about as a competitive athlete... once you look back on it later on, it may not be as big of a deal, but while its staring you in the face, it IS the worst thing in the world..