Husker QB's 2000-2010

[holvy83]

Here is a change of pace around here. Rank the QB's that have started at least one game for NU since 2000.

 

1A- Crouch -only b/c he won the Heisman.

 

1B- Z. Taylor- gutsy kid, consistent, team leader.

 

2. Lord- What could have been? Put up decent numbers, not a good supporting cast.

 

3. Ganz- Decent passer, sure handed receivers. Tough kid.

 

4. Lee- 3rd String to starter back to 3rd string. Kept his head up

 

5. Martinez- Jury is still out, fast for sure, needs to mold into complete QB and leader.

 

6. Keller- Hype did not follow him to Lincoln, good arm, that is about it.

 

7. Green- Still has deer in head lights look, has all the tools, not seen them used yet.

 

8. Dailey- Poor kid never had a chance, option QB who was asked to try to throw for 3,000 yds.

 

This is my list, forgot all the Qbs that have played the last 10 years. It would be nice to have at least a 3 year starter around here.

[74Hunter]

Z. Taylor at 1B? Surely you jest. The kid was a tough guy, but he can't even compare to Crouch. I think that Lord and Ganz probably were better.

[knapplc]

That's not a bad ranking. Mine is only slightly different:

 

1. Zac Taylor - the kid had more guts and toughness than every other QB this decade combined. Awe-inspiring toughness.

2. Eric Crouch - Heisman be damned, this guy could flat-out play. Turns out too well - the offense solely went through him, and it killed us.

3. Joey Ganz - Ganz wasn't pretty, he wasn't athletic, and he wasn't immune from poor decisions, but I felt we had a chance to win every game he started because he was under center. Wish we had Joe Ganz right now.

4. Taylor Martinez - Toughest guy to rank. On pure athletic ability he's right up there with Crouch, but the injury-marred season leaves us with an incomplete data set on which to judge him.

5. Sam Keller - Probably the most unfairly maligned Husker QB of all time. He was polite, he said and did the right things, and he had undeniable skills.

6. Jammal Lord - If only he had more talent around him. He was wasted on those teams.

7. Zac Lee - again, only one year to judge the guy, and injuries skew his numbers, but love the guy's heart and attitude.

8. Cody Green - two years in the program and he still looks like it's his first week on campus. Maybe that's his fault, maybe it's his coach's, but the fact is that Green has failed to produce much of anything. He has two more years to make it, but so far... not so good.

9. Joe Dailey - probably doesn't deserve to be down here, but his tenure was the worst of the bunch.

 

 

EDIT - 74Hunter, don't have a conniption when you see my ranking. Zac deserves the #1 spot.

[holvy83]

Z. Taylor at 1B? Surely you jest. The kid was a tough guy, but he can't even compare to Crouch. I think that Lord and Ganz probably were better.

 

No doubt Crouch was the man, i figured that would ring some bells! I like Z.Taylor b/c he went from Juco to D1 and played great. It was what NU needed during the dark days...

[Jay Green]

1- Zach Taylor - Did a ton for how little he had around him. Also, won close games.

2- Eric Crouch - Heisman, but always pissed me off a little.

3- Joe Ganz - Same as Zach Taylor only not quite as effective. Still, a ton of fun to watch.

4- Jammal Lord - Up this high due to lack of quality in this list. Frustrated the hell out of me to watch.

5- Zac Lee - Too bad he didn't get much playing time. Good decision maker.

6- Sam Keller - Also always pissed me off. I felt like he had somehow earned Divine Right to his QB job

7- Taylor Martinez - Same as same Keller, but will likely jump Sam Keller and maybe Zac Lee with a good year.

8- Cody Green - I feel like Cody takes a lot of crap that is undeserved. He does all the right things and I'd love for him to develop into our starter.

9- Joe Daily - It was actually really exciting watching him play, but mostly because it was a new offense.

[zoogs]

I'll agree with knapp's top 3.

 

1. Zac Taylor! - He is my avatar.

2. Eric Crouch - what a winner. A joy to watch.

3. Joe Ganz - As if we didn't have enough of Zac, we got Zac Taylor Part II.

4. Jammal Lord - not much of a QB so much as a one man show we relied on.

5. Zac Lee - so much potential to have been one of the best, but never came to fruition. A sad story for a very god kid.

6. Sam Keller - Beat Ganz outright, and had talent. Some bad stuff about him though. How much did the locker room impact cause 2007?

7. Taylor Martinez - huge big play ability, huge cold spell potential. More has been said about him than I care to repeat. How much did lack of respect from teammates cause the late-season meltdown?

8. Joe Dailey - tough, good kid who gutted it out for us.

9. Cody Green - Was just a backup that got pushed in to start a few games here and there.

 

(edit) As it turns out, I agree with (almost) Jay's entire list!

[deedsker15]

1. Eric Crouch-He was a beast and obviously the best quarterback of this decade.

2. Zac Taylor-He was a gutsy man with just enough talent.

3. Jammal Lord-If this guy was around right now to run the zone read we would all be drooling over his abilities.

4. Joe Ganz-Gunslinger.

5. Zac Lee-Did what he had to do. That's all.

6. Taylor Martinez-One dimensional but worked out for a small portion of time.

7. Cody Green-Do we really know how he can play through an entire game still?

8. Sam Keller-Relatively poor decision maker but was pretty talented.

9. Joe Daily-Clownahan screwed him pretty good. If only he ran the option.

[Lil' Red]

1- Crouch- Heisman winner and lead us to play for the National Championship. Hands down number 1 on the list.

 

2. Ganz- Made Watson look good. Too bad he didn't have the 09 defense.

 

3. Lord- Could have been great if he had more talent around him.

 

4. Taylor- Solid QB who had to suffer in the Callahan era.

 

5. Lee- Great team player and game manager.

 

6. Martinez- Talented runner who has the potential to move up on this list.

 

7. Keller- Couldn't live up to the hype.

 

8. Green- Things still aren't clicking for him yet.

 

9. Dailey- Wasn't a great QB who was thrown into a system he shouldn't be running.

[HuskerNMO]

1. Eric Crouch- you can't argue with a Heisman and his production

2. Jammal Lord- best rushing yardage by a Husker quarterback in a single year, he had nothing around him

3. Zac Taylor- heart gets him here

4. Joe Ganz- waited for his chance, then showed what he could do

5. Zac Lee- Overcame injuries throughout his career, by all accounts he was a solid leader which is the only reason he's above Taylor

6. Taylor Martinez- Showed flashes, but after the OSU game he was basically worthless

7. Sam Keller- He won more games than the ones below, and performed better

8. Joe Dailey- He had 1 big game, and he started for a whole year, something Cody hasn't done

9. Cody Green- I think he will be higher when his career is over, but we'll see (from a personality standpoint, he's top 4 IMO)

[huskersrule95]

100. Harrison Beck- We can't forget this Husker all-star, all star baby and quitter that is.

[C N Red]

Here is a change of pace around here. Rank the QB's that have started at least one game for NU since 2000.

 

1A- Crouch -only b/c he won the Heisman.

 

1B- Z. Taylor- gutsy kid, consistent, team leader.

 

2. Lord- What could have been? Put up decent numbers, not a good supporting cast.

 

3. Ganz- Decent passer, sure handed receivers. Tough kid.

 

4. Lee- 3rd String to starter back to 3rd string. Kept his head up

 

5. Martinez- Jury is still out, fast for sure, needs to mold into complete QB and leader.

 

6. Keller- Hype did not follow him to Lincoln, good arm, that is about it.

 

7. Green- Still has deer in head lights look, has all the tools, not seen them used yet.

 

8. Dailey- Poor kid never had a chance, option QB who was asked to try to throw for 3,000 yds.

 

This is my list, forgot all the Qbs that have played the last 10 years. It would be nice to have at least a 3 year starter around here.

 

1. Crouch, by quite a bit

2. Ganz, true leader, loved by team, way over achieved

3/4A. Zac Taylor, good leader, decent arm, smart football guy, executed

3/4B. Lee, Good leader, good game manager

5/6A. Martinez, only because of possible big play ability with feet, poor leader so far, average to below average talent throwing and decision making, turnover machine

5/6B. Green, Good upside, not much big play ability, but still growing and learning, could be good QB in future with alot of hard work to learn the game and reads

7. Lord, This guy was a turnover machine with horrible decision making, some running ability, but not a QB. For all of you who want to rank him up around 3rd, you are crazy. I was at Iowa St. game in Ames we lost with him at QB. He lost that game all by himself. He looked horrible. That wasn't the only game he lost for us that year. He was not good, and still wouldn't be good in the zone read. Sorry, but I don't see it.

8. Dailey, Not good QB, had some running ability, some passing ability, just never matured into anything

8. Keller, Horrible, just horrible, could not move in backfield, sitting duck

9 and after. Harrison Beck, Beau Davis, etc, terible, terrible, terrible

 

What does it say that in the last 10 years we've really had only one QB I think that could have helped us win a MNC. Ganz maybe could of had a chance if got more than the one full year of starting. Besides Crouch and Ganz, Taylor and Lee were serviceable, but the rest were jokes!!

[The Maudfather]

1. Eric Crouch

2a. Zac Taylor

2b. Joey Ganz

4. Taylor Martinez

5. Jammal Lord

6. Sam Keller

7. Zac Lee

9. Joe Dailey

 

I didn't include Green because he has only started a handful of games

[C N Red]

1. Eric Crouch

2a. Zac Taylor

2b. Joey Ganz

4. Taylor Martinez

5. Jammal Lord

6. Sam Keller

7. Zac Lee

9. Joe Dailey

 

I didn't include Green because he has only started a handful of games

 

Ya but he hasn't lost a game he's started. Gotta count for something.

[junior4949]

It's pretty tough to rank them considering we've had three different head coaches over that time with different offensive philosophies. Guys like Dailey and Lee got caught in the crossfire. It's also somewhat difficult to rank a QB when part of them were recruited to run the option and part of them were recruited to pass. I think it's also a little tough to rank QB's when you're considering Crouch after his last year winning the Heisman against freshman Martinez. QB's like Taylor and Ganz pop up near the top for many, but other than being what the team needed at the time neither were good QBs. Crouch is the obvious choice for being number one considering he won the Heisman and played for a NC. I'd probably have to put Martinez up there as number two because up until he got hurt there was Heisman talk around him and he's just a freshman. Obviously, a lot of his ranking will come down to how he performs over the next two to three years. From there on down, it's just a toss up.

[Hammerhead]

1. Eric Crouch - Truly exciting to watch. Wish he could've made it in the NFL.

2. Zac Taylor - I remember being very frustrated with him during the Oklahoma game his senior year, but overall I'd say his career was a good one.

3. Joe Ganz - Almost interchangeable with Zac. Wasn't elite by any means, but he did what he could with what he had.

4. Zac Lee - Quite frankly, I hate ranking Zac II this high, but considering his company, it's probably where he belongs. Showed promise early in the season last year, but was inconsistent in terms of accuracy and, at times, decision making.

5. Taylor Martinez - Provided some excitement early in the season, but couldn't do it consistently like Crouch did. Showed a little promise as a passer but is extremely raw in that department.

6. Sam Keller - Would've been decent if he made better decisions.

7. Jammal Lord - Had the athletic ability, but probably should've never been a QB.

8. Cody Green - Definitely not what we thought/hoped he would be. Just doesn't have the accuracy to be a consistent QB.

9. Joe Dailey - Thankfully, I've purged most of my memories of that era of Husker football from my memory, so I don't have much of a comment about Dailey. Maybe he was asked to do too much, maybe he just couldn't do anything either way. I can't remember and don't much want to.