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Spring Game - who - what do you want to see?


TGHusker

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Its so hard to say what you want to see as a whole in the Spring Game, because all it is, is a simplified practice game. We aren't going to show anything revealing, and the talent is going to be spread across the board, rather than 1st team vs 1st team, 2nd team vs 2nd team.

 

I can tell you what I don't want to see.... Ameer on the field more than the first drive. We know what he is capable of and there is no point in risking an injury for fan amusement.

 

I do want to see Adam Taylor and see some quickness from him. I guess, get a sense of his running style and what he could possibly do.

 

Joel Keels would be nice to see on the other end.

 

Most of all, I want to see Stanton play and see how strong of an arm he has.

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Per usual, excited to see the quarterbacks, and I want to see how Taylor performs. From the little high school film I remember of him, he gets north/south very quickly.

 

As HuskerNationNick mentioned, because it's the spring game, we will likely not see anything interesting or telling from a schematic standpoint. It's a blend of competition, vanilla play calls and having fun. I would imagine AA doesn't get any more than 10 carries.

 

Through spring practice though, I'd hope special teams changes (specifically, in the punting game) are a priority. It was pathetic last year, but kick coverage/kicking units were pretty good.

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There's a lot to look forward to in this spring game, maybe more (from a football perspective) then the past few years. We have an exciting qb battle and we'll get our first glimpse of Adam Taylor and watch the healthy competition between him an Newby. On the defensive side, we have a couple of battles in the secondary and at DE (opposite of Gregory) and at LB. Furthermore, we get our first introduction to Marcus Newby, Joe Keels, AJ Natter, Drake Martinez and Byerson Cockrell.

 

Really excited about this year's game and I have been for a while. We haven't had a legitimate QB battle since Martinez beat out Lee and Green in '10. This situation could be a lot like the Keller vs Ganz game in '07 - which was really fun to watch.

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This spring is shaping up to be all about this QB battle. Should be the fiercest competition we've had at this spot in years. Clash of the titans.

 

Hard for that storyline not to dominate, but outside of it, I am kinda really curious to see if this Adam Taylor we've had waiting in the wings is going to be making waves. We've all heard so many good things about him. Another bruising, downhill power runner would be a welcome sight at a place with a rich tradition in those sorts of guys.

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We haven't had a legitimate QB battle since Martinez beat out Lee and Green in '10. This situation could be a lot like the Keller vs Ganz game in '07 - which was really fun to watch.

I think this will easily be the most anticipated part of spring practice and the game. I know a lot has been made about TA and his performance this year - specifically, he didn't really wow anyone with his throwing abilities. But, if you go back to TMart's first year, you see a lot of the same numbers. Through the first five games of 2010, TM threw an average of 12.8 passes and completed 7.8, throwing only three touchdowns. He did have that monster game against OSU, but they had one of the absolute worst pass defenses in the entire nation. Due to laziness, I didn't go too in depth past TM's first five games, but those numbers are pretty akin to what TA was doing.

 

Overall on the season, TM played in 13 games going 116/196 for 10 TD's. TA, playing in 9, went 68/131 for 9 TD's. Statistically, TM had the better first year.

 

But, if you're feeling generous, you can give TA some more slack because he started due to injury. It stands to reason the coaches knew TM was going to start long before they told fans, and were able to develop an offense to work around those skills. IMO, that's an easier starting point than what TA had. Furthermore, I think many would agree TA's mechanics are further along at this point in his career than TM's were.

 

I know a lot of people are excited about Stanton, but TA potential for improvement is there.

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Football's the teamiest of all team sports, too. Anyone who's watched TA play knows how much promise he brings to the table. With having the passing fundamentals he does, I think that changes what you are trying to do with your QB. With Armstrong in there, we saw plenty of shots downfield -- relatively low percentage throws in any case -- and I think not as much passing in general. We ran the option not in the hopes of TA breaking a few loose, but to establish an offense, and then introduce playactions off it (for example).

 

I mean, in the end, he was still very limited. As a RS freshman making his first starts, I'm sure they limited what he could do and how much of the offense he had available to him. What we saw in his ability and in the vision they had on offense for him, though, has to have us excited. With more polish and a fuller complement of the playbook, I think he could run a very, very effective offense, whether that's immediately evident from his individual stats or not.

 

Gotta think TA is the favorite for the job. Really look forward to Stanton giving him a run for the money. I would say this is the fiercest competition we've had since...2007, with Ganz legitimately pushing Keller. 2010 had a twist ending and an injured incumbent who may not have fully recovered. If we're to go before 2007, maybe '05 (but who was really competing against ZT?), and before that, '98/'99 with Crouch/Newcombe. Is it just me, or have not had very frequent battles at the QB spot? Frost, Crouch, Lord, Zac Taylor, Ganz, and Martinez all pretty much had a stranglehold on the job once they took over and a number of these guys were the sole heir apparent anyway.

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