Post spring game QB depth chart

[The Dude]

Benning didn't seem to be too impressed with Bush's footwork/mechanics.

[stargazer]

What exactly did Tommy do?? 50% passing... 7 yards rushing. Darlington looked far better out there. If we're going to rank this by past game experience, then I guess you give it to Armstrong.

[adc7236]

I think you are spot on! I thought I would be the only one that saw the QBs in that order. Bush disappointed me a bit as I had hoped for more.

Call me a rebel, but my depth chart looks like this:

#1: Darlington. Best at making reads, always threw to the open guy. Best accuracy. Ball placement almost always perfect to give players space to make plays. Proved he can run. Is shifty enough to support his relatively limited speed. Only real question is his history with concussions. I'm worried that one more major concussion will force him to quit football. I'm also uncertain about how well he would do in a deep passing game. Not too confident in his arm strength.

#2 Tyson Broekmeier. Love his quick release, looked very comfortable in the pocket, even under pressure. Not as accurate as Darlington but second most accurate on the team. Good ball placement on most throws. I didn't see enough athleticism out of him to determine how well he would run a read option or QB designed run. Needs to keep passes from sailing, and I'm not certain about his arm strength.

#3 Armstrong. He's a known quality. pressure didn't phase him. more accurate than in first two years. Didn't see him run much today but we know he can. Still has amazing arm strength. Needs more work on footwork and accuracy. Looks to have great potential, just needs some polishing. Needs more work in his pass progressions.

#4 Bush. A little more accurate than Tommy, but not by much. Has better footwork. Love the zip he puts on his passes, makes it difficult for defenders to jump routes. Good athleticism, I'm confident he can run read option and designed QB runs. Good pass progression, but needs work. High potential, needs more polishing.

#5 Stanton. Athleticism. Good runner. Has accuracy issues. Missed a wide open reciever! Huge Mistake. Looks to be a bust. High potential that he can't seems to develope.

#6 Fyfe. Probably deserves to be higher, but he looks to have reached his top potential already. Decent, servicable backup in case of disaster, but has probably peaked.

[chamrocck]

Armstrong

Darlington

 

These 2 stood out. Obviously TA has the experience. Darlington looks like he can manage a game as the back-up. As for the rest, who knows at this point...lots of work to do. I think we will see TA and how many wins he can lead us to (he needs to get much better to get us to 4-0 going into conference play...if he can do that then he has earned starter for the year). If he struggles with the new offense I think Darlington comes in and distributes the ball to several playmakers we have. The other guys have to do a lot to earn anything more than 3rd string.

[Hayseed]

No depth chart based on this fan day practice. I'm not sure what our 500 sports writers are looking at during practices?? Do they know where the Huskers practice?

[Red Five]

Stanton loves it here...if he transfers, I'll be surprised. He'll keep on keeping on in my opinion and do his best and improve.

Word on the street was he was gone if Pellini wasn't fired, but he stuck around to give it a go under Riley. Going into today, he was probably 5th on the chart. He gone.

[suh_fan93]

^

Yeah he's totally a head scratcher. From Elite 11 and a pretty sought after recruit to apparently 5th string. He did have a nice run today though.

 

None of these QB's lit the field on fire. They hit some open receivers when they were supposed to. Even though Broekemeier went up against the reserves he put the ball in some pretty tight windows. I had no he lit it up like he did in HS. Completed over 70% of his passes and threw for 2,047 yards and 31 touchdowns with just 3 interceptions and was the Nebraska Gatorade player of the year his senior year. He also set records for touchdowns, passing yards and completions in the Shrine Bowl that year. This is his senior year. I'd like to see more of him.

 

These coaches seem to be pretty high on Bush. Scratching my head on that one. To quote Yoda he is not ready.

[Husker from Kansas]

Armstrong

Darlington

 

These 2 stood out. Obviously TA has the experience. Darlington looks like he can manage a game as the back-up. As for the rest, who knows at this point...lots of work to do. I think we will see TA and how many wins he can lead us to (he needs to get much better to get us to 4-0 going into conference play...if he can do that then he has earned starter for the year). If he struggles with the new offense I think Darlington comes in and distributes the ball to several playmakers we have. The other guys have to do a lot to earn anything more than 3rd string.

 

Isn't that exactly what Coach Riley wants? A qb who comes in and gets the ball to the right guys, makes smart decisions, doesn't turn the ball over, and lets his playmakers do all the work? That is exactly what I see with Darlington. Tommy is a good option qb, but I don't see him do the things mentioned consistently enough to an effective starter in Riley's offense. IMO Darlington is the our best bet (out of the QBs on the roster currently) to truly make this offense into what Riley envisions.

[caveman99]

Darlington looked the most like a QB. I expected him to be a distant third but he looked damn good today. Went through progressions with ease

Yeah, he impressed me the most. The one play in the 3rd where he ended hitting the check down after going through his reads was very nicely done even though it was only a 2 yard gain. His mechanics were super solid. Frankly I thought he looked the best today.

[zoogs]

Darlington looks exactly like the kind of QB they'll need for the direction we want to go in.

 

Maybe the more troubling thing is none of the other QBs really did.

[onlyHskrfaninIL]

Very clear that Armsostrong, Bush, and Darlington are 1-2-3. You can't really argue that. Darlington to me is easily the best passer. Tommy is going to be the guy until he plays himself out of it in a game. Stanton and Fyfe are on the outs imo.

[EmeraldIngot]

Bush needs to improve accuracy and timing. Both of those come with practice and improved footwork. I think his potential is the highest of anyone on the team except for Stanton. He also needs to work on his ability to perform under pressure, both from the D and from the crowd. I think that's why bush saw a ton of snaps on the white team. Really, I could see him as an all conference in two years, an all American in three, and 2nd or 3rd round pick by graduation.

 

Stanton has the highest possible potential of all the QBs on the roster due to his size, athleticism, and how well he throws the ball. That is to say, it spirals as nice as Darlington, has a little more zip, and he can chuck it way down field. He needs to work on timing, ball placement, and pressure. He has the potential to be a top draft pick, but for some reason has almost no confidence, consistancy, or composure in the face of pressure.

 

Broekmeier reminds me a ton of Drew Brees. Accurate, consistent, excellent reads, shorter than the prototypical pro QB... to be honest, I'd like to see him start this year if he can reliably do what he did today against top defenses. Wouldn't go higher than 5th round, but he'd be a bargain, and given some development and a shot, he could be a franchise quarterback... if he can toss it 45 to 50 yards through the air.

 

Darlington performs like a rookie pro. Period. Needs some polishing and experience, but he looks fantastic. The two things that hold him back are size (isn't he only like 5'7"?) and that he hasn't shown great arm strength.

 

Armstrong still needs work. Accuracy is still an issue. When he does get the ball to a reciever, it's usually not in the best place to let a reciever catch it in stride (that is to say, without having to lose any speed). Timing is much better than last year, so his footwork has improved, but not as much as it needs to if he wants to be a pro. His composure is top notch, as is his confidence. He's the closest to being pro ready, but needs work. Two more years of starting and he could be an early round pick. Would be similar to Russell Wilson.

[HuskerNation1]

A lot is being made of Armstrong's gameday experience, but given he's had so much experience, I would have expected him to look substantially better than all other QBs. Instead, he looked just ok to me, and if Armstrong did not have the gameday experience, would he even be #2 on the depth chart? While the coaching staff cannot discount his leadership role he's had on the team, I do think they have to look seriously as his skills as a passer, and given he's entering his 3rd year of playing at the collegiate level, if he doesn't have the skills by now, I'm not sure he's going to get them.

[zoogs]

That's pretty well written Emerald, but it sounds a little optimistic. Unless you're making a point

[Hedley Lamarr]

Darlington is 6'2....