ZT Gets a "Passing" Grade

GSG · August 7, 2006

Washington Post thinks ZT's got the right stuff...

Taylor Has Passing Grades for Huskers

Senior QB Is Key to New Offense

By Melanie Ho

Washington Post Staff Writer

Monday, August 7, 2006; Page E04

Let's get inside Zac Taylor's brain. As the senior quarterback prepares for his second season with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, there seems to be a desire for the team's supporters to peer inside his head and assess what he has learned, how he has improved and how he will once again lead the West Coast offense.

"I've just kind of been through a lot of ups and downs last season, and so I've got a lot of experiences to draw upon and I just feel a lot more comfortable than I did going into the season last fall," Taylor said.

So as Taylor's brain is examined, what others really want to know is how much he has learned and the quality of the responses that are now so second-nature that he might as well be breathing the playbook.

During Big 12 media day, Coach Bill Callahan described Taylor as a quarterback who comprehends the nuances of the game, so much so that he is like a coach on the field.

"He can absorb so much offense, so much detail, and not only absorb and exude it, but he can transcend it to other players," Callahan said. "So he can transmit it to a wide receiver. He can explain to a receiver what he's doing, how he's doing it and how do it better."

It's welcome news to a program that had not had a player throw for more than 300 yards in a game until Callahan arrived prior to the 2004 season. Taylor, meantime, came to the Cornhuskers from Butler County (Kan.) Community College in January 2005 after initially enrolling at Wake Forest.

In his first season with Nebraska, Taylor threw for 2,653 yards and 19 touchdowns to break a 33-year old single-season school passing record. Though he also set season records for passing attempts (399) and completions (233), he also absorbed 38 sacks.

The Huskers' young offensive line will have to improve its pass protection and in making bigger holes for running backs. The team averaged 96 rushing yards per game last year, 107th in Division I.

In the spring, there was a concerted effort to work on the run and the responsibilities fall to a group of young backs, including Cody Glenn and Marlon Lucky. Glenn expects improvements.

"I feel like I know it a lot better and I know a lot more stuff. I don't really have to think as much, I can just play now instead of just thinking about not messing up," Glenn said. "It slowed down a lot, I see the field better and I see more of the field."

Defensively, the Huskers will rely on their front seven, including junior middle linebacker Corey McKeon. In 2005, Nebraska led the nation with 50 sacks; senior defensive end Adam Carriker had 9 1/2 sacks.

Media members covering the Big 12 have picked Nebraska to win the weaker North Division and head to the conference title game for the first time since 1999, a progression that falls along the steady lines of improvement the Huskers have taken since a 5-6 finish in 2004.

The buzz words being tossed about include optimism, comfort, revival and confidence. Though parts of 2005 included a three-game losing streak and a point when the team was 5-4, the Huskers pulled themselves up and won three straight games, including a 32-28 victory over Michigan in the Alamo Bowl.

The momentum gathered from those wins has helped propel the team through spring ball and training camp.

"To finish up strong gives us some really good wins over some really good teams and it carries over into this season really well," Glenn said. "It kind of motivates us and keeps us on the right track."

How the brain can encode that strong finish and recall the memory when it's most important is another reason why Nebraska fans are eager to look inside Taylor's head. They'll be most curious on Sept. 2, when the Huskers open their season and host Louisiana Tech.

"The first game of the season, it's very important for us to start 1-0," Taylor said. "If you lose the first game, it's really going to kill everything you've built up all summer."

So it's not just Taylor's brain we have to get into, it's the entire team's.

Twenty Five

Counting down the nation's top college football teams, as ranked by The Post :

24

NEBRASKA

2005 Record: 8-4.

Returning starters: 15.

Players to watch: DE Adam Carriker, TE Matt Herian, LB Corey McKeon.

Potential road blocks: Sept. 16 at USC and Oct. 21 vs. Texas.

Why they'll play in a BCS bowl: Backed with a solid defense, the Huskers' offense, including an effective running game, will fall into place.

Why they'll play in Boise, Idaho on Dec. 28: If the Huskers lose early against USC, will they slide down a slippery slope?

ttheKid1*18 · August 7, 2006

Good article. It's nice seeing a big time national newspaper reporting on how good ZT is.

cmb23 · August 7, 2006

I played College Football '07 against Iowa on PS2 yesterday and Taylor threw for 410 with 5 touchdowns and no interceptions. So that's pretty much how I rate how someone will do on the season. :hmmm

HuskerfaninOkieland · August 7, 2006

I watched a news blirp down here in OKC on the Huskers, specifically Taylor, and I was impressed with him. I never really get the chance to actually listen to what he has to say other than reading it, but I really enjoyed listening to Zac. They (the sports reporter) asked him how his family felt about him playing for Nebraska when his dad was an OU player back in the late 70's and his entire family lives in Norman and root for OU. He said "they're coming around!" :lol:

Some OU fans down here really like Zac and wished OU would have given him a closer look when he was in High School. Glad they didn't :cheers

ttheKid1*18 · August 7, 2006

Some OU fans down here really like Zac and wished OU would have given him a closer look when he was in High School. Glad they didn't

It's amazing how we worship these recruting rankings, and they miss a guy like this. It really shows you can't have five star rankings for heart, toughness, and the desire to win. Glad he slipped through the cracks to us.