Spring Position Battles - Quarterback

[Mavric]

What will be the coaches' approach with O'Brien this spring?


"We're going to set it up for him to get enough turns to both learn what we're doing and develop — and to compete for at least a backup role," Riley said. "I've told all the quarterbacks that. Even though he's a true freshman, we're going to find ways to get him opportunities with the group.

"We'll see where it goes."

LJS

 

[Mavric]

It’s better for everyone — everyone — if Tommy Armstrong is Nebraska’s starting quarterback in 2016. He’ll be the No. 1 guy in spring, and he should hold on to the job pretty handily. But that No. 2 job needs to be all the way up for grabs, and four guys — Ryker Fyfe, AJ Bush, Zack Darlington and Patrick O’Brien — will be competing. Fyfe showed some flashes — good and bad — in his lone start at Purdue, but he can grow as a passer and decision-maker. Bush is the best athlete, but he needs to quiet his throwing motion and show more confidence in short passes. Darlington needs to flash more of a big-league arm. And O’Brien, who has so many of the best physical tools, needs to show an elementary grasp of the offense as an early enrollee.

OWH

 

[Mavric]

FIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH


Tommy Armstrong: A team’s quarterback naturally attracts the most attention. And this spring is no different. After an up-and-down season, Armstrong vowed to focus on improving all aspects of his game, starting with the fundamentals. Throwing mechanics, footwork, passing progressions. “Treat me like a freshman,” he told the coaches. Top priorities are cutting down on the 16 interceptions and improving the 55.2 completion percentage. But will there be any evidence of Armstrong’s renewed commitment this spring? Just in case he needed any more motivation, a new fan favorite — freshman Patrick O’Brien — will be standing alongside him in practice. Armstrong has never been one to back away from competition.

OWH

 

[Hayseed]

If Riley is smart ,he'll knock off the PC crap and play the best guys. I don't think he has any room for another season of almost wins.

 

[BigRedBuster]

If Riley is smart ,he'll knock off the PC crap and play the best guys. I don't think he has any room for another season of almost wins.

I have seen absolutely nothing that shows me that TA wasn't the best QB on the team last and now.

Not sure where you are coming up with your first sentence.

 

[Moesker]

If Riley is smart ,he'll knock off the PC crap and play the best guys. I don't think he has any room for another season of almost wins.

I have seen absolutely nothing that shows me that TA wasn't the best QB on the team last and now.

Not sure where you are coming up with your first sentence.

Agree, TA was the best QB last season and it wasn't close.

Not sure that will be the case for all of 2016 though.

 

[teachercd]

If Riley is smart ,he'll knock off the PC crap and play the best guys. I don't think he has any room for another season of almost wins.

I have seen absolutely nothing that shows me that TA wasn't the best QB on the team last and now.

Not sure where you are coming up with your first sentence.

Totally agree with this...

Now...if he does start a true freshmen that clearly will "buy him time" with some fans and media.

But I think TA starts and has a nice solid season.

 

[suh_fan93]

The main question I have is will Armstrong be better this season or will it sort of be more of the same? I guess we'll have to wait and see. The guy can run and give a defense something else to think about on the ground but throwing off the back foot sometimes missing wide open receivers all together blowing easy completions. The ugly interceptions. (Hopefully he has zero pick six's this season)

If Tommy could clean up his game Nebraska would be so much better shape offensively and at QB. I'm really hoping he does.

 

[Hayseed]

If Riley is smart ,he'll knock off the PC crap and play the best guys. I don't think he has any room for another season of almost wins.

I have seen absolutely nothing that shows me that TA wasn't the best QB on the team last and now.

Not sure where you are coming up with your first sentence.

You must be a media guy and saw all the practices then, right? You believe we played the best QB available against Purdue? I'd like to hear about what you saw at those practices that brought you to your conclusion. I don't remember seeing any backups ever....and after listening to the local media rant and rave about Bush and Darlington I find the whole season to be more than a little perplexing....thus the comment about PC crap.

 

[Mavric]

I have seen absolutely nothing that shows me that TA wasn't the best QB on the team last and now.

Well ... actually Fyfe completed over 60% on his passes in both games he played in. TA only did that in 4 out of the 12 games he played in.

Fyfe threw for 407 yards against Purdue, about 40 yards better than TA's best outing.

And Fyfe's 1.0 TD/INT ratio isn't that much different from TA's 1.3.

So......

 

[Army_Allen]

I have seen absolutely nothing that shows me that TA wasn't the best QB on the team last and now.

Well ... actually Fyfe completed over 60% on his passes in both games he played in. TA only did that in 4 out of the 12 games he played in.

Fyfe threw for 407 yards against Purdue, about 40 yards better than TA's best outing.

And Fyfe's 1.0 TD/INT ratio isn't that much different from TA's 1.3.

So......

Lololololol facts m8.

 

[zoogs]

We can't seriously be trying to advance the argument that Ryker Fyfe was anywhere close to the QB that Tommy was last year.

/shrug

 

[The Dude]

I thought Fyfe's 5 turnovers at Purdue finally put all this nonsense to rest.

I guess not everyone caught that game.

 

[Army_Allen]

I remember a game where a first time starting qb was told to throw the ball 40 times in huge winds. Only 2 picks were even his fault as the other two were drop tips if I recall.

 

[Mavric]

Yeah, I wasn't being serious.

But for as bad as Fyfe played that game, his actual stats ended up pretty compatible to TA's......