Huskers Move On at Quarterback

3 comments so far August 9, 2006 by Steve Hanway

One mark of the Bill Callahan era has been the Huskers ability to find the recruits they need when they need them. In 2004, with just a few weeks to recruit he landed big-time prospects in offensive lineman Lydon Murtha and cornerback Cortney Grixby. In 2005, he brought in what was considered by some to be the top recruiting class in the country which reloaded the Huskers at virtually every position (except safety), but when it appeared that Joe Dailey was not going to be a sufficient stopgap until Harrison Beck would be ready, he added junior college quarterback Zac Taylor to the mix. The Huskers also “found” offensive lineman Matt Slauson in the Fall of 2005 only to have him emerge as a starter by season’s end. Now, with Josh Freeman’s last minute de-commit and Harrison Beck leaving Nebraska, Callahan and company appear to have done it again.

Brian Hildebrand was a three-star quarterback prospect in 2004 and was offered a scholarship by Colorado under Gary Barnett before choosing Oregon State. In 2005, Hildebrand transferred to a junior college in California – the same school where the Huskers found offensive lineman Jordan Picou. Hildebrand started five games before a thumb injury ended his season. He is now set to join the Huskers as they begin the 2006 season.

It’s easy to get down over a top prospect like Beck departing, even if he is replaced by a another player. To anyone feeling this way, I offer the names Heath Schuler and Gus Frerotte. Both were drafted by the Redskins a decade or so ago. Schuler was the all-world prospect and Frerotte the lesser-heralded player. Over time Frerotte supplanted Schuler and over a long career proved to be a much better player than Schuler ever became.

Then again, the Huskers don’t want a Heath Schuler or a Gus Frerotte, they want a Joe Montana. Time will tell. The Huskers will now go into next Spring with a mature Joe Ganz, a transfer with some promise in Brian Hildebrand, and a nice prep player in Patrick Witt. Any one of them may emerge as the player to lead the Huskers in 2007 and all three may become better players than Harrison Beck ever does.

Throwing the ball a mile doesn’t guarantee success in football, ask Heath Schuler.

» Enjoy this article?
Send it to your friend or subscribe to our free newsletter!

NextPrevious