Opening Spring Press Conference
5 comments so far
March 27, 2008 by
The most meaningful thing to come out of spring football from a fans perspective is usually a new depth chart. Losses to graduation mean there are holes to fill and who gets what spot is always in question. When a coaching staff turns over you might expect even more activity as players are swapped out from one spot to another. Well it doesn’t appear there will be early action in terms of position switches. That is, the coaches haven’t gone into spring with any specific designs on position changes. In a little under four weeks we’ll probably see some action there.
More interesting was the mention that Joe Ganz begins as the starting quarterback. It would be easy to simply say no one has a starting spot and therefore no one goes into spring as a starter. But if there were any doubt, Ganz comes in with the edge at quarterback, then it puts that thought to rest. Perhaps that seems a little ridiculous to point out given the eighteen touchdowns Ganz produced in his three starts, but he also had seven turnovers and a 1-2 record as a starter which is sort of reminiscent of Joe Dailey.
Where else have we heard these coaches indicate any other player will begin as a starter…anyone…anyone…Bueller? That’s not to pretend that we have no idea who the other 21 starters are going to be. Only that it makes the mention of Ganz conspicuous. Sure quarterback is always the most talked about position and the coach was asked about Ganz directly, but it was still telling for Pelini to show his cards at quarterback so early.
We’re sure to learn more over the next month, but for now it looks like Ganz will be the man. Not that we didn’t all expect it anyway.
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doombob Mar 27 08
I think the fake QB battle caused some uneasiness with players last year. Certainty breeds confidence. There's a position you don't want to have a wavering personality. He didn't give Joe an out to slack off since he said the other guys are going to openly try and overtake him, but it's a load of stress off his back not to think about it.
kyle Mar 27 08
idk how i stand on joe he could be really really good or just another qb that lets us down and that list has gotten pretty long the last couple years
i really like to see a freshman start next year or someone young so we can have them for more than one season lately the qb's change so much its dumb
zac for 2 years sam for 1 now joe for 1
Uncle Dave Mar 27 08
Kyle, I dont know how I stand on you either. You could be a great fan, or just another loudmouth who doesn't know what he's talking about. Not like that list is long or anything (See idiots booing the team at home last few years).
You're right about the QB only playing for one or two years though. I mean we dont want another Scott Frost do we ... er wait, i seem to remember we won a national championship his second year. Pretty dumb right?
darren Mar 27 08
I think Keller's injury may have been a blessing in disguise for NU. It gave Ganz a chance at meaningful reps, and equips NU with a more seasoned starter. Remember the big leap in production Taylor made from year 1 to year 2. Experience with the offense matters a lot.
That said, I think there will be meaningful competition at the QB spot, especially for the #2 job. (and that guy is always just one play away). We know Pelini is all about players competing.
Hopefully Witt or Lee can get some repetitions somewhere in games to help them see some "live fire". Both of them have multiple years of eligibility, and should provide a stable foundation moving forward. NU's QB job got pretty shook up in the BC era (Dailey, Beck, Keller, etc). I'll be happy for some consistency, too.
ze bop Mar 28 08
It's funny, if i recall correctly, the vast majority of fans last year at this time considered Keller as DA Man; Ganz was viewed as a 'gamer', but did anyone really take it seriously that he should be the starter over Keller? Well, ok, there were a few...very few.
Of course, after Ganz had a few surprisingly impressive showings, suddenly Ganz 'loyalists' were just popping outta the woodwork: GO FIG!
Actually, i was pretty amazed at how well Ganz did, though he did show a fair amount of expected sporadic behavior and poor decisions. I think he cost us the CO game in the 2nd half--though he was lights out in the first. (Of course, the defense couldnt stop anything in that game either).
Like any new starter, he has a tendency to force the ball into areas where he shouldnt, hence the INTs. I expect that to change with the experience he gained last year and i think he can blossom into a very very good QB, a threat even. His running ability certainly is a big plus, though he's no Pat White.
However, I'm really interested in seeing what kind of competition Lee and Witt bring to the table. I dont expect either of those guys to overtake Ganz, but Witt sorta reminds me of Sam Bradford 'lite' in his style, and they say Lee is probably a better runner than Ganz.
So, who knows? One thing that is though, if somehow Lee or Witt overtake Ganz, either prior to or during next season, there will be plenty of fans saying, "I told you so..."!
:)