Husker Mike Apr 23 08

Based on what I saw Saturday, I think Patrick Witt is a better quarterback than Zac Lee. However, with Pelini's desire to be "multiple", I can see your point about Lee, as he seems to fit Pelini's long term direction better.

Andrew Apr 23 08

I do not understand why everyone seems to count out Patrick Witt, and the only thing he has ever done is gotten compliments from both coaching staffs. I think the pundits need to stop starting the QB THEY think is the best. It happened with Keller, and look how that turned out.

carlinthemarlin Apr 23 08

I didn't think Witt looked significantly better than Lee. He looked like he knows the offense a little better, but he has a head start in that department (Since Lee didn't participate in Spring last year and spent the season leading the scout team). Witt passes often sailed and lacked zip (which partly lead to the interception). When Zach missed a pass it looked more like he misread the route, which is unacceptable, yes, but also very correctable. I think he'll overtake Witt in the fall, but of course I could be very wrong.

doombob Apr 23 08

Based on what I saw on Saturday, and the numbers, I disagree that Witt looked better. They were both pretty equal, but had some differences. Lee seems to play with more instinct than football know-how. Witt did appear to get more complicated plays out of the play book, so the coaching staff obviously trusts him with the offense more. Next year, this battle will be heating up big time. It's really hard to say which quarterback is "better" considering how different they are.

Ty Hughes Apr 23 08

I feel good with our stable of QBs. We've got the leader (Ganz) and two guys pushing either other really hard (Witt and Lee). Spano looked good for a true frosh and Ebke provides the I PLAY FOR NEBRASKA element in the group. A solid group to count on for the next few years. I think that's about all you can ask for in today's environment of recruiting.

Andrew Apr 23 08

I think this is going to come down to what kind of QB people want, athlete or pocket passer. Here in NE, most people want a mobile QB, so no matter what Witt does it will not matter because he is not a mobile QB.
I personally think the thought that you need a mobile is not totally correct, if your line is awesome. USC does not have a mobile QB, Miami has not for some time, and it looks like OU gets away with out having one. I will take a QB that knows the offense, before I will take one that is just a great athlete.

throw46 Apr 23 08

Lee is a good athlete, but I'd favor Witt for the same reason the Andrew stated above. A qb primary role is to protect the ball and get it out to the playmakers. Now one may say, not if he's a dual threat, with many NU fans want. That depends on the offense that going to be run. I doubt that NU is going back to the option.
Now as far as Lee's rushing ability, here is his stats from CCSF (Communtiy College)
RUSHING GP No. Yds TD Long Avg/G Avg/C
Zac Lee 9 69 -7 5 25 -0.7 - 0.10 http://old.coasports.org/Football/statistics/ccsf.htm#ind

Lees pretty fast but I don't think he's much of a dual threat as he's been hyped.

As far as his passing ability, I thought he looked pretty inaccurate, has a tendency to throw off his back foot. He has a strong arm, but lacks touch.

Maybe Watson can help in this regard. I'm sure he will get ample chance to see what he can do.

bnahusker Apr 23 08

Great breakdowns people! Is it August yet?

I'd like to add kudos to the staff, and all of those who comment on these pages. You are all passionate, knowledgeable, and respectful of others.

There are no fans like Nebraska's!

GBR!

Bob

Dwayne Apr 23 08

I thought Harrison Beck looked pretty good too. Oh wait a minute, he's no longer with NU. And I also just woke up and dreamt the last 4 years never happened. With the defense vying to get its reputation and confidence back, I look for Bo to try and utilize the backs and sustained drives, especially against the spread attack offenses. O line and rbs appear to be the strength on offense, so until a wr steps up big to be the go-to-guy, I suspect Lucky, Helu, and Castille will have pretty good seasons, not to mention Lawson. All four backs bring something different which is a plus. Plus, I think Bo probably realizes that NU doesn't have the defensive line depth that he'd like to have and slowing the game down with ball control will help in that aspect. Play to your team strength, what a concept.

Bill in Iowa Apr 23 08

Dwayne, you make a good point. But remember even in the Callahan West Coast offense we pretty much ran 50% of the time. I don't see that changing so dramatically. I think depending on the opponent we will see 60% smash mouth running plays (and less zone read, unless its the QB option zone read), but we will still threaten the D with the deep ball and quick sideline passes and over the middle routes. The sideline and middle routes are high % passes that keep the clock ticking and the D off-balance. So, still I agree, the philosophy will be chew up the clock (with run and pass), wear out the D (smash mouth running), and once in a while throw it deep to G.

doombob Apr 23 08

It's obvious that some people have their favorites - I'm going to break down throw46's comments for instance. Witt was the QB who lost a fumble and an interception in the Spring Game. Is that protecting the football? And guess what, I can dig up old numbers on Lee as well. His last season at SFCC he had 64.2 % of passes completed with 3471 yards, 31 TDs, and only 5 ints. And as for no touch - NO TOUCH? I guess you just decided to ignore Zac Lee's last drive of the game where he gently placed one in Jones' hands as he was getting pressurized. Yeah, that was a touchdown. Not to mention the nice pass to Petersen and Helu a couple plays earlier at the end of the 3rd. Well at least you were right about one thing. Statistically, Witt was more accurate, but that doesn't make Lee inaccurate. One thing you can say, it doesn't really matter what we think, the coaches like Witt better because they see him every day. To me, Witt is a steady guy, but I see the "IT" factor in Lee. We can call the steadiness the "Witt" factor.

grandpaRed Apr 23 08

What is the love affair with Lee. Zero offers coming out of high school, again zero offers coming out of CC, and his old man lands him the NU gig because of past relationships with the coaches. I saw him run at the game too, he looked amazing holding the ball down at his belt, while weaving through the box dodging defenders that can't even touch him cause of his green jersey. I was kinda embarrassed for him actually. He's had ample time (15 months) to learn the offense. The kid was NR coming out of high school (class of 2005) and then got thrown into the class of 2007 as some 4 star with a bunch of 18 year olds while he's pushing 21. Have you ever seen the Witt kid run? He's no slacker my friend. Witt is more like the last 3 super bowl QB's than any of the current QB's. I think Witt will do just fine running NU's offense. I really think the Spano kid is very good, he like Witt showed up early, and got a big jump start on spring ball. I see Witt, Spano, Lee and Ebke plus a new QB next year. Just cause Lee's daddy played in the league doesn't make him the man. If anything he should be playing perfect ball everytime.

Andrew Apr 23 08

doombob,

Slow and steady does win the race!

omahaPBI Apr 23 08

I saw the right guard back into Patrick Witt and stand on his foot. It looks to me like that caused him so short arm the ball which he threw as the pick. Witt has plenty of zip on the ball we saw at the game and on-line.

throw46 Apr 23 08

Doombob....I'd agree with you regarding Witt.
Actually, I didn't see the spring game....just followed it in the webcast. (But he started the game and even though the option was busted....he did pretty well.)

With Lee, I'm actually going on being a Bay area guy and having watched Lee thru HS and City College.

His stats are impressive. But consider that EVERY QB that goes to CCSF has numbers like that. Joe Ayoob who played for Cal, had very similar #'s.....so did the QB from this last year who BTW took them thru State. CCSF is absolutely loaded with DI prospects, and the QB that gets the nod can do amazing things with a screen pass. I remember Lee's first game against a semi pro team who got completely crushed. I believe he threw 6 TD's.
He's counting those #'s in his stats while the the offical records will not reflect them.

How though can you argue with -7 rushing yards for a season and say you are a dual threat QB?

Lee will get his chance, but consider he's had more chances than most. His father, former NFL QB, General Lee, who went to CCSF, made sure he was the starter in HS....(when their was someone better) and he grey shirted at City to get his spot there. The Lee's are media darlings in the Bay area and can do no wrong.

Obviously, I'm not a big fan of him. But maybe as said Watson can help him get better.

zeeleeplaying daddyBALL at the NU Apr 23 08

ya man....dis is the first time lee has had to compete for a spot, i meen really compete his daddy will put the crunch on pelini if his golden boy don't start soon must be nice playing daddy ball at the D1 level

Dwayne Apr 23 08

Bill,
I think Pelini will utilize the backs in short passing situations which can be very effective in controlling the clock as well as utilizing them to run the ball. The thing with Callahan that I could never understand is he would get away from what was successful during a game and start passing all over the place i.e. Iowa State. Pelini is a smarter coach than that. The other thing about passing all over is that if you aren't moving the chains, it lends itself to really lopsided scoring which is again what we saw under Callahan. That was the thing with option offense, if you could have some success with running, make a few first downs, and turn the field over, your defense had less pressure on it. Again, the strength of the team right now seams to be the backs and o line. Hang your hat on that to set up some other stuff and try to develop some depth in that defensive front seven.

Tadish Grill Apr 24 08

Lee's dad got him a grey-shirt at City College by pulling strings, so Zachary wouldn't have to compete with the starter. We remember the string pulling well out here.

doombob Apr 24 08

Keller was slow and steady last year. If that's slow and steady, I'll have none of it. But I guess I should make myself clearer. Witt is better right now. I just see a higher ceiling for Lee in terms of potential. He appears to have more physical tools compared to Witt's mental tools. Witt's no slouch, there's a reason the coaches have him at number 2. As for all the "string pullin" I haven't heard anything about that stuff - I'm now understanding why some people don't like him. They think he doesn't play on the merit of his abilities. I guess we'll see. If he gets a chance to play and blows it big time, well then, you all can have the last laugh.

donfl Apr 24 08

C,mon everyone, it's early in the spring and we don't need to hype which QB is the better back up based on Spring Practice. Bottom line is that QB is a position that needs to have the intellegence to get the ball to the impact players. That means the ability to read quickly and make the correct play. Mobility can be the simple ability to avoid the pass rush long enough to let the receivers get open to complete the pass. Dan Marino was not what you would call a mobile QB, but he always had that side step and zipped the ball almost always to open man. GBR

slappy's bbq Apr 26 08

Lee needs to head back to the baseball diamond if he is as good as he thinks he is. If he's got a future in sports it would be in baseball, which is still highly unlikely.

Greg Morrow Apr 26 08

Joey is a slightly shorter, slightly more athletic and much more groomed in the system version of Zac Taylor. Like Callahan once said, "he's a great system quarterback." Which is, the best possible scenario for a new Head Coach. New offensive system, inexperienced, unnatural QB, would be the worst.
If there's ever been a distributor role in this offense, Joey was born to play it. His receivers will have a candle lit under their butts by the staff and sell out for their quarterback like no receiving group did for any previous QB, consistently.
That sets the foundation for the '09 season.

X-city college playa May 05 08

Zac only scores on screen passes. That's how he racked up all the yards at City College. Throw left, and the back runs for 80 yards. Sounds like he's up to his old tricks. City College is 13th grade football, I think playing D-1 is a lot over his large head.

mitts May 07 08

-7 yards rushing for City College and being hailed as a dual threat QB really says something to me.
It seems like the media has latched on to a bit of the hype put out on Lee's pedigree. Interesting to see some x-city players setting the record straight.

What about that kid Jimmy Collins who was in line to play at CCSF, he just seemed to disappear. Did he get hurt, or did the powers that be take his season away. I notice that he went to Portland State.

Witt best keep his wits about him.