Early arrival gives newcomers chance to impress

By Brian Rosenthal / Huskers.com 

It’s not uncommon to see Tristan Gebbia grab his lunch tray at the Lewis Training Table and grab a seat next to Danny Langsdorf.

Gebbia sees this as another opportunity to ask questions and pick the brain of his newest football tutor.

“It’s been a great relationship. I love being around Coach Langsdorf. He’s got a lot of football knowledge,” Gebbia said. “I’m just trying to work through it, work hard and hopefully get all the knowledge into my own head.”

Therein lies a crucial reason Gebbia, a quarterback from Calabasas, California, and four other members of Nebraska’s 2017 recruiting class eagerly worked to join the program as early mid-year enrollees.

Gebbia, offensive lineman Broc Bando, wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson Jr., linebacker Avery Roberts and wide receiver Jaevon McQuitty earned their high school diplomas early and arrived on the Nebraska campus in January to begin college courses.

They’re also able to get a head start on football by participating in winter conditioning and spring practices.

“It’s been great so far,” Gebbia said. “There’s a lot of good support here, starting with some guys that are on the same journey as me. I’ve just been getting settled in and going to classes and getting used to college life. It’s been a blast so far.”

While players like Gebbia and Johnson, best friends who played together at Calabasas High School, begin new chapters in their life a couple of time zones away from their home, Bando is making a happy homecoming.

The 6-foot-5, 285-pound Bando played for one of the nation’s top prep teams the past two years at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, but calls Lincoln home. He began his high school career at Lincoln Southeast.

“A year-and-a-half away from home was a little too long. To be able to come back and be with my family all the time, it’s great,” Bando said. “I always knew I wanted to come to Nebraska from when I was like 2 years old.”

Roberts, from Wilmington, Delaware, is the Huskers’ first signee from Delaware since at least 1974. Nebraska has never had a football letter-winner from Delaware. Roberts aims to become the first.

Whether that’s this season isn’t certain, of course, but his early arrival on campus – and the fact linebacker could be a featured position under new defensive coordinator Bob Diaco – makes it possible.

“Anything to help me play, I’m fine with that,” Roberts said.

McQuitty, from Columbia, Missouri, finished his career with 147 receptions, 2,649 receiving yards and 311 touchdowns at Battle High School. He’s ranked the No. 1 player in the state of Missouri by ESPN.

Johnson, the son of former USC wide receiver and NFL standout Keshawn Johnson Sr., is among the most well-known members of Nebraska’s 2017 recruiting class, in part because he’s been committed to the Huskers since March of 2016.

Gebbia later joined, and now is here to begin competing in spring practices for a starting quarterback job vacated by three-year starter Tommy Armstrong Jr.

The decision to join the program early was an easy one for Gebbia, one of four offensive players in the group of mid-year enrollees. Langsdorf said he’d welcome as many such players as possible but would never push that decision.

“We want them to be high school kids, also,” Langsdorf said Wednesday. “We don’t force them to do it, by any means, but I think you can’t have too many of those, because it’s such an advantage heading into spring practice, and then heading into fall, they’re a veteran in fall camp.

“They’re not brand new, trying to figure out where the dorms are and what the heck we’re talking about. They’ve been through offseason workout programs, they’ve been through meetings, they’ve got some knowledge, terminology-wise and how to lineup. It’s really an advantage for kids to come, if they’re willing to do it.”

That’s especially true for players like Gebbia, who are always thirsty for more football knowledge.

“It’s really fun to have guys who are football junkies,” Langsdorf said, “because you’re not calling them and saying, ‘Where are you? Why aren’t you throwing?’ You’re not wondering if they’re studying their playbook or if they’re getting answers to their questions. You’re not wondering about that. You’re not trying to prod them into showing up. You’re almost trying to get them out of your office because they’re here so much.

“It’s kind of fun that way. Our best quarterbacks in our past have been like that. They’re in my office all the time. They’re always asking questions. They just like football. When you have that passion to play, I think it carries over to practice and games.”

A gathering of donors who attended a Wednesday morning signing day program at the Nebraska football offices listened to coaches discuss the 2017 recruiting class. They watched as Gebbia, Roberts and Bloc answered questions for a web-streamed show on Huskers.com. A few simply laughed out loud when hearing Gebbia threw for 61 touchdowns – not for his career, but just his senior season.

“I think it’s just my ability to learn and just work hard,” Gebbia said. “Those touchdowns are great and everything, but there were a lot of great guys around me. Just learn on the fly and just getting better every single day is what got me there, and I’m looking forward to doing that here.”

He’s eager to begin distributing the football in spring practices, where he’ll competed with Patrick O’Brien, a freshman who redshirted last season, and junior Tanner Lee, who sat out last season as a transfer from Tulane.

Bumps in the road are expected, but come fall camp, Gebbia will have something valuable he wouldn’t have had, if he stayed home this spring.

Experience.

“Playing with experience is a great thing,” Gebbia said. “Obviously, you learn things throughout the course of a season, the course of a game, practices. It’s just working on the little things in your game, seeing coverages, seeing blitz concepts, working on your footwork a little bit more – all those kinds of things kind of add up to the bigger landscape.”

Reach Brian at brosenthal@huskers.com or follow him on Twitter @GBRosenthal.