Camp Notes: QBs Face Pivotal Scrimmage

Wednesday’s Nebraska football practice came and went with no concrete decision on who will start at quarterback in the Huskers’ Sept. 1 season opener against Akron.

However, a situational scrimmage set for Thursday may provide the coaching staff some answers in what’s been a very even preseason camp battle between redshirt freshman Tristan Gebbia and true freshman Adrian Martinez.

Offensive coordinator Troy Walters said after Wednesday’s practice that coaches will put the quarterbacks in certain situations in Thursday's practice and see which one handles them the best.

“We feel confident in both of those guys that if their number is called, they can go out there and execute the offense and win the game for us," Walters said. "It’s a good problem to have.”

Walters said coaches are looking for a quarterback who takes leadership, can run the offense, protect the football, make plays with his arm, as well as his feet, and, above all, gives Nebraska the best opportunity to win.

Walters said the coaching staff will meet and make a decision together. Nebraska coach Scott Frost has said he wants to name a starter heading into game week.

Gebbia, from Calabasas, California, redshirted last season after being recruited by the previous coaching staff for a pro-style offense. Yet quarterbacks coach Mario Verduzco said he’s not surprised Gebbia has quickly adapted to this staff’s no-huddle, hurry-up attack.

“Just getting to know Tristan, I would say no, (I’m not surprised),” Verduzco said. “He’s a competitor, he’s bright, he’s enthusiastic about everything he does, he’s got a great gun, he’s athletic.”

Martinez, from Fresno, California, graduated high school early and participated in spring practices to get a head start on learning the playbook. He’s not played since his junior year of high school, after an injury sidelined him a senior.

Verduzco said the edge in the competition will likely go to the player who “can do his job at the exact right time.”

 

Hunt in the hunt

Fellow wide receiver Jaevon McQuitty needed few words to give his favorable impression of true freshman Andre Hunt.

“Baller,” McQuitty said. “He does his job, and he’s a baller.”

No argument from Walters, who said the 6-foot, 190-pound Hunt, from Palm Dale, California, has a chance to make the receiver rotation this season.

“He’s doing a good job,” Walters said. “This offense is not the easiest to learn and to grasp, and we ask a lot from the outside receivers because they have to know X and Z and we move them all over the place.

“He’s done a good job of understanding the offense. He’s made plays. He’s done a good job of studying his playbook and knowing what to do.”

Hunt (pictured above) caught 67 passes for 1,185 yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior while accounting for 21 total touchdowns. Walters said Hunt possesses good speed and knows how to effectively run good routes.

“In high school, that’s what really drew us to him, the fact he knew how to run routes, knows the details of route running, how to get open,” Walters said. “He has some speed that he can create separation from the corners.”

Meanwhile, McQuitty, a redshirt freshman, said he’s 100 percent after an ACL injury sidelined him last season. He doesn’t even think about the knee, he said, unless asked.

As for the rest of the wide receivers?

“We’ve got a lot of ballers, and the rotation’s deep,” McQuitty said, “so that’s good.”

 

Prepping Bryant

Running backs coach Ryan Held said Wednesday was a “low-rep day” for running back Tre Bryant, who’s recently been slowed in his comeback from knee surgery because of a sore ankle. Held did say Bryant “did some good things” in short-yardage situations on Tuesday.

“He’s a guy who can get it downhill,” Held said. “He’s getting better. He’s got a week to kind of see where he’s at, and we’ll go from there.”

Walters said Bryant, who played in the first game of last season before the knee problem sidelined him, has come a long way.

“We didn’t know if we were going to have him after spring,” Walters said. “He’s done a great job of rehabbing, and he’s shown some flashes.”

Bryant’s goal, of course, is to make the coaching staff’s running back committee. Regardless of who starts, coaches will play multiple running backs throughout games in a no-huddle, fast-paced offense.

“I think we’ve got three or four good ones who can get in there and make plays and keep them fresh,” Walters said. “We understand it’s a long season. We don’t want to burn them out the first game. We want to make sure they last all 13 games. Or maybe 14.”

He paused and smiled.

“Or maybe 15.”

 

Keeping pace

Speaking of the new fast-paced offense, exactly how fast has Nebraska gone in preseason camp practices?

Senior offensive guard Jerald Foster said it’s hard to put on a scale, but when at its best, the offense will snap the ball and catch as many as four defensive players standing up, unclear of what to do.

“We are able to get that push and look to the sideline before we get down, and really communicate well and do pre-calls,” Foster said.

“When we do show it, when it happens, we’re pretty much unstoppable out there. Our defense, credit to them; they’re playing at a high level right now, but I feel like when we’re rolling on offense, we really can make big plays and run the ball well on them.”

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