Martinez QB Camp Update

[bshirt]

i hope this staff picks qbs in the future that have demonstrated they can play the position and throw the ball......remember, NU was the only shcool willing to recruit him as a qb.......

Yes, me too. This Martinez guy has just been terrible for us. I sure hope they never take such a huge risk on anyone again because it clearly never works out.

That's right. That's why we recruited & won big games with Frost, Frazier & Crouch...because they were wizards throwing the ball. We need to get back to recruiting great throwing qbs.

 

[Hercules]

i guess it took 2 years for our staff to figure out he needed outside development?...........wow...

Where are you getting this idea? They very likely always knew.

you missed my subtle point badly......the staff sat on their hands, when they should have been getting his trechnique honed long ago........

Did they?........

Taylor's technique is always going to be a work in progress. It's not like there are magical changes that are going to happen now (not reasonable to expect it, anyway). Without the luxury of a redshirt year as QB it's been pretty much live fire for him, and don't forget, he has had a ton of other how-to-play-the-QB position stuff to make up as well. There was talk of getting him to go to California last summer for QB coaching, wasn't there? I don't know if that happened or not or the reasons why it might not have.

As many areas as Taylor has needed to work on, how could you know enough to make the statement 'the staff sat on their hands'?

If there's one thing to criticize the staff for, it's why Taylor seems to have unassailable job security. If it's true that we are doing everything possible to put him in a position to succeed...I can see the reasons for it, but why not have an open competition in the offseason and fall camp? Then get behind your starter for the season.

i am with you on this, he should have camped somewhere last summer, maybe he just wasn't ready for it, but either way, i hope this staff picks qbs in the future that have demonstrated they can play the position and throw the ball......remember, NU was the only shcool willing to recruit him as a qb.......

That's pretty similar to how we got Tommie Frazier, too. Taking guys that nobody else wanted and developing them into players that everybody else wanted is how Nebraska achieved greatness before, and it's how we're going to do it again. We're going to be unique.

 

[WAHusker]

That's pretty similar to how we got Tommie Frazier, too. Taking guys that nobody else wanted and developing them into players that everybody else wanted is how Nebraska achieved greatness before, and it's how we're going to do it again. We're going to be unique.

Comparing our current staff with that of the 80s and 90s is..... laughable at best. You cant compare the two, its liek apples to oranges. Our coaches, with the exception of a few, are still pretty wet behind the ears. Give them another 10 years of coaching at this level, and then maybe. But right now? not even in the ballpark.

 

[Hercules]

That's pretty similar to how we got Tommie Frazier, too. Taking guys that nobody else wanted and developing them into players that everybody else wanted is how Nebraska achieved greatness before, and it's how we're going to do it again. We're going to be unique.

Comparing our current staff with that of the 80s and 90s is..... laughable at best. You cant compare the two, its liek apples to oranges. Our coaches, with the exception of a few, are still pretty wet behind the ears. Give them another 10 years of coaching at this level, and then maybe. But right now? not even in the ballpark.

I wasn't comparing staffs. I was comparing Taylor Martinez's recruitment to Tommie Frazier's recruitment, and only because of the fact that by and large, they weren't recruited to play QB.

If you think that the remedy for a relatively inexperienced coaching staff at Nebraska is going about recruiting the same way everyone else does - THAT'S laughable.

 

[zoogs]

Taylor Martinez's recruitment compared to Tommie Frazier's recruitment is pretty out there, I gotta say.

Hunter, I think we are tending to recruit QBs like that. Tommy Armstrong is a good one, for example. Taylor wasn't even recruited as a QB to come here. That came later.

 

[bshirt]

That's pretty similar to how we got Tommie Frazier, too. Taking guys that nobody else wanted and developing them into players that everybody else wanted is how Nebraska achieved greatness before, and it's how we're going to do it again. We're going to be unique.

Comparing our current staff with that of the 80s and 90s is..... laughable at best. You cant compare the two, its liek apples to oranges. Our coaches, with the exception of a few, are still pretty wet behind the ears. Give them another 10 years of coaching at this level, and then maybe. But right now? not even in the ballpark.

I wasn't comparing staffs. I was comparing Taylor Martinez's recruitment to Tommie Frazier's recruitment, and only because of the fact that by and large, they weren't recruited to play QB.

If you think that the remedy for a relatively inexperienced coaching staff at Nebraska is going about recruiting the same way everyone else does - THAT'S laughable.

Bingo!!!!

 

[bshirt]

Taylor Martinez's recruitment compared to Tommie Frazier's recruitment is pretty out there, I gotta say.

Hunter, I think we are tending to recruit QBs like that. Tommy Armstrong is a good one, for example. Taylor wasn't even recruited as a QB to come here. That came later.

Really? So what?

Our last National Championship team had a qb that almost didn't even play qb his first two years in college but started five games for Stanford as a safety. As a soph qb at Stanford, he completed 33 of 77 passes (42%) for 464 yards with two TDs and four interceptions. As a freshman he completed two of nine passes (22%). .

Seems to me he turned out ok.

 

[Hercules]

Taylor Martinez's recruitment compared to Tommie Frazier's recruitment is pretty out there, I gotta say.

Hunter, I think we are tending to recruit QBs like that. Tommy Armstrong is a good one, for example. Taylor wasn't even recruited as a QB to come here. That came later.

Nebraska was the only school that promised Taylor a shot at QB. I believe only Nebraska and Notre Dame offered Frazier a shot at QB. Maybe Colorado too? I can't remember.

And the whole point of the discussion is to say that aside from Turner Gill, virtually all of our great QBs have been diamonds in the rough to some extent. They've been guys that most other schools wouldn't recruit as QBs because they didn't think they were a good fit for their system, or because they merely didn't think they were that good.

If Tommie Frazier had been as good a pocket-passer as he was an option QB, he would have been the equivalent of Peyton Manning - and we don't get those guys to come to Nebraska from Florida. We get guys who don't fit in at other schools that are located in warmer climates or closer to big cities or to the coasts. That was a big part of our talent in the 90's - to some extent, we were an island of misfits, for better and for worse. Those misfits included Frazier, Frost, Crouch, Terrell Farley, Tony Veland, the Peters brothers, Lawrence Phillips.

One of the reasons we hate the Big 12 in the first place is because of how they took away our ability to recruit partial qualifiers, they forced us to take the same path to recruiting as every other school in the country which diluted our talent pool.

Anyways, I'm just saying that when we start winning championships again, it's probably going to be with the help of players who were not expected to succeed coming out of high school.

 

[zoogs]

I don't think we offered Taylor as a QB, that's the thing. In fact, if any other legitimate program had, then they would be the ones saying now, "We were the only schools to really offer Taylor as a QB, and that's why we got him."

Also, Taylor was just a piece of the puzzle of that recruiting class, whereas Tommie was a Parade All-American with as much national hype as any of today's top recruits. His commitment made waves and headlines. He had boatloads of offers. It just isn't remotely similar to compare the recruitments of the two. Also, I'm not at all certain that Notre Dame didn't offer him as a QB. This 247sports article on his recruitment describes the Irish as offering him a chance at competing for the backup job behind a senior. Nebraska, meanwhile, was offering him the same chance at competition at the position as quarterback as Clemson.

So, to say that Tommie was a diamond in the rough sounds pretty inaccurate. He was one of the most sought-after recruits in the nation. And a tremendous victory in recruiting for us.

 

[knapplc]

I don't think we offered Taylor as a QB, that's the thing. In fact, if any other legitimate program had, then they would be the ones saying now, "We were the only schools to really offer Taylor as a QB, and that's why we got him."

Not so much true, but vague enough to be not totally inaccurate. Gotta love the vagaries of articles early in a guy's career:

Husker coaches excited about Martinez's potential
Taylor Martinez came to Nebraska because coaches promised the all-around athlete from California an opportunity to play quarterback.

That chance has come this spring. And if you’re thinking it’s a coaching staff’s token move to appease a young kid before moving him to another position … well, think again.

“The more I work with him, the more pleased I am with who he’s becoming,” Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said after Saturday’s scrimmage.

“I don’t want to give him up. I want to see where we can take this.”

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini was adamant in his pre-spring news conference about the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Martinez playing — and staying — at quarterback.

Not wide receiver. Not safety.

Sure, they’re options. Watson said those doors aren’t closed, and that the quiet, humble Martinez is open-minded about playing another position.

“But are we going to do it? No, because we want to see this through,” Watson said. “He’s got talent.”

 

[zoogs]

Yeah, but I think that was more like Prince's "shot" at playing RB. It didn't turn out to be a token move, but if that was really the initial plan, he would not have spent his first year elsewhere, Cody wouldn't have been told he was "the guy" in his class.

 

[Hercules]

Tommie was a big-time, heralded recruit, but as an athlete more than a QB. I know ND offered him as a QB, and you mentioned Clemson. Not very many schools wanted him as QB.

Regardless, none of that is the point. The point is that when Nebraska has been successful in the past, they took risks in recruiting that other schools simply didn't take. That's how we got teams that were as talented as programs located in much more populous, talent-rich areas.

I cringe when I hear people complain about going after a guy like Taylor Martinez. Getting tremendous athletes like him is exactly how Nebraska will get back to the top. When they don't work out at QB, you can get an electric WR like Jamal Turner or Bobby Newcombe. When they do work out at QB, you get a guy like Taylor who will hold most of the school QB records by the time he leaves.

For us to be competitive at the highest level, you have to do things differently - sometimes it's recruiting guys like Scott Frost or Eric Crouch to play positions that other teams wouldn't have them play, sometimes it's doing things like we are doing right now with the Big Red Weekend. We have to be unique, we have to take risks, and we have to be innovative in order to win championships again.

 

[bshirt]

Tommie was a big-time, heralded recruit, but as an athlete more than a QB. I know ND offered him as a QB, and you mentioned Clemson. Not very many schools wanted him as QB.

Regardless, none of that is the point. The point is that when Nebraska has been successful in the past, they took risks in recruiting that other schools simply didn't take. That's how we got teams that were as talented as programs located in much more populous, talent-rich areas.

I cringe when I hear people complain about going after a guy like Taylor Martinez. Getting tremendous athletes like him are exactly how Nebraska will get back to the top. When they don't work out at QB, you can get an electric WR like Jamal Turner or Bobby Newcombe. When they do work out at QB, you get a guy like Taylor who will hold most of the school QB records by the time he leaves.

For us to be competitive at the highest level, you have to do things differently - sometimes it's recruiting guys like Scott Frost or Eric Crouch to play positions that other teams wouldn't have them play, sometimes it's doing things like we are doing right now with the Big Red Weekend. We have to be unique, we have to take risks, and we have to be innovative in order to win championships again.

Wow....talk about hitting the nail on the head. Great post!

NU fans thinking we're going to magically go toe-to-toe recruiting with Alabama, USC, Texas, Ohio State, etc just don't get it. TO couldn't hack that. "Nobody" at NU has ever done that. We don't have anything even remotely close to the local talent available those schools do.

So just as you said, we have to do something different. Unique. Our fans that b!^@h & moan about us going after a Frazier, Crouch, Tmart, etc for qb simply don't understand that our best coaches know full well our assets & liabilities at Nebraska and compensate the best they can. Sometimes with fantastic results.

Bo has his weak spots but some good ones too. Let's see how it goes.

 

[EZ-E]

This thread deserves an epic face palm. There is literally no pleasing some people.

For the record, TMarts motion dramatically improved from year one to two.

 

[Hunter94]

Tommie was a big-time, heralded recruit, but as an athlete more than a QB. I know ND offered him as a QB, and you mentioned Clemson. Not very many schools wanted him as QB.

Regardless, none of that is the point. The point is that when Nebraska has been successful in the past, they took risks in recruiting that other schools simply didn't take. That's how we got teams that were as talented as programs located in much more populous, talent-rich areas.

I cringe when I hear people complain about going after a guy like Taylor Martinez. Getting tremendous athletes like him are exactly how Nebraska will get back to the top. When they don't work out at QB, you can get an electric WR like Jamal Turner or Bobby Newcombe. When they do work out at QB, you get a guy like Taylor who will hold most of the school QB records by the time he leaves.

For us to be competitive at the highest level, you have to do things differently - sometimes it's recruiting guys like Scott Frost or Eric Crouch to play positions that other teams wouldn't have them play, sometimes it's doing things like we are doing right now with the Big Red Weekend. We have to be unique, we have to take risks, and we have to be innovative in order to win championships again.

Wow....talk about hitting the nail on the head. Great post!

NU fans thinking we're going to magically go toe-to-toe recruiting with Alabama, USC, Texas, Ohio State, etc just don't get it. TO couldn't hack that. "Nobody" at NU has ever done that. We don't have anything even remotely close to the local talent available those schools do.

So just as you said, we have to do something different. Unique. Our fans that b!^@h & moan about us going after a Frazier, Crouch, Tmart, etc for qb simply don't understand that our best coaches know full well our assets & liabilities at Nebraska and compensate the best they can. Sometimes with fantastic results.

Bo has his weak spots but some good ones too. Let's see how it goes.

when we wiffed on Peat this spring, that spoke volumes about our recruiting problems.......