Huskers top running QBs of all time. Who ya got?

Landlord of Memorial Stadium said:
I don't even agree with the Martinez avoiding contact perspective. Remember his freshman year when nobody could ever actually bring him to the ground? 2-3 times per game he'd get stopped and stood up, and eventually swarmed with the play blown dead while Taylor is still standing up right with five defenders pushing him backwards. Later on he tried taking coaching to avoid contact, for sure, but never seemed natural with it.
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I guess what I remember most (with the contact) is him slowing down as a defender was about to hit him and trying to cover himself, and then getting hit harder for it. Instead of just trying to plow through defenders.

Martinez was tough in that he played injured but as far as being tough and running through defenders he didn't do that much. He usually either ran past them or took a big hit.

 
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dvdcrr said:
Martinez' coaches failed him to a degree either that or he was somewhat uncoachable or maybe both.
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It seems they told him to avoid contact after the first year and that's when he started doing that little shuffle step and crouch that he always did right before getting decimated.

 
Ya I remember him about to be hit and completely stopping. The defender just blew him up. The poor guy. I always thought they should have beefed him up a little.

 
Tm was not that big a guy. I don't know what his listed size was but my son saw him in a bar once and said he was pretty small. His body would never have stood up to full contact on most plays.

 
They've all been entertaining in their own ways. Frazier was the master of running the option and could make guys miss once he got loose. Crouch's breakaway speed was awesome to watch. Frost was a bulldozer who would put his head down instead of sliding. I don't think I remember ever seeing him slide before a tackle. Martinez had great uncanny break away speed. I think Frazier and Frost were the most fun to watch for me actually just because of their styles.

I also liked watching Mickey Joseph run the option and he was a pretty solid runner as a QB too imo.

 
1) Eric Crouch - Best blend of pure speed, agility & power.​ Crouch's East-West speed & agility was just as fast as his North-South speed. Mind boggling talent. I guarantee if Osborne would have stuck around for 4 more years Crouch would have won at least 1 National Championship.

2) Tommie Frazier - Field General. Option maestro.

3) Scott Frost - A freight train of a runner. No-quit attitude.

4) Turner Gill - Unflinching, smooth option operator.

5)Tie between Gerry Gdowski & Jamal Lord - Probably two of the most underrated running QB's in Nebraska history.

6) Taylor Martinez - His East-West speed/agility wasn't that great, however his North-South speed was sensational.

 
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sheldon jackson said:
Gill was a master of the option game and a very smooth operator in general but he clearly wasn't a better runner than Frost or Martinez.

A better passer? For sure.
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I think Turner Gill was better all around, running and passing than Frost or Martinez. Martinez imo, was basically a North/South runner. His biggest assets were his speed and acceleration.

I think Gill was an even better option qb than Frazier was. Gill was a total badass, although I think these days the correct term is "baller". If Turner Gill would've had the same quality defense Frazier had, he would've won national titles as well.

Of course, we could argue this all week long, and I'm ok with that.

 
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TGHusker said:
Pure Running:

Crouch

Frazier

Frost

Taylor

Lord

(I leave TM off because I think he was more of an avoider of contact than the other guys. Esp Frazier, Frost and Taylor who were just as ok running through the tackle or running around it - you rarely saw those guys take the sideline. Armstrong is a very good runner but he isn't an every down type runner that these others were called to be in the option set. Even if the QB wasn't caring the ball, they set themselves up to get hit on most plays. )

Option:

Frazier

Frost

Gill

Gdowski

Taylor

These guys ran the option like a well oiled machine. Crouch - too many fumbles that is why I dropped him off the list.
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I concur

 
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