SIGNED QB Tommy Armstrong*

[kchusker_chris]

Just from watching the October 2011 highlights above.... he looks just like Taylor Martinez to me. I see Tommy as effective against the talent he's up against at his current level as Taylor is up against the talent he is playing at his level. The difference: Tommy is playing against high school talent... Taylor is playing against D1 talent. When Tommy makes the jump next fall can he really be as effective as he is now with that whole new level and beat Taylor out... i'm not sure about that yet.

i watched the National championship game Monday... McCaron for Alabama knows how to throw that ball... always right in front of the receiver... stride for stride... those receivers didn't have to slow down at all it's right in front of them on the deep ball.... so the defender doesn't even have a chance to grab it. That kid looked smooth on his throws and made it easy for the receivers. I think we have some pretty good receivers and if they had balls thrown at them like that then we'd have a much much better offense.

One thing I really noticed is the way McCaron could scamble. For as "slow" as he suposedly is, he's got great pocket precense. Sacrificing passing ability for an athlete is one thing, but McCaron looked like Usain Bolt compared to Taylor when it came to scrambling. IMO, taylor just isn't the athlete he was pre-injury. Either that or he never was a great scrambler and the injury just happened to quickly for us to really notice. Either way, it seems like we have a marginally above-average athlete w/ below average passing skills at QB. His game management improved which compensated some - but it might not be difficult for someone to beat him out if they can grasp the game plan and step up to D1 level. Not sure Armstrong is the guy, but I wouldn't be suprised if it happened.

 

[Stumpy1]

Even when Armstrong throws off his back foot, his release point is more forward then Taylors and the ball doesn't have that rainbow effect. Tommy is further along on his passing mechanics then what Taylor is now and should continue to get better as he gets more reps with Beck or a QB coach over the summer.

 

[HuskerShark]

Well maybe everybody on here will get their wish and he will beat Taylor out for the starting spot... But the more likely thing to take away from that is that either Brion Carnes is leaving, or they have absolutely no faith in him.

Or it could mean that Beck wants more than just two legit QB options on the active roster.

If I'm not mistaken, if he ends up not playing a down, the program could then apply for the season to be considered 'red shirt'.

Or here's an idea: just redshirt him right off the bat and then if we NEED him, pull the redshirt.

 

[Redtillimdead]

Most importantly he looks like a leader and his record shows he WINS!! now too far from now the Tommy Gunn shirts and Tommys Arm So Strong posters. By the way copyright and trademarked!!

 

[girlknowsfootball]

He is absolutely a winner and he absolutely does win!! And I love his throwing motion... I don't like how many balls I saw thrown way off from the receiver or how he planted off that back foot. But his coach says he can throw 50yds on his knees so the arm strength is there, no pun intended, and he is already playing a zone read and mixing up snaps behind center and shotgun so he is more advanced mentally at this point than most high schoolers... so don't get me wrong, I don't think he's a bad quarterback... I just am not wowed by his film. He doesn't blow my mind with talent and I don't think he is far enough ahead to come straight in and beat out Martinez first season. That's all. I think we are stuck with a poor passer for 2 more years and if we had a great passer it would make our receivers look a whole lot better.

It's like South Carolina said "Martinez can pass okay, but he isn't comfortable doing it and isn't accurate doing it." That's just it... once teams figured that out and spied him out he was forced to pass and do things he doesnt love and in return lost his effectiveness as a runner. I believe that's why his numbers went down this year... teams said, hey we can shut down this guy's run and he wasn't dangerous enough with his arm to make them pay for it... if we had a guy that could throw well too then teams couldn't spy him like they do and he'd have a lot more chances for those big runs again. But with him he takes some effectiveness away from our offense cause he is disabled in an area of the game so that allows defenses to be able to cheat just enough to matter.

 

[kchusker_chris]

Well maybe everybody on here will get their wish and he will beat Taylor out for the starting spot... But the more likely thing to take away from that is that either Brion Carnes is leaving, or they have absolutely no faith in him.

Or it could mean that Beck wants more than just two legit QB options on the active roster.

If I'm not mistaken, if he ends up not playing a down, the program could then apply for the season to be considered 'red shirt'.

Or here's an idea: just redshirt him right off the bat and then if we NEED him, pull the redshirt.

I don't pretend to know anything about how redshirts work - but my assumption would be players that intend to redshirt from Day1 practice differently (both in how they coaches use them in practice, and their mentality week-to-week) than players that indend on playing or at least have the chance to play.

 

[HuskerShark]

He is absolutely a winner and he absolutely does win!! And I love his throwing motion... I don't like how many balls I saw thrown way off from the receiver or how he planted off that back foot. But his coach says he can throw 50yds on his knees so the arm strength is there, no pun intended, and he is already playing a zone read and mixing up snaps behind center and shotgun so he is more advanced mentally at this point than most high schoolers... so don't get me wrong, I don't think he's a bad quarterback... I just am not wowed by his film. He doesn't blow my mind with talent and I don't think he is far enough ahead to come straight in and beat out Martinez first season. That's all. I think we are stuck with a poor passer for 2 more years and if we had a great passer it would make our receivers look a whole lot better.

It's like South Carolina said "Martinez can pass okay, but he isn't comfortable doing it and isn't accurate doing it." That's just it... once teams figured that out and spied him out he was forced to pass and do things he doesnt love and in return lost his effectiveness as a runner. I believe that's why his numbers went down this year... teams said, hey we can shut down this guy's run and he wasn't dangerous enough with his arm to make them pay for it... if we had a guy that could throw well too then teams couldn't spy him like they do and he'd have a lot more chances for those big runs again. But with him he takes some effectiveness away from our offense cause he is disabled in an area of the game so that allows defenses to be able to cheat just enough to matter.

You realize that Taylor was 10/16 in the bowl game with 3 or 4 bad drops right?... That pick was either bad miscommunication or a bad throw, but 10/16 with 3 or 4 drops by the WR's and people are complaining about Taylor? And his running threat is still there. He busted off a big run in the SC game. Had it not been for sacks, Taylor would have had a respectable amount of yards on the ground in addition to his efficiency in the passing game. The problem with the team at the moment is 100% not Taylor Martinez!

 

[Redtillimdead]

His film and please open up yer minds a little, reminds me alot of Tommie Frazier. He doesn't wow you with blazing speed a rocket arm or unbelievable accuracy. But I see that leadership and a complete understanding of where everyone should be at all times. TA never looks like he's hesitant or unsure. Give TA what Frazier had. A crazy smart and cohesive if not the most athletic O-line and a beast at RB and sure handed and good blockers out wide. Our offense needs to start taking SOME pressure off of our D. You can't bend(10plays and a field goal) but not break on D if after just allowing 3 pts your O takes the field for 3 plays 6 yards and a punt all whilst rest your D for 2 minutes of game time.

 

[huskerhill]

His film and please open up yer minds a little, reminds me alot of Tommie Frazier. He doesn't wow you with blazing speed a rocket arm or unbelievable accuracy. But I see that leadership and a complete understanding of where everyone should be at all times. TA never looks like he's hesitant or unsure. Give TA what Frazier had. A crazy smart and cohesive if not the most athletic O-line and a beast at RB and sure handed and good blockers out wide. Our offense needs to start taking SOME pressure off of our D. You can't bend(10plays and a field goal) but not break on D if after just allowing 3 pts your O takes the field for 3 plays 6 yards and a punt all whilst rest your D for 2 minutes of game time.

What from the video shows leadership?

 

[Redtillimdead]

I've seen 2 full length game films on him. Had a presence in the huddle and at the line. Also after his RB fumbled near the goal line they showed TA on the sideline in his RBs ear getting his head up!

 

[zoogs]

Well maybe everybody on here will get their wish and he will beat Taylor out for the starting spot... But the more likely thing to take away from that is that either Brion Carnes is leaving, or they have absolutely no faith in him.

Or it could mean that Beck wants more than just two legit QB options on the active roster.

If I'm not mistaken, if he ends up not playing a down, the program could then apply for the season to be considered 'red shirt'.

This isn't like the NFL where there is an active and inactive roster. (Travel rosters are limited in size though, but not by a huge amount, I don't know the exact number. Just logistics)

The way it works is everybody has their redshirt on until they are put in. Then it's off, unless they, I don't know, get an injury or a cold or something

kc may be right but I don't think that would affect it very much, at least not for QBs. Look to 2005, when Harrison Beck was QB2 and had his redshirt pulled. You can be QB2 and still get your redshirt pulled. But Tommy, as a true freshman, should not be QB2. At least, there is no prevalent need for him to be, compared to a solid player who has done well behind the scenes and will be in his third year next year. If they are expecting Brion to leave, then Tommy will likely be #2. At that point it would be fair to start talking about not having a redshirt for him.

I think it'd be a raw deal though. I think pretty much ALL QBs should get a redshirt. If they're going to deny him that adjustment/development year and he isn't even starting, then it's a waste.

 

[EZ-E]

I am not claiming that he will beat anyone out. This is probably my favorite QB recruit in a long time. We will see if he redshirts next year or not. I wouldn't imagine him not redshirting. If he redshirts he could legitamently start as a sophomore and have 3 years to play.

With his build and his compact baseball type motion, there is nowhere for him to go but up. He will be consistant with the throwing motion that he has.

 

[C N Red]

Tommy has more arm strength than Taylor... For sure... But he throws off of his leg like taylor and is inconsistent in his accuracy. If our staff had shown a history of developing qb's then I have no problem with this... But we don't. Pelini hasn't proven at NU that he can develop qb's. Watson is gone yes, but can Beck do it? We will have to see.

His throwing motion is nothing like Martinez's.... When Martinez is at his release point his chest/thigh pads/everything is facing his target.... I like Taylor, but his throwing mechanics are as bad as I've ever seen... The worst thing I saw Armstrong do is throw off his back foot a couple times when he was about to get hit, and his pocket presence is already better then Taylor.... I would also argue that Beck helped Taylor make a decent amount of improvent this year.... Beck is gonna be a good OC....

I agree.

You recruit motion...you can teach footwork.

You know, I used to always be under the same impression. Until, that is, our current QB. Now, I believe more in the fact that yes, you can teach footwork, however it doesn't mean all players can learn footwork. TM's footwork is still absolutely horrendous and I don't believe it can ever be fixed now.

On that note, I'm not worried at all about Tommy being able to learn as he has pretty good basics already and just needs to get them polished more.

 

[zoogs]

Taylor's footwork was making a little bit of progress last season before his injury derailed all that. I think having to play through that injury affected it to, by forcing Taylor to find some way to deal with it and causing the regression (JMO). This year, healthy I don't know if he has made the progress in his footwork that we would have hoped. Although he has played smarter, I don't think it is evident in the (lacking) improvement in his mechanics.

EZ, I hope you are on the money about Tommy. Between him and Brion and Devin, if he we get him, someone must be our next leader at the position.

 

[Mavric]

Hopefully running the same offense for two years in a row for the first time since TM got to campus will allow for more time to work on "other things."