Triaging the QB room

TGHusker said:
Has to be someone not yet on the roster.   We need an upgrade in the worse way.  Nothing against HH, but he is a turnover waiting to happen just like Sims and Purdy....
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I quoted Cdog below because IMO his comments are well in-line with my thoughts on the matter.

Nebraska's current QB situation is in a poor spot, but I think people should prepare themselves for the possibility that HH is the guy next year. Or, at the very least, that anybody they find isn't night and day better. It's going to be difficult to find a QB not currently on the roster that can come in and, in one off-season, unseat an incumbent. Many people thought Sims would be that guy with his 25+ games experience, and it looks like that's going to go down as one of the program's worst off-season trade deals in the relatively short history of the transfer portal.

There are tons of hurdles to consider with a new guy and the program's recent QB transfer history isn't exactly one to fawn over - Tanner Lee was OK. Casey Thompson was OK. Jeff Sims was, unfortunately, really poor.

So, to be clear, I'm 100% in favor of them scouring for the best player they can get out of the portal or wherever. I just think people need to be cautious about what it means and what kind of expectations come from it.

Cdog923 said:
Well, of course; no one is saying he is. It's all but confirmed that they're in the hunt for another transfer QB (and if rumors are to be believed, they're willing to pay a pretty penny for one). But, there's no guarantee that they get one to come here, or find one that can beat out HH. So, as I said, don't be surprised if the scenario where HH takes the first snap next year comes to fruition. 
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Enhance said:
So, to be clear, I'm 100% in favor of them scouring for the best player they can get out of the portal or wherever. I just think people need to be cautious about what it means and what kind of expectations come from it.
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Understood.  Expectations must be kept in check - no one person will turn around the O.  

 
I think this speaks to his athletic gifting. He's huge and he's got some speed, and you put those things together with the decent offensive coaching staff that we seem to have and you get decent stats like this.

But on the other hand - and I know he didn't play at all in the first game and then not much in the second game - where do those total yards of roughly 1,300 really rank him against other QB's?

Not very high. Just an observation. I think this is the pitfall of these run-first guys; he has left so many passing yards on the table just in the 6 games he's played.

 
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I fail to see a lot of plays in these clips where HH should have/could have done much better.  I saw one long pass that was off target and one screen pass that was slightly low.  Other than that, the passes were on target.  Now, what we can't see is, on the sacks or when he tucked and ran, was there someone clearly open he should have thrown to.  #4 and #5 were causing major problems all day. They are good playes.

 
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Enhance said:
There are tons of hurdles to consider with a new guy and the program's recent QB transfer history isn't exactly one to fawn over - Tanner Lee was OK. Casey Thompson was OK. Jeff Sims was, unfortunately, really poor.
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I don't go as far back as some do, but the last great transfer QB was, well, I'd like to say his name, but I hear if you say it into a mirror 3 times, he appears and takes the OC job at Iowa. 

 
Cdog923 said:
I don't go as far back as some do, but the last great transfer QB was, well, I'd like to say his name, but I hear if you say it into a mirror 3 times, he appears and takes the OC job at Iowa. 
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Unless Daddy Kirk is fired that's way too much flash and pizzaz for Iowa City.

 
Haarberg is fine and he's got this team winning.  Not pretty but we all know that.  He's not the future but he is the present right now and we should appreciate it more than we do.  He was thrown into the fire, and game by game he has been learning OTJ (on the job).  It really isn't that bad with all things considered.  Especially since we are winning.

Just look back at some of our most prolific offenses recently.  

Taylor Martinez - 4 year starter

He also learned "on the job" for years.  But he also had help around him - Roy Helu and Rex Burkhead, Kyler Reed, Kenny Bell, Brandon Kinnie, etc..

Tommie Armstrong - 3 year starter

He also learned "on the job" and had guys like Ameer Abdullah, Imani Cross, Jordan Westerkamp, Stanley Morgan, De'Mornay Pierson-El, Kenny Bell, Brandon Reilly, Alonzo Moore, Quincy Enunwa...... etc...

Heinrich Haarberg - 6 starts ( 5-1 record ! )

Surrounded by....................... (crickets, crickets).....  some good players

The point is, don't expect more to happen than what we have surrounding HH, and especially be grateful every time we win.  This is our team.  Haarberg is learning OTJ and for the most part, he is a friggin tough quarterback trying to win for us, for his team, for his coaches.  How bout we give him a break and get behind him the rest of the year.  2-4 yards at a time  :)

 
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Hilltop said:
I think I am more curious to see what the kid can do with a full offseason to improve on what he did this year.  He is a winner and a smart kid with the right motivation.  He just might end up being a good QB.  Who is the last QB to win 5 of 6 games for us?  Armstrong in 2016...  
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This is a fair take, but do you really believe we are winning BECAUSE of him, or he is simply doing enough/not screwing up as much as Sims for the team as a whole to win?  I applaud his effort, his heart and his want to.  I simply think his ceiling is pretty low overall as a well rounded QB, and we should be trying to shoot higher.  I also acknowledge that the same should be said for the entire offense around him, so yes he may be better with better performance around him.  I think we want him on the field in some capacity regardless regularly, and he could be an emergency QB for the rest of his time here. 

 
runningblind said:
This is a fair take, but do you really believe we are winning BECAUSE of him, or he is simply doing enough/not screwing up as much as Sims for the team as a whole to win?  I applaud his effort, his heart and his want to.  I simply think his ceiling is pretty low overall as a well rounded QB, and we should be trying to shoot higher.  I also acknowledge that the same should be said for the entire offense around him, so yes he may be better with better performance around him.  I think we want him on the field in some capacity regardless regularly, and he could be an emergency QB for the rest of his time here. 
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We all know the defense is why we are winning but HH is a significant part of what offense we do have.  It's pretty hard to determine the ceiling on a guy playing with a team full of 2nd and 3rd string guys with little experience at this level.  As young as our team is he has the opportunity to grow with the group around him - pretty unique situation that just might lead to some great offense in a year or two.  

I still think we need to pursue a transfer QB but I have a feeling HH will compete pretty hard with them in the spring.  

 
Hilltop said:
We all know the defense is why we are winning but HH is a significant part of what offense we do have.  It's pretty hard to determine the ceiling on a guy playing with a team full of 2nd and 3rd string guys with little experience at this level.  As young as our team is he has the opportunity to grow with the group around him - pretty unique situation that just might lead to some great offense in a year or two.  

I still think we need to pursue a transfer QB but I have a feeling HH will compete pretty hard with them in the spring.  
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I don't think it is as hard as you think to judge his ceiling.  Lots of offensive injuries, but he constantly stares down his first target, doesn't see wide open guys, has happy feet, and has pretty poor awareness around him.  Did you see the play where he was rolling out last week while looking up the field and ran directly into #4 without even knowing he was there?  5:50 mark of the video below.  I both chuckled and cringed on that one.  He then hesitates on what to do on the next play, thinks about pitching but doesn't, and takes another huge hit then fumbles.  Some guys you can just tell have "it" as a QB, and HH simply doesn't.  Nothing against him, not his fault, he is just not a natural at this position.  Everything is forced and he has to think too much about all of it, making him hesitant to do basically anything. 





 
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runningblind said:
I don't think it is as hard as you think to judge his ceiling.  Lots of offensive injuries, but he constantly stares down his first target, doesn't see wide open guys, has happy feet, and has pretty poor awareness around him.  Did you see the play where he was rolling out last week while looking up the field and ran directly into #4 without even knowing he was there?  5:50 mark of the video below.  I both chuckled and cringed on that one.  He then hesitates on what to do on the next play, thinks about pitching but doesn't, and takes another huge hit then fumbles.  Some guys you can just tell have "it" as a QB, and HH simply doesn't.  Nothing against him, not his fault, he is just not a natural at this position.  Everything is forced and he has to think too much about all of it, making him hesitant to do basically anything. 
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I'm not saying HH will be great.  But a lot of your analysis is objectively wrong.  Especially the bolded.

 
Mavric said:
I'm not saying HH will be great.  But a lot of your analysis is objectively wrong.  Especially the bolded.
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I disagree. He does it a large percentage of the time.  He was doing it in the very clip I listed and only moved to the second target at the last moment before he ran directly into a defender. 

 
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runningblind said:
I disagree. He does it a large percentage of the time.  He was doing it in the very clip I listed and only moved to the second target at the last moment before he ran directly into a defender. 
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I'm sure you disagree.  And I'm sure there is an instance here and there where that happens.

But in the clip you referenced, he literally starts looking to the left.  After he starts to scramble he comes off to at least one other receiver, then a third right before he gets hit.  He should have gotten rid of it sooner but that is nothing close to confirming that he doesn't look past his first read.

In this set of clips, he really only stays on his first read on the very first pass play.  That's because he was waiting for a downfield route to develop.  On pretty much every other one he gets to at least two if not three reads.


 
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