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Spring Practice Thread #1 (3/16/18) Post Practice Video With Coach Frost Added

More about the QB battle from the link Rivals sports link...
In particular, the ability to translate what’s been coached in the meeting room onto the field when the spotlight shines the brightest could end up being judged as much as anything.

“Just to understand this: (a QB) may know what he's doing, but if he doesn't understand the mechanics that are involved in doing that, he's going to be dead in the water, flipping around…" Verduzco said. "A young guy can score really well on a test, but then he gets on the field and it's like, ‘What are you doing?’ That happens for a variety of reasons.

“Sometimes that's correctable, and sometimes it's not. What ends up happening, those guys go into, let's say spring ball or fall camp like this and then when the bullets start flying and scrimmages and what not, or seven on seven - you understand the point?

“That confidence part of it, that's another fascinating conversation and topic... (NFL) guys talk about that quite a bit, and it's a fascinating thing. What comes first? Performance or the confidence?”
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POB's work this spring has been posted, but Christopherson had another good quote in his article from Steve Calhoun...

Calhoun has worked with both O'Brien and Husker redshirt freshman quarterback Tristan Gebbia since they were in middle school.

The coach spoke with Nebraska247 earlier this month about both quarterbacks' mobility, and how he feels they can operate in Scott Frost's offense.

"When I'm around either one of them, we're always talking ball," Calhoun said. "We're always talking football and how to get better. As you know, the quarterback side is like 90 percent mental. And so they're always picking my brain on things they can get better from the mental aspect of the game, whether it's understanding protections or coverages. They're football junkies when it comes to that."
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Here is Brian Christopherson's take about 5 newcomers to watch...

The following are included...
1. QB Adrian Martinez
It's going to be a fair fight in the quarterback race, but it's truly possible Nebraska could start a true frosh at QB on opening day. And not even Tommie Frazier did that.
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2. LB Will Honas
This is a 'time is now' newcomer. Don't ask him to go pull a Lavonte David, because that was incredible, and David has turned into one of the best linebackers in the world. But the goal for Honas will be to start immediately, beating out some experienced competition, and try to be the anchor in the middle of Nebraska's defense.
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3. RB Greg Bell
He seems like he's here to work, as evidenced when he put out video of him running on a treadmill while pulling resistant weight bands during spring break. Ryan Held likes his all-around abilities as a back, noting he's shown good hands in addition to his running skills. He also, potentially, could bring more of a take-it-the-house threat to the backfield.
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4. DB Deontai Williams
If I were to name a former Husker who Williams would do well to come close to emulating, it's DeJon Gomes. Nebraska fans loved Gomes, who was one of the stars on Bo Pelini's best defensive football teams, because he could wear a lot of different hats in that secondary. He could be physical, but he could cover well in space. He could take a slot receiver out of the game, and he knew how to take the ball away. Literally. As he did in the 2009 Big 12 Championship.
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5. WR Mike Williams
And Williams is a guy who truly bet on himself during the recruiting process, taking on the junior-college experience with the belief he would draw the notice of a bigger school like Nebraska. He came here around 160 pounds in early January but added 11 pounds of muscle in just four weeks, according to a tweet from Zach Duval. When the strength coach singles out a guy like that, it suggests he sees someone who has bought in.
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Here's some more on the evaluation on QBs from the 5 newcomers to watch link above...
Before we go onto other newcomers, it's worth noting that Verduzco is going to analyze Martinez and the QBs in a few different key categories he's used in the past:

Effective domain. "Everything that has to deal with leadership and their relationship with teammates and press and everything like that," Verduzco said.

Physchomotor domain. "All the skills that they're learning. Throwing the ball on the move. Inside right, inside left ... straight drop-back passing, play passes, all of that sort of thing."

Cognitive domain. "Everything with the playbook. Everything and anything that is in the playbook would fall under that domain."

Physical domain. "All those things that they do with Coach (Zach) Duval, in addition to their quarterback work."

There is more.

"And then in regards to each of those domains, there would be a behavioral objective that could be tested. And then there would be academic discipline that inform us about what would be the most effective and efficient way to get that behavioral objective taken care of," Verduzco said. "It's awesome, man. And it sounds (involved), but when you come right down to it, it's simple. Obviously the most difficult one would be that 'effective domain.' But put it to you this way ... All things being equal, and there's four of us competing ... and you're pyschomotor domain is a disaster (points to one reporter), your effective domain is a disaster (points to another reporter), and he doesn't have any idea what the hell is going on with the playbook (points to another reporter), I'm probably the guy that is going to get chosen to play that position."

Verduzco feels this analysis is all important for that moment in a staff meeting when Scott Frost asks him if a quarterback is ready, as he did with McKenzie Milton.

"I had a thoroughly objective way, without just pulling something out of my (backside), right? An objective way of saying, 'Frost,' and feeling good about it, 'he's ready to go.' We knew what he was capable from the psychomotor domain standpoint, and we were going to get better at that, and so on and so forth. But the crux of the matter is, 'Does he know what he's doing? Is he not guessing?'"

In Milton's case, he was scoring about 85 percent on his playbook tests, very good for a young player. It helped tell Verduzco he was ready. He was going to take time to work out flaws, but he wasn't guessing.
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AzHusker said:
Dang.

The author botched two major spellings.

It's not Effective, it's Affective.
It's not Physchomotor, it's Psychomotor.

If he's gonna quote Mario , he's gotta get Mario right! :Lol:
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I saw those two, too. I was on one of my posting frenzies, so I laughed and moved on. The sad thing is I see many more writing errors on these online articles.
 

Includes this about Jaaevon McQuitty in addition to the others who have already been posted...
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Jaevon McQuitty had a chance to play as a freshman, but a fall camp knee injury changed plans. With spring practice beginning, McQuitty is ready for another shot at making a splash in Nebraska’s offense.

In high school, McQuitty impressed with 147 receptions for 2,649 yards and 31 touchdowns. He was ranked the No. 1 player in the state by ESPN and No. 2 in the 247 Sports composite ratings.

@huskerfbnation WR @Yaboyjae19 putting in that work over #springbreak

Y'all just remember the name Jaevon McQuitty, you'll be hearing it a lot on Saturdays this fall! #springbreakthrough #sportsperformance #huskers#football pic.twitter.com/AQknG2kldg

— Breakthrough Sports (@Breakthrough_SP) March 21, 2018
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“As far as a punt return mentality, I think it’s really going to truthfully depend on who we have back there catching kicks and their skill set,” outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator Jovan Dewitt said. “So our first year at UCF and at West Point, we were way more block-oriented because we just didn’t have that dynamic of a returner back there. This last year we had Mike Hughes who is as dynamic a returner as there is in the country and we were way more return-oriented. I think situationally it will depend upon who we have back there.”

Pierson-El’s career in Lincoln is over. Two other players — Stanley Morgan Jr. and Tyjon Lindsey — returned one punt apiece for a total of one yard. That position is wide open heading into the spring.

Morgan has two career punt returns and is the team’s top playmaker on offense. J.D. Spielman, last season’s kick returner, is dynamic with the ball in his hands but has said in the past that he’s not a punt returner. With a year of Division I football under his belt, Lindsey could push for the job, as could dynamic newcomers Miles Jones and Jaron Woodyard.
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This is a good read...

Boring guy, Jovan Dewitt.

Played Division II football. Played Arena League football (Iowa Barnstormers, Orlando Predators, Fargo Freeze, if you were curious).

Degrees in physics and mathematics. Coaching stops all over the map, at every level of the game. Turned down a job at NASA to coach football. Yes, that NASA.

We still haven't gotten to the part about how he learned to speak fluent French before he was old enough to drive a car.

Today though, Dewitt is a football coach. With 18 years of skin in the game, the new outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at Nebraska hasn't lost his passion for teaching players.

"My favorite time of the year, bar none, forget about anything else, is the dead period during spring ball. Absolute favorite time," Dewitt said recently. "There’s no game planning, per say — you’re just purely out there coaching football. That’s my absolute favorite time of the year."

On a staff full of intriguing characters, Dewitt's expansive interests help him stand out. Physics and math have made him a better football coach, he says. So has his path to Lincoln. He's dug irrigation lines on the practice field at Fort Scott. He's shoveled snow off the field at Northern Michigan. He's worked in some of the finest facilities in the nation at Northern Iowa and Nebraska.
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Erin Sorenson's 5 players who could make an impact:
1. WR JD Spielman
Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman was a fan of Nebraska hiring Frost. He was especially pleased for his son, JD Spielman, and how he’d fit within Frost’s offensive scheme.

“I know he’s very excited about being part of Frost’s system, that offensive system,” Spielman told Land of 10. “That’s a great hire by Bill Moos and Nebraska. We’ll see how it evolves. His skill set should hopefully fit in to what coach Frost has in mind for him.”

Spielman had 830 yards as a receiver and boasted an impressive 7.3 yards per carry as a freshman last season. He also set a single-game record for receiving yards with 200 against Ohio State. His 2017 performance earned him FWAA Freshman All-America honors.

Expect Spielman to become a bit of a hybrid in the offense run by Frost and offensive coordinator Troy Walters.
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2. RB Greg Bell
While Nebraska returns quite a bit of talent at running back, junior college transfer Greg Bell is expected to make a splash right away. At Arizona Western last season, Bell rushed for 1,217 yards and 11 touchdowns on 201 carries. He was considered the top JUCO running back, per the 247Sports composite.
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3. DE Ben Stille
Despite the change in position, Stille carried his weight and more for the Huskers in 2017. In fact, his 9 1/2 tackles for loss led Nebraska. That included 3 1/2 sacks, also a team high. Even more impressive, he did it in just nine games.
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4. CB Dicaprio Bootle
He has the speed and versatility Nebraska needs, and former Nebraska cornerback Chris Jones likes his potential.

“If he keeps doing what he’s doing, he’s going to be something special,” Jones said, per the Omaha World-Herald.
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5. LB Guy Thomas
Nebraska could keep him at outside linebacker or move him to defensive end. Former defensive line coach John Parrella liked Thomas’ speed and tenacity, so he could become the pass rusher Nebraska desperately needs.
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Found this tweet from a UNL student writing for the site Armchair All Americans...I'm thinking one of you has applied to work there, too.

Anyway, "Kade" gives us actual precentages of who has the best chance to win the job at QB:
Gebbia - 41%
Martinez - 31%
POB - 19%
Bunch - 8%
Masker - 1%
Vedral - 0%

There is also this nugget from the link:
Gebbia came into Lincoln at a 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds but he has reportedly grown an inch and added 15 pounds. Due to strength coach Zach Duval noting Gebbia as one of the bigger improvements in the weight room, we can be confident it’s mostly muscle. Also, due to me sharing a flight to California with Gebbia this last weekend, we can be confident he has gotten bigger. Add that to him already being a film room junkie and methinks Gebbia has the best shot of them all.
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Okay, that seals it...the flight is clear proof of Gebbia having a 41% chance to win the starting job at QB.
 
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