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Tommie Frazier vs. Turner Gill
- Thread starter I Formation Football
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Both were great players, but I'll take Turner Gill over Tommie Frazier every time. If Gill had the benefit of having the quality defenses that Frazier had while at Nebraska, Gill would have 3 national championship rings. Nebraska's defenses from '81-'83 were good, but not great. However, Nebraska had great defensive teams from '93-'95. That is the reason why Frazier has 2 national championship rings and Gill has none.
They are very different players. Both great in their own ways.
Nebraska’s defense in 1981 was pretty good. In 1982 I’d say the same. The ‘83 version was a problem.
I’ll say this, you put Frazier on the 81-83 teams and how many NC’s do they have?
He was a very different leader and it’s hard to say how that could or would have changed the complexion of those teams.
TG wins 2 NC if we switch him and TF places.
TF wins at least 1 if not 2 though with the 80's teams. He could get into guys, even on defense, and will them to play better. I was a little young for TG's years and obviously players didn't talk like they did later for TF. Maybe TG was the same type of leader but I've never heard similar stories about him like we hear about TF. TF was like Jordan, teammates didn't really like him but they were never going to let him down.
Good points. It's hard to say how Frazier would have done on those '81-'83 teams because the offense was different. Osborne used less option and more passing on those teams, largely because of Turner Gill, who was a decent passing QB.
My guess is that Frazier would not have done so well in the early 80's offense, and I'm also not sure Gill would have done so well in the mid-90's offense. Frazier was a tank and could take the punishment that came with running the ball as much as he did. I'm not sure Gill would have remained healthy for an entire season of running the mid-90's offense.
However, that is tangential to my main point, which is that the reason the Nebraska teams from the mid-90's were able to win 3 championships in 4 years was the quality of their defense. The early 80's teams had some good defenses, but they weren't at the level of the defense from those mid-90's teams.
The reason why I prefer Gill is that he was a good runner, but also a good passer, which makes him more versatile than Frazier. They were both great players though.
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Good points. I will echo what has been said by some in that TG was better than TF IMO. I have said for YEARS that TG is NUs best QB ever. TG wins 2 nattys in 94 and 95 if hes QB. Remember in 82 if there was replay we would have basically won a NT due to the PSU loss. And half of a finger tip away from winning in 83. We were 2 plays away from Back to back titles in those years and had no D.
Gill could throw ten times better than TF. TF ran the option a little smoother but TG was just as athletic, maybe more.\
Heck I almost think we could have MAYBE won in 94/95 with lots of ex QBS.
TF was great but is overrated due to just how good those teams were as a whole
Gill could throw ten times better than TF. TF ran the option a little smoother but TG was just as athletic, maybe more.\
Heck I almost think we could have MAYBE won in 94/95 with lots of ex QBS.
TF was great but is overrated due to just how good those teams were as a whole
You completely understood my point.
Gill was a great player on a great offense. He was also a relatively soft spoken man. Great person. Great football player and later coach, but very different personality on the field.
Frazier was a great leader and a great player on great teams.
I’m not going to say Gill doesn’t win NC’s with Frazier’s teams, because I think he does. The overall talent on both sides of the ball was better in the Frazier years, even with the sickening level of talent on the offenses during the Gill years. To me, the bottom line is Frazier elevated. He expected and demanded his teammates play to a certain level. A championship level.
Gill will likely always be my favorite Husker QB. He was one of the most athletic and graceful players to play the position at any school. I disagree that he was a good passer, but I'm also not going to split hairs and speak poorly of a guy I respect and really enjoyed watching.
Loved them both.
Love em both, Gill
They both have represented Nebraska with honor and grace for many years. It doesn't matter who was better to me. What matters is how people see them now. I met a man at a Minnesota Gopher game a few years back (in Minnesota) who told me he was visiting his wife's relatives in Rochester a few years back, got bored so he went to a local bar to watch a husker game on TV. He said there were only 2 other guys in the bar so he joined them at their table. It turned out one of the men was Tommy Frazier who welcomed him to join them. He said it was an amazing afternoon and Tommy was a lot of fun. He said he will never forget it.
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3 straight national title game MVPs, guys. These were not "mythical national title" games in the true sense of the phrase, either.
They were all #1 vs #2 and Frazier was THE best player in all 3.
Tommie is the best Huskers QB of all time, he's the best option QB of all time, and he's arguably the best CFB QB of all time.
That being said...
We have a modest walk in closet in our bedroom. It has shelving on top, half (lol yeah right) is devoted to my stuff, so that's where I keep my Husker shrine. There's 1 picture in that shrine of me with a Husker, and it's Turner Gill. I respect the hell out of that man... I have multiple stories about my interactions with him and I was born and raised in TAMPA lol. He is an absolutely exceptional human being, and he was an absolutely exceptional QB, but he wasn't Tommie Frazier. I'd rather sit down with him, however, for a conversation about any given topic than Tommie.
They were all #1 vs #2 and Frazier was THE best player in all 3.
Tommie is the best Huskers QB of all time, he's the best option QB of all time, and he's arguably the best CFB QB of all time.
That being said...
We have a modest walk in closet in our bedroom. It has shelving on top, half (lol yeah right) is devoted to my stuff, so that's where I keep my Husker shrine. There's 1 picture in that shrine of me with a Husker, and it's Turner Gill. I respect the hell out of that man... I have multiple stories about my interactions with him and I was born and raised in TAMPA lol. He is an absolutely exceptional human being, and he was an absolutely exceptional QB, but he wasn't Tommie Frazier. I'd rather sit down with him, however, for a conversation about any given topic than Tommie.
Whenever this argument comes up I always point towards a couple things.
1. Turner and TO shared a brain. He always knew what TO wanted and completely understood it. Many times TFraz was just the best athlete on the field.
2. People have already pointed out the discrepancy in defenses between early 80s and mid 90s. If you score over 30 in a national championship game you should win.
3. TG I feel had a better arm.
4. It is no accident that if you look at the top 5 QBs Turner is one of them and the other 4 he coached. TFraz, Brook, Frost and crouch.
5. TFraz through no fault of his own. Did not win all of the games that led to the championships. Especially 94 where I think he played in less than hallf the games. He had a lot of help from Brook. So we probably still beat Miami with Brook. Was there anyone who could replace Turner when he was the starter? The Clemson game showed that there was not.
For all of those reasons I give turner the ever so slight nod.
1. Turner and TO shared a brain. He always knew what TO wanted and completely understood it. Many times TFraz was just the best athlete on the field.
2. People have already pointed out the discrepancy in defenses between early 80s and mid 90s. If you score over 30 in a national championship game you should win.
3. TG I feel had a better arm.
4. It is no accident that if you look at the top 5 QBs Turner is one of them and the other 4 he coached. TFraz, Brook, Frost and crouch.
5. TFraz through no fault of his own. Did not win all of the games that led to the championships. Especially 94 where I think he played in less than hallf the games. He had a lot of help from Brook. So we probably still beat Miami with Brook. Was there anyone who could replace Turner when he was the starter? The Clemson game showed that there was not.
For all of those reasons I give turner the ever so slight nod.
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