I've written a lot about how Frost screwed up by chasing away all of Martinez's competition. Frost is obviously enamored with AM and his 'potential.' My own opinion is that as a result, none of the other quarterbacks on the roster had a real shot at starting. They all eventually realized this and left.
Tristan Gebbia was possibly the hardest worker on the team. First in, last out, a natural leader, loads of potential, left it all on the field. Noah Vedral transferred up here from UCF. Good kid, played pretty well. Andrew Bunch saw limited action and looked okay. Luke McCaffery has all of the talent in the world. He's a better athlete than a quarterback, but has a ton of potential. I don't think we have any idea what Logan Smothers, Matt Masker, Brayden Miller, etc. can do. None of them get a real shot to compete for the job. Frost only has eyes for A.M. In a way, Frost is a little like Rocky Balboa...he only has eyes for his Adrian.
The problem is two-fold... 1) Adrian Martinez seems like a good kid, but he's not a good quarterback. He's just not. He's in what feels like his 7th year as a starter and doesn't seem to have improved. He makes bad reads, misses easy throws, gets sacked way too easily, and is responsible for a turnover or two about every game. 2) The bench behind him is pretty empty. Any upperclassman who could play has left because he didn't get a shot. And underclassman on the bench is probably not ready to go. By the time he is, he will have seen the writing on the wall and similarly transferred out.
What's interesting is how the Frost fascination with AM parallels the Pelini fascination with Taylor Martinez. The 'joke' was at the time that Taylor could have two broken legs and he would still be sent out to start at QB. Such was the coaching staff's fascination with TM. The same dynamic is still at at work.
Interesting as well is how various man crushes have prevented us from holding an actual coaching search in years, maybe decades. Pederson's inept process that led to Callahan could arguably qualify, but that's a tough argument to make.
So we have Solich inheriting the job from Osborne, then being fired for Callahan.
When Solich was canned, everyone decided Callahan's team was too soft and wanted Pelini, Solich's tough and loud-mouthed defensive coordinator.
When Pelini was fired, we wound up with Riley, who we hoped was nice enough to be the antidote for Pelini.
When Riley was fired, we wanted the hot name in coaching, who was also the hometown hero. Hopefully he could come home and restore the team to glory.
But when you focus on one person as the answer, you become blind to his faults. When you focus on one characteristic as the answer, you become blind to the whole package...and the characteristics that are (or might be) missing. The guy with the biggest muscles might be dumb as dirt. The smooth talker might be a sociopath. The nicest guy in the room could be too weak to lead or instill toughness. This happens in business just as often as in sports.
The solution is to avoid fixating on one candidate too early in the process or to recruit for one characteristic as the antidote to what you think ails you. The solution is an actual coaching search. Who could Nebraska have recruited to come here and coach the Huskers in 1998? Or 2003? Or 2017? We'll never know.
But if this season ends the way it's begun and this staff is shown the door, Trev better make damn sure we know in 2022. No more fixations. No more man crushes. Just a thorough search for the best tough as nails coaches who know the business, understand Big Ten football, and can get the job done we can get to come to Lincoln.
Tristan Gebbia was possibly the hardest worker on the team. First in, last out, a natural leader, loads of potential, left it all on the field. Noah Vedral transferred up here from UCF. Good kid, played pretty well. Andrew Bunch saw limited action and looked okay. Luke McCaffery has all of the talent in the world. He's a better athlete than a quarterback, but has a ton of potential. I don't think we have any idea what Logan Smothers, Matt Masker, Brayden Miller, etc. can do. None of them get a real shot to compete for the job. Frost only has eyes for A.M. In a way, Frost is a little like Rocky Balboa...he only has eyes for his Adrian.
The problem is two-fold... 1) Adrian Martinez seems like a good kid, but he's not a good quarterback. He's just not. He's in what feels like his 7th year as a starter and doesn't seem to have improved. He makes bad reads, misses easy throws, gets sacked way too easily, and is responsible for a turnover or two about every game. 2) The bench behind him is pretty empty. Any upperclassman who could play has left because he didn't get a shot. And underclassman on the bench is probably not ready to go. By the time he is, he will have seen the writing on the wall and similarly transferred out.
What's interesting is how the Frost fascination with AM parallels the Pelini fascination with Taylor Martinez. The 'joke' was at the time that Taylor could have two broken legs and he would still be sent out to start at QB. Such was the coaching staff's fascination with TM. The same dynamic is still at at work.
Interesting as well is how various man crushes have prevented us from holding an actual coaching search in years, maybe decades. Pederson's inept process that led to Callahan could arguably qualify, but that's a tough argument to make.
So we have Solich inheriting the job from Osborne, then being fired for Callahan.
When Solich was canned, everyone decided Callahan's team was too soft and wanted Pelini, Solich's tough and loud-mouthed defensive coordinator.
When Pelini was fired, we wound up with Riley, who we hoped was nice enough to be the antidote for Pelini.
When Riley was fired, we wanted the hot name in coaching, who was also the hometown hero. Hopefully he could come home and restore the team to glory.
But when you focus on one person as the answer, you become blind to his faults. When you focus on one characteristic as the answer, you become blind to the whole package...and the characteristics that are (or might be) missing. The guy with the biggest muscles might be dumb as dirt. The smooth talker might be a sociopath. The nicest guy in the room could be too weak to lead or instill toughness. This happens in business just as often as in sports.
The solution is to avoid fixating on one candidate too early in the process or to recruit for one characteristic as the antidote to what you think ails you. The solution is an actual coaching search. Who could Nebraska have recruited to come here and coach the Huskers in 1998? Or 2003? Or 2017? We'll never know.
But if this season ends the way it's begun and this staff is shown the door, Trev better make damn sure we know in 2022. No more fixations. No more man crushes. Just a thorough search for the best tough as nails coaches who know the business, understand Big Ten football, and can get the job done we can get to come to Lincoln.
