Patrick O’Brien Isn’t Thrilled About Being Redshirted, Is A Problem Brewing?

The Nebraska football team has said Patrick O’Brien is likely going to redshirt this year and the coaches have described his reaction as “mixed.”

The big question that is likely on most Husker fans minds is whether or not this is going to create a problem between the coaches and the recruit who some thought could be starting as a freshman. Most fans, were hoping O’Brien might be able to step into the position after watching Tommy Armstrong throw 16 interceptions a year ago.

It appears we’re going to have to wait until at least 2017 to see what the California native can do under center in college. What should make Husker nation a bit nervous is it appears O’Brien also believed he had a realistic chance to compete for the starting job this year as well.

O’Brien enrolled in school in January, in order to get his feet wet and practice during the spring. Some felt that was going to be enough to put the freshman on equal footing with Armstrong, a senior quarterback who has recorded starts in the last three year and was the unquestioned starter the last two.

Offensive Coordinator Danny Langsdorf recently spoke to the Lincoln Journal and told the paper, O’Brien isn’t thrilled about the coaches decision. Langsdorf said he felt as though O’Brien would eventually accept the decision because the pace of play and the talent level in college is a leap forward for almost anyone.

The interesting part is that Langsdorf claimed O’Brien’s reaction was “mixed” he made it clear the quarterback wasn’t happy about redshirting, without really making it clear what the other half of the mix is. Is Patrick O’Brien unhappy to find out in July, a month before fall camp starts, that the coaches have already decided he’ll sit out the season barring an emergency?

Langsdorf wouldn’t give the paper a look inside the meeting he had with the recruit so in the short term, we’ll likely not know just how disappointed he was. Bringing in a kid as talented as O’brien and redshirting him is always a risky proposition.

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It’s a safe bet the coaches allowed him to believe, if not flat out told him, he’d have an opportunity to compete for the starting job. In the coaches mind, they might not even have misled him, having watched him practice in the spring. It’s possible had he looked ready to go, they would have opened up the competition with Tommy Armstrong.

The problem is whether or not O’Brien sees it that way. This coaching staff took a flyer last year on a running back by the name of Jordan Stevenson and the end result really couldn’t have been worse. Stevenson came to Nebraska after months of planning on going to Wisconsin because he didn’t qualify for entry into that school.

Stevenson was a highly sought after running back coming out of high school and the Huskers snatching him up was seen as quite the coup. It became clear in the middle of the season that part of the reason they were able to land him is because they had led him to believe he would be getting starts as  a true freshman.

Riley and company knew Stevenson wasn’t ready to play as a true frosh and placed a redshirt on him. At the beginning of October, the staff reversed course, burned the shirt and put him in as kickoff returner. Turns out Stevenson wasn’t a particularly good returner and less than a month after Riley gave him his shot, Stevenson announced he was leaving the Nebraska football program.

There’s no reason to think events will unfold anywhere near that quickly with O’Brien, who by all accounts has a good head on his shoulders. Still, it’s possible will see the writing on the wall and wonder if his window to take charge and take the starting spot for Nebraska is closing.

Next year, should he follow through on his claims, Tristan Gebbia will be arriving on campus. Tulane quarterback transfer Tanner Lee will be eligible to play as well. AJ Bush, who Langsdorf said has looked good in practices this year will also be returning.

A wide open quarterbacks competition could be a good thing, but if O’Brien loses out, the question becomes “what’s the next step?” If O’Brien has started weighing his options, one has to wonder if the answer he starts to come up with is “I need to go somewhere else sooner, rather than later.”

It happens with quarterbacks often enough. The Nebraska football program has certainly seen it’s fair share of once highly sought after QBs move on a year or two after the arrived. How can anyone forget the ballad of Harrison Beck? He was the Patrick O’Brien of his class, thought to be a sure thing as the next great Husker quarterback. He finished his career, elsewhere after seeing minimal time in live games.

Next: What Nebrasketball Fans Can Expect Without Andrew White

To be clear, I’m not expecting or rooting for O’Brien to leave. At the same time, the coaches and fans should be wary. We’ve seen this movie before and more often than not, it doesn’t have a happy ending.