Nebraska Football: Position Groups that Need to Step Up in 2017

Quarterback

Senior quarterback Tommy Armstrong improved drastically from 2015 in a couple of areas, most notably by cutting his interception total in half.

However, Armstrong and fellow senior Ryker Fyfe combined to complete just 50.8 percent of their passes. That kind of number is not going to keep defenses from selling out to stop the running game in 2017. It probably contributed to some of this season’s below-average rushing numbers. The offensive line and running backs had their issues, but life gets harder for those guys when the offense completes only half its passes.

The quarterback position is inherently high-pressure, but the winner of the 2017 Big Red quarterback battle — most likely junior transfer Tanner Lee or redshirt freshman Patrick O’Brien — may have an even bigger load on his shoulders than many other college quarterbacks.

Not only will either Lee or O’Brien be getting his feet wet as the new starter, they’ll be doing so while the staff transitions away from a style tailored to Armstrong’s running ability. The change will be much better for both players in the long run, but there could be some wrinkles to iron out at first. On top of that, the winner will have a lot of new faces to throw to, as three of the Huskers’ top four wideouts will be graduating along with the top three tight ends.

Stanley Morgan Jr. and De’Mornay Pierson-El are proven targets, but while the receiving corps does not lack talent behind them, it does lack experience.

The new starting signal-caller must dramatically improve the efficiency of the passing game in short order while throwing to a fresh crop of receivers. If successful, Nebraska’s new guy will become and instant fan favorite. If not, critics will be coming out of the woodwork immediately. Either way, the team will go as its quarterback goes yet again.