The Nebraska football team currently has a quarterback battle going on for the first time in what seems like forever. However, there’s some fun to be had with Husker history and Mike Riley’s offense.
Hypotheticals are great fun. As a matter of fact, Nebraska football’s 2017 spring practice is full of them. The first questions that usually come to mind are about the battle for the starting quarterback spot, but let’s look beyond Tanner Lee and Patrick O’Brien.
The Huskers have had many great quarterbacks over their history. Each athlete’s abilities help define how they became household names. Some ran the read option to perfection, some were your more traditional quarterbacks that we see gunning for the top spot in an offense like Mike Riley’s and some were a blend.
For the sake of fun and historical perspective, let’s look back through the pages of Husker history and pluck the best quarterback out of five of the best suitable to regain some eligibility (and maybe pop back to their prime) to lead the Big Red under the tutelage of Danny Langsdorf.
Following Nebraska’s March 9 practice, Langsdorf went into what he’s looking for in a quarterback:
"“Accuracy. Being able to complete balls. That’s the No. 1 thing. When we have a play that we’re going to throw the ball on, and we have a receiver and the protection’s good, we have to be able to complete the ball. That’s going to be the biggest factor in winning the job.”"
With that in mind, let’s see which Big Red field general would be best for today’s job.
5. Dave Humm
A 1974 First-Team All-American, Humm would enter this quarterback battle royale as the darkhorse.
Yes, he was drafted in the fifth round of the 1975 NFL draft by the Oakland Raiders and yes, he did pass for 5,311 yards as a Husker, but he’s lacking in a few key areas.
While Humm increased his completion percentage every year during his three-season tenure at Nebraska, the number of passes he threw always decreased. The other major issue is his touchdown-to-interception ratio.
He ended up dead even at 42-42 over the course of his career and only had a positive ratio during his freshman campaign when he ended the season 18-16. As a freshman, he threw the most passes of any given season (285) and had his worst completion percentage (53.7).
He didn’t have the lightning legs that a player like Eric Crouch did, but he still managed to slip by the defense a time or two with 12 touchdowns throughout his career.
There’d definitely be something for Langsdorf to work with, but Humm wouldn’t come in the most polished.