Nebraska football has its quarterbacks for the 2021 season, at least according to Scott Frost, who went on the Husker Sports Nightly radio show to discuss the latest news surrounding Husker football. One of the biggest things he talked about was the quarterback position, which Frost feels comfortable with moving forward.
Adrian Martinez is the starting quarterback in 2021 and that’s not really up for debate. The biggest question entering the season will be who earns the backup job between Logan Smothers, Heinrich Haarberg, and Matt Masker. Frost was impressed with all three of them in the spring game and said he didn’t feel the team would seek another quarterback before the start of the season.
On the QBs behind Adrian Martinez, Frost says: "We came out of spring and decided we're pretty comfortable with what we have there."
— Derek Peterson (@dr_petey) May 7, 2021
He's been consistent. A transfer QB isn't high on the list of priorities for the #Huskers.
Michael Bruntz of 247 Sports did a write-up on all of Frost’s major talking points and provided this quote from Frost:
"“We came out of spring and decided that we’re pretty comfortable with who we have there, and that says a lot about the guys at that position because they’re young and haven’t played a lot. Just saw continual improvement and understanding the offense from all three of those guys behind Adrian. Saw a lot of talent from those guys behind him, and we really feel good about the fact by the time we get to September, or in August, that we’ll have one or more of those guys ready to go in, if need be. And that, again, speaks a lot to who those kids are and how talented they are.”"
Having a reliable backup quarterback is important, especially with Martinez’s injury history. All three played well in the spring game and Smothers and Haarberg impressed Huskers fans, who were eagerly awaiting to see what the two could do when on the field.
Bruntz mentions in his write-up how Haarberg threw the ball better than Frost and his staff was expecting. He even joked that if he threw the ball as well as Haarberg did, then he wouldn’t be a coach because his career as a player would have been longer.
Nebraska football appears to be set at the quarterback position.
Martinez enters his fourth year with the program as the QB1 and now we’ll have to see how the rest of the offseason plays out to see who locks down the backup spot. Smothers would be my pick personally, as he spent last year with this program and knows the offense a little more. Haarberg has impressed early on though and that could mean he climbs up the depth chart faster than we were all expecting.
It should be a fun competition this summer for the backup quarterback job.