Let’s check out the Nebraska football quarterback competition as we progress through winter and inch closer to spring.
Kudos to Nebraska football head coach Scott Frost for making some splash additions during the offseason. The most notable addition was adding Mark Whipple and Mickey Joseph to the offensive coaching staff, which has proven to be beneficial already with a few key transfer players deciding to come to Lincoln.
In honor of former Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor heading to the Super Bowl with his Bengals team, along with former receiver Stanley Morgan Jr. and former offensive coordinator Troy Walters, I decided to take a look at the upcoming quarterback competition that will take place in the coming months and possibly carry into the fall.
Here I will give my predictions and reasoning on what the QB depth chart will look like once fall rolls around. Hopefully, it will be here before we know it.
QB1 – Casey Thompson (Jr.)
Nebraska Football recently added the former Texas quarterback to the ranks and there is certainly a lot of buzz going on about him.
Last year Thompson threw for 2,113 yards 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions with a 63.2% completion percentage. Although Texas was not stellar by any means, the blame shouldn’t necessarily go on Thompson. He had three separate games where he threw for 300+ yards and five or more scores. In those games, Texas went 1-2.
Thompson’s stats tapered off at the end of the year as he dealt with a nasty thumb injury. The decision to transfer seemed to stem from the fact Steve Sarkisian did not originally recruit him and decided to find his own guy in the transfer portal, former 5-star Quinn Ewers from Ohio State.
With only two years of eligibility left, Thompson most likely would not have decided to attend Nebraska unless he was close to guaranteed a starting spot. Expect some hype for the former Longhorns signal-caller.
2A – Logan Smothers (So.)
If there’s one thing we have learned from Scott Frost since his time coaching at Nebraska, it’s that he is faithful to “his” guys (see Adrian Martinez). Smothers was a highly-touted recruit in his own right and a player that Coach Frost seemed very excited about when he made his commitment to the Cornhuskers.
The bulk of Smothers’ stats came in the season finale where he got the start vs Iowa. While the Huskers ended up losing in the end, as they did so many times in 2021, Smothers posted a solid stat line going 16-22 for 198 yards with one interception and adding a couple of rushing scores on the ground.
If Smothers is the backup, it will be interesting to see if he decides to enter the portal or stick it out in case Thompson goes down with an injury or gets benched, or he wants to take the risk of riding it out and hopefully starting his senior year. That’s a tough ask for a former 4-star.
I could see a situation where Smothers is included in specific packages while Thompson is the starter but I wouldn’t bet on it.
2B – Chubba Purdy (Fr.)
Purdy was another exciting addition from the portal. The transfer from Florida State only recorded stats in garbage time vs UMass last year. Granted, he did go 5-5 for 98 yards and two touchdowns so he made the most of that opportunity.
The main reason I have Purdy fighting for the No. 2 spot with Smothers is that this is Whipple’s guy. With four years of eligibility left, Whipple sees Purdy as a quarterback he can start molding now and turn him into exactly what he wants by the time Thompson leaves.
The Cornhuskers already had Thompson committed, but they still went out and got Purdy. This says not only was the coaching staff not as confident in the quarterback room to win now, but they also wanted to make sure they had their guy for the future as well.
4 – Heinrich Haarberg (Fr.)
The freshman from Kearney did not see any game time last year but Husker fans did get a glimpse of him in the spring game and the hail mary he threw as time expired.
All fans really know about Haarberg is the potential media or coaches speak of and his high school highlights. Could he end up being higher on this list after he’s had a year to develop? It’s certainly possible.
However, Haarberg is another player you have to worry about entering into the portal especially if it looks like Purdy is the quarterback of the future.
Looking back at his offers out of high school, Nebraska was arguably his best offer. The only other schools that stand out are Vanderbilt and NC State so it would also make sense to see him stick around and wait for his shot down the road at least for a couple years and considering the fact he’s an in-state product.
The Rest – Masker & Torres
While Torres is another recruit coaches are excited about out of Texas, this year should be nothing more than a time for him to learn the offense and develop. With all of the additions, don’t expect to hear his name up for serious consideration for at least a couple years.
Matt Masker has been with the program a while now and has seen some play-time in blowout games. Expect that to continue.
Masker seems like a great player to have in the quarterback room and on the practice field as a veteran that boosts morale and can be somewhat of a coach on the sidelines for others.
Tip your cap to him for his dedication and the fact he’s still around because of his love for the program.
How do you see the quarterback competition shaping up for Nebraska football?