Wednesday notebook: Final QB test coming soon

Nebraska’s offensive coaches still had no official announcement Wednesday on who would be the team’s starting quarterback for Week 1, but it sounds like Thursday’s practice could end up being the final fall camp separator in that competition.

According to offensive coordinator Troy Walters and quarterbacks coach Mario Verduzco, the Huskers will hold an important “situational scrimmage” on Thursday where the QBs will be put through a number of game-like tests.

Redshirt freshman Tristan Gebbia and true freshman Adrian Martinez will run the offense in everything from two-minute drills, four-minute drills, red zone drives, and third-and-long situations in an attempt to see which quarterback operates the most effectively and efficiently.

“We’ll just see which one handles it the best and which one gives us the best opportunity to win,” Walters said. “I think we have a good problem. We feel confident in both of those guys that if their number is called, they can go out there and execute the offense and win the game for us.

“That’s a good problem to have, but there’s been no concrete decision as of today.”

Verduzco said situational drills often time serve as defining elements in a quarterback battle like Nebraska’s, and the evaluations of Thursday’s practice will go well beyond with QB completes the most passes or throws the most touchdowns.

“In those situations, for whatever reason - both guys know the playbook forward and backward, and for whatever reason, one of the guys just has a knack for - I hate that phrase, ‘making a play,’ because what’s making a play? Making a play is doing your freakin’ job, right?” Verduzco said.

“So doing your job at the moment you’ve got to do your job, you know what I’m saying? Some guys just, man, it’s amazing how that happens, but it does.”

Walters said a final decision on the quarterback depth chart would come as a staff, but Verduzco said it would ultimately be head coach Scott Frost’s call.

- Robin Washut

While the majority of the offseason has been filled with glowing reports of progress, Wednesday was a step in the wrong direction.

Walters and several other coaches and players said Nebraska’s overall effort and attitude were sub-par at best, to the point where it became an issue the staff and the veteran leaders needed to address during the session.

“Not up to our standards,” Walters said of Wednesday’s practice. “Class starting, second day (of classes); we’re not making an excuse. It wasn’t up to our standard. We set the standard high, and the guys kind of came out and were kind of going through the motions today.

“So we let them know that, and we’ll watch the film and we’ll get better.”

Offensive lineman Jerald Foster said he put the responsibility for the poor practice on his shoulders as a senior leader, but he was confident that Thursday would be a much different story. In his experience, Foster said, the day after a bad practice has usually always been followed with a strong response.

“We’ll learn from it,” Walters said. “We’ve got to be a team where every time we step on that field we’re at championship standards. We’ve got to play at championship standards, and we didn’t do that today.”

- Robin Washut

The football career of junior offensive lineman Jalin Barnett officially came to an end this past week.

Offensive line coach Greg Austin confirmed on Wednesday that Barnett had medically retired from the game of football after suffering his fifth concussion this past week.

“Jalin Barnett decided it was in his best interest to step away from the game,” Austin said. “I think Jalin sustained his fifth concussion. This was his fifth at the University of Nebraska, and it’s my understanding he had a couple in high school prior to arriving here. He’s done a great job for us. He really improved his game since we arrived.

"I was really counting on him to give some quality depth and some quality back-up reps. But when you sustain those too many times, you kind of start thinking about it. And he decided it was in his best interest to step away at this point.”

Foster said he was sad to see Barnett walk away from the game, but he totally understood the decision.

“You are always supportive,” Foster said. “This isn’t only a sports thing. These aren’t just teammates to me, these are my brothers. If that’s his decision, and that’s what he needs to do, he understands his role and the path that he needs to take, I’m always going to be supportive of him. It’s sad he’s not here anymore for football reasons, but he’s going to be a lifelong friend for me. I’m happy for the time that we had.”

And as Austin said, Barnett may be done playing football at NU, but he hopes the Oklahoma native still comes around the program while he’s finishing up his degree at Nebraska.

“Certainly, I told him I didn’t get into this business to just talk to guys about football,” Austin said. “Those guys will tell you in a heartbeat, we talk about life. We talk about the things they are going to be after football and the goals that they are going to achieve and attain. I told him there’s an open-door policy.

"Him, and Michael Decker, both of those guys are alike. I told those guys my door is always open, and I’m here for them. That’s why I’m in this business.”

- Sean Callahan

Miles Jones was a key addition to Nebraska’s recruiting class last January when the Huskers were able to flip the Florida native from his Vanderbilt commitment to becoming a Husker.

A big reason why the four-star athlete decided to join Frost in Lincoln was his fit in the offense as someone that could play running back and slot receiver at the Duck-R position.

While Jones had been slowed by a minor injury earlier during fall camp, running backs coach Ryan Held said the true freshman has been turning some heads lately.

“I’ll tell you what, Miles Jones is really coming along,” Held said. “He’s had a really good three days, to be honest with you. He was kind of dinged up a little bit. He has a chance to help us, he really does, it’s another weapon.

“In our recruiting, we went out and got another guy that can run. He’s a guy that can play kind of that Duck-R, running back-receiver spot, but I’ve been playing him a little bit more at running back because he gives us a little bit more of a home run hitter in my backfield. Again, that creates more competition in my room. I’m looking for guys, ‘Ok, I’m ready to come out and work.’ Nothing has been given in my group, you’re going to have to work to get out there and get reps.”

With plenty of speed and the ability to make defenders miss, Jones was also a productive kick returner coming out of American Heritage High School.

Held says they are slowly getting the versatile athlete involved on special teams as that may be the key way many of the newcomers initially see more time on the field.

“We’re slowly implementing him into all of the phases,” Held said about Jones. “Especially freshmen, they’ve got to have a role on special teams because you only get 70 guys that go on the road. You can’t just be a one tool guy. We look at it like baseball, you’ve got to be a four or five-tool guy. You’ve got to be able to do a lot of different things. We don’t have time for bus-riders and steak-eaters, guys that are riding the bus and eating the steak and not doing anything.”

- Nate Clouse

As the last player to announce his commitment to Nebraska on National Signing Day, Andre Hunt is sometimes one of the forgotten member of the 2018 recruiting class.

But the former three-star wide receiver has been making a name for himself in his first fall camp as a Husker.

“He’s doing a good job,” Walters said. “This offense is not the easiest offense to learn and grasp, and we ask a lot from the outside receivers because they need to know ‘X’ and ‘Z’ and we move them all over the place.

“He’s done a good job of understanding the offense, he’s made plays, he’s done a good job of studying his playbook and knowing what to do. So he has an opportunity to play this year and be in the rotation and make plays.”

Not only did Hunt help fill what was a huge need in NU’s 2018 class, he was one of the top remaining receivers out on the West Coast that the Huskers could have landed.

His skill set immediately jumped out as one that would fit in very well with Frost's offense, especially his game-breakinig speed and ability to stretch the field.

“Probably speed,” Walters said when asked what Hunt’s biggest strength was right now. “He knows how to run. He’s a good route runner. He was a good route runner in his school, and that’s what really drew us to him, was the fact that he knew how to run routes and knew the details of route running and how to get open.

“He has some speed that he can create separation from the corners, and those things allow him to be successful.”

- Robin Washut

Over the course of the last three weeks, Austin feels really good about how his line has come together.

Austin said NU has been able to consistently work a solid two-deep in practice, and all 10 to 11 of those players have gotten better.

“I think we are solid with our line-up,” Austin said. “We really have a solid two-deep. Those guys are working hard, and we are kind of mixing and mingling some things around, especially inside. Generally speaking, we have a solid group of really 11 guys.”

As for his top group, you get the sense now that six players are going to primarily see action on Saturdays. They will also continue to work guys around at different positions on the interior.

“At tackle, it’s (Brenden) Jaimes and (Matt) Farniok," Austin said. "Then inside we’ll do some things between Cole (Conrad) and Tanner (Farmer) and Boe Wilson and Jerald Foster. We feel solid with all those guys inside. I think all those guys will end up playing one or two positions in there.

“We have been getting center reps with Tanner and Jerald and obviously Cole. Then Boe has been doing a pretty good job in Fall Camp of stepping in there. When Tanner is at center, Boe is going to right guard and done a pretty nice job.”

- Sean Callahan

***Walters and Held said running back Tre Bryant continues to be limited by an ankle sprain he suffered last week, and they’ll keep being careful in easing him back. Once fully healthy, Walters and Held said Bryant would definitely have a place in NU’s backfield rotation.

***Walters said a couple of offensive linemen had been battling an illness this week, which has impacted their practice depth a bit.

***Austin said he challenged Jaimes on Monday to take his play to the next level, and Jaimes responded with two of his best practices yet. Austin knows how good Jaimes could be, and he let the sophomore know that the standard at Nebraska is winning Outland Trophies and Rimington Awards. Austin said he wants Jaimes to believe he can be the best left tackle in all of college football.

***Jaimes said he played at around 275 pounds last year as a true freshman, and now he’s up to 292.

***Both receiver Jaevon McQuitty and tight end Jack Stoll said Nebraska’s defense has been playing really well recently. They said the secondary in particular has really stepped up, and a lot of that had to do with the emergence of young guys like Cam Taylor.