What to watch in the Red-White Spring Game

From all reports over the course of spring practices, the competition for Nebraska's starting quarterback job has seen little, if any, separation thus far.

While NU's coaching staff insists that the annual Red-White Spring Game is merely one practice of an entire offseason of evaluation, it's hard to argue that today won't be the biggest test yet for the quarterbacks.

Redshirt freshman Tristan Gebbia and true freshman Adrian Martinez will lead the Red team offense, while sophomores Andrew Bunch and Noah Vedral will suit up with the White team.

Head coach Scott Frost, offensive coordinator Troy Walters, and quarterbacks coach Mario Verduzco have all said a starter wouldn't be named until fall camp at the earliest, possibly waiting as long as the week before the season opener vs. Akron.

But how the inexperienced-yet-talented group of signal callers fair in their first taste of playing in a sold-out Memorial Stadium could be a significant separator heading into the summer.

Watch to see which quarterbacks show the most poise in the pocket, command of the offense, and clean fundamentals with the football to possibly get a gauge of where the battle stands at the end of spring ball.

The hallmark of Frost's system is the fast-paced tempo in which his offenses operate, which is a primary reason why his Central Florida squad boasted the most potent offense in all of college football last season.

Adjusting to that style has been a major transition for Nebraska's players, especially coming off a traditional pro-style scheme over the past three years.

The most obvious way to measure the progress made will be in the general physical conditioning of the players this afternoon. Yes, they've been repping roughy 130 snaps per practice this spring, but they have yet to do it in a real game format.

Not only that, keep an eye on just how efficient the offense operates in its public debut of Frost's system. It's one thing to execute well in practice, but can they do it on the big stage in front of 90,000-plus fans and a Big Ten Network television audience?

Most of the talk going into the Spring Game has been focused on the quarterbacks, and understandably so.

But another position battle that has been just as competitive this spring has been at running back, where they too have four players vying for the starting job.

The most interesting part of the running back race has been that all four players - seniors Mikale Wilbon and Devine Ozigbo, junior Greg Bell, and sophomore Jaylin Bradley - all bring unique skillsets to the table.

That's why it's been hard for Frost, Walters, and running backs coach Ryan Held to see much separation within the group thus far. While one player might be the best at doing one thing, another player is much better in another area, and so on.

This should be the most evenly distributed talent of any position between the Red and White rosters, too, as Wilbon and Bell will be on the Red team and Ozigbo and Bradley will be with the White.

Defensive coordinator Erik Chinander conceded long ago that as long as he's working opposite of a Frost offense, his unit is inevitably going to give up some points and yards.

That's just the nature of the beast when Frost's system increases the overall number of snaps per game as much as it does. But Chinander quickly figured out a way to still allow his defense to change games despite finding itself in track meets more often than not.

By creating a mentality of not being afraid to take some risks in the name of making big plays, Chinander's defenses thrive on turning the ball over, pressuring the quarterback, and playing an attacking style of defense for four quarters.

Instilling that mindset within Nebraska's players, which are coming off one of the worst defensive seasons in program history, has been much easier said than done.

In fact, Chinander said his biggest concern coming out of the spring has been the lack of turnovers - especially interceptions - his group has forced in practice.

Will the defense turn up the aggressiveness and create some big plays during the Spring Game? Or will their passive "bend-but-don't-break" habits of last season still linger?

With all of the excitement surrounding the Spring Game, it will be important to remember that in the grand scheme of things, it really is just one practice of an entire offseason.

However, in the historical sense, today might go down as a major milestone in Nebraska football.

A program that has been a shell of past self for nearly two decades, the return of Frost has reunited a fractured fan base more than any coach in the country ever could.

Hope hasn't been this high around the state in years, and this afternoon will mark the unofficial debut of the Frost era in Lincoln.

If things go the way so many Husker fans hope, those in attendance today can say they were there for the start of Nebraska's resurrection.