Shatel: Green doesn't crash the car, but it still sputters

WACO, Texas — It was the perfect day to take the new quarterback out for a spin, training wheels and all.

Perfect? There was not a cloud in the wide Texas sky, the thermometer was wearing short sleeves and there was plenty of room in Floyd Casey Stadium to stretch out and take a little snooze.

It was a Nebraska Retro Day at Baylor's Bear Den. With a sparse and lethargic home crowd, Big Red fans filled up three large sections and there was enough red everywhere else to make it look and sound like one of those Nebraska home games at Kansas or Kansas State in the 1980s and '90s.

There could not have been a better scenario for the Cody Green Era to begin at Nebraska. Baylor is the ideal road venue for a freshman to take his first snaps as a starting quarterback. Half-empty stadium. Lots of NU fans cheering him on, but not 80,000 of them putting the heat on at home.

OK, it could have been better. It got better. Before Green even took the field, he was the beneficiary of a 7-0 lead, thanks to a blocked punt returned for a touchdown.

Perfect timing.

Less than perfect start.

Except for that final result: Nebraska 20, Baylor 10.

The Huskers ended a two-game losing string, moved to 5-3 and 2-2 in the Big 12 and climbed back into the thick of the Big 12 North turtle sprint. For that reason alone, it was a brilliant introduction by No. 17.

And make no mistake: The Green Era has begun. Green is the man. He is the future.

The future arrived on Saturday, but it lacked the theater of, say, Tommie Frazier leaping over the goal line at Missouri in 1992 or Turner Gill crashing out of a phone booth to save the day against Auburn in 1981. The common thread would be that Frazier, Gill and Green all were pressed into duty at a young age to give an offense and a season a jump-start.

That doesn't mean we're saving a spot on Mount Rushmore for Green. But, like Gill and Frazier, Green did something very important in his debut: He didn't crash the car.

Well, he tried at times. Green made good plays for both Nebraska and Baylor. He showed sparks, and he offered rough spots. He threw a doozy of a deep ball to Niles Paul, a 45-yard spiral to the Baylor 1-yard line that set up NU's only offensive touchdown.

He threw a pick-six that energized the wrong team and gave BU hope for a second-half comeback.

It never happened, because Nebraska's defense is the best friend a young quarterback can have. Bo Pelini has a 10-2 defense.

Unfortunately, he's got a 5-7 offense.

Can Green change that? On Saturday, he offered both hope and reality. He doesn't look ready to dent Oklahoma's defense. Can he outscore Todd Reesing at Kansas? He doesn't look close to that yet.

Can he lead Nebraska to wins over Kansas State and Colorado? That's a more likely scenario.

Some of this will be how much rope offensive coordinator Shawn Watson gives him, how much trust Green earns through poise and execution and play-making. But that's a two-way street. Watson needs to put his young colt into position to run.

Watson's words and actions on Saturday gave this suggestion: Don't expect miracles this season.

He spent the day on the sideline to hold Green's hand. He talked about “rough spots'' and said, “We're going to have to keep the training wheels on for a while.”

“We didn't ask him to do much,'' Watson said. “We just asked him to kind of manage us. Just a young guy, first time.''

Green's interception came on a quick flat pass across the field, and Clifton Odom easily stepped in front and picked it. Later, in the fourth quarter, after NU had recovered a fumble deep in Baylor territory, Green fumbled it right back.

“He had the one pick, and we have to get that fixed,'' Watson said. “He just didn't see the coverage for what it was. They had come up and bluffed. He thought it was blitz, and it was not a blitz.''

Then there was the zone-read. Watson said he went with Green over Zac Lee because Green gives NU another running threat. Green ran eight times for 43 yards. But Green didn't have an attempt on a zone-read. The Huskers ran a handful, and each time Green handed off.

Why? Green said “the zone read wasn't really in our game plan.'' Watson said it was because the defensive end took away Green and gave NU the running back.

Given NU's choppy situation at running back, that may not be the last time. But Green looked good on draw plays or other times he took the ball and galloped through defenders. The challenge now is to get him loose; zone read, bootleg, whatever.

“We wanted him to run eight or 10 times,'' Watson said. “We had a lot more called, but they took it away from us.

“We've just got to find the things he does well and what he's comfortable with and put him in those situations.''

What it means is that it's Nov. 1 and the Huskers are starting all over at quarterback. This bodes well for Green getting experience for 2010. But how much of 2009 can he revive?

So far, he's 1-0. That's called a good start.

Contact the writer: 444-1025, tom.shatel@owh.com