• Video: Husker's Sunday practice:
• Video: Coach Shawn Watson after Sunday's practice:
• See more video of the Huskers at the San Diego Zoo and an interview with Carl Pelini below.
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SAN DIEGO — The audition for Nebraska's starting quarterback job in 2010 apparently begins Wednesday.
Call it the opening act to a presumably elongated and muddled drama.
Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said Sunday that true freshman Cody Green will get a chance to play against Arizona in the Holiday Bowl.
Nothing special is planned. Watson just wants to see how Green performs in a high-pressure situation. Then Watson will have something tangible to compare to the performance of 10-game starter Zac Lee.
“We're looking into our future,” Watson said. “And in doing that, we're setting up the competition for down the road. We just want to give both of them a chance to play a little football.”
Green started two games this year but was pulled early in the second one, a 10-3 win over Oklahoma that Lee finished.
Since then, Green has played in just two series. He replaced Lee for two snaps after the junior left the Colorado game with a third-quarter injury. Green also ran two sneaks and threw an incompletion against Texas earlier this month.
Those were not exactly the best in-game opportunities for Watson to get an accurate read on how the inexperienced quarterback deals with his responsibilities. Wednesday's game should serve as an even test for both, Watson said.
“(Green's) going to run the same stuff,” Watson said. “We just want to see him play. We want to be able to evaluate him in a game situation.”
If anything, the potential for playing time has provided a bit of a boost for Green, the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder who was burdened with lofty expectations from the moment he arrived on campus.
Green has a chance to prove himself. And he doesn't want to waste it.
“It shows that they've got a little confidence in me to play in the biggest game we've played in yet,” Green said. “So it gives me a little pep in my step as I go out there and show what I can do in practice.”
Green apparently hasn't been productive enough on the practice field lately, though.
Nebraska's more conservative approach offensively seemed to favor Lee's experience and low-risk decision-making skills. Fueled by a stingy and opportunistic defense, the Huskers needed a guy who didn't make mistakes.
Lee was that guy.
But Green wants to show that he has grown up a bit.
“(Watson) said, ‘You'll get a shot,'” Green said. “When they give it to me, I just want to take it and run.”
It won't be easy against an Arizona defense that's proved it can consistently make things uncomfortable for quarterbacks. The Wildcats' 34 quarterback sacks rank 13th nationally.
The extra preparation time has given Green a chance to do his homework, though. He and the rest of the quarterbacks watched game film from every Arizona contest, picking up certain particulars that opponents successfully utilized along the way.
Using your eyes to look off defenders was one key, Green said. That's always beneficial, though. It's just not that easy to do in the few seconds that quarterbacks have between the snap and the defensive pressure.
How Green deals with those types of particulars Wednesday is exactly what Watson wants to see.
“He's got to grow up. It's time,” Watson said. “A lot of guys get a chance to be redshirted, and that's just not our situation.”
Contact the writer:
402-473-9585, jon.nyatawa@owh.com
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• Video: The Husker football team visits the San Diego Zoo:
• Video: Coach Carl Pelini after Sunday's practice:
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