Shatel: Lee No. 1; Martinez closing fast

LINCOLN — My views on the “15th evaluation,'' as offensive line coach Barney Cotton aptly calls it, complete with running clock:

1. The quarterback job is Zac Lee's to lose. But that's if the Holiday Bowl Zac Lee shows up in August.

If Lee picks up where he left off on Dec. 30 in San Diego, when he ran assertively and was a good decision man, he'll be handed the keys to the car come Sept. 4.

But if Lee reverts back to the timid runner and quarterback who would occasionally force a bad pass, then this position is anybody's game.

And that includes Taylor Martinez.

The curtain finally went up on No. 3 at the Red-White game, and he opened eyes with his speed. He's got a mean first step, and the second and third aren't bad, either. Martinez picks a hole and he's gone. As offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said, “He can put his foot in the dirt and go.''

Martinez completed 5 of 9 passes for 79 yards and two touchdowns, which was nothing special, but he showed nice touch and he's a competent thrower. Will that be enough to propel him into the driver's seat?

Here's the thing: If the offense is basically drop back, look for a receiver and then run for 7 yards, he's your man. Martinez is also explosive out of the zone read.

Then again, isn't that what Watson's offense is morphing into — that “Holiday Bowl offense?'' Hmmm.

The other eye-opener was Cody Green. The sophomore was better. He's more comfortable running the offense. But something is still missing. He made a memorable deep rainbow toss to Will Henry for a 72-yard touchdown. But some throws were still high. He's still inconsistent. Still not there yet.

If you came into the spring game thinking the door was wide open for Green to make his move over Lee into the fall, you left wondering if Martinez can show enough in fall practices to beat out Lee.

Watson said that every quarterback is in the race. That's the company line. What we learned Saturday was that it's a three-man race. And if the offense is truly morphing, put your money on San Diego Zac, but watch for No. 3 coming hard on the outside.

2. Martinez showed enough this spring to merit a significant role in the offense next fall. Create a package for his wheels. Martinez might be lethal as a guy who could be inserted late in the second or fourth quarters, when defenses are gassed. He'll blow right by people.

3. It was hard to judge the offensive line because it was split up and not at full strength. But Roy Helu and Rex Burkhead were in mid-season gallop. NU should have a good run game next fall and if a capable running quarterback is found, it could be ridiculous.

Can they keep people honest with the passing game? Yes. Niles Paul is a different player. He's upped the ante from late last season, when he became a playmaker who would win jump balls and execute tough catches. They'll need a second receiver to make plays, and it's not hard to see Mike McNeill in that role. Henry and Brandon Kinnie made big plays, too.

4. The “Bouncearooski'' was a nice touch, but don't give Watson credit. He said the players were allowed to come up with a trick play. He said Green and McNeill came up with that one.

Somewhere, Tom Osborne — who used that play (Turner Gill to Irving Fryar to Mitch Krenk) to beat Oklahoma on this same field in 1982 — had to approve.

5. Armchair coordinators surely noticed the wider splits in the offensive line. Cotton said the splits are “two feet'' wide, as opposed to 18 inches a year ago. The staff made the change for the Holiday Bowl. The idea is to split the defense wider and force the ends to work harder to rush the quarterback. It might help create wider running lanes, too.

Then again, a wider split doesn't mean much if you can't knock the other guy on his back.

6. Let's hold off on those “the defense will be better'' declarations. It's hard to judge because the schemes were vanilla and the starters split up. But there were enough missed tackles across the board and busted assignments in the secondary to keep things in perspective. Alonzo Whaley was active, with nine tackles, and that is certainly a positive. Rickey Thenarse can still bring the hammer. Bottom line: We didn't learn much about the defense.

7. It's folly to say the Blackshirts won't miss Ndamukong Suh next fall. But thank goodness for his wallet. It packs a pretty good punch, too. Suh's $2.6 million donation to the strength program and the school was, according to one NU official, the largest single donation to the school by a former Husker athlete.

Now No. 93 just has to make sure he can get $2.6 million out of Detroit or Tampa Bay. Not to worry. Pretty soon, Suh might have that much on his money clip.

Contact the writer:

444-1025, tom.shatel@owh.com

« Sports - Main

Share