Steven M. Sipple: No longer overlooked, Glenn and Ganz shine
Print
digg it!
Facebook
del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit
It’s become clear Joe Ganz is a heck of a college quarterback. We’ll see just how good he is as this season progresses. But his numbers are outstanding.
The Nebraska senior has thrown for at least 345 yards in each of his four career starts (three last season and one last weekend). He’s the only quarterback in school history with four 300-yard passing games. He’s also produced three of the five 400-yard passing days in school history, and the top two passing games in terms of yards. And on and on.
Ganz’s ability to move out of the pocket and throw strikes on the run gives Nebraska an element it sorely lacked last season. Defenses could zero in on Sam Keller in the pocket. What’s more, Ganz’s command of the offense and accuracy (57.6 completion rate in four starts) have been impressive.
In fact, it strikes me odd that arguably the two best players on the field Saturday night — Ganz and Nebraska linebacker Cody Glenn — are seniors who hardly played at all through much of their college careers.
I tire of criticizing Bill Callahan, a coach I respect greatly. No question, it’s time to move on. Plus, it’s sort of unfair to second-guess the former Husker head coach on these two particular personnel matters, if for no other reason than it’s hindsight.
On the other hand, head coaches in big-time programs are paid millions to make sure the best players are on the field. Maybe Keller was better than Ganz in practices, although former Huskers have told me otherwise.
At this point, you have to wonder.
To be fair, Callahan and his offensive staff always maintained it was a close race, although media members (including myself) always assumed Keller would get the nod. We now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was a close battle. It had to be close, because Ganz obviously can play.
Perhaps Keller better fit Callahan’s apparent vision of turning Memorial Stadium into some sort of NFL laboratory. No question, the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Keller had the look of an NFL quarterback. And he had his moments as a player.
Make no mistake, the heated competition made Ganz a better player. The fact he didn’t pout last season earned him the respect of coaches and teammates — respect that carried into this season.
As we continue to get a better feel for the current Nebraska team, one factor will become increasingly evident and probably advantageous for the Huskers: Both the new head coach and starting quarterback obviously are extremely confident individuals, bordering on cocky. They’re talented, tough-minded and charismatic in their own ways. Guys like to play for them and be around them.
“If I come into the huddle and people are bickering at each other, I snap them out of it,” Ganz said. “I tell everybody to shut up. It’s my huddle. Nobody talks but me.”
Nebraska likely will get some heavy doses of adversity once Big 12 play begins. But with Pelini and Ganz’s fiery leadership, it’s hard to imagine things spinning out of control like last season.
Ganz gushes about Pelini’s pregame speech before Saturday’s 47-24 win over Western Michigan. Pelini vacillated between calm and fire. It was just the right mix, said Ganz, who makes it a point to remain calm.
“Being a quarterback, you have to stay even-keel,” he said. “But deep down, I’m the type that likes to get emotional and fired up.”
Meanwhile, Glenn has put a needed charge into Nebraska’s defense. In his case, injuries help explain his lack of playing time as a running back in 2006 and 2007, though he languished on the bench at times he clearly could’ve played. At any rate, you have to credit the new coaching staff for their open-minded approach regarding Glenn’s position switch.
You also have to credit Doak Ostergard, NU’s outreach director, who served as head football trainer from 1998-2007. Glenn said Ostergard made the original suggestion to the Huskers’ new coaches that they ought to somehow find a way to get Glenn on the field.
“One day I thought about it,” Glenn said. “I figured I knew the offense. For spring practice, I figured it wouldn’t hurt if I tested linebacker out.”
Safe to say it’s worked out splendidly.
Glenn made a few mistakes Saturday. Western Michigan picked on him at times. But he played fast and with abandon in recording a team-high 12 tackles, including three for losses.
I admit I didn’t know Glenn possessed so much tenacity and speed.
“I don’t think a lot of people knew that,” Glenn said. “I never really got into the open field much playing running back.”
He never got on the field much at all.
Makes you wonder, huh?
“Better late than never,” he said.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
Most Commented Football