Ganz sits out practice
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By the Lincoln Journal Star
Nebraska senior quarterback Joe Ganz sat out of Wednesday’s practice.
“We’re just resting him,” offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. “We put some time into Pat (Witt), we put some time into Zac (Lee). We let them go a little bit.“
Watson said the aim Wednesday was to develop the backup quarterbacks. They received an equal amount of repetitions, the coach said.
“It was a chance to give them some extra reps and let Joe kind of rest up a little bit,” Watson said.
Did Ganz absorb a hard hit in Tuesday’s practice?
“No,” Watson said. “He’s fine. He’s good to go.“
Ganz trotted off the practice field in sweat clothes.
Watson said a similar arrangement with the quarterbacks might be used in Thursday’s practice. The Huskers are scheduled to break from practicing on Friday and Saturday before resuming Sunday.
“We’ll probably let Pat and Zac rep a little bit more tomorrow,” Watson said. “(Ganz) might get a little work tomorrow. I’m not for sure. I might work a little more with those younger kids, keep developing them. Then we’re in game preparation starting Sunday. (Ganz) will be back ready to rock and roll, full bore.”
Witt pleased: Backup quarterback Patrick Witt, a redshirt freshman, sure enjoyed the extra reps he and Lee, a sophomore, received.
“Repetition,” Witt said. “It’s pretty much as simple as it gets. You got to go out there and practice and do it.”
Husker coaches gave both Witt and Lee a chance to lead the team in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 56-28 win over Kansas State.
Though Witt didn’t throw a pass in the game with the score 49-28 with 11 minutes remaining, he said it’s beneficial being on the field in a game setting no matter what you’re doing.
“As long as you’re out there between the lines and there are some people in the stands, you get a real game experience,” Witt said. “It helped out a lot.”
Ganz has also helped. Witt said the senior is providing a good example for the backups of how to be a leader of a team.
“We really appreciate all that Joe’s done obviously on the field this year, but also off the field in the locker room,” Witt said. “I think he’s done a great job with this team, and we all rally around him.”
Scouting Report: Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Marcel Jones wasn’t seeing many snaps earlier in the season. But he said maintaining a focus was never an issue.
“It’s not that difficult because injuries happen all the time,” Jones said. “You never know when (someone will) go down. It’s still hard to grasp (everything), but that just tells me I have to work harder.”
Husker coaches called upon the 6-foot-7, 310-pound Phoenix native Saturday, sending him in for Jaivorio Burkes at right tackle on NU’s first offensive series. Burkes had an injured toe and did not return to the game. Jones did well in his place, with the Huskers picking up 340 yards rushing while basically playing just six guys.
Burkes is back at practice this week, and so is senior Lydon Murtha, who has missed the past two games with a foot sprain. But Jones’ play against K-State defensive end Ian Campbell, who was a first-team All Big 12 player the past two seasons, is an encouraging sign for the Huskers’ future.
Of those six primary guys used Saturday, Matt Slauson and Mike Huff were the lone seniors in the group.
“Guys like us getting a lot of experience is going to help a lot next year,” Jones said. “To go out there and play with those guys creates a stronger bond for the future.”
Just asking: How well do Witt and Lee fit in what you’re doing offensively, especially with the zone read/QB run plays?
“Pat’s run it in high school and has a really good understanding of it,” Watson said. “Zac’s run it in junior college and has a good understanding of it. Zac has some good athleticism, and Pat’s got a good feel for it. Pat just makes positive yards and runs the option really well. We’ll keep doing what we do with both of those guys. We won’t change.”
— Brian Christopherson and Steven M. Sipple
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