The Patrick Witt Saga Continues....

by Jon Johnston on Feb 24, 2009 10:22 AM CST in Nebraska Husker Football

Steve Sipple at Husker Extra has more today on the Patrick Witt saga, of which can be boiled down to the following two paragraphs:

According to a source close to the Nebraska program, Witt and his father sought assurance from Husker coaches that the coaches would name the starting quarterback at the end of spring practice. That way, if Witt wasn’t named starter, he presumably could arrange to transfer, or at least evaluate his situation.

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini declined to address the matter Monday. But the source said Pelini informed the Witts that it was highly unlikely (read: forget it, guys) that he would release Patrick from his scholarship if Patrick made such a request at the end of spring drills. Pelini apparently loathed the idea of Witt going through spring practice while considering a transfer. So, Pelini forced Witt’s hand before spring drills began.

Can we dispense with the idea that Witt was teaching incorrect hand signals to Cody Green now?

Let's look at this from Witt's perspective. The coach that originally recruited him to play at Nebraska, Bill Callahan, is gone. Witt gave a year to Pelini's staff to see how things would work out. It turns out that they didn't work out poorly, they just didn't work out as well as the Witts wanted them to.

You could take this as a sign that the coaches favor Zac Lee, or that Cody Green is the second coming of Turner Gill. Or you could take it at face value - The Witts wanting a guarantee while Bo Pelini wanted a wide-open quarterback race.

The Witts can get their guarantee by having Patrick transfer to a place where there is little or no competition for a quarterback position. If he's after a pro career, it may work out to his advantage despite playing against inferior competition. With the spread offense making it difficult for the NFL to evaluate college quarterbacks, Witt might just find a pro-style offense and make a home for himself for a couple years, get plenty of playing time and see what happens.

If that's what he's looking for, more power to him. Let's hope the next place they go, the Witts stay put for a while. Professional people tend to look down on job-hoppers. There's real money at stake.

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Is the LJS printing internet rumors?

According to a source close to the Nebraska program, Witt and his father sought assurance from Husker coaches that the coaches would name the starting quarterback at the end of spring practice. That way, if Witt wasn’t named starter, he presumably could arrange to transfer, or at least evaluate his situation.

I know people want to know the “real story” but isn’t this getting close to throwing a kid under the bus?

You can't possibly be a scientist if you mind people thinking that you're a fool.
~Wanko the Sane

by JLew on Feb 24, 2009 10:41 AM CST reply actions

I don't think so

The key here is what do you expect from the media? My general feeling is that Nebraska’s media treats the Husker football program with kid gloves. Example case is Lydon Murtha. Instead of coming right out and saying the guy has all the physical skills but isn’t tough enough to play football at a D1 level, they use nuances, pointing out that his injuries were never serious, leaving the questions to the fans.

In this case, there is more to the story. Whether the Witts like it or not, the next starting quarterback at Nebraska can’t just quit the team and say “no comment” and leave it at that. It’s the media’s job to find the rest of that story and tell us what it is. If they don’t, then you end up with the rumor mill putting out stuff like Witt was teaching Cody Green bad signals.

In this case, if Sipple has a source telling him this is what happened, then isn’t that news? Isn’t that something they should be reporting?

Go Big Red Nebraska!
Our Cobs Are Bigger Than Yours!
Corn Nation!

by Jon Johnston on Feb 24, 2009 12:41 PM CST up reply actions

I would expect consistancy

But that has been addressed before. This coaching staff gets handled differently than the previous. Not that it’s a bad thing, or undeserved, but it has happened.

I’m just thinking that “we” will never know the whole story.

You can't possibly be a scientist if you mind people thinking that you're a fool.
~Wanko the Sane

by JLew on Feb 24, 2009 1:17 PM CST up reply actions

To finish my thought

How is it that Witt didn’t feel he would get a fair chance to win the starting QB spot? He wanted a #1 to be named after the spring game, but I don’t get why. Did he see the writing on the wall regarding the offense? Maybe putting in more zone reads, and other plays that didn’t fit his style of play? Or am I assessing the situation wrong?

You can't possibly be a scientist if you mind people thinking that you're a fool.
~Wanko the Sane

by JLew on Feb 24, 2009 1:30 PM CST up reply actions

My guess is, he wanted ample time to learn a new offense if he had to transfer.

If he decides quickly enough, he could be playing in his new team’s spring game.

Men write many fine and plausible arguments in support of monarchy, but the fact remains that where every man in a state has a vote, brutal laws are impossible.

by BoVandy on Feb 24, 2009 4:28 PM CST up reply actions

Me thinks the imposing nature of Cody Green,

live and in person, influenced his decision, like more than P Witt will ever admit.

"...dOn'T tAZ3 m3, brO'..."

by BO-urne Supremacy on Feb 27, 2009 8:23 AM CST up reply actions

Well, BO

plays it real close to the vest, so I’m not sure there’s much the media can do, except try to pry into ‘side sources’, which would lack credibility. In short, we, the fans, are "F"’d, LOL.

"...dOn'T tAZ3 m3, brO'..."

by BO-urne Supremacy on Feb 27, 2009 8:18 AM CST up reply actions

I'm kind of glad that the Lincoln/NE media

is sort of ‘small time’ and keeps things ‘nice’. The players are young adults, still in school, if any of them make it to the pros they will have plenty of opportunity to get killed by fans and media—especially if they were in NYC/Foxboro or a similar large market.

"...dOn'T tAZ3 m3, brO'..."

by BO-urne Supremacy on Feb 27, 2009 8:14 AM CST up reply actions

I'm pretty sure Witt and clan will

spill the beans once he’s long down the road.

"...dOn'T tAZ3 m3, brO'..."

by BO-urne Supremacy on Feb 27, 2009 8:15 AM CST up reply actions

Seems like that the family's(daddy in particular) M.O.

Wouldn’t surprise me if that is part of what went down.

"...dOn'T tAZ3 m3, brO'..."

by BO-urne Supremacy on Feb 27, 2009 8:07 AM CST up reply actions

How does that quote go?

If you’re a prima donna…….

Man do I hate Longhorn fans, well except for the ones that actually went there.

by mystman995 on Feb 24, 2009 4:52 PM CST reply actions

I think

He either ends up at Harvard like his bro, or goes back down to TX to be closer to the family. A school like SMU comes to mind, might have a good chance to start and it’s supposed to be one of the more elitist/brainy times college institutions down there—he should fit right in.

"...dOn'T tAZ3 m3, brO'..."

by BO-urne Supremacy on Feb 27, 2009 8:10 AM CST reply actions

type ^^

"...dOn'T tAZ3 m3, brO'..."

by BO-urne Supremacy on Feb 27, 2009 8:10 AM CST reply actions

I wish him luck

and hope his time at Lincoln was good for him and for what he wants to eventually accomplish. The fact remains we have no clear cut leader at the quarterback position. Spano, Green, Lee all have either seen little to no action or none at all. This should make for interesting spring and fall camps. I was reading the Ralphie Report and they made a good point why should we consider ourselves the front runners of the North? We have quarterback issues, o-linemen graduating, and lets face it our defense, although improved, is still in need of more of just that, improvement. Especially in the secondary. If the players that are there step up we will content and have a shot but if they don’t we could be looking at a 7 or 8 win season pretty easy. I would have to say the North is wide open. I think everyone except Iowa State and K-State has a legitimate shot if things fall in the right spot for them. I think though if Colorado doesn’t see some real improvement on the field this year Hawkins could feel some heat.

by Huzkerfan on Feb 27, 2009 5:22 PM CST reply actions