Breaking down the quarterbacks Nebraska will face in 2022 | Football

“We got lucky with Tommy,” said Schweigert, UND’s ninth-year coach. The Fighting Hawks, who play at Nebraska on Sept. 3, fell into fortune because they had lost one quarterback recruit they really wanted, only to grab a 5-foot-11, 192-pound kid on Signing Day 2019.

Schuster’s apparently gained three pounds and added an inch of height since then. Mostly, he’s become the face of the program and taken control of North Dakota’s offense, a shotgun spread system that emphasizes downhill runs, quick passes and the occasional trick play. Entering his third season as a starter, Schuster has a career 65% completion rate and should be the first opposing quarterback to take a snap in Memorial Stadium this season.

This series often spotlights a high-profile passer in its annual look at the opposing quarterbacks Nebraska will face in its season. Many of those names are familiar Big Ten passers or transfers — like Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel — that will be stories themselves during game week.

Schuster, on the other hand, is one of those undersized-but-efficient FCS quarterbacks whose size precluded them from getting spotted by FBS programs.

“When we get into recruiting sometimes, we’re kind of concerned about the height of people,” Schweigert said. “And that’s overrated. We aren’t playing basketball.”

In the case of Schuster, MAC programs, including three in Michigan, passed on the Clinton Township Chippewa Valley star who won a state title and threw 67 touchdowns in his prep career. He planned on playing at Division II Ashland (Ohio) University until North Dakota lost the quarterback in its 2019 class.

That’d be Lincoln High’s Cedric Case, who decommitted from UND and chose to play at Texas State. Case left TSU and landed at Central Missouri while Schuster was building his resume in Grand Forks.

In 2019, Schuster was a four-game redshirt who started once and beat No. 24 Sam Houston State. In the FCS’ spring 2021 season — postponed sixth months due to the COVID pandemic — Schuster led UND to four straight wins — three over ranked teams — and to the No. 2 ranking in the nation, winning the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season crown in the UND’s inaugural year. North Dakota lost to rival North Dakota State to end the regular season and James Madison in the FCS playoffs, but the spring campaign put North Dakota — and Schuster — on the map.

Because the MVC is the SEC of FCS, North Dakota’s 5-6 fall campaign featured five league losses by seven or fewer points to teams that finished Nos. 1, 4, 14, 16 and 18 in the final FCS poll. The other team to beat the Fighting Hawks? Mountain West champion Utah State, which trailed UND until midway through the third quarter. Schuster threw for 345 yards and completed 67.4% of his passes.

“A lot of guys have good arms, but Tommy throws a lot of catchable balls,” Schweigert said. “And he’s a good decision-maker. Quick decisions, very smart football player.”

North Dakota keeps defenses on its toes with a diet of trick plays — double passes, reverses — and tries to put opposing offenses on their heels with constant exotic blitzes. The goal, Schweigert said, is to keep quarterbacks uncomfortable all the time.

If Nebraska tries to pressure Schuster, Schweigert likes his QB’s chances. Schuster hasn’t played in front of 80,000 fans, but he’s been in a few MVC dens — like North Dakota State — that qualify as real road tests. A compact dome with 10,000 people in it is no grade school field trip.

“He’s been calm in a lot of different environments,” Schweigert said.

A look at the other opposing quarterbacks Nebraska is likely to face, sorted into three categories:

Graham Mertz, Wisconsin: One of the rare Top 100 recruits to sign with the Badgers, Mertz has this season — perhaps just the first half of it — to make good on his pedigree. He’s thrown for just 3,269 yards in 22 games, and the 19/16 touchdown-to-interception ratio, over that span, is among the worst in the Big Ten. Coaches will want him to reverse his penchant for third-down mistakes; six of his 11 interceptions last season came on that down.

Cade McNamara, Michigan: Quarterback of the Big Ten champs, king of the game managers, McNamara in 2021 got the good fortune of playing behind an elite offensive line, handing off to Hassan Haskins and relying on a defense full of NFL talent. The line isn’t as good. Haskins left for the NFL. So did the defense’s top three players. And McNamara, a sharp guy but limited as an athlete, will be pressed by sophomore-to-be JJ McCarthy, who possesses a better arm and faster wheels.

Tanner Morgan, Minnesota: His next start will be his 40th, and he’d be the first quarterback to play Nebraska five times if he’s healthy come Nov. 5 in Lincoln. He’s not likely to ever touch the ceiling of his spectacular 2019 — when he threw 30 touchdowns — but Morgan may have his best receiver corps since that season, and perhaps UM’s offense won’t run the ball as much as a service academy. The 23-year-old, in his sixth year, has earned the trust of a man he frankly resembles — Gopher coach P.J. Fleck.

Aidan O’Connell, Purdue: After 2½ seasons, he finally wrestled the starting job away from Jack Plummer, who transferred to California. Now, O’Connell, a former walk-on, has a chance to crack the top five of Purdue’s impressive all-time passing yards list. It’ll take 3,608 yards to catch Kyle Orton at No. 5 and 4006 to catch David Blough at No. 4. O’Connell will enjoy a terrific group of receivers — including Iowa transfers Tyrone Tracy and Charlie Jones — and perhaps the league’s best offensive mind in coach Jeff Brohm.

Spencer Petras, Iowa: See Mertz, Graham. The Hawkeyes stood pat in the offseason, choosing not to pursue the kind of transfers who could press Petras, who enters his third year as Iowa’s starter. His arm strength isn’t in question. His career passing accuracy (57.2%) and mobility isn’t among the league’s upper half. Backup Alex Padilla will be in the mix, but the Coaches Ferentz — Kirk and Brian — like Petras’ personality and toughness.

Kyle Van Trease, Georgia Southern: Remember this guy? Van Trease surely remembers Nebraska; he played the Huskers last season as Buffalo’s starter. The afternoon didn’t go well — 27-of-50 for 244 measly yards and an interception — and neither did Van Trease’s last season with the Bulls.

Tommy DeVito, Illinois: Brandon Peters finally exhausted his eligibility after 27 seasons, so Illini coach Bret Bielema, lacking good in-house options, snagged from Syracuse DeVito, who threw 19 touchdowns in 2019 before sharing starting duties in 2020 and 2021. DeVito can make all the passes. Illinois hopes he can be more durable than the oft-injured Peters.

Connor Bazelak, Indiana: After throwing for 2,366 and 2,548 yards at Missouri in 2020 and 2021, Bazelak left Columbia and landed, somewhat curiously, at IU, which had an awful offense last season and has to replace its top pass-catchers, to boot. The 6-foot-3, 212-pounder looks the part. It’s not clear he’ll have the surrounding parts to complement his strong arm.

Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma: While he didn’t sign with Central Florida until the 2019 class, his journey to Orlando began with one Scott Frost recruiting him there. Now, Gabriel is a Sooner, a capable replacement for the departed Spencer Rattler and Caleb Williams. The 6-foot, 200-pound Gabriel threw 70 career touchdowns at UCF before breaking his collarbone three games into the 2021 season. He may throw 35 this year with OU, which is rebuilding its defense but should enjoy an explosive offense.

Northwestern: Back in 2019, Pat Fitzgerald played three different quarterbacks in the Wildcats’ season opener. When Northwestern rolls over to Ireland, don’t be stunned if Fitz uses at least two, including incumbent Ryan Hilinski. A bigger question: Will Northwestern be able to adequately protects its QB or run the ball in a way that sets up the play-action pass?

Rutgers: The Scarlets Knights have Noah Vedral for a third year — Vedral’s sixth overall — and he’ll run the offense like the coach he wants to become. But RU averaged 4.53 yards per play last season, and there’s clearly some movement in Piscataway to give Vedral’s talented backup, former four-star recruit Gavin Wimsatt more snaps. Nonconference games against Boston College, Wagner and Temple should allow Rutgers’ offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson to test-drive two QBs before back-to-back games against Iowa and Ohio State.