No. 2 quarterback picture clearing up as game week approaches

As the final days of fall camp wind down, Nebraska continues to move close to finding an answer to one of the more intriguing offensive position battles of the offseason.

While it has been announced and no official depth chart has been released, head coach Scott Frost gave some strong hints at where things stood with the Huskers’ backup quarterback competition going into game week.

During his first Nebraska Coaches Show on the Husker Radio Network on Thursday night, Frost made it seem like second-year freshman Logan Smothers had a bit of a leg up over true freshman Heinrich Haarberg at this point.

“I think Logan Smothers has had a really good camp,” Frost said. “His mind works really fast. He gets the ball out on time to the right people. He’s running our run game really well, making good throws.

“Haarberg is really talented. (But) he’s still 18 and a true freshman. So he’s kind of catching up right now a little bit. But he looks good. He looks great.”

Given the No. 2 quarterback’s importance over the past three years, with starter Adrian Martinez missing game time each season, all eyes have been on the two freshmen signal-callers since the start of spring practice.

Smothers, who didn’t play a snap in 2020 but had a full year in the program under his belt, appeared to be in the driver’s seat to win the No. 2 job going into the year. But Haarberg’s rapid rise during his first 15 spring practices changed the conversation a bit coming out of the Red-White game.

As NU begins its first game week preparations for its season opener at Illinois, Smothers’ slight edge in experience and improvements made over the past year could give him the nod as the next man up after Martinez.

“Logan had lost all that time last year; we really never had a chance to get anything tuned up,” quarterbacks coach Mario Verduzco said. “He’s done a boatload of work, as all the guys have, and got some of those small little detailed things ironed out.

“I feel pretty good, and I think he feels pretty good about where he is right now with regards to that particular part.”

Nebraska’s quarterback pecking order could be announced as early as Monday before the Huskers’ weekly season press conference. It could also remain an unknown to the public until the next QB after Martinez finally takes the field in a game.

Either way, Frost said the players in the quarterback room had a pretty clear idea of where the depth chart currently stood.

“I don’t think there are any secrets with the team,” Frost said. “When you get as many reps as we do, it’s pretty clear to everybody when somebody’s on top.”