Recap 2023: Colorado

I’m not going into this guys, and my apologies for not even doing a review… We had 8 sacks, 5 yards per carry, but still couldn’t win the game. We have a QB that was directly responsible for 7 turnovers in 6 quarters. We turned it over and that was Colorado’s only touchdown through 3.5 quarters. I don’t know what to say.

I do want to address tweets/theories like this:

People comparing the Anthony Grant situation to the Jeff Sims situation are mistaken. There is a very big difference between the QB situation on 99% of teams in the country and every other position room on the team. For RBs, Nebraska had 4 options heading into spring ball that we would be completely fine with in terms of starters. Allen left, and it left us with 3 in Ervin Jr, Johnson, and Grant. Still a very good stable. If one of those guys has issues in pass blocking, holding onto the ball, anything like that, you can absolutely bench them in favor of the other 2 without having much issue.

We’ve always talked about how QB rooms are much different when trying to tell people it’s just not realistic to think guys like Gebbia or Thompson would stay to be the #2 “because the second string guy is always needed.” No QB in the country does that. If a QB that’s put in his time isn’t going to start, they typically transfer. Here is a staggering stat from The Athletic earlier this year about the top 50 QB recruits over 4 cycles:

QB rooms are different, and they are even more different when a new staff comes in. We talked about how Frost had to start a walk-on his first year here when Martinez wasn’t able to start a game, as Gebbia and O’Brien took off on him. Rhule had Thompson leave along with graduation of guys like Masker. When you’re a new coach you usually bring in your guy and then have a couple developmental people behind him. So the situation is thin to start the year.

But then you think about how your second string guy is hurt with a groin injury, so if you don’t stick with Sims you are starting your 3rd string QB who was on scout team all of 2022 not getting development. He can bring close to the same legs as Sims, but his passing is not even close (believe it or not).

Let’s also not forget that the locker room voted for Sims to have a single-digit number. Luckily I believe that the players aren’t as emotional and up/down as the fanbase clamoring for them to get rid of the starter “or Rhule will lose the locker room.”

I think really the only thing that pisses me off on this whole Sims situation, is that so far Sims is exactly who he was at Georgia Tech. When you bring in one year transfers like a Casey Thompson, or Kansas State who brought in Adrian Martinez, you need to bring in someone who is the guy that you are trying to be or fits your team. We knew Thompson could throw well but can’t really run, the Wildcats probably knew that Martinez was a hell of an athlete but injury-prone. What bothers me is our staff basically said “Ya Sims had a lot of turnovers but it was his first year for 50% of them and we can coach him up from there.” We basically hoped we could make him something he hadn’t shown yet. That’s the frustrating part. If you are going portal shopping the guy should probably be as close to a finished product as you can get, especially at the QB position.

Haarberg starts this week anyway due to injuries, but the point remains that once Sims is healthy I think he’s back in the saddle. I just hope the Haarberg/Purdy situation doesn’t turn into when Callahan threw Beau Davis out there against Texas Tech and continued to throw “to show how bad it is behind the starter” leaving us in a 70-10 loss. But i’m also not blind to the fact that if we have even mediocre QB play we come out of Minneapolis with a win and are sitting 1-1.