Freshman Green learns offense, shows maturity- Dayton's Cody Green Update

[bronco1]

I know this is college stuff but, thought ya'll might be interested.

Freshman Green learns offense, shows maturity

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By BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star

Wednesday, Aug 19, 2009 - 12:09:37 am CDT

The voice. That is the first thing Husker veterans bring up when asked about Cody Green.

“We said he sounds like the Allstate guy on the commercials,†said center Jacob Hickman. “He already sounds like a grown-up.â€

“He comes up there with that big, deep voice,†said quarterback Zac Lee. “You’re like, ‘This kid’s 18? What’s up with that?’â€

He sounds older than 18 and is said to act it, too. Maturity missed some of us at that age, but Green apparently stepped in its way. It is a handy trait to accompany a young man entering his first football season in the Husker fish bowl.

“He accepts responsibility. That’s what I love about him,†Husker offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. “If he’s done something wrong, he knows it. He can fix it himself. As soon as it happens, he knows.â€

As the days of fall camp melt away, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound true freshman from Dayton, Texas, is locked in competition with junior Latravis Washington for the backup spot behind Lee.

And while some fans and media may get mileage discussing the possibility of Green redshirting, that is not something coaches are conversing about at all as they evaluate their quarterback situation.

“The media’s got to get off this redshirt kick. You do what you got to do to win,†Watson said. “We don’t do that here. That’s not our culture. …  We don’t talk about redshirting guys. We don’t. … I’ve been through years where you use three quarterbacks. You better get them all ready.â€

Inexperience is the word when talking about Nebraska’s quarterbacks. Lee has thrown two completions at NU. Green isn’t far removed from high school dances. Washington was a linebacker until a week before spring ball.

Watson has dealt with such inexperience at the quarterback position before. On Tuesday he recalled his 2002 season at Colorado when his starting quarterback Craig Ochs went down with injury. The Buffs turned to a junior-college transfer named Robert Hodge. He ended up throwing for more than 1,600 yards and helping the team to a 9-5 season and the Big 12 North title.

With this year’s season opener less than three weeks away, Watson said he is “totally comfortable†with Lee at quarterback. The other guys still have to show they can manage a game. “I’m not going to give them a lot of offense,†Watson said.

Certainly there are bumps in the road, but Watson has found Green to be a very teachable sort.

“Cody gets football. That’s the No. 1 thing. He gets football,†Watson said. “He’s still learning the situational aspects of football at the college level. There’s far more situations than what you have in high school. That’s been his biggest learning curve, but he gets football.â€

One thing that doesn’t seem to be an issue for Green is confidence in taking over a huddle, even though he’s the youngest guy in that huddle.

“You have to be kind of a prominent figure to be a quarterback, and a lot of younger guys have trouble being that way because they are younger,†Hickman said. “But when he’s in the huddle, you don’t really have that feel that that’s a big thing for him.â€

Green came to Lincoln highly regarded in recruiting circles, one of those recruits with a lot of stars next to his name. But junior wide receiver Niles Paul said you would never know it.

“A lot of people let it get to their head,†Paul said. “I did. And I got humbled when I got to college. We had guys like (Terrence) Nunn and Mo Purify when I got here. But I feel like Cody came in with a good head on his shoulders, with the right attitude, just ready to compete.â€

The voice of Green hasn’t been heard by the media since he arrived at Nebraska for spring practices. It’s team policy that a player needs to play in a game before doing interviews.

But if Green does get his number called this year, Paul said he’ll have his teammates’ respect.

“When we’re on the field, age doesn’t matter,†Paul said. “It’s ability. He has the ability.â€

[EAGLE07]

Great read...thanks for sharing.

I'm really excited to watch this kid at Nebraska the next few years. I've heard nothing but great things about him........on and off the field.

Best of luck.

[the_dude_abides]

thanks for the update. 

[liltex]

Good News-Thanks