LINCOLN ‹ The start of spring practice Wednesday brings about an almost surreal role reversal for Nebraska quarterback Joe Ganz.
After so many years of being the hunter, the senior-to-be is now the hunted.
"It's weird," Ganz said. "It's going to be different."
The way in which others have reacted to Ganz certainly in recent months has certainly been different as well. After passing for more than 400 yards in each game while starting Nebraska's final three games of the 2007 season, Ganz has gone from a beloved backup to a potential star in the eyes of several Husker fans, many of whom have stopped him in public to wish him well.
Ganz finished last season completing 89-of-152 pass attempts (58.6 percent) for 1,435 yards with 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The lion's share of his production came after starting quarterback Sam Keller suffered a season-ending broken collarbone at Texas.
In his first start during a 76-39 loss at Kansas, Ganz was the lone bright spot, passing for 405 yards and four TDs. He then had a 510-yard, seven-TD passing day the next week in a 73-31 win over Kansas State before throwing for 484 yards and four TDs in a 65-51 loss at Colorado.
Despite Nebraska's 5-7 record, Ganz was at least able to take some personal satisfaction in the fact that he got to play. After redshirting in 2004, serving as Zac Taylor's backup for two years in 2005 and 2006 and starting 2007 in the No. 2 quarterback spot behind Keller, Ganz's quest to start had finally been fulfilled.
Now, some might wonder what Ganz's motivation will be?
"Now that I've gotten to where I want to, I'm just going to have to work that much harder to not let anybody take it from me," Ganz said. "I've worked too hard to let somebody come up and take the job from me, so I really don't need any more motivation than that."
Not that Ganz doesn't expect competition, he does. He knows that players like senior Beau Davis, sophomore Zac Lee, redshirt freshman Patrick Witt and even true freshman Kody Spano all possess the same desire he once had to climb the depth chart.
"I would expect those guys to compete just the way that I did as the second or third guy," Ganz said. "I don't expect anything less from them. They can expect my best, too."
Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said he likes Ganz and considers him a good leader.
"I think he has a tremendous amount of confidence and he's a good football player," Pelini said. "At this point in his career, he's just only touched the base of his talent and how good he can be.
"There's a lot more out there for him. He understands that and he's got a tremendous coach to help him get there."
That coach would be Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson. A holdover from the previous coaching staff, Watson's return brought immediate comfort to Ganz and his offensive teammates, especially after Watson announced that he was staying with the Huskers and turned down a reported offer from Alabama coach Nick Saban to join his staff.
"I love coach Watson he a great guy, a great coach and he's really taught me a lot about the game," Ganz said. "I was really happy that he decided to stay. It was huge for me because I don't have to start all over again."
Pelini said it's obvious Ganz can be very successful in Watson's version of the West Coast offense.
"Joe believes in the system; he believes in Coach Watson and what they do with the offense and he's very intelligent," Pelini said. "You put that together with the work ethic that he has and the sky's the limit. He could be a heck of a football player, but that's all up to him and how he approaches it."
Nebraska tackle Matt Slauson Ganz won teammates over with his positive attitude last year, even when things were going poorly for the Huskers. The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder from Palos Heights, Ill., made his first start while NU was in the midst of a four-game losing streak that stretched to five with the loss at Kansas.
"He gets a shot in the worst situation that we could possibly have been in he stepped up and he took the reins," Slauson said. "He said, 'Look guys, we're doing it,' and we did. We didn't finish off well (as a team), but offensively, we did really well."
Ganz said getting those three starts last season provided him with valuable experience. Not only did he get used to playing "game speed," but he also learned how to make and deal with in-game adjustments.
"It was real critical for me to get into those last three games because it gives me a big boost going into spring, confidence-wise," Ganz said. "It's going to help me a lot and it's going to help slow the overall game down. I've been in the heat of the battle now."
In the offseason, Ganz said Watson gave him a "quarterback manual" that contained grades on every one of the passes last season. Ganz was instructed to watch his throws on video and then review Watson's comments.
"There were a couple of throws I wish I had back, a couple decisions, but I was inexperienced," Ganz said. "It was tough. When we got down early, I'd try to force things a little bit and I just have to let the game come to me a little bit more."
With that in mind, Ganz said he's working this spring to cut down on his turnovers and not force as many throws. He also wants to do a better job making the correct reads and utilizing his check-downs more.
Ganz said Nebraska's playbook looks slightly different than it did under former head coach Bill Callahan. The numbering system has been altered for running plays and some of the verbiage has been changed as well.
"Of course, we're going to add new plays like we do every year, but it's pretty much the same," Ganz said. "Just the terminology here and there is a little different."
While simplification of the play calls was a goal, Ganz said scaling back too much isn't easy.
"It's tough to make it less complicated because everything we say in the play has a meaning to someone different," Ganz said. "We cut a little of it back. Stuff is more precise now, so it has a more definite meaning and guys aren't second-guessing, but it's hard to cut a lot of verbiage.
"We need a lot with what we do because of all the shifts and motions. We can't cut that much out."
Ganz said he's hopeful that some of the new plays Nebraska adds will be designed to take advantage of his mobility.
"That's part of my game," Ganz said. "I don't know if we're going to use more zone option out of the gun like we did, but I can see it being similar to something like we did against Colorado.
"I'm not going to run the ball 30 times a game, but if the pocket breaks down and I need to expend the play and take off and run, I'll do it."
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