Bo Pelini: We have confidence in Brion Carnes

A lot of folks around these parts are wonding what happened to Brion Carnes, particularly after Nebraska cancelled its spring game.

The former Manatee High quarterback is number two on the Huskers depth to Nebraska signal caller Taylor Martinez and last year was the least used backup quarterback in the Big 10.

But Bo says don't worry; that any perception Carnes might be a forgotten man is wrong.

Those are the words of Bo Pelini, the Huskers head coach who will utlimately decide how much playing time Carnes gets this season.

"We have a lot more confidence in Brion than people think," Pelini told the media as spring ball wrapped up. "I sometimes get the feeling that people think we don't have confidence in him. That isn't the case."

Carnes earned the backup job largely because of his spring game performance last season. With no spring game this year, questions arose. But Nebraska offensive coordinatorand quarterbacks coach Tim Beck says he is solid at number 2 and got a lot of work with the first team this spring.

"He looks like a different guy in the passing game," Beck said.

Taylor Martinez second half performance for Nebraska keeps Brion Carnes waiting

Nebraska's maligned quarterback Taylor Martinez shook off a bad first half to the lead Cornhuskers to come from behind 34-27 victory over Ohio State Saturday night.

It means the long awaited appearance of Manatee High product Brion Carnes might have to wait for awhile, which might not be all that bad.

Carnes is the only other Nebraska quarterback to throw a pass this season (1 for 1 for 19 yards) and many fans have been clamoring for him to get a chance, especially after the Huskers debacle at Wisconsin last week.

Martinez was roundly booed in Nebraska's resounding loss to Wisconsin last week when he threw three interceptions. The boos continued at halftime in the Ohio State game when he was ineffective and threw another pick and the Buckeyes took a 20-6 halftime lead.

Things changed in the second half. A strip by Nebraska linebacker Lavonte David led to a Martinez 18 yard touchdown run. Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller was knocked out of the game with a sprained ankle and the roof caved in the for Buckeyes offense.

Martinez ran for 102 yards and 16 for 22 passing for 191 yards. But you can't escape the question of whether he can do that against good team, which Ohio State is not.

The sophomore has obvious flaws. His throwing motion is awkward and he doesn't have a strong arm. In his defense, he knows the offense and can pick his spots at a runner.

The question remains is he the long term answer.

Nebraska QB controversy with Brion Carnes and Taylor Martinez reminds us of Tommie Frazier

There is a quarterback controversy brewing at Nebraska and it involves another Manatee High signal caller.

Huskers incumbent starter Taylor Martinez has taken a lot of heat after Nebraska was blown out by Wisconsin 48-17 last week with the sophomore throwing three interceptions.

Nebraska is 4-1 with a lot of people calling for Brion Carnes to take over the quarterback slot. Ironically the Huskers were 4-1 back in 1992 when Tommie Frazier took over the starting QB job from senior Mike Grant.

Frazier took off from there on a spectacular career that saw him earn a spot as a backup quarterback on the All-Century team selected by Sports Illustrated. If not for blood clots that temporarily derailed his career, Frazier might haven reached in an even higher status.

Frazier and Carnes started their careers at Manatee and it was Frazier who encouraged Carnes to sign with Nebraska.

Interesting to see if history in some way will repeat itself.

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said there is a wide gap between Carnes and Martinez and didn't anticipate any changes in the near future. But could another shaky performance from Martinez change that thinking?

Good news for Carnes; Starling selected fifth in MLB Draft

Bubba Starling can do it both, but expect him to play baseball

More good news for Brion Carnes.

Bubba Starlng, the highly touted Nebraska signee who was expected to join in the competition at quarterback for the Cornhuskers, was the fifth player chosen in Monday’s MLB draft.

The 6-4, 190 pound Kansas High school product was selected by his near hometown Kansas City Royals. He is a five-tool star studded outfielder, who has had baseball scouts drooling for a long time.

With his adviser renowned agent Scott Boris, Starling figures to demand and get a contract worth millions of dollars and it doesn’t seem likely the Royals want to risk injury by allowing him to play football.

Starling, who has run a reported 4.4 second forty yard dash, rushed for 2,417 yards and 31 touchdowns, but threw only eight TD passes for 812 yards last season for Gardner Edgarton High, which is about 10 miles from Kansas City.

Nebraska, like nearly every other football power that was recruiting Starling, said he could play both sports. But that doesn’t seem something Kansas City will be willing to accept especially with the big dollars Boras will be asking them to shower on his client.

ESPN baseball analyst and former Blue Jays executive Keith Law, said he expects Boras to advise the Starlings to start negotiations near the $6.25 million awarded top pick Bryce Harper a year ago by the Nationals. Another Boras client, Donovan Tate, signed in 2009 as the No. 3 pick for same figure with San Diego after contemplating a football-baseball career at North Carolina.

There were some questions raised at the Army All-American Bowl about Starling’s throwing and he didn’t get to play as much as he wanted so it seems unlikely he would risk all that potential money to play both sports and it seems just as unlikely that Kansas City will agree to him playing football.

For Barnes the news couldn’t have been better. Fighting for the backup quarterback job behind Taylor Martinez, the Manatee High product has seen two of his competitors leave the team within the last couple of weeks.

Carnes appears to be backup QB for Nebraska

Nebraska doesn’t have a depth chart (at least not for public view), but it seems safe enough to conclude that Brion Carnes has moved into the backup role as the Cornhuskers quarterback.

Either the Manatee High product was already there or several of his competitors for the backup role concluded the job was his to lose.

Multiple sources, including ESPN and the Omaha World Herald, reported Saturday that returning backup quarterback Cody Greene has requested a release from his scholarship and is exploring transfer options.

Green started several games last year after starter Taylor Martinez and Zac Lee were injured and led the Cornhuskers to victories over Iowa State and Colorado.

It was also reported last week that another Nebraska quarterback, Kody Spano, announced he was ending his career because of multiple injuries.

If Green is granted his request, the only two quarterbacks left on scholarship at Nebraska are Martinez and Carnes. A school spokesman said Nebraska head football coach Bo Pelini had no comment on Green.

Frazier says Manatee connection doesn't pressure Carnes at Nebraska

Tommie Frazier says there is no great pressure on Brion Carnes at Nebraksa because they are both from the same high school.

Both were standout quarterbacks for Manatee High and there is a feeling that folks in Lincoln, Nebraska are expecting Carnes to duplicate Frazier's success, which would be hard for anyone.

Frazier led Nebraska to two national championships and three straight national title games earning MVP honors in all the games.

"I don't see that comparison between us, not from here," said Frazier who lives in Omaha. "It's a big transition from high school to college and Brion has worked very hard to put himself in a position. If he works hard I believe he will have a successful career."

For now, the starting quarterback at Nebraska is Taylor Martinez and Frazier says it's anybody's guess whether Carnes or someone else is going to be the backup.

It was reported that Kody Spano, one of the quarterbacks in the mix, has left the team because of numerous injuries he has incurred throughout his career at Nebraska including two ACL tears.

The quarterback battle could or could not get heated up a bit more this summer with the arrival of Bubba Starling, the heralded star signal caller, who is also rated the top high school baseball prospect by Baseball America.

QB Gunsby who got Carnes scholarship leaves USF

Jamius Gunsby, the quarterback who got the scholarship that became available when former Manatee High standout Brion Carnes would not commit to USF, has left the Bulls.

The 6-4, 232 pound freshman has transferred to Georgia Military College in his home state after sitting out spring drills at USF to concentrate on academics.

Carnes was the earliest verbal commit to the Bulls in the class of 2010. However, after former head coach Jim Leavitt was fired, he wavered on that commitment. When Skip Holtz took over the football program he gave Carnes an ultimate about committing and withdrew the scholarship.

It created a rift between Holtz and Manatee head coach Joe Kinnan, which has now been mended according to Kinnan.

In fact, the Bulls are actively pursuing the ‘Canes Mike Blakely, who left Florida this week and Kinnan said USF is in the running just like every other college program.

A native of LaGrange, Ga., Gunsby was a redshirt last season. He fell deeper down the depth chart this spring because he didn’t participate and the emergence of former walk-on Bobby Eveld, who is the backup to starter B.J. Daniels and now on scholarship.

Early enrollee Matt Floyd, third on the depth chart, also looked impressive this spring furthering speculation that Gunsby chances of getting significant playing time were dwindling