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?

What does Nebraska great Tommie Frazier think of Taylor Martinez?

Wonder what former Nebraska great Tommie Frazier thinks about current beleaguered Huskers sophomore quarterback Taylor Martinez?

A lot of fans are clamoring for backup Brion Carnes to take over the QB job. It was Frazier who convinced Carnes to sign with Nebraska encouraging him to compete against the best.

Both graduated from Manatee High and Carnes took Frazier's advice turning down offers where he might have gotten on the field quicker.

Frazier is a person of class and would never comment on what soon might be a quarterback controversy. But you can't help but wondering what he is thinking.

A lot of people in their hometown of Bradenton felt Carnes was making a mistake signing with Nebraska because it would be too tough to get playing time. Frazier did not feel that way. Even knowing the quarterback situation at Nebraska, he told Carnes to come.

Husker fans are still seething over how Wisconsin pounded Nebraska 48-17 last Saturday ruining their undefeated status and their pride. The Huskers led 14-13 in the second quarter when Martinez imploded and threw three interceptions.

Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini called the criticism "a shame."

There has been some comparisons made between Martinez, Frazier and Cornhusker Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch.

Martinez has thrown 12 interceptions in 17 starts and has a career completion percentage of 56.1 percent. Frazier had 18 interceptions in 509 career passes and 49.1 percent completion rate.

But the difference his in quality wins. Frazier owns that stat guiding Nebraska to two national titles and was 33-3 as a starter.

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.

Hall of Fame exec says Tommie Frazier should be in

Steve Hatchell, the president and CEO of the National Football Foundation, which operates the College Football Hall of Fame, said Tommie Frazier deserves to be inducted.

Hatchell made his comment to ESPN this week after controversy erupted all over the country over the exclusion of Frazier and other former college football greats.

It seems there are a bunch of unwritten rules about how people get in. Hatchell said one thing that hurt Frazier was that former Nebraska offensive lineman Will Shields was voted in this year.

"There's a lot of things to balance: What do we have for positions, for race, for geographic considerations," Hatchell told ESPN.com. "What people don't understand is that we're not dealing with 32 teams. We're dealing with 119 and we're dealing with 22 positions and special teams while going border to border and coast to coast. And we've worked very hard in the last seven years to show a lot of balance.”

Frazier finished his career at Nebraska in 1995 and wasn’t on the ballot until this year. The Manatee High product was voted the 33d best player of All Time in 2004 by Collegefootballnews.com

Tommie Frazier's Hall of Fame snub creating uproar

The snub of Tommie Frazier in this year’s College Football Hall of Fame balloting has created a fury of protest.

Frazier has now become the focal point for critics, who are calling the Hall of Fame’s method of selecting inductees unfair and archaic.

Some are saying Frazier’s snub reveals an outdated organization that lives in the past. To his credit, Frazier has not issued a complaint and says he is not bothered.

But many others are concerned and see Frazier’s snub indicative that something is inherently wrong with the College Football Hall of Fame.

“If Tommie Frazier is not an immediate unquestionable first ballot hall of famer in his sport then what is the point of having a College Football Hall of Fame,” CBSSPORTS.COM asked after the voting of the class of 2011 came out last week.

CBSPORTS.COM says there are dozens of clearly deserving players who haven’t been granted induction into the Hall and many others have had to wait an unreasonably long time.

Frazier’s career ended 16 years ago and yet his name didn’t appear on the ballot until this year. And CBS asks why are we still waiting for the quarterback to get his due.

Frazier threw for more than 4,000 yards and 47 touchdowns while rushing for 2,286 yards and 36 touchdowns. The former Manatee High great also capped off his career with that infamous TD run against Florida that propelled the Huskers to their second straight national title.

“A College Football Hall of Fame that does not include Tommie Frazier is an incomplete Hall of Fame and the voters owe it to Frazier, Nebraska, and college football to fix this mistake as soon as possible,” CBSSports.com said.