Nebraska’s newest quarterback walked into Memorial Stadium Tuesday in a black hooded sweatshirt with a backpack to none of the fanfare of guys like Zac Lee and Cody Green.

That’s because Latravis Washington has already been with the NU program for two years – as a linebacker.

“It’s something he wanted to try and we wanted to look at,” head coach Bo Pelini said. “He’s got a big arm. We needed another arm. We’re just gonna see what he looks like.”
Washington was recruited as a dual-threat quarterback by West Virginia and Ohio State, among others, out of Bradenton (Fla.) Bayshore High School, and attended NU’s Elite Quarterback Camp in 2005 and 2006. Nebraska, however, recruited him exclusively as a linebacker, and, at the time in 2006, Washington was adamant about staying on defense. Then-defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove was adamant about keeping him there, too.

But Washington played sparingly as a true freshman in 2007, and struggled to recover from an injury in 2008. His move to quarterback, facilitated by the departure of backup Patrick Witt, “was a mutual thing,” said Pelini, who have never seen Washington play quarterback. Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson has.

WILL linebacker Blake Lawrence, also a high school quarterback, joked that if offensive Watson needs another arm, he’s up for it.

“I hope Latravis does well over there,” Lawrence said. “But we’ll miss him at linebacker.”

Pelini also briefly discussed Robert Marve, the former Miami (Fla.) quarterback who is considering transferring to Nebraska, among other schools.

“With Patrick leaving, it kinda leaves a hole in the class,” Pelini said. “If it was the right guy, and the right situation and right kid, it’d be something we were interested in. Possibly. We’ll see how it plays out. Specifically him? I don’t know.”

NU’s four quarterbacks will “start in green jerseys” during spring camp, but may not be off-limits for all of the workouts.

“How we’ll handle it in the scrimmages, I’m not sure,” Pelini said.

Enjoy all the great benefits of Husker Locker by signing up fro free today!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

OK, so this one comes way out of left field - former starting Miami quarterback Robert Marve, who was involved in a real mess trying to get out of the Hurricanes' program and transfer to the schools he preferred, has apparently whittled his list down to six finalists - and Nebraska is one of them.

Other finalists: Michigan, Purdue, Texas Tech, South Florida and UCLA. The story mentions Marve has visited Nebraska, as well.

Marve, who started 11 games last year threw for more than 1,200 yards and nine touchdowns, would have to sit out 2010, but would have two years to play after that. Marve presumably flew onto the Husker radar after backup Patrick Witt left the program.

The Tampa, Florida, native redshirted in 2007 - after sustaining injuries in a serious car crash prior to fall camp - then got the starting nod in 2008 before while sharing time with Jacory Harris. Marve was suspended twice for violation of team rules, and chose to leave the program, with he and his parents giving the distinct idea that Marve has been poorly treated by UM coach Randy Shannon.

Shannon certainly seemed to hold a grudge, initially forbidding Marve from transferring to any ACC or SEC school, as well as any program in the state of Florida. Eventually the transfer order was changed to any ACC school, along with Florida, Tennessee and LSU. Shannon had already told Marve that, no matter what, he wasn't starting in 2009, and that Harris would be named the starter in the spring.

Rivals rated him the No. 8 pro-style quarterback coming out of high school in 2008. In his final year of high school play, Marve threw for 4,380 yards and 48 touchdowns. He's identifiable by the glove he wears on his non-throwing hand.

The best game of his short career at UM was against Texas A&M, when he threw for 212 yards and two touchdowns in a 41-23 win.

We'll keep you up to date on this one. It ought to be interesting.

Do you want the best updates on Nebraska football? Sign up today - it's as free as it can be!

Permanent Link to this Blog Post