In the summer and fall, Husker Locker created its “50 Huskers to Know” list for the 2009 season. We now review our list by examining production, injuries and depth chart position.

We’ll present these in five-player increments. Here we go!

No. 25 Anthony West: Started at field cornerback to begin the year, then was replaced by Alfonzo Dennard. Since Dennard struggled with a shoulder injury, though, West was counted upon throughout the year - and rarely let NU down. He earned a Blackshirt, covered Kansas State’s Brandon Banks on some key pass patterns, and filled in where necessary. Quiet guy who’s quietly had a fine career at NU.

No. 24 Rickey Thenarse: Got hurt just in time, so to speak, to earn a fifth year of eligibility. Thenarse tore his ACL in the Lafayette game on a special teams play, but should be back for action in 2010. He was always encouraging of his teammates for the rest of the year, and is one of those players who, given his background, feels fairly blessed to be in Lincoln. Now that NU’s secondary is so good, Bo Pelini can have some fun with an athlete like Thenarse and put him situations that allow for success. He’ll fight for the free safety job, as well.

No. 23 Pierre Allen: A steady, solid year - 51 tackles, 5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss - played through more pain than Allen - who didn’t talk to the media but once during the year - obviously let on. He was a key member of NU’s front four for a second consecutive year, and one of Carl Pelini’s favorite players for picking up defensive concepts so quickly. Played brilliantly vs. Virginia Tech in containing Tyrod Taylor and did the same in the Big 12 Championship game vs. Texas. Allen will get a long look at Big 12 Conference honors in 2010.

No. 22 Ricky Henry: He had his dumb penalties - a key holding call at Virginia Tech, a personal foul vs. Texas Tech, a couple cut block penalties throughout the year - but Henry exceeded expectations in other ways, rarely missing the play and often serving as NU’s most dominant run blocker on pulling plays. Intense as the day is long - but not out of control as some thought he’d be - Henry is one of the anchors of the 2010 line.

No. 21 LaTravis Washington: What were we thinking here? Who knows. Well, we thought Shawn Watson might use Washington as a Wildcat quarterback - still think he should have - but Washington was nothing more than a mop-up late in a handful of games.

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Shawn Watson, owner of a lonely offense, is usually good for a line or two, and he didn't disappoint Wednesday.

Asked if having the nation's 102nd-ranked offense puts his job as Nebraska's offensive coordinator in jeopardy, Watson smiled and fired this one-liner: “Bo knows. He's been totally on the same page with us all the way through everything.”

Well, yeah. Bo Pelini darn near wrote the book for the last half of NU's season. It's not like Watson would draw the shell of a hermit crab on greaseboard and proclaim to his quarterbacks “Boys – the new attack!” Pelini gambled, placed all of his chips on the equivalent of the pass line at the craps table, and watched opposing offenses try – and miserably fail - to break the house defense.

The Blackshirts pulled a smash-n-grab. They destroyed Texas' beautiful offense, scrambled Colt's eggs. They're on too much of a roll to stop, collaborate and relearn techniques they've come close to mastering.

That's why, when asked whether NU was using much of this Holiday Bowl prep to run the scout team pups through the basics of the Brothers Pelini, Bo shrugged a little, dismissed the notion, and said “We're trying to win a football game.”

As in – who else is going to win it?

Watson, meanwhile, had his troops going through a three-day crash course that mirrored, “ an install, like a fall camp or spring ball.” Quarterbacks worked on drops and read recognition. Offensive line coach Barney Cotton rolled out the chute a couple times for a lesson in getting and staying low. Receivers shifted back to ball skills.

“We had to give ourselves an opportunity to get our wind back in our sails,” Watson said. Nebraska needed that after gaining just 106 yards in the Big 12 Championship, and being “humbled,” Watson said, by the paltry performance.

Zac Lee appears to be the guy again, if Pelini's endorsement on Tuesday means anything, even though he, Cody Green and LaTravis Washington have been getting equal reps during the “back to basics” days. Nor did Watson close off the potential of still recruiting a quarterback for the 2010 class.

What about a JUCO guy, he was asked. You don't typically recruiting junior college transfers, after all, unless the intent is for them to compete, quite strongly, for the starting job. There are a few still out there in the ether for NU to consider: Blinn's Cameron Newton, LA Harbor's Dominique Blackmon, and Fort Scott's Dominique Davis – who is currently committed to East Carolina, but now has three former teammates headed to Nebraska.

“I wouldn't say we wouldn't look at a junior college player,” Watson said. “But I'm not saying that's what we need, either. Don't misunderstand my statement: We'll take the best guy...it's not a must. I don't feel like anybody thinks it's a must. But we would like to bring competition into the room. An extra dimension. Elements we need.”

Read that however you wish, but couple those comments, at the very least, with Watson's answer to the Taylor Martinez question.

“We need to give him a chance to see what he can do,” Watson said. “We haven't had a chance to coach him in the full way. We won't exhaust that until we see what he can do.”

Martinez, of the lauded LA prep pedigree and the funny throwing motion, has been on scout team this fall. Outside of simulating Virginia Tech's Tyrod Taylor, he hasn't been used much at QB – most of those duties fell to the surprisingly capable, if you talk to NU defenders, walk-on Ron Kellogg – and was often lined up as a slot receiver.

“He can do it all,” said senior safety Larry Asante, who added Martinez is among NU's “top five” in terms of speed. “It doesn't matter. You can never be comfortable when he lines up. He challenges you. He's given us great looks all year.”

The Martinez-at-QB experiment wasn't supposed to last, mostly because he'd be too useful at other positions, especially as a nickel corner or safety. That Watson wants to give the kid a full shake in spring practice – and that he didn't entirely close down talk of a JUCO signal-caller – should suggest this: Mobility is in.

Comfort in one's place on the depth chart? Forget about it.

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Nebraska’s quarterback situation just got even dicier than it was in the spring.

Redshirt freshman Kody Spano is out again. Spano, who tore his ACL in the spring and spent all summer furiously rehabbing to recover in time for fall camp, did it again to same knee, and has been lost for the rest of the season, head coach Bo Pelini confirmed Wednesday.

“Football,” Pelini said. “That’s what happens. Just running. It was a non-contact injury. Happens.”

Spano should “probably be full speed come winter conditioning,” Pelini said.

In Spano’s absence, walk-on Ron Kellogg III has been pulled up onto the 105-man roster and began working out with the team Wednesday. He must wait five practices before he can wear pads, and thus worked out in only shorts today. Pelini didn’t have a chance to talk Kellogg, the Omaha Westside product was around for summer workouts.

While Zac Lee has all but sealed up the starting job, the backup role again looks murky. True freshman Cody Green and junior LaTravis Washington seemingly become the frontrunners for the No. 2 spot, with another true freshman, Taylor Martinez, more in the mix.

“We’ll be OK,” Pelini said. “Those guys are coming along. We wish Kody was still with us. But he’s not. That’s just part of the deal, we move on. I’m not worried about us, I’m worried about him. He worked his butt off to come back. I feel bad for the little kid.”

Washington said the other quarterbacks were informed during meetings Wednesday. The 6-3, 220-pounder moved from linebacker in the spring and played fairly well in the Red/White Spring Game, but he continues to work on his understanding of the offense.

“The thing I’ve got to get better at now is knowing when I can take my deeper looks,” Washington said. “Reading safeties – that’s my struggle right now.”

Green, meanwhile, looks the part at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds.

He’s also 18 years old, and there is some sense that NU coaches might like to redshirt him for a year of development – and also his playing clock doesn’t overlap too significantly with that of Lee, who is a junior. Martinez is playing catch-up with the playbook, having just arrived over the summer, while Kellogg figures to be a scout-teamer in 2009.

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Latravis Washington made a smart observation a few days ago.

“Nobody knows who the backup linebacker is,” he said.

You already know the other part of that sentence.

So the real question for Washington heading into Saturday’s Red/White Spring Game wasn’t whether the 77,000 fans at Memorial Stadium would recognize his green No. 15 jersey. It was whether he’d do anything worth remembering.

Judging by that perfect grin he wore the post-game media room, Washington did OK by his standards – and by the coaches’.

“I just executed the offense,” he said. “I didn’t try to do nothing out ordinary and be somebody I’m not, try to take the whole team under my hands. You’ve got to push the offense and it’ll work itself out.”

Work itself out? Sure did – to the tune of 13-of-21 for 190 yards and two touchdowns.

Now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Yes, Washington threw some passes so high and hard they sailed blissfully into the sidelines. Yes, he fumbled a couple snaps. Yes, he rolled into a sack or two – sacks he couldn’t have escaped from without a green jersey - and failed to change a couple plays correctly.

“There were some things that, even when he made plays, he did something wrong,” head coach Bo Pelini said.

But here’s the thing: He made plays.

Washington lacks the polish of a great college quarterback. Yet the presence is there. And the daring is there. While Zac Lee and Cody Green mostly played catch with tight ends held the ball considering more high percentage throws, Washington flung a few in there. And he was rewarded for it with nice grabs from Chris Brooks and Antonio Bell.

Generally, No. 15 progressed through his reads, only forced a couple dangerous passes – and Washington throws so hard he’ll be hard to intercept anyway – and stepped up when necessary.

The best part of his game? The attitude. After shying away from the quarterback spotlight for two years – Washington thought it too time-consuming and too difficult – he’s embracing with what has to be the biggest smile on the team. He makes offensive coordinator Shawn Watson’s job easier. He makes his receivers laugh. And he’s handled the media as well as Zac Lee.

The number and hometown – Bradenton, Fla. – might remind you of Tommie Frazier. His demeanor couldn’t be more different.

“As far as backing up Zac Lee – it’d be a wonderful deal for me,” Washington said.

And chances are quite good that Washington, if he stays healthy progresses reasonably well in the fall, will be the No. 2 quarterback through the non-conference season. Kody Spano won’t be ready by the Florida Atlantic game. Maybe by Missouri – maybe, although I doubt he’ll be ready at all –but not during September.

And judging by his so-so work Saturday, Cody Green needs time and seasoning. Pelini called him a “nervous camper.” I’ll be more blunt: Until the second half, when he was facing more scrubs, Green seemed to be thinking too much. He double-clutched a couple throws. He seemed cautious. Although he threw a beautiful incompletion late in the fourth quarter on a go route, most of Green’s throws were about as long as a backyard game of catch with your dad. NU coaches had him on a pretty tight leash.

Washington was, too. Ditto Lee, for that matter. Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson was a little too conservative with Lee’s first couple drives; the No. 1 quarterback didn’t hit his stride until Watson stretched the White defense downfield a little bit.

What Husker fans saw out of Lee should be some of the norm in 2009. He’s good at routes over the middle. He throws a flat ball, but he’s got decent touch. He’s athletic, as he showed on a jump screen pass to Quentin Castille. Lee doesn’t love pressure, but what quarterback does?

Best of all, Lee didn’t make too many “dumb passes.” He had a chance to force one to Menelik Holt, but threw it wide and to the outside, where only Holt could catch it, and only with a great grab that Holt didn’t make. Another pass to Ben Cotton was thrown to the far end zone pylon instead of into double coverage. Cotton didn’t get there, but Lee made the right decision.

It was, of course, impossible to tell what these guys would look like running with the ball. We may not know much about Lee until the first snaps of the FAU game. Until then, it’ll be hands off No. 3 in the most dramatic way.

Hands off them all. There is much more for all of them to learn.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Watson said. “But we’ve got talent, I know that. And anytime you’ve got talent and a willing soul, you can get it done.”

Sums up the position – and Latravis Washington – pretty well.

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After the Red's 31-17 victory over the White team, seven Huskers who impressed us on the white team:

Chris Brooks, wide receiver: Brooks made a number of difficult catches in the first half off of the arm of Latravis Washington, and hustled down on a Brett Maher punt to help down it at the one-yard line. Brooks finally looked ready Saturday to break the two-deep and be a capable backup to Menelik Holt. He hustled, ran good routes, and made tough catches.

"He played like senior today," offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. "Really played big, which is good to see."

Latravis Washington, quarterback: By no means is Washington ready to lead the Cornhuskers. But, in a mop-up or limited role, he showed Saturday he can make a play or two. Washington played quite well against the red’s top defense.

"For where he started as a linebacker about a month ago, he came a long way," head coach Bo Pelini said.

Antonio Bell, wide receiver: Bell’s going to be a stud, Husker fans. He made an incredible catch to help set up the white team’s only touchdown, and he showed impressive burst on punt and kickoff returns. Bell’s ready. Now.

"He made a very competitive catch today, which was awesome to see," offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. "He's really talented kid."

Keith Williams, left guard: Punishing performance from Williams. He helped open a lot of holes for the white offense early in the game.

"I always was going against Keith today," defensive tackle Jared Crick said. "Every play was just a battle. It's been a battle all spring inside. He's 330 and strong as an ox. So he's really taught me to play great technique."

Will Compton, linebacker: Compton got burned a few times in pass coverage, yeah, when Zac Lee threw right over his head. But Compton was very active against the run, and generally around the ball quite a bit.

Austin Jones, running back: It was Jones, and not Lester Ward, who received more carries Saturday and looked like the team’s No. 3 guy. Jones showed wiggle, toughness and good hands.

Baker Steinkuhler, defensive tackle: Obviously Ndamukong Suh was more dominating – pretty much unblockable for the first quarter – but Steinkuhler showed good technique and push, as well. He’ll challenge Jared Crick throughout the fall.

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By the time Zac Lee finally got the play, the route and the read he had been looking for, he had to deal with something that’s typical of just about any Red/White Spring Game: A player slightly off assignment, out of position. Only this time it was linebacker Will Compton, right in front Lee’s perfectly lofted ball to receiver Marcus Mendoza near the goal line.

For Lee, it figured. The first two drives of his debut as NU’s top quarterback had been unceremonious three-and-outs, punctuated with a “phantom sack.” Seems a ref thought somebody touched Lee’s emerald green jersey for a half second while Lee stood in the pocket.

Meanwhile, White team quarterback Latravis Washington had already spearheaded two scoring drives – helped greatly by good hands of receivers Chris Brooks and Antonio Bell - leading his bunch to a 10-0 lead. The White looked surprisingly in control.

Finally, the junior from San Francisco got some breathing room on the third drive. And as he watched his pass float toward Mendoza, he wondered, why was Compton so close to it? Mendoza wasn’t his man.

“Will was a lot deeper than I would have liked,” Lee said. “The ball was close to being tipped.”

But it wasn’t, as it landed right over Compton’s hands and into Mendoza’s waiting arms. It was first of three Lee touchdown passes, and the first six of the Red’s 31 consecutive points in a 31-17 victory over White Saturday in front of more than 77,000 fans who enjoyed a sunny, warm day at Memorial Stadium.

For the game, Lee completed 15 of 18 passes for 214 yards. He also threw touchdowns to tight end Ben Cotton (24 yards, on a similar route over the middle) and Wes Cammack (42 yards, with a perfectly thrown pass in between cornerback Anthony West and Larry Asante).

“I’d like to say it went pretty well,” Lee said. “I’m sure I’ll see some things on film that I’d like to get better at. It was good. We had some success.”

As did the White bunch, which controlled most of the first half until Lee’s first touchdown pass and a fumble on its following offensive drive by reserve running back Lester Ward. The White defense, led by Ndamukong Suh and a surprisingly quick and physical Barry Turner initially stung the No. 1 Red offense and its top offensive line. Quentin Castille was twice dragged down behind the line of scrimmage, and Lee was forced to throw the ball quickly.

On White’s offense Washington, a converted linebacker who’s been a quarterback for all of four weeks, started his day with an eight-minute drive, culminating in an Adi Kunalic field goal.

He completed of 9 of 13 passes in the first half for 112 yards and a touchdown to Brooks. The highlight play was a 27-yard fade route to freshman Antonio Bell, who leapt on one foot to make the catch and landed on his back. Washington found Brooks two plays later with a four-yard TD pass.

“Some of my passes, I was just jumping at them,” Washington said. “But after that first series, I calmed down and managed the game really well.”

Meanwhile, Lee was trying to dodge rushers and pick his spots wisely.

Surprising? Not necessarily. It was part of what head coach Bo Pelini envisioned in equally splitting up the teams for the game.

“We had a lot of guys playing next to people that they haven’t played next to before,” he said. “That takes some time. It’s not an ideal situation, but for what we wanted to accomplish today, it’s the right thing to do…you saw them get more confident and kind of get their feet underneath them.”

Once Lee hit Mendoza, the Red’s collective feet hit the ground rather quickly. They amassed 380 total yards in the game, almost all of it in the final seven or so drives.

Defensive tackle Terrence Moore stripped Ward on the White’s next drive. Tyrone Fahie recovered for the game’s only turnover. Lee took back over and hit Cotton for a touchdown two plays later. The Red led 14-10 at halftime. After the White team punted to begin the third quarter, Lee completed three consecutive passes, the last of them to Cammack, who badly beat cornerback Anthony West on a post route, then scooted around Asante at the five-yard line and dove into the end zone.

“We were moving in a good direction in terms of just being aggressive to the football and finishing plays,” defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said. “I just saw shades of last of year and I didn’t like that. That’s got to get fixed.”

The Red tacked on an Alex Henery field goal to begin the fourth quarter, then benefited from the day’s best run, a 33-yarder by redshirt freshman Collins Okafor, who cut back left into a wide hole, shimmied to his right, and accelerated through two tacklers on his way to the end zone. Okafor, who entered the game as NU’s No. 5 running back, led all rushers with 79 yards.

“Every day, he’s been getting better,” offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. “Today was icing on the cake for him. He really stood out.”

Washington capped scoring for the White with a 71-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kyler Reed. Washington sidestepped the rush and found Reed, wide open, 15 yards away from him. Reed hauled in the pass and did the rest, outsprinting all of NU’s defensive backs to the end zone.

“He’s very explosive,” Watson said. “As he grows, he’ll really enhance us.”

Reed’s performance was part of a strong group showing from Ron Brown’s crew. In all, tight ends caught 17 passes for 255 yards - almost half of the passes caught in the game.

Quite frequently, they were wide open on short curl routes underneath the linebackers, who were often camped out in unusually deep Cover 2 zones. Lee and redshirt freshman Cody Green in particular feasted on throwing to them, while Washington was a little more apt to stretch the ball downfield.

“A lot of talent there, and some experience,” Bo Pelini said. “We feel real good at that spot. We’re deep at that spot.”

Overall, Pelini declared himself “happy” by the scrimmage, and the spring itself, which he called “long and physical.” Many of Nebraska’s practices dragged near the three-hour mark, and were longer than the Red/White Spring Game itself. NU’s coaches mixed and matched quite a bit throughout the spring, trying to find the right combination of players.

Players must now hone their talents on their own this summer, and prepare for an even more competitive fall before the Sept. 5 Florida Atlantic game.

“We got a lot accomplished in spring ball,” Pelini said. “We got a lot done. I’m happy. I’m not satisfied, but I’m happy with the progress we made. But we have a long way to go yet.”

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Toward the end of NU's practice Monday, reporters watched No. 2 quarterback Kody Spano limp out of the Hawks Center and onto an elevator.

Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said Spano "got dinged up," during the workout.

"I don't know what he did," Watson said. "We'll have to check on him."

With Cody Green still recovering from that hip tissue strain, that leaves Nebraska with two quarterbacks at or near 100 percent: Zac Lee and Latravis Washington.

When asked what percentage of snaps he might received in the Red/White Spring Game, Lee said: "You have just as good an idea as I do. We have no idea. I'm assuming we're still going to be in the green jerseys because of the quarterback situation."

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The kid with the rocket arm was Bradenton, Fla., and, at least on Wednesday, he wore No. 15.

Talk about your omens, right?

No, he’s not the ghost of Tommie Frazier. He’ s a kid who just received Nebraska’s offensive playbook two days ago, but linebacker-turned-quarterback Latravis Washington passes the entrance test that any signal caller must take.

Washington can really, really, hum a football.

The junior turned heads with his strong – and wild – arm in NU’s opening spring practice Wednesday. In routine drills, Washington was firing bullets to receivers 10 and 15 yards away. Not all of his passes hit their intended targets – more than half, in fact, sailed into the wide green expanse of the Hawks Center – but the ones that did thumped into receivers’ pads with a sound that Zac Lee and Kody Spano’s throws just didn’t make.

“They were like ‘slow it down,’” Washington said. “I was just excited to be out there. I was just trying to throw it as hard as possible. But Friday, Saturday, Sunday, I’ll try to be more relaxed.”

Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson, who told Washington to decide over spring break whether he wanted to officially make the switch, doesn’t plan on the move being temporary for the spring, so Washington can fill in for the departed Patrick Witt and help the Huskers with some reps.

“He’s full-bore into it,” Watson said. “I love having him in the meeting room. He’s been awesome. He’s rusty right now. I tell you he’s got a cannon.”

Watson said head coach Bo Pelini “thought I was crazy” moving the BUCK linebacker over to quarterback.

“Bo and I sit back and laugh,” Watson. “Bo said ‘Latravis?’ I said, ‘Yeah, really, he can throw.’ He’s got arm talent. But he’s got to refine. He’s been away from it for, what, two years? He’s got to get his rhythm back.”

Ohio State, West Virginia and Michigan State, among others, all offered Washington a quarterback scholarship out of high school. Washington even attended NU’s Elite Quarterback camp in 2005 and 2006 at that position, winning the long-ball competition during one of those seasons.

But Washington, whose cousin is former NU cornerback Fabian Washington, explained in 2007 that he figured many of those programs would have switched him to defense anyway. And while “it was always my first love,” he wasn’t sure he wanted the pressure of playing quarterback, either.

“I just wanted to live college life not having all that stress,” said Washington, who was surrounded by 20 reporters Wednesday. “But I matured a little bit. I got around the players and got to know them. And looking at our offense, it seemed like fun.”

If need be, Washington said, he’ll take his redshirt season next year to get up to speed. It won’t hurt that he can throw a ball 80 yards. Watson smiled a little at that number, but added “Latravis would know better than I do.”

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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.

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