Examining Mike Riley's failure to develop a QB at Nebraska

The Mike Riley era officially came to an end when he was relieved of his duties as head coach of Nebraska on Saturday. An era that opened with optimism ended with a thud as the Huskers failed to reach a bowl game and several highly-ranked recruits cool on the school in recent months.

There are plenty of reasons why things went awry for Riley in Lincoln, but there’s no doubt the inability to develop a quarterback played a major role. Today we examine the Huskers' quarterback recruiting under Riley, who prior to Nebraska had a track record of developing talent at the position, and try to see where things went wrong.

FULL COVERAGE OF NEBRASKA'S FIRING OF MIKE RILEY: What happens to Calibraska movement? | Mind of Mike | Who is next in Lincoln? | Riley's failure to develop QBs | Recruiting misses that doomed Riley | Which teams will benefit? | Recruiting busts under Riley | HUSKERONLINE.COM

Signed: None

Riley had less than two months to put together his first recruiting class in Lincoln after being hired away from Oregon State in Dec. 2014 and the Huskers weren’t able to sign a quarterback despite making a late run at Nebraska legacy eventual Ohio State signee Joe Burrow. Had Riley had a full year to recruit Burrow things might have been different but by the time Riley was hired Borrow was already locked in the Buckeyes. Riley inherited a roster that included Tommy Armstrong (three-star, 2012), who was the starter for the Huskers in 2015-16, as well as former two-stars Ryker Fyfe (2012), A.J. Bush (2014) and former three-star Zack Darlington (2014).

Signed: Patrick O’Brien

Added: Tanner Lee (two-star, 2012), transfer from Tulane

Lost: A.J. Bush (two-star, 2014), transfer

With Armstrong at the helm of the offense and his primary backup, Fyfe, both in their final year of eligibility Riley and his staff took a two-pronged approach to quarterback recruiting in 2016. First, Riley tapped his connections to Pac-12 country and landed a commitment from Rivals250 prospect Patrick O’Brien in the spring of 2015. The staff also capitalized on the coaching change at Tulane, landing former two-star quarterback Tanner Lee, who had been a two-year starter for the Green Wave. Bush left the team prior to the start of the season, electing to transfer to junior college. Darlington bounced between wide receiver and third-string quarterback during the season. Despite his lofty ranking, O’Brien redshirted the 2016 season.

Signed: Tristan Gebbia

Lost: Tommy Armstrong (graduation), Ryker Fyfe (graduation)

The addition of Gebbia was one of the biggest recruiting victories of the Riley era and one of the centerpieces of the “Cali-braska” movement. Gebbia chose the Huskers over Ole Miss, despite being a Rebels legacy, and also played in key role in working to recruit other players from California to join him in Lincoln. During the offseason a quarterback battle was waged between Lee and O’Brien, with Lee eventually winning the job to replace Armstrong. However, his up-and-down play as well as his proclivity for throwing interceptions played a big role in the Huskers offensive struggles this season. O’Brien saw spot action during the year but the fact that he was unable to unseat Lee despite Riley and his staff coaching for their jobs may be an indictment on his abilities as well.

Committed: None

Under Riley the Huskers offered 11 quarterbacks in the 2018 class but as of Riley’s firing, all but one are currently committed elsewhere. That one is four-star Corona (Calif.) Centennial quarterback Tanner McKee, who appears to be focused on programs like USC and Alabama. The new coaching staff will have to move fast to avoid the situation the program faced in 2015 when the Huskers didn’t sign a quarterback. Clearly Riley left more talent, at least in terms of recruiting rankings and potential, at the position than he inherited when he was hired in 2014.