Welcome, Husker Nation, to the first ever Fast Friday edition of the Carriker Chronicles, where each and every week going forward I'm going to keep it quick and easy.

Today I want to take a preliminary look at the upcoming quarterback battle that the Huskers are going to be having this year. The first guy I want to look at is Tanner Lee. This is a guy who had several starts the first couple years of his career in Tulane; they got a new coach, went to the triple option, he said, "see you later, bye bye, I'm going to go upgrade to Nebraska" (no disrespect to Tulane). So he sat out last year - he's had a year to learn the offense - and the coaches have already talked about how he's a first-round talent. I love that he won the scout team offensive MVP award last year; it means he did not take the year off. He showed great promise while he was at Tulane; he's got talent but he did suffer from some inconsistencies as well. He had a bit too many interceptions; his completion percentage was a bit too low, but he's going to have a phenomenal opportunity to earn our starting quarterback position job this fall for the Huskers.

Next up is Patrick O'Brien. This is one of the top 10 recruits, quarterback-wise, in the entire country last year. He was able to participate in spring ball, he showed off his strong arm, he showed off his talent, and he also showed off his inexperience just a little bit. That's why he ended up redshirting and backing up Ryker Fyfe. Now, he has also had a year to grow and learn this offense. I expect him to make great strides. Hey, I remember my first semester at Nebraska was no cake walk; it took me a while to hit my stride as well and I think Patrick O'Brien is going to show great improvements this year.

Next up is Tristan Gebbia. He just enrolled in college - he was able to enroll early so he could participate in spring ball. My first thought was, "hey man, enjoy high school. Go to prom!" but I'm not going to hate on a guy who wants to just buckle up and get to work right away - I LOVE that.

Now there are some other guys in this competition as well. I'm curious to see what happens with Zach Darlington. Do they keep him at quarterback, move him to wide receiver? What are they going to do with him? My order, as of right now, for these three guys that I've talked about, just based on experience alone: number one would be Tanner Lee, number two would be Patrick O'Brien because he's been here a year, number three would be Tristan Gebbia. What we have is three young, very talented, unproven quarterbacks. I say let's let them duke it out, let's see who wins the starting job. Now, the old saying is, "you have two or three quarterbacks, you have none." All we need is one of these guys to emerge and pull away as a starter, we need a solid back-up, and then whoever is left can learn and grow for a year.

I will not see you fine folks at home again until Monday when I will finally delve in-depth into some of the recruits we have coming in this year already committed to the Huskers. So unless something major happens this weekend, like Tommie Frazier getting another year of eligibility or something, I'll see you guys on Monday. So until then, stay humble (winks), GO BIG RED, and always remember to THROW THE BONES!