The 2021 recruiting cycle seemed to mark a shift in the physical characteristics Nebraska head coach Scott Frost would prioritize from his quarterback targets moving forward. If nothing else, he seemed to be giving more consideration to a prospect’s arm talent than he and former quarterbacks coach Mario Verduzco had in years past. Luke McCaffrey (2019) and Logan Smothers (2020) are exceptional athletes, no question, but both of their arms were considered average at best coming out of high school. After multiple seasons, that hasn’t changed for either of them.
After two years under Verduzco’s tutelage, McCaffrey never developed adequately enough as a passer to have the entire playbook at his disposal. Following the 2020 season, he transferred to Louisville and then to Rice, where he continued to look pedestrian as a thrower this past season. It was recently announced he will move to wide receiver. Not a surprise.
Smothers will be heading into a pivotal third season in Lincoln. With a new offensive coordinator and the anticipated NFL passing concepts that will accompany Mark Whipple, will Smothers fare any better than McCaffrey, who he has been compared to since arriving at Nebraska?
I contend that Frost grew frustrated by not having a quarterback on his roster capable of operating his entire offense. Not even Adrian Martinez possessed the arm talent necessary to have the entire playbook available. There are route combinations we’ve never seen on a regular basis at Nebraska that were mainstays with Frost at Oregon and Central Florida. It felt as if Frost made a concerted effort to remedy that with Heinrich Haarberg in 2021. When the staff turned their attention to the 2022 class, they seemed to keep that focus.
The COVID-19 recruiting dead period really put a damper on the 2022 class. Quarterbacks in particular tend to commit early and Nebraska was unable to gain much traction with the guys they identified prior to the shutdown. Their top target, Walker Howard, committed to LSU in June of 2020. Other top targets like AJ Duffy (Florida State) and Nicco Marichol (West Virginia) also came off the board early, before Nebraska had the chance to make up ground.
By late last spring, Nebraska had narrowed its focus to four; Richard Torres (San Antonio, TX), MJ Morris (Carrollton, GA), AJ Bianco (Honolulu, HI) and Conner Harrell (Alabaster, AL). Morris took a visit to Lincoln in May to watch the Red-White Spring Game. He spoke with several players and took a self-guided tour of the campus, but he wasn’t allowed to talk to coaches in person because of the recruiting shutdown. Despite that, it’s believed the staff could have pushed for a commitment, but held off. Had this been a couple years ago, MJ Morris may have been the class quarterback. The four-star recruit fits the mold of previous Husker quarterback signees under this staff. But it was Torres who was their top target by then.
As a junior in the fall of 2020, Torres earned Offensive Most Valuable Player honors in Texas District 14-5A Division I after putting up good numbers for Southside High School. In a COVID-shortened season, he threw for 1,149 yards and 18 touchdowns versus just five interceptions, leading Southside to the playoffs and one of its best seasons ever. It was also his first year as a starting quarterback, after starting at free safety as a sophomore.
Unfortunately for Torres, he also played in an area of Texas that isn’t always as intensely recruited as others. He flew under the radar as the dead period lingered through 2020 and well into 2021. Camps and combines were shut down and Torres couldn’t throw in person for coaches or attend campuses. His recruitment was suffering because of it. His only offer was from Texas-San Antonio and his college options seemed limited.
Then Frost saw his film and loved his big arm and overall skill set. The Husker head coach offered him on March 3, 2021, and other Power Five programs took notice. Within a few weeks, Torres had earned additional offers from Washington State, Utah, Kansas State and others. It was the beginning of a busy spring, with Torres being active on the reopened camp circuit. Capable of throwing the ball over 70 yards, the 6-foot-5, 210-pound Torres routinely had one of the strongest arms at every camp he attended, including the Elite 11 Regional in Dallas, where five-star quarterbacks Quinn Ewers and Cade Klubnik were also in attendance.
Nebraska made sure to let Torres know how important he was. With the recruiting dead period being lifted June 1, the staff had Torres in town for an official visit sandwiched around the June 4 Friday Night Lights event. Being the only recruit in town, he was given a lot of attention on Thursday. He and his family were taken on a tour of the campus and facilities, and were introduced to the strength staff and nutritionist. During his visit, Frost and Verduzco showed Torres film of Marcus Mariota (Oregon) and McKenzie Milton (UCF). In fact, Torres had the opportunity to talk with both of them the week following his visit to get their perspectives on playing for Frost and operating his offense.
During the FNL event, he spent most of his time with Adrian Martinez, Heinrich Haarberg and Mario Verduzco. He had initially preferred to play college ball close to home, but the trip to Lincoln really impressed Torres and his parents. He left Lincoln with the Huskers firmly in his top two, along with Kansas State.
Prior to leaving, Torres and Frost had an honest conversation about each other’s plans moving forward. Torres was also the top player on the board for Chris Klieman and the Wildcats, so he wanted to take an official visit to Kansas State the following weekend (June 11-13). To his credit, Frost was forthright with Torres. The Huskers were planning to bring AJ Bianco in for an official visit June 18-20. Frost told Torres that Bianco would be given the green light to commit and that if he wanted the spot, that was his timetable.
Torres spent June 6 competing at the Dallas Showcase mega camp held on the campus at SMU, where Husker coaches Mario Verduzco, Erik Chinander and Mike Dawson were in attendance. From there, he stopped by TCU during the week to work out for coaches and then visited Kansas State, as planned. When Torres returned home from Manhattan on June 13, he and his parents discussed his finalists. The following day, Torres called Husker coaches, and after having a few lingering questions answered, committed to the staff.
Torres enjoyed a strong start to his senior season, throwing for 912 yards and 12 touchdowns in just a few games. Unfortunately he tore his ACL on an option play and missed most of the season. Torres enrolled in January but is unlikely to participate in spring practices.
That’s not a concern, however. Torres is a long-term investment for this staff. With Casey Thompson and Chubba Purdy, the Huskers potentially have the next few years mapped out at quarterback. With Torres, the Huskers are potentially getting a high-ceiling, game-changing passer with terrific physical tools. He’s just extremely raw and has a long ways to go. Like Heinrich Haarberg, Torres possesses major upside but will need at least two to three years of development behind the scenes to scratch that potential. I wouldn’t expect to see Torres on the field in a major capacity until 2024 or 2025. With his frame, he could easily grow to be in the neighborhood of 6-7 and 230-240 pounds by then.
He hasn’t played quarterback for very long, and it wasn’t against the best competition. Mark Whipple will need to iron out some inconsistencies in his delivery and footwork. He tends to throw flat-footed and it can affect his accuracy. He needs a lot of work reading defenses and operating from the pocket. Torres has pretty decent mobility for his size and he spent a lot of time scrambling and rolling out of the pocket at Southside. All these things are to be expected, however. The staff knows what they’re getting in Torres. He’s a bit of a boom-or-bust prospect. He’s raw, but boy does he have a live arm. Torres can generate a lot of velocity and can make any throw under the sun.
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