Minus the clipboard, Taylor aims to stay off Husker dartboards: come listen to a story 'bout a man named Zac; his only job is to bring Big Red back

Matt Hayes

It's a funny game, all right. One minute you're buried on the depth chart at Wake Forest, the next you're the key to Bill Callahan's job security at Nebraska.

One minute you're standing on the sideline carrying a clipboard in a half-full stadium, the next you're practicing in front of 60,000 fans.

One minute you're as significant as a no smoking sign in Winston-Salem, the next you're the savior of a stale program that not long ago won three national titles in four years.

"It's been a wild ride," Zac Taylor says.

You think?

Say this much for Taylor: At least he's not Joe Dailey. You remember Dailey, the quarterback who put up crazy numbers in the Nebraska spring game, circa 2004. He was supposed to provide a quick transition from a gazillion years of Crawl Ball to the sleek, slick West Coast offense.

There was only one teensy, weensy problem: Dailey ran off the field in spring 2004 with his index finger held high after lighting up a patchwork defense of scrubs. We know the rest of the story, including Dailey's transfer to North Carolina after a 5-6 season in Lincoln. So guess whom Taylor torched in spring 2005, throwing for 357 yards in one half.

"It wasn't our ones," Callahan says. It wasn't their twos, either.

But before we bury Taylor--and, in the process, pull the noose tighter around Callahan, who has gutted the program--understand that Dailey, who was recruited to run the option, couldn't grasp the offense. Of course, he even had trouble with former coach Frank Solich's scheme (hand it to the fullback, pitch it or keep it).

Taylor, meanwhile, is a classic pocket passer--you know, the five steps, the progressions, the release. After the 2003 season, he left Wake Forest, where he wasn't a good fit because the Deacons don't throw the ball 30 times per game. But Butler County (Kan.) Community College did, and Taylor led the Grizzlies to the junior college championship game last year.

In other words, cover 2 and man mustang and umbrella blitzes don't look like graffiti on a subway car to Taylor as they did to Dailey. And Taylor won't crumble under the pressure of having to perform--and having to stay one step ahead of the guy behind him. Dailey always was worried about his job security, and it showed in the way he played, even though there wasn't a soul behind him who could strike fear in a Pop Warner defense.

Taylor will begin fall drills as the projected starter, but Callahan says incoming freshman Harrison Beck will have every opportunity to win the job. Beck is a strong-armed stud, the kind of player with five gold stars next to his name on recruiting boards.

And here's Zac Taylor, a Norman, Okla., native who grew up dreaming of playing for the Sooners and eventually found a road back to the Big 12. At Nebraska, no less.

It's a funny game, all right.

One spring you're the hero, the next fall you're the ...

"I'm not a physically imposing guy; I don't stand out on campus," Taylor says. "I guess if I throw a couple of interceptions, that will change."

And there's nothing funny about that.

INSIDE DISH

Mid-major schools are finding it difficult to schedule for the new 12-game seasons that will begin in 2006. In theory, when it comes to scheduling BCS schools, the extra game should give mid-majors leverage as they try to secure one home game in a three-game series. But one mid-major coach says, "I'd say about 80 percent of (BCS schools) will tell you to kiss off." Although Oregon recently signed a home-and-home series with Boise State, that's far from typical. A prime example: Hawaii has been trying to schedule Florida for years--as far back as when Steve Spurrier was the coach--and has inquired routinely about a two-for-one series. Hawaii just completed a deal to play the Gators--one game, in Gainesville, in 2008. > WR Percy Harvin, the nation's most coveted high school player, is tiring of the recruiting process. He has just two official visits set for this fall--Florida and Southern California--and says he might not add others. Florida State and Miami still are possibilities, but the Gators and Trojans are the clear leaders. > The loss of WR Agim Shabaj to academics won't be a huge hit to Michigan State. He has loads of potential, but after a breakthrough sophomore season, Shabaj has regressed and been deep in coach John L. Smith's doghouse since the middle of 2004. It also helps that WR Matt Trannon, who also plays on the Spartans' basketball team, is poised for a huge season. His time away from football in the winter has slowed his development, but there's little doubt Trannon's size (6-6, 225) and athletic ability will translate into NFL dollars should he concentrate exclusively on football. The dilemma for Trannon: The Spartans figure to be a Final Four favorite.

(S) Get repped for the 2005 season with TSN's College Football Preview, which gives analysis for all 119 Division I-A teams. Find it on newsstands or at sportingnews.com/books/cfootball/, or call 800-825-8508, Dept. TSN.

MATT HAYES

mhayes@sportingnews.com

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