Gophers QB can relate to Pryor
Friday, September 26, 2008 4:34 AM
By
Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Paul battaglia associated press
Adam Weber set Minnesota passing records in nearly every category while starting 12 games as a freshman.
Adam Weber did a lot last season as Minnesota's freshman quarterback. He set school records for passes completed and attempted, yards passing, touchdown passes and total yards gained. He ranked third in the Big Ten in passing yards and rushed for more yards than anyone else on his team.
It would have been hard for him to do more. The hardest thing, he said, was trying not to.
"Play within your abilities and trust in what the coaches have taught you," he said.
"The biggest thing I probably learned from last year is to take care of the football. A lot of times you get pressure in your face and you're not sure what's going on and you want to get rid of the ball. Sometimes it's better just to take the sack and go to the next play."
Weber was asked this week to reflect on his first year as Gophers quarterback as he prepares to begin his second Big Ten season. Minnesota plays Saturday against Ohio State, which will start a freshman of its own, Terrelle Pryor, at quarterback.
Gophers coach Tim Brewster hasn't been shy in trying to sow seeds of doubt in Pryor's head through the media.
"It's really hard for a freshman to come into this conference and play well," Brewster said. "You go back and look at the greatest of all time, they had their struggles as freshmen. So Terrelle's going to experience some growing pains, no question.
"The biggest thing with freshmen quarterbacks is not how they react but how they respond. They can't be reactionary. They've got to be able to just kind of take a deep breath and respond to a tough situation and learn from it. That's the biggest thing that we did with Adam."
Minnesota was 1-11 last season. Weber handled nearly all of the 887 offensive snaps.
Cont...