Scott Frost and Casey Thompson: Looking For a Fast Start in a Critical Season

2022 is going to be a key season for Nebraska Head Coach, Scott Frost and starting quarterback, Casey Thompson. Frost has not had a winning season in Lincoln and is under pressure to show progress in 2022. Thompson transferred from Texas after starting ten games in 2021 and will have two seasons of eligibility at Nebraska. Both coach and quarterback have seen their share of challenges and have shown promise during their careers, they will look to get off to a good start to 2022 in Ireland against Northwestern.

Scott Frost was hired in 2018 after two seasons at UCF where he took over an 0 – 12 team and went 13 – 0 in his second season. Frost returned to Nebraska where he was born and raised and played the final two seasons of his college career, leading the team to a 24 – 2 record as a starter. With his success as a player in Lincoln and early in his coaching career, Frost was expected to turn around a struggling Nebraska program. Over his first four seasons Frost has gone 15 – 29 and gutted his offensive staff after the 2021 season.

There is hope for a big turnaround in 2022. Nebraska may have gone 3 – 9 last year, but all nine of those losses were by single digits. The Huskers were competitive in every game, but could not put together enough complete performances. The team struggled with consistency and turnovers, Frost has worked hard to change the culture of the team to address those struggles. A big part of that change was moving on from Adrian Martinez who made many big plays at quarterback, but also committed far too many turnovers. Martinez transferred out of the program after the 2021 season and Casey Thompson transferred in from Texas.

Thompson was a four star recruit in 2018 who waited behind Sam Ehlinger at Texas. When Ehlinger was injured against Colorado in the 2020 Alamo Bowl, Thompson took over in the second half. He led the team to a big win, completing 8 of 10 passes for 150 yards and 4 touchdowns with no interceptions. Despite his success, Texas had an open competition and named Hudson Card the starter before the 2021 season. Card struggled and Thompson took over against Rice in week three and despite a thumb injury against Oklahoma, completed 63 percent of his passes, averaging 8.1 yards per attempt with 24 touchdowns against 9 interceptions. Despite his success, Texas did not commit to naming him the starter heading into the spring and rather than continue his career at Texas, Thompson opted to transfer to Nebraska.

With only two years of eligibility remaining Thompson is at a critical juncture of his career. He has had success, but will be playing for the third head coach of his career. The multiple changes have made it difficult for Thompson to become comfortable, but Nebraska is an opportunity for him to lead the same offense for consecutive seasons if he can lead the team to a successful season in 2022. Of course, that is contingent on Nebraska having a successful season in which Thompson plays well and Frost remains the head coach at Nebraska.

After a season that saw Nebraska find creative ways to lose far too often, Frost and Thompson can ill-afford to start the 2022 season poorly against Northwestern. The Cornhuskers beat Northwestern 56 – 7 at home last year and have an opportunity to get off to a fast start and build momentum for the season. The schedule has tougher games later in the season, allowing Nebraska to build confidence early in the year. Frost’s ability to turn around his Nebraska tenure and Thompson’s success as a quarterback are now intertwined. Saturday against Northwestern is the first test for the coach and quarterback who must succeed in 2022.

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