QB O'Brien to leave Nebraska as transfer

Patrick O'Brien, who had the most game experience of any returning Nebraska quarterback, announced on social media that he will transfer to another school. "I would like to announce I have been granted my release from the University of Nebraska. I am so incredibly blessed with being able to spend the past two and half years at this university," he said, in part, in his Twitter message. O'Brien, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound sophomore, was equipped to play in the pro-style attack featured by former head coach Mike Riley. But he is not the kind of dual-threat quarterback that fits the offensive system used by new head coach Scott Frost. "Pat's a good athlete, but I think the other three (quarterbacks in practice) are a little more capable of moving the ball with their feet," Frost told the Omaha World-Herald. "They've just kind of passed him. We want what's best for all these guys. "I really do think he'd be better suited to a more traditional-style offense. That's what he was recruited here to do, and then the offense changed. We're on his side and we're going to support him." O'Brien played in three games last season as the backup to Tanner Lee. O'Brien completed 18 of 30 passes with one interception and no touchdowns. He was the only Cornhuskers player besides Lee to attempt more than one pass in 2017. With O'Brien's departure, Tristan Gebbia and Adrian Martinez are the only two scholarship quarterbacks available to play in 2018. Walk-on Andrew Bunch has received playing time this spring. Redshirt freshman Noah Vedral followed Frost from Central Florida to Nebraska but must sit out the 2018 season as a transfer.