Despite just three career starts, Nebraska quarterback Joe Ganz seems completely at ease with taking on a major leadership role for the Cornhuskers.
Truth is, Ganz has always considered himself to be a team leader. But until the final three games of the 2007 season when he moved into the starting lineup to replace the injured Sam Keller, Ganz said he simply didn't have the credentials to back it up.
"Obviously, (leadership) comes with the territory, being a starting quarterback," Ganz said at this week's Big 12 Conference preseason football media days. "That's just the type of player I've always been. I've always been a leader of any team I've ever played on, whether it was football, basketball or baseball.
"It was tough last year to lead from the sidelines because guys don't really respect a leader who's not out there in the trenches with you. So it's been a lot easier for me to become a vocal leader because I have been in the heat of battle and I have earned guys' respect."
He certainly has.
Once the fifth-year senior got his opportunity, Ganz piled up the stats the last three games of his junior year. Although Nebraska was 1-2 in his three starts, the 6-foot-1, 210-pounder passed for 1,399 yards and 15 touchdowns and recorded the top two passing days in school history, guiding the Huskers to an average of 598.7 yards of total offense.
The highlight for Ganz was leading Nebraska to a 73-31 drubbing of Kansas State on senior day at Memorial Stadium. The native of Palos Heights, Ill., was 30-of-40 passing for a school-record 510 yards and seven TDs, bettering the old single-game TD pass record by two. Ganz also set the school single-game total offense mark of 528 yards.
That type of performance obviously made it easier for Ganz to take the lead on this year's team. It was almost instant credibility.
"Joey is an easy guy to follow," Nebraska senior guard Matt Slauson said. "He is a guy who has been everyone's friend since we've been here and now that he's stepped into the (starting) role, he's still everyone's friend.
"He hasn't changed a lot. He's just grabbing everyone by the neck and saying, ’Let's go. Let's do it.'"
With his play at the end of last season and a solid effort in spring practices, it seems Ganz has also impressed first-year head coach Bo Pelini.
"He's very intelligent," Pelini said of Ganz. "He's more athletic than I thought when I first got here. He's a drop-back style guy, and he shows he can run and move his feet and do a lot of things.
"He's a dynamic leader -- somebody who plays with a tremendous amount of confidence and has that toughness about him (and) attitude.
"He's the kind of guy you want leading your offense, being a significant core leader on your football team."
While no one is expecting Ganz to throw for 400 yards a game this season, Pelini said he thinks Ganz has set himself up to have a very good year.
"He can make all the throws and he can also do some things with his feet, so I look forward to having him," Pelini said. "I feel real comfortable having him as our starting quarterback."
With Nebraska coming off a 5-7 season -- the program's second losing mark in four years following 35 consecutive bowl appearances -- Ganz said it's crucial for the Huskers to get off to a good start. That quest should be aided by the fact that NU plays its first five games at home, starting with the Aug. 30 opener against Western Michigan.
"If we play really well the first couple of games and get that confidence back that we can play really well, I think we're going to be a force to be reckoned with in the Big 12," Ganz said. "Obviously, we have the talent. We have everything. It's just that we lost a lot of confidence last year, especially on the defensive side."
While Nebraska's defense endured historic struggles last season, Ganz points out that the offensive unit wasn't above reproach. The lack of a consistent running game and turnovers didn't do the Husker defense any favors, he said.
"We turned the ball over a lot, myself included," said Ganz, who was intercepted seven times in 152 pass attempts. "So it's really important for the whole team to get off to a good start.
"Obviously, every team wants to get off to a fast start -- you want to go out there and play well -- but I think it's just that much more important for us to do it, just to gain that confidence back."
Nebraska was picked third in the Big 12's North Division in the preseason media poll. While top pick Missouri and No. 2 selection Kansas are the clear-cut favorites, the competitor in Ganz won't allow him to concede anything just yet.
That should come as no surprise from the guy who was probably the only one in Nebraska who thought he even stood a chance at winning the starting quarterback job over Keller last year in preseason camp. That's just Ganz.
"If we don't think we can win the Big 12 North, then we have no business even showing up against Western Michigan -- we might as well not even play the season," Ganz said. "I know Missouri and Kansas are going to be the favorites. That's fine.
"We know it's going to be tough. The Big 12's loaded and we know it's going to be tough every week, but if we don't think we can win the Big 12 North, we have no business even playing.”
