Northwestern University Athletics
The Skip Report: Zack Oliver At The Ready
11/26/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
As the 'Cats prepare for their regular-season finale, Skip Myslenski provides a profile of the man poised to make his first career start at quarterback for Northwestern, junior Zack Oliver.
MORE: NU vs. Illinois Game Preview
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Last Saturday at Purdue, early in the second quarter, Trevor Siemian put down his head and piled into the line on a fourth-and-one. Not only was he stopped. He also emerged from the melee with a damaged left knee. Seventy-two seconds later, when the `Cats regained possession of the ball, their quarterback was redshirt junior Zack Oliver. "Let's go. Calm down," guard Matt Frazier said to him on the field.
"It was something simple like that. We have that connection. I feel I can settle him in a little bit," he will recall Wednesday morning. "But honestly, he was pretty calm. I remember he had an urgency to his voice. But he wasn't panicked at all or anything like that. I know there were a few throws he had to get out of his system. He didn't connect on his first couple of throws.
"But once he settled in, he did a good job leading the huddle and leading the offense."
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On Sunday evening, some 30 hours and an MRI later, it was confirmed that Siemian had suffered a torn ACL and was done for the season. That meant Oliver would be the `Cats choreographer six days later when they met Illinois at Ryan Field in a game for both bragging rights and a bowl bid. Yet little was said when that news reached the apartment he shares with Frazier and tackle Jack Konopka, with superback Mark Szott and linebacker Doug Diedrick. "We didn't talk about it much," remembers Frazier.
"I did mention to him, though, `All right. It's your time now.' It was like that. It was very simple because he knew. I knew that we would talk later on in the week. But at that time, we just kind of needed to debrief a bit from everything on Saturday."
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Frazier, on both Monday and Tuesday nights, went to bed at his normal time, somewhere around 10. But another 30 minutes would pass before he heard the front door open and Oliver enter their apartment. "He's been here late studying film trying to get prepared," explains Frazier. "He's doing everything he can, turning over every stone, getting ready. He's gonna be ready. He's been ready for his opportunity for awhile now."
What makes him believe that?
"I've seen the prep he's done over the years. Studying the film, working on his fundamentals. I've seen the work he's put in over the past four years getting ready for his opportunity. Now that he's finally got his shot, he's going to succeed."
"He's gone into every game prepared to play," echoes Pat Fitzgerald. "He's gotten a ton of reps in practice (throughout the season as Siemian nursed a tender ankle that was injured in week two). If this was a different time of the year, it might be a change of conversation. But he's had a great week (of preparation). Matt (Alviti's) had a great week (preparing to spell him as an option threat). Those guys are ready to go."
"They've both been really focused," concludes offensive co-ordinator Mick McCall. "Both of them have done a great job of focusing in. I've been very impressed."
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Zack Oliver is from Baton Rouge, Cajun country, and is often the cook at that apartment he shares with a pair of offensive linemen, a superback and a linebacker. "He's a great cook. He's a really good cook," the 295-pound Frazier testifies.
The quarterback himself goes a healthy 6-foot-4, 240 and so, on those occasions, oversized pots are used and each serving is fit for a family of four. "He's got to cook a lot of stuff," Frazier says with a chuckle, adding here that jambalaya is the specialty-of-the-house.
"He can relate to us. He eats like an offensive lineman," Frazier will also say with another chuckle. But tomorrow, on Thanksgiving, Oliver will do no cooking. He will instead dine with Frazier and his family at their home in Bourbannais, and it is here that he anticipates approaching his friend about the moment at hand.
"I'm going to reassure him that he's got this. Just boost his confidence that last little bit. And I'll probably talk to him right before game time and probably the night before the game too. Right now he's calm and collected, but I'm sure he's going to be nervous the closer we get. So I'm just going to reassure him that he knows what he's doing. I'll tell him he's ready for this. He needs to just seize the moment and perform."
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Oliver's class schedule kept him from playing meet-the-press this week. But McCall, the offensive coordinator, was available, and when asked about what adjustments might be made with a new quarterback, he said, "We're still who we are. We have to do a good job of running the football. (Running back) Justin (Jackson's) got to get the ball. And we've got to do a good job of spreading it around and playing fast."
Oliver, in fact, has the equipment to spread the ball. He has the biggest arm in the quarterback room. In addition, Fitzgerald pointed out, "He's had a lot of reps. So it's not like it's something new for the receivers."
Notable here too is his similarity to Siemian. "Zack's a lot like Trevor," said Fitzgerald. "They're close. Very similar personalities. Pretty laid-back guys. I think Zack's pretty relaxed. I really think he'll just be poised and ready to go on Saturday."
"He and Trevor are a lot alike in some ways," echoed McCall. "He's a real smart kid, there's no doubt about that. He's excited about the opportunity, no doubt. He feels bad about Trevor. But he's excited."
Is there a danger he can be too excited?
"There is a balance. I think he's handling it really well, though," said Frazier. "I don't see him too nervous, too tense, or anything like that. Like I've said, he's been mentally preparing for this for the last four years. I think he's ready for it."
"Zack's been here a long time," concluded Fitzgerald. "He's got a lot of experience. He's been chomping at the bit for an opportunity and now that he has it, I think he's excited. But we don't need Zack to do anything but just be him. He just needs to go play within the framework of the offense, not try to do too much. As always, as quarterback, just take what the defense gives you.
"Don't force things, and he'll be fine."
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