Former Nebraska football quarterback Patrick O'Brien had thought he had a better shot at getting the starting nod at Colorado State. After initially thinking he was going to be in the running for the job in Lincoln, he left the summer before Scott Frost's first season here.

When he picked the Rams, it appeared he was going to a school that would be better able to take advantage of his skills. As fall camp is just around the corner, it looks like O'Brien might have yet another uphill battle for the starting job. Even worse than that, it appears there is a decent chance he might not even be the top backup job.

Former Nebraska football star now third string?

The Denver Post recently talked to the Colorado State coaching staff and as they put it, the quarterback situation is where they left it in the spring. That means that Collin Hill, the man who took over the starting job at the end of last year, is expected to start the year as the starter as well. O'Brien and Justice McCoy are both vying just to be the backup quarterback at this point.

That means the former Nebraska football signal-caller could even fall further down the depth chart if he doesn't play all that well in fall camp.

“We’ve got three pretty good quarterbacks,” Johnson told the paper earlier this week. “You know, Collin has separated himself a little bit (based on) last spring, but the other two are right there."

That means that while O'Brien isn't in the driver's seat for the starting job, he's not out of the running either.

“But yeah," Johnson went on, "(O’Brien) is a talented quarterback. Big, strong, can throw the football. He has a lot of the physical attributes that you like in a quarterback.”

Mobility a problem again

The odd thing about O'Brien's situation at Colorado State is that it appears to be a replay of the situation he faced with the Nebraska football team.

The Rams are a squad that are looking to have someone who can move around outside the pocket as well as throw accurately inside it. Hill doesn't have Adrian Martinez type speed, but he's more fleet of foot than O'Brien.

The Denver Post also pointed out that the state of the offensive line with the Rams is likely why the coaching staff is leaning towards Hill.

It's not a strong unit. There's going to need to be a quarterback that can move around a bit better than O'Brien is ready to do.

After sitting out 2018 because of the transfer, the big question now is, would O'Brien consider a third school if he doesn't win the starting job? The former Nebraska football star has to at least be thinking about it. CSU wasn't a great team last year. Losing the starting job to a quarterback who played, but didn't play great last season would have to be a bit of a blow.
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