As Missouri wonders what Nebraska Coach Bill Callahan has up his sleeve for tomorrow night’s Big 12 North Division clash, here’s another question worth pondering: What’s Sam Keller have hidden under his?

AP photo

Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller has averaged 299 passing yards while completing 65 percent of his passes in five games this season. Keller sat out the 2006 season after losing his job at Arizona State.

Since taking over the Cornhuskers’ offense a month ago, the senior quarterback has worn a tight white sleeve from his upper left arm down to his wrist. Underneath lies a collection of tattoos honoring a high school friend who died in a car accident. Keller has said he wears the sleeve to avoid drawing attention to himself.

His exodus from the desert to Nebraska has already revealed enough.

You don’t have to read Keller’s left arm to know his story as it pertains to football. Two years ago at Arizona State, Keller was an early-season Heisman Trophy candidate. As a junior, he produced a three-game stretch during which he threw 12 touchdowns and no interceptions and averaged 411 passing yards a game. But the sun never shined brighter for the Sun Devil gunslinger. He threw four second-half interceptions in a 10-point loss to USC then suffered a season-ending thumb injury a week later against Oregon.

His replacement, freshman Rudy Carpenter, played well enough for Arizona State Coach Dirk Koetter to declare an open competition for the job the next season. A day after naming Keller his starter, Koetter reversed field and went with Carpenter. Conversations with Carpenter and the team’s leadership council reportedly helped convince Koetter to make the change. There were rumblings that Keller’s party-boy reputation played a role in his teammates’ endorsement for Carpenter.

Having lived in Keller’s Bay Area hometown of Danville, Calif., while he was coaching the Oakland Raiders, Callahan knew all about the Arizona State quarterback. By the end of the week, Keller enrolled at Nebraska after also considering Colorado, Louisville, Oklahoma and Texas-El Paso. NCAA transfer rules required Keller to sit out the 2006 season, but the Huskers would need a quarterback in 2007 to replace senior Zac Taylor.

Meanwhile, back at ASU, Carpenter struggled during a 7-6 season, after which Koetter was fired.

Back at Nebraska, as Taylor guided the Huskers to the Big 12 North Division title - while being named conference offensive player of the year - Keller diligently prepped the Huskers defense as the scout-team quarterback.

"Just reading up on him, he really earned the respect of the other players doing that," Missouri defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus said. "That shows a lot of his character."

Throughout the offseason, Callahan kept the quarterback competition open between Keller and junior Joe Ganz, but Keller’s teammates had raved about his leadership long before Callahan named him the starter in August. Any untamed behavior that might have smeared his image in Tempe, Ariz., was left in the desert.

"Zac was a great player and a great quarterback," Nebraska linebacker Corey McKeon told ESPN.com this summer. "But he lacked that killer instinct and the ability to go after somebody’s throat right away. … Sam has that killer instinct. He likes to go after people. He doesn’t like to sit back and see what people are going to give him. He likes to be the enforcer."

For Missouri’s sake, Keller’s right arm tells a more significant story than his concealed left. In five games, the 6-foot-4, 230-pound NFL prospect has averaged 299 passing yards, completed 65 percent of his passes and thrown for nine touchdowns to seven interceptions. Against Ball State on Sept. 22, he saved the Huskers from embarrassment by throwing for a school record 438 yards, including 322 in the second half. Perhaps most indicative of his leadership, Keller’s been his best in the clutch, posting a higher collective completion percentage (68.8) and quarterback rating (155.5) in the fourth quarter than any other quarter.

"They’re not missing a beat, and obviously having an experienced quarterback like that to come in and play at that caliber is huge for them," Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel said. "I’ve been very impressed with him and how he’s playing."

As valuable as Keller’s addition has been, the centerpiece of Nebraska’s offense is I-back Marlon Lucky, a former blue-chip recruit who shared the backfield the last few years. Though Nebraska’s running game ranks just 50th nationally, Lucky has been a workhorse, leading the Big 12 in carries (108) and rushing yards (565). He also leads the Huskers in receptions with 28. His 11 catches against Ball State were the second-most in school history.

Last year, Nebraska whittled away at Missouri’s defense with multiple screen passes to the backs as Lucky and Brandon Jackson, now a Green Bay Packers rookie, combined for seven catches for 106 yards against the Tigers.

"We have to have good screen reaction," Missouri tackle Lorenzo Williams said. "We have to know that their tailback don’t ever block anybody. So, if he runs up to you and blocks you, that means he’s rolling off for the screen."

To prepare for Lucky, the Tigers have implemented what they call the Marshall Faulk rule, a reference to the New England Patriots’ strategy against Faulk and the St. Louis Rams from Super Bowl XXXVI.

"When he leaves the backfield, he ain’t leaving for no reason," MU linebacker Sean Weatherspoon said. "Whenever he leaves, the defensive line has to be aware of where he is because on the screens, he tries to act like he’s avoiding you."

"Any time you see him," Williams said, "grab him."

Lucky has also thrown two touchdown passes in his career, including a 20-yarder last week against Iowa State.

But the Huskers will be relying on another arm tomorrow night - and not the one under the white sleeve.

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