SB Nation - Latravis Washington

Countdown to Husker Football Season: #5 - How Does Zac Lee Perform Under Pressure?

Jon Johnston — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:42:01 -0000

Zac Lee - Does the 2009 season ride on his shoulders?

All Husker fans should know that five is one of the most important numbers in Nebraska football history because it stands for the five national titles we've won. However, those don't matter this season. National titles can't get on the field and make a tackle, block a kick, or run for a first down. History and tradition don't matter a darned bit to the players on the field.

What does matter is how this year's #5, Zac Lee, plays the game. He's been around long enough to learn the offense. It's his time, his shot at being a leader. Everything sounds great, but everything sounds great in August. what happens when he's taking snaps in front of 80,000+ people who are expecting great things out of him.

Obviously the quarterback position is of vital importance no matter who's taking the snaps, but since this year's Husker team isn't strong enough on the offensive line and backfield to rely solely on the running game, Lee will have to perform in the passing game. He'll have to make plays with his feet.

The pressure on Lee is enhanced due to the fact that there's no one behind him. Sure, true freshman Cody Green and converted linebacker Latravis Washington are listed at quarterback on the depth chart, but it's unrealistic to expect that they've learned the offense by now.

Nebraska runs a pro-style offense in that the play call tells contains assignments for every position. This allows young players like Red Burkhead to get on the field quickly because Burkhead doesn't need to know what the receivers are doing, but only follow the I-backs assignment. The learning curve is greatly reduced - for everyone except quarterbacks. The quarterback has to know what everyone is doing . That's why it's so difficult for quarterbacks to learn the offense while others can pick it up with relative ease.

Going back to that point about making plays. It's not as important that this year's offense scores 40 points a game. It is important that Lee understands that and doesn't make boneheaded mistakes that put the Blackshirt defense at a disadvantage. If Lee can avoid mistakes (turnovers), the Huskers should have a great season. If not.... well...

The Huskers are five days away from Lee taking the field as their full-time starter. In talking about expectations, Husker fans are hoping he's better than Joe Ganz. I only hope he's smart.

2009 Husker Football Offensive Depth Chart Starting to Come Together

Jon Johnston — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:19:32 -0000

Having followed Bo Pelini for a year now, Husker fans should expect him to release a full depth chart sometime in November, just before the Colorado game. Maybe. It's an understandable position - tell some guys they're a starter, and they might think they've achieved something worthwhile and stop being as hungry as they need to be to play to their full potential.

If you're doubting the technique, let's look at it from another perspective. (NSFW - Profanity)

First prize, a Cadillac El Dorado. Second prize, steak knives. Third, well.... not much difference than what we see on the team, eh? First prize, you're starting. Second prize, you might get into the rotation. Third... there's your place on the bench.

A B C - "Always Be Closing" - a parallel to Pelini's bio on twitter - "The secret to success is constancy of purpose". In other words, if you're not working towards a goal on a consistent basis, you're not working. The Glenngarry Glen Ross comparison is simply an over-the-top representation of Pelini being angry with a less than satisfactory practice yesterday.

I promise I'll never compare Alec Baldwin with Bo Pelini again (shouldn't one of them have moved to France or something?), unless it's really necessary.

Following the tidbits that have dribbled out of camp, however, it shouldn't be too difficult to put one together. Here's what the 2009 Husker offense looks like to date:

LT     Mike Smith
LG    Keith Williams

We haven't heard too much about these positions, and last year both of these guys were solid. They should retain their positions into this season.

C    Jacob Hickman, Mike Caputo

Hickman is one of the best centers in the Big 12 - he will be a member of the starting rotation for the season, barring injury. This position is settled, has been since last season.

RG    ?????

We haven't heard much about Ricky Henry. I'm beginning to think this guy is a figment of an internet hype machine. Andy Christensen and Derek Meyer are candidates here, but don't forget spring's move with Hickman sliding over here and Caputo taking center.

Ricky Henry = steak knives? Ah, competition.

RT    D.J. Jones

You have Marcel Jones fight with D.J. Jones for that right tackle spot, which isn't so bad, because one of them is going to end up in the rotation anyway.

TE   Mike McNeil, Dreu Young, Kyler Reed, Ben Cotton

We're stocked here. So stocked you might count on seeing a number of three tight end sets in an Ace formation. If you're really wondering about all the things Shawn Watson can do with a great group of tight ends - check this and then comment here.

WR - X
WR - Z

It's Niles Paul and something like seven other guys here. Spread the ball around and see who starts making plays. It'd be good to see Chris Brooks have a great senior season, but you can bet if Menelik Holt and Will Henry don't come around that the youngster Antonio Bell and Brandon Kinnie are going to take over.

QB    Zac Lee, Cody Green

This has already been announced, much to the chagrin of Latravis Washington. There's been some questions about why Cody Green was moved to #2. The answer to that - who else is going to be #2 - has to make you realize that some Husker fans don't realize how thin this position is.

RB    Roy Helu Jr, Rex Burkhead, (Third?)

Obviously, Helu is THE guy this season. Burkhead has played well enough and show enough maturity to move ahead of Collins Okafor, Lester Ward, Marcus Mendoza, and Austin Jones. That third back must be found, however. Second place for these guys

Summary

Two units on offense remain unsettled - offensive line and wide receiver. Perhaps Pelini's motivational skills will push all players involved at those positions to the point that everyone is nearly even. This would result in a fair amount of depth, something that can't be discounted as the season goes on - hard work now may pay off in a Big 12 North title later - not necessarily because the Huskers have the greatest athletes at their position, but that they were the last one's standing.

That's my position for now. I'll think I'll hold on to that until we see the Huskers on the field.

Countdown to Husker Football Season: #10 - Roy Helu Enters 2009 Playing The Part of Atlas

Jon Johnston — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:02:51 -0000

Only a few days ago Nebraska was coming into the 2009 season with one of the best tandems in the Big 12. Now we're coming in with one of the thinnest backfields Nebraska has seen in a LONG time.

Think about this for a minute - when was the last time the Huskers had:

- only two running backs - Roy Helu Jr, Marcus Mendoza - with any on the field experience, with Mendoza's experience only nominal? (A quick look back brings me to 1990 with Terry Rodgers, Leodis Flowers and Lamont White, but that's a quick look)

- only three quarterbacks - Zac Lee, Cody Green, Latravis Washington - two of which have no on-the-field experience (yikes!).

This, my friends, leaves Roy Helu Jr entering the season not as a running back, but as Atlas. Not Charles Atlas, who turned 99-pound weaklings into real men when I was a kid, but the one of legend, who had to hold up the sky.

Roy Helu Jr - All These Wonders By the Master's Hand, Beautiful Nebraskaland

If you expected a photoshop of Helu holding up the sky... well, CN could use some photoshop assistance. Instead we honor professional photographer Dennis Hubbard, who's shot of Roy Helu made the Lindy's 2009 cover of the Big 12 edition (along with several shots inside) and who provided us with excellent Husker photos last season. Congrats, Dennis!

Husker Quarterback: Zac Lee's Backup? Kody Spano - The Man No One Knows

Jon Johnston — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:59:26 -0000

More photos » by DAVE WEAVER - AP

Nebraska quarterback Cody Green, a freshman from Dayton, Texas, throws a football on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009. during the first day of fall training camp in Lincoln, Neb. Ideally, a redshirt season is in the works for Green.

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While the Husker coaches haven't officially named a starter yet, there's little doubt that it's going to be Zac Lee. It doesn't leave for a lot of drama, and that's not such a bad thing considering the players the Huskers have to replace from last year's record-setting offense. Lee doesn't have much experience, having played in only two games and attempted two passes with one completion. Lee does have the benefit of having been around long enough to learn Shawn Watson's offense, and the buzz is that he's more athletic than Joe Ganz. Of course, that's easy to say - just like voting for the politician who doesn't have a track record.

Kody Spano is the guy no one talks about. Ideally, Spano plays well enough to win the backup role. He came into the program without a lot of fanfare after being the only quarterback in Bo Pelini's initial recruiting class. He sat out his freshman year, taking a redshirt season. He suffered a knee injury in the spring so no one got to see him in the Red White Spring Game. He has had a year to learn the offense, while at the same time is somewhat of an enigma because he is the only Nebraska quarterback that fans haven't seen play. There is no buzz about him. Fans don't talk about his speed or his abilities as a dual-threat quarterback. They don't talk about his arm - hell, fans don't talk about him at all.

Cody Green arrived on campus early to much fanfare last spring and LaTravis Washington received a lot of press because of his switch from linebacker. Both played reasonably well in the spring game, with Washington completing 21 of 31 passes for 190 yards. Washington is the wildcard here - recall the comments during spring practice about how strong his arm is and that the receivers were complaining about how hard he threw the ball. If we know something about the other three, we know absolutely nothing about Spano.

The key with Washington is that he doesn't need to learn the whole offense to be effective as a quarterback. Consider the "ducky" formation in which Ndamukong Suh lined up at fullback, or the Joker formation which featured Marlon Lucky lined up at quarterback and you get an idea of what I'm talking about. Plug in a few plays for Washington, and he'll be a contributor. Expecting a lot more out of him than that is folly.

An ideal situation for Cody Green is that 2009 is a redshirt season, giving him time to further develop and fully learn the offense. Pelini has already shown a desire to hold players back until he needs them, but the question is whether or not the two potential backups, Spano and Washington are capable of running the offense between them. There is o the idea that recruits might find it attractive that Pelini would allow a freshman to play quarterback, but if it doesn't fit into Pelini's overall philosophy for his program, then it's a stupid idea, isn't it?

Let's play devil's advocate and say Zac Lee has a bad day at Missouri. Will Bo Pelini let him play through it, knowing his young quarterback is going to have to make his share of mistakes to learn, or will he sit him and put someone else in to assure a victory in a critical game in the North. If Pelini puts someone else in, why wouldn't it be Spano?

Nebraska: Beyond the Box Score Preseason Offensive Preview

Bill C. — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:00:19 -0000

More photos » by Nati Harnik - AP

Is Bo Pelini ready for Year #5 expectations in Year #2?

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Confused? Catch up with the BTBS Primer.

Alright, through the non-conference slate, the BTBS Projections (which had none of my own biases in them whatsoever--I actually downgraded Mizzou's initial status in the original projections) have Missouri heading into conference play at 4-0, albeit with tight victories over Illinois and Nevada. As they head into their first weeknight ESPN home game since 1992's 6-0 loss to Colorado, Mizzou could either be primed for another North title run or ready for a stiff reality check to head into town. Or, you know, they could be 2-2 and desperate. We'll see. First up in conference, for the third straight year, are the Nebraska Cornhuskers. I'm bringing my A-game for this one (as I'm sure Missouri will too)--time to go waaaaaaaaaaaay beyond the box score.

With 1:43 left in the Colorado-Nebraska game, Alex Henery booted a beyond-clutch 57-yard field goal to give Nebraska a 33-31 lead. Forty-five seconds later, Ndamukong Suh intercepted a Cody Hawkins pass and took it to the house for the game-clinching TD in a 40-31 win. If Henery had missed that field goal, Nebraska would have likely lost and fallen to 7-5; they probably wouldn't have qualified for the Gator Bowl, and without the proceeding win over Clemson upon which to build, would the expectations for 2009 have been quite as high? Did the killer kick from Henery change the landscape of the 2009 preseason?

However it happened, here we are. Instead of a predominant "Is this the Jayhawks' time?" offseason storyline, most eyes have been on the Huskers. They're back! Ndamukong Suh! Blackshirts! Domination! (Of course, the cynical Missouri fan in me says the "They're back!" storyline would have been the same if they'd gone 0-12 last year--they're always 'almost back.' But I'm turning over a new leaf and trying to leave cynicism out of this...as much as I can, anyway). Instead of continuing to slowly build the program over time, Bo Pelini is now expected to produce a Top 15-20 team and North champion in Year #2.

Without further adieu, let's dive into our two-day, far-too-detailed look at Pelini's Huskers.

2008

Record: 9-4 (5-3)
S&P+: #21
Scoring Margin: 460-371 (+89)
Conference Scoring Margin: 284-272 (+12)
Wins (S&P+ Ranking in parentheses): #20 Kansas, #30 Clemson, #40 Baylor, #79 Kansas State, #82 Colorado, #101 San Jose State, #104 Iowa State, #106 Western Michigan, #110 New Mexico State
Losses: #3 Oklahoma, #10 Missouri, #15 Texas Tech, #41 Virginia Tech

Nebraska faced a whopping four teams ranked #100 or lower and went just 3-4 against teams in the Top 50. Their capstone wins were at home over #20 Kansas and in Jacksonville against #30 Clemson. In their two games against the S&P+ Top 10, they were outscored 114-45. But it's all about momentum (at least as far as offseason narratives go), and Nebraska has it. They won six of their last seven, and while they didn't beat a marquee team in that time, they did take out three in the Top 40 (KU, Clemson, Baylor). While it's probably true that Henery's kick against #82 Colorado sent expectations through the stratosphere, there's no denying that Nebraska has some things going for them. The nine wins were more than most people expected for 2008 (though not me, ahem), and a lot more is expected in 2009.

Coaching

Head Coach: Bo Pelini
Record at Nebraska: 9-4 (conference: 5-3)
Career Pythagorean Record (explained further down): +1.25 wins (+1.25/year)

A former co-captain and starting free safety for Ohio State (his senior season was Kirk Herbstreit's redshirt freshman season--I point this out only because I can), Bo Pelini has pretty quickly built a solid career for himself. After bouncing around at the grad assistant level for a few years, he made the move to NFL positions coach. He started with the 49ers (DBs coach, 1994-96), then moved to the Pats (LBs, 1997-99) and Packers (LBs, 2000-02). In 2003, he broke into the college ranks by taking over as Defensive Coordinator for Frank Solich's final Nebraska team. Solich was let go, and after a year as co-coordinator at OU, he spent three seasons as DC in Baton Rouge before taking the NU job last year. That's a pretty steady progression.

So how good was Pelini as a defensive coordinator? To gauge that, we can't simply look at his defenses' stats--we also have to compare it to something of a baseline for defensive performance at the schools he coached. So for his three DC gigs, we're going to compare his defenses' performances to the performance of those schools before and after his time.

Nebraska. In 2003, Nebraska gave up 14.5 points and 297.2 yards per game, allowed 4.4 yards per play, and forced an insane 3.5 turnovers per game (granted, 14 turnovers came in three games against Oklahoma State, Southern Miss and Troy, but that's still an impressive total). In the four seasons surrounding Pelini's one year in Lincoln, the Blackshirts gave up 21.9 points and 338.5 yards per game, allowed 4.7 yards per play, and forced 1.8 turnovers per game. Clearly Pelini's '03 unit was better than the others Solich or Bill Callahan produced around that time. (And you wonder why NU fans thought Pelini was an unbelievably great coach.)

Oklahoma. In 2004, Oklahoma gave up 16.8 points and 299.0 yards per game, allowed 4.8 yards per play, and forced 1.7 turnovers per game. In the four seasons sandwiching his one year in Norman, the Sooners gave up 18.8 points and 297.6 yards per game, allowed 4.6 yards per play, and forced 2.2 turnovers per game. This was a strange situation--he was a co-coordinator, and he was replacing the head coach's brother. His 2004 defense was really no better or worse than the typical Sooner defense (they gave up a couple fewer points, more yards per play, and forced fewer turnovers). Not surprisingly, he left after one season to take over another big-time defense and remove the "Co-" from his title.

LSU. From 2005-07, LSU gave up 15.7 points and 266.7 yards per game, allowed 4.2 yards per play, and forced 1.8 turnovers per game. In the four seasons sandwiching his time there, the Bayou Bengals gave up 17.5 points and 280.2 yards per game, allowed 4.4 yards per play, and forced 1.9 turnovers per game.

Aside from the 2003 turnovers outlier (if Pelini had been there five years, you know they wouldn't have forced 3.5 turnovers per game that whole time--it would have come back down toward the 2.0 range), you do get a pretty good read of a Pelini defense. They're going to give up the expected (and respectable) number of yards, but they also seem able to make the big plays in preventing points. Whether that's just timely blitzes in the red zone or something else, preventing points clearly is a pretty good idea (brilliant analysis, I know), and Pelini's defenses generally knew how to do it.

After five seasons of being a pretty good defensive coordinator, Pelini took the Nebraska job vacated by Bill Callahan. In season #1, the Huskers managed 9 wins despite a Pythagorean projection of just 7.75 wins, so well done there too. Usually a team overachieving its projection that much probably managed to win a series of close games, but Nebraska actually went only 1-2 in games decided by a touchdown or less, so...not sure. Really, the projections were probably crazy because they got crushed so badly by Oklahoma and Missouri and it skewed the reliability of the projection. Anyway, I'm not going to think too hard about it. We'll see how his Pythagorean record shapes up after at least a couple more years of data.

Offense

So we've talked a lot about the typical Pelini defense. What did the Pelini offense do in 2008, and what can we expect in 2009?

Overall Stats

S&P+: 119.9 (#18)
Success Rate+: 116.6 (#13)
PPP+: 124.3 (#20)

Standard Downs S&P+: 120.1 (#13)
Passing Downs S&P+: 119.1 (#25)

Redzone S&P+: 117.3 (#22)

Q1 S&P+: 123.8 (#22)
Q2 S&P+: 115.6 (#27)
Q3 S&P+: 123.9 (#17)
Q4 S&P+: 124.4 (#11)

1st Down S&P+: 128.0 (#10)
2nd Down S&P+: 111.9 (#38)
3rd Down S&P+: 123.9 (#22)

Rushing Stats

Rushing S&P+: 107.1 (#50)
Rushing SR+: 104.0 (#55)
Rushing PPP+: 112.1 (#50)

Standard Downs: 111.7 (#35)
Passing Downs: 84.9 (#102)

Redzone: 94.2 (#87)

Line Yards+: 96.1 (#81)

Passing Stats

Passing S&P+: 131.3 (#10)
Passing SR+: 129.9 (#8)
Passing PPP+: 113.1 (#15)

Standard Downs: 132.9 (#6)
Passing Downs: 130.0 (#17)

Redzone: 163.8 (#4)

Adj. Sack Rate: 4.9% (#40)

In all, Nebraska ended up putting together strong offensive numbers in 2008, better than some would expect. Because of Pelini's reputation and the ongoing "BLACKSHIRTS!!" narrative this offseason, it's assumed that the NU defense runs the show--not true. NU's defensive numbers were decent but far from dominant; meanwhile, they had a Top 20 offense. (Of course, this is a problem since they lost much more on offense than defense.)

NU's numbers here don't have a whole lot of crazy variation, but there is one in particular--while their Passing Downs performance was worse than Standard Downs performance across the board, they were severely lacking in terms of rushing on Passing Downs. What that says is, if they ran the ball on, say, 2nd-and-8, they were not picking up enough yards to avoid a 3rd-and-long.

Here are some other points of interest:

For the most part, their offense got better as the game progressed, from #20-30 in the first half to #10-20 in the second. They were best in the fourth quarter, and if that's because of the system, or the offensive line, or the running backs, that could mean great things for 2009. If it was more because of Joe Ganz or Nate Swift and Todd Peterson, that could be much less encouraging.
Their red zone passing was outstanding, and their red zone rushing was terrible. Strange. Though it also throws a little water on the "Quentin Castille = great short-yardage runner" theory. And again, if this was because of Ganz-to-Swift/Peterson, that could be a red flag.
Another interesting split: NU's O-line was #40 in preventing sacks (though that could have been somewhat due to Ganz's scrambling abilities) but only #81 in line yards. The 2009 O-line should be about the same as 2008, potentially a bit better, so NU's success in 2009 could hinge on whether Zac Lee is as elusive as Ganz.

Quarterback

Zac Lee is the default #1.

2008 Unit Ranking: #13 in the nation (#5 in the Big 12)

Projected Depth Chart
Zac Lee (6'2, 210, Jr.)
Latravis Washington (6'3, 225, Jr.)
Kody Spano (6'2, 215. RSFr.)

A former 4-star JUCO recruit, Lee won the battle for starting QB, in part, by sticking around. Entering the spring, Patrick Witt was seen as the slight favorite to win the starting job, by the end of the spring, he had announced that he was transferring. So that left the job to the winner of a contest between, basically, Lee and converted defender Latravis Washington. From what I read, Washington has nice arm strength and running ability (he was a QB in high school), but...well, in general you have to hope that your starting quarterback was actually playing quarterback twelve months earlier, not linebacker. So in the end, it was probably a relief that Lee won the job--he had a tremendous spring game, and while we've all come to notice how one performance in the spring game is taken more seriously than all other spring practices combined (just ask Blaine Gabbert), it does seem like he performed well enough in the spring that there is a legitimate amount of optimism in how he'll handle the job once the real season starts.

As mentioned above, the key to his success could be his elusiveness. Joe Ganz was able to extend coverage on a lot of plays by avoiding the pass rush and creating things outside the pocket. NU's offensive line was not too tremendous, and he possibly made them look better by avoiding sacks. If this is true, then Lee will need to do the same in 2009.

In the end, Lee shapes up to be anywhere between the #2 and #5 QB in the North, depending on both how he performs and how another newbie QB performs--one-time Nebraska commitment Blaine Gabbert.

Running Backs

Most hope pinned on the NU offense is because of this guy.

2008 Unit Ranking: #20 in the nation (#3 in the Big 12)

Projected Depth Chart
Roy Helu, Jr. (6'0, 215, Jr.)
Quentin Castille (6'1, 235, Jr.)
Collins Okafor (6'1, 225, RSFr.)

Taking poor line yardage figures into account, NU's running backs were quite strong in 2008, and they should be even better in 2009. Marlon Lucky was the go-to guy heading into the season, but he just didn't do anything on the field to keep from losing a large percentage of his carries to Roy Helu, Jr. (being injury-prone didn't help). Using the Points Over Expected (POE) measure, Lucky's 2008 carries generated 2.7 points fewer than would have been expected against given opponents (164th among 267 eligible FCS backs). Meanwhile, Helu generated 14.9 points over expected, good for 30th in the country and 6th in the Big 12 behind Kendall Hunter (5th), Chris Brown (8th), Derrick Washington (15th), DeMarco Murray (26th), and Keith Toston (27th). The third guy in the backfield, Quentin Castille, was almost exactly average, generating 1.7 POE.

(It should be noted that Lucky was also the #13 receiving RB according to POE, 2nd in the conference behind DeMarco Murray. Helu was #53, 9th in the conference.)

In the end, Helu took 125 carries, Lucky 125, and Castille 106. Simply splitting Lucky's carries among Helu and castille could generate between 10 and 15 extra EqPts for NU in 2009. That's really not too much to ask from the two, as that would only put Helu up to about 16 carries per game and Castille 14. Honestly, I don't think much of Castille, so the more carries to Helu, the better for Nebraska. The other question, of course, is can somebody like Collins Okafor break into the rotation?

Wide Receivers / Tight Ends

Jeremy Maclin's high school teammate, Mike McNeill

2008 Unit Ranking: #27 in the nation (#6 in the Big 12)

Projected WR Depth Chart
Menelik Holt (6'4, 220, Sr.)
Niles Paul (6'1, 215, Jr.)
Curenski Gilleylen (6'0, 220, So.)
Chris Brooks (6'2, 215, Sr.)
Will Henry (6'5, 215, Jr.)
Khiry Cooper (6'2, 195, RSFr.)

Projected TE Depth Chart
Mike McNeill (6'4, 240, Jr.)
Dreu Young (6'4, 245, Jr.)
Ryan Hill (6'3, 250, So.)

In 2008, Nate Swift and Todd Peterson combined for 125 catches, 1,727 yards, and 14 touchdowns. Meanwhile, the six names on the above WR depth chart combined for 57 catches, 607 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Looking at POE, Swift and Peterson were +29.5, everybody else -7.5.

In other words, the passing game could be pretty iffy in 2009. Now, certainly this receiving corps is more highly-touted from a recruiting perspective, but they have not yet produced, and considering there are two seniors and two juniors there, they've had plenty of opportunities already. Swift in partcular was quite solid, ranking 35th among 411 eligible receivers in POE, 7th in conference and ahead of Michael Crabtree (39th), Jordan Shipley (52nd), and Quan Cosby (100th).

But he's gone. The good news for Nebraska is, there are quite a few candidates for becoming Zac Lee's go-to receiver; the bad news, of course, is there's no guarantee that one will emerge. Menelik Holt has good size but was -1.8 POE (320th in the country). Niles Paul is a solid threat in kick returns but produced -5.7 POE (382nd, third-from-last in the conference ahead of just CU's Patrick Williams and ISU's Darius Darks). Curenski Gilleylen passed up a Mizzou offer to play for the Huskers but produced only 11 yards in two catches last year.

Then there's Chris Brooks, a former 4-star recruit from Hazelwood East (and Mizzou commit), ranked ahead of Chase Coffman, Brock Christopher, Kurtis Gregory, Justin Thornton, Jaron Baston, and Jairus Byrd in Rivals.com's 2005 State of MO rankings. Three seasons in Lincoln have produced three catches and 31 yards. He had himself a nice spring, even catching a touchdown pass in the Red-White Game, but...well, there isn't a very nice way to say this, but if Brooks is one of your top receivers, at this point in his career, that probably means that your receiving corps isn't very good. He's had plenty of time to distinguish himself and hasn't; and with little time on the field to date, it's not tremendously likely that his experience can lead to the latest of late-career breakthroughs...at least not much of one. Never say never, of course, but it's not likely.

The bright spot, however, comes at tight end. Every new QB can use a bailout option at the TE position (Mizzou fans are banking on Andrew Jones becoming just that for Blaine Gabbert), and junior Mike McNeill looks like a pretty nice bailout. He and Helu out of the backfield can allow the Huskers to pick up some yards while remaining conservative and letting Lee grow more confident. Jeremy Maclin's former high school teammate would have looked really good in black and gold.

Offensive Line

Jacob Hickman is one of the conference's better centers. Of course, now he's playing guard.

2008 Unit Ranking: #61 in the nation (#8 in the Big 12)

Projected Depth Chart
G Jacob Hickman (6'4, 295, Sr.)
T Mike Smith (6'6, 290, Jr.)
G Keith Williams (6'5, 320, Jr.)
T Marcel Jones (6'7, 310, So.)
C Mike Caputo (6'1, 275, So.)
G Ricky Henry (6'4, 300, Jr.)
G DJ Jones (6'5, 315, Jr.)
G Andy Christensen (6'3, 310, Sr.)
T Jaivorio Burkes (6'5, 295, Jr.)
T Brandon Thompson (6'6, 300, RSFr.)

Here's where my own stats confuse me. With good rushing stats and decent sack totals, it seems like NU would have had a pretty good line in 2008. But the line yards measure--not a perfect stat, obviously, but a pretty good one--credited most of NU's rushing yards to the backs, and it really is likely that Ganz's scrambling ability (just think of how much he was on the run against Missouri) bailed the line out of some pretty poor sack numbers. In the end, NU's line ranked poorly, below Iowa State (60th), Kent State (53rd), Southern Miss (51st) and Marshall (50th).

It appears that Bo Pelini knew that his line wasn't too hot--he did a decent amount of shuffling this spring. The result is a line that has potential quality at the guard positions but inexperience at center and shakiness on the outside. Their 61 career starts rank fifth in the conference, but solid experience on a mediocre line isn't as impressive as a smidge less experience on a really good line. With a new QB, new receivers (who may, in theory, take longer to get open), and a unit or RBs who had to create a lot on their own in 2008, the offensive line could be the linchpin of the Nebraska offense.

Summary

If you believe that NU's defense is going to be outstanding in 2009 (maybe, maybe not--we'll talk about this tomorrow), then the offense only needs to be serviceable to win the Huskers some games in the Big 12 North. By all means, there is enough talent here--particularly in Helu, McNeill, Hickman, and potentially Lee--to put some points on the board, but we'll see. The offensive line is relatively experienced but shaky, and the WR corps is the exact opposite of proven. If NU can't avoid passing downs, and if the passing threat isn't enough to prevent defenses from keying on Helu, then this unit could go downhill in a hurry. On potential, Nebraska could have the 2nd- or 3rd-best offense in the North, but some players--Holt, Paul, Jones, Caputo--will need to step up their games for that to happen.

Tomorrow: the defense.

2009 Spring Game Report Card

Husker Mike — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 19:09:08 -0000

More photos » by Nati Harnik - AP

Red team quarterback Zac Lee throws during the annual Nebraska Red-White spring college football game in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday, April 18, 2009. The Red team defeated the White team 31-17.(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

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This edition of the report card is a little more difficult than the regular report cards, since it was the Husker offense versus the Husker defense. And with so many new players on the field wearing jerseys without names, I spent a heck of a lot of time trying to figure out who was who out there, and whether plays were the result of something good or something bad. (It probably didn't help that my seats were in the nosebleed section of the north end zone...)

So here's my report card...feel free to disagree or comment otherwise.

Quarterback: A- No quarterback really made any mistakes out there. Playcalling was limited, and the green jerseys made it difficult to evaluate running ability. Zac Lee was laser efficient, while LaTravis Washington was surpringly efficient with a howlitzer for an arm. Cody Green looked fairly good as well for a guy who should have been spending a Saturday afternoon getting fitted for a tuxedo for the prom.

Running Back: B+ Quentin Castille had to face the white defense with Ndamukong Suh on the field, but did fairly well. Austin Jones looked good, but of all the young backs, I liked Lester Ward the best. What impressed me with Ward was his ability to fight for yards after contact. Collins Okafor disappointed me with his first few runs, but he showed great acceleration later on, especially on that long touchdown run.

Wide Receivers: B- The passing game was kept simple and short most of the day, so the receivers didn't have a lot to contribute. Antonio Bell had a nice catch, but I really liked Chris Brooks' ability to snare those missiles from Washington. Marcus Mendoza is going to be a weapon that can stretch the field this fall.

Tight Ends: A+ Are the Huskers loaded at tight end or WHAT? Mike McNeill emerged as a weapon towards the end of the year. Now let's add in Ben Cotton and Kyler Reed as well. Reed outraced the entire secondary on his 71 yard touchdown reception.

Offensive Line: B+ Running lanes were tough when Suh was in the game, but things opened up after he left. Sadly, without names on the backs of jerseys and numbers rolled up into their pads, it was tough from my perspective to keep track of everybody.

Defensive Line: B+ Suh is still Suh. Cameron Meredith made some nice plays early on as well. We're going to have a little more depth on the d-line this season.

Linebacker: C- With all of the new players wearing no-name jerseys, it was really tough to keep track of what was happening. The linebackers got roasted by the tight ends all day. Will Compton had a couple of nice tackles though.

Secondary: B- I really hoped I would have seen an interception, what with two first-time quarterbacks taking the majority of the snaps. P.J. Smith looks like he could become a playmaker back in the secondary.

Special teams: A- You could tell by the number of hankies that special teams hadn't been worked on much, but some nice individual efforts. Alex Henery missed wide right on a 50 yard field goal. What a bum, he's absolutely no good from that distance. He does show promise as a punter, though. Tim Marlowe had a very nice punt return late in the game.

Meteorologists: F Two weeks ago, there were predictions of a blizzard. Then, an 80% chance of rain. Instead, the sun broke through after kickoff and it was a gorgeous spring day in Nebraska.

Overall: B+ Nobody got hurt, and not a lot of mistakes out there.

Elsewhere in Spring Football

Missouri: Just 13,122 showed up, and the defense (with only 4 returning starters) dominated. Tiger fans should be worried.

Iowa State: 7,000 showed up to watch Austen Arnaud go 22 for 35 and 250 yards against the top defense. Clone Chronicles wasn't impressed.

Texas Tech: The next name to enter Tech's record books in Leach's high powered offensse: Taylor Potts. 12,500 fans showed up.

Texas A&M: 8,000 fans showed up trying to understand what the hell Mike Sherman is doing to the Aggie program. The final score: Offense 117- Defense 107. Nobody knows how it happened.

Oklahoma State: Dez Bryant and Kendall Hunter didn't play, and the second half was a race to beat a thunderstorm to Stillwater.

Poll

Who impressed you more in Nebraska's 2009 Spring Game?

Quarterbacks

68 votes

Running Backs

3 votes

Wide Receivers

10 votes

Tight Ends

48 votes

Offensive Line

1 votes

Defensive Line

10 votes

Linebackers

3 votes

Secondary

3 votes

146 votes | Poll has closed

2009 Nebraska Spring Game - Kyler Reed is "Who's That Guy!"

Jon Johnston — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:27:17 -0000

More photos » by Nati Harnik - AP

8 months ago: White team's Antonio Bell makes a touchdown catch against red team's Jase Dean during the annual Nebraska Red-White spring college football game in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday, April 18, 2009. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

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Impressions from Nebraska's spring game:

- What a gorgeous day. My worst fear was that I'd drive 400 some-odd miles, have thunderstorms roll in, have the game cancelled or postponed and I'd see nothing. Thank you, God.

- The quarterbacks looked pretty decent. Steve Sipple thinks so, as does Steve at Big Red Network and Tad at Huskerpedia. All three looked pretty decent, as decent as you can when you're wearing a green jersey, not allowed to scramble nor afraid of being hit by a defensive linemen or linebacker.

Latravis Washington looked fairly natural in his new position. Some have indicated they feel like he'll switch back come fall, but I seriously doubt it. He's one injury away from potentially starting or a gob of playing time, so why would he? Washington checked down at least twice in the game. That's not bad.

- Ricky Henry, fiery nature, blah blah blah. Apparently he earned that from playing past the whistle in high school or something like that because I didn't see it yesterday. In fact, the whole offensive line looked flat to me, although they are playing one of the best defensive line units in the Big 12. We will struggle on offense next year, but it won't be apparent until Virginia Tech.

- Your "Who's that Guy!" moment came from tight end Kyler Reed, who caught a pass near the sideline and raced 71 yards for a touchdown. He outran everyone chasing him. He's a tight end. He didn't get as big a cheer as Antonio Bell did on his leaping catch, but his run happened later in the game when a lot of people had already left.

- Great leaping grab by Antonio Bell, ala the picture on this article and in today's Lincoln Journal sports section. That was another "Who's that Guy!" moment, but I gave Reed the nod for his speed.

- Defense looks improved. Few missed tackles, but some pass interference pentalties. A lot of people I talked to were there to see the linebackers. They should have left impressed.

- Collins Okafor had a couple nice runs, while Lester Ward was okay. Okafor should be the third back.

- Austin Jones looked pretty decent in last year's spring game and he looked good again this year. I like him - he's a good back for zone-blocking. Doesn't dance, just goes. Hopefully he'll get some work this season.

- The best part? No major injuries.

2009 Nebraska Football Spring Preview: Linebackers A Plenty!

Jon Johnston — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:00:11 -0000

Last year Bo Pelini walked into his first spring practice wondering where his linebacking unit was. He finally located them standing behind a post, difficult to locate because they were so thin (insert collective groan).

Bo Pelini started his first season with one returning starter, Phillip Dillard, at linebacker. Tyler Wortman had played in 2008 due to injuries to Bo Ruud and Lance Brandenburgh, but that was the extent of the experience. The depth chart looked so bad going into spring practice that Cody Glenn switched positions from running back to linebacker.

This year the linebacker position is so loaded that Latravis Washington switched to quarterback, leaving no less than 12 players to vie for playing time at three positions. What a difference a year makes - this year you couldn’t throw a rock at the Husker football team without hitting a linebacker.

Can Phillip Dillard work his way back into a starting middle linebacker role?
Photo by Dennis Hubbard.

The switch for Glenn appeared to work out well as at times he played like a man possessed, while at others he made silly mistakes. Even though an unfortunate suspension ended his season after nine games, Glenn ended up fifth in total tackles with 51. He had six tackles for loss, four pass break-ups and a forced fumble.

Phillard Dillard played in nine games, but suffered an ankle injury against Baylor and missed the remaining fives games. He finished the season with 38 tackles and a half sack. Colton Koehler started the season a relative unknown, but played in seven games and eventually replaced Dillard as the starter. Koehler got his first career start in the Gator Bowl and finished the season with 16 tackles, including eight against Kansas State and a safety against Baylor.

Matt Holt was another surprise, earning his first career start against Texas Tech. He played in nine games, finishing with a total of 14 tackles, including eight against Texas Tech. He suffered an injury during the Kansas game and missed the rest of the season due to should surgery.

Beyond Dillard, Blake Lawrence has the most experience of this year’s linebackers. Lawrence played in ten games at the will spot and started two games including the Gator Bowl. He finished 2008 with 21 total tackles and had an interception against Clemson that lead to a Alex Henery field goal.

The talk before the start of spring practice was whether or not Dillard could fight off middle linebacker of the future Will Compton. After Mike Ekeler’s recent comments it appears that Dillard may have to worry about fighting Colton Koehler and Matthew May for playing time as well.

Redshirt freshmen Will Compton, Alonzo Whaley, and Sean Fisher are highly-touted newcomers expected to compete for a starting role. Compton is widely considered Nebraska’s middle linebacker of the future while Whaley and Fisher will compete for the outside linebacker roles.

Who are the projected starters? Right now, who cares? Pelini won’t make a depth chart for spring practice, and with this many linebackers vying for playing time there’s no reason why he should as the competition will continue well into fall. There will be a depth chart come fall and someone will be starting, but given that the Huskers first two games are against Sun Belt conference teams Florida Atlantic and Arkansas State expect a number of different linebackers to see playing time. This will give Compton, Whaley, or Fisher time to grow into starters without necessarily exposing the defense early in the season.

Nebraska started three linebackers only three times last season. Whether that is due to the Big 12’s shift to the spread offense or because of the 2008 depth issues is debatable. If the 2009 group, particularly the will and buck positions, can show enough speed they’ll see the field more than their 2008 counterparts.

Who Goes Where?

Brian Christopherson at Husker Extra was kind enough to lay out the position battles going into spring, also noting that this does not represent a depth chart.

At the WILL: Blake Lawrence, Alonzo Whaley, Matt Holt, Matthew May
At the MIKE: Colton Koehler, Phillip Dillard, Will Compton, Matthew May (he's swinging between MIKE and WILL)

At the BUCK: Sean Fisher, Micah Kreikemeier, Graham Stoddard, Blake Lawrence (swinging between the WILL and BUCK)

A look at the class breakdown:
Phillip Dillard - Sr
Colton Koehler - Sr

Thomas Grove - Jr
Blake Lawrence - Jr
LaTravis Washington - Jr - switched to quarterback

Mathew May - So
Matt Holt - So
Joseph Camarata - So
Austin Stafford - So - no longer with team

Sean Fisher - RFr
Tanner Foxhoven - RFr
Will Compton - RFr
Micah Kreikmeier - RFr
Matt Manninger - RFr
Alonzo Whaley - RFr
Graham Stoddard - RFr
Sam Meginnis - RFr

Freshman Recruits:

Robert Barry - Fr - Walk On
Colby Starkebaum - Fr - Walk On
Chris Williams - Fr - Scholarship
Devin Paulsen - Fr - Walk On
Eric Martin - Fr - Scholarship

Nebraska Football: Catching Up On Spring Practice

Jon Johnston — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 11:00:11 -0000

Latravis Washington moved from linebacker to quarterback and has a really strong arm.

What’s interesting about this?

A couple things.

First, we have another story of spring that points back to Cody Glenn’s position switch to linebacker from running back. Everyone wondered if it would work, then Glenn played like a man possessed at the linebacker position, as if he should have been there all along. Could the same happen with Washington?

Second, once again Kody Spano is left in the shadows. He was overlooked by Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State. Now he’s being overlooked by the media and Husker fans alike. If you’re not pulling for this guy to do well, you should be.

Marcus Mendoza moved from running back to wide receiver.

"Just looking for speed, someone who can bring speed to the outside perimeter," offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said.

From what I’ve seen of Mendoza (which is little, same as you), I wouldn’t mind him seeing the field more. Perhaps he could be Nebraska’s alternative to Missouri star Jeremy Maclin. However, if it’s speed Watson is looking for, what about Curenski Gilleylen? Or again, are we just following stories, and reading more into this than needs be?

Consider another perspective. Mendoza should have been the third string running back, which isn't a bad thing. He'd see the field, get a share of the carries, and he's only a sophomore.

If he's switched positions, then doesn't that point to another alternative for third string running back? Collins Okafor, Austin Jones? Or Rex Burkhead in the fall?

Husker Mike pointed out that Phillip Dillard is in the dog house. You could take this as bad news, or you could see it from another perspective. If Dillard has been moved down the depth chart, then Mike Ekeler must have seen good things coming out of his other linebackers.

Like Will Compton, for example.

Going back to that Latravis Washington thing, does it really matter? Zac Lee is going to be the starter, right? Of course he is, he understands the offense. Still, I can't help but think about what a guy who used to play linebacker might look like running a hybrid single wing, kind of like some guy named Tebow. The single wing isn't complex, but it's more about power, will, and execution.

Hmmmmmm.........

So many questions with so few answers. It's spring football. What did you expect?

Nebraska 2009 Spring Football: Bo Pelini As Managment: No Job is Safe

Jon Johnston — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 06:37:29 -0000

Bo Pelini couldn’t have been clearer about his emphasis coming into spring practice than if he were a manager at any one of thousands of companies across the country. His message was clear and to the point:

No job is safe.

Pelini re-iterated on several occasions that coming into spring starting positions are wide open to competition. While this is a common motivational tool, it serves the purpose of putting the players into the mindset of knowing that they’re not only going to have to work hard throughout spring practice, but that they’ll need to work hard beyond that and into fall if they expect to gain a starting role in the fall.

Bo Pelini in charge? You betcha.
Photo by Dennis Hubbard

Pelini’s emphasis was no clearer than when his response when asked about returning senior linebacker Phillip Dillard:

He is healthy and I expect him to come out there and compete for a job.

Translated - If you don’t put in the effort, you’re not going to have one.

Pelini also made clear that he focuses on details as he mentioned that he had just come from a class, clearly checking to verify that his student-athletes hadn’t forgotten the “student” aspect of their job description.

It's this kind of attention to detail that turns teams into champions. It was comforting to hear that coming from the current head coach of Nebraska Cornhusker football.

Other noteworthy developments

Quarterbacks:

Freshman recruit Cody Green has a soft-tissue hip injury and will miss some spring practice. Pelini indicated that the injury wasn't serious, but he also made mention of the fact that Green should be considered a high school senior and that it's a bonus that he's already on campus. Reading between the lines indicating that it may not be much of an issue because he doesn't expect that Green will be playing much this year.

The other big announcement regarding the quarterback position is the movement of Latravis Washington from linebacker to quarterback. The move makes sense for the team and for Washington. Coming into last year’s spring game there was an enormous lack of depth at linebacker. This year the position appears to be overflowing. With the departure of Patrick Witt, the quarterback position is the spot that is suffering from a depth issue. Washington, who played quarterback in high school, adds depth to the position. The move offers Washington a better chance of getting on the field, and at the least adds another player to round out rotations for practice. The move benefits Washington and the team.

Offensive Line:

Jaivorio Burkes will miss spring practice due to an undisclosed medical condition. With regards to Andy Christensen, Pelini stated:

Andy is getting better and making progress. He is not where he or we want him to be. He’s been off for over a year and he is getting close. The spring is going to be big for him.

Secondary Theme:

The secondary theme regarding Pelini's message is an indication of just how rough of shape the defense was in when he arrived last year. Pelini indicated that the Huskers will do more with the defense this coming season because his players are more experienced with his philosophy and methodology.

Again, nice to hear from the current head coach of Nebraska Football.