- Bo Pelini's first spring practice is around the corner. Time to preview.....
Huskers positional breakdown
By The Lincoln Journal Star
Wednesday, Mar 26, 2008 - 12:25:18 am CDT
Heading into spring football practices, there are a few questions to be answered on the roster. Here's a breakdown of each position for the Huskers.
Offense
Quarterback
After throwing for 1,399 yards and starting the last three games of 2007, senior Joe Ganz enters spring ball as the No. 1 quarterback.
It’d be a major surprise if he loses that spot, but some of those with hopes of challenging him are Zac Lee, Patrick Witt, Beau Davis and Kody Spano.
Husker coach Bo Pelini said “we believe the competition at the quarterback position is going to be very good.”
Returning starter: Ganz.
Key loss: Sam Keller.
Running back
Finding someone to tote the rock will not be a problem. Senior Marlon Lucky is the Big 12’s leading returning rusher, ending last season with 1,019 yards on the ground and 705 yards receiving.
Lucky will certainly be pushed by a plethora of young talent: Quentin Castille, Roy Helu, Cody Glenn, Marcus Mendoza and possibly even Kenny Wilson, who is optimistic about returning after sitting out 2007 with a broken leg.
While Lucky was the highlight last fall, flashes of brilliance were shown by Helu and Castille, both sophomores. Glenn is worth keeping your eyes on. The senior is said to be “full-go” heading into spring.
Returning starter: Lucky.
Key losses: none.
Tight end
The Huskers will be looking to replace the graduated Sean Hill, Josh Mueller and J.B. Phillips, who started 34 games at NU.
Senior Hunter Teafatiller, who had four touchdowns last year, brings the most experience to the position. Nebraska will need players such as sophomores Mike McNeill and Dreu Young to come on strong.
Redshirt freshman Ryan Hill and Tyson Hetzer, a junior college recruit, will also get a good look this spring.
Returning starters: none.
Key losses: Hill, Mueller, Phillips.
Offensive line
Pelini has called it the strength of the team. “We think that we’re not only going to have a good starting line, but we’re going to have a little bit of depth there,” Pelini said.
The Huskers return players with a total of 67 career starts on the O-line — Lydon Murtha, Matt Slauson, Jacob Hickman and Mike Huff are all guys who have significant starting experience.
Sophomore Jaivorio Burkes could be a special talent at tackle. Mike Smith, Keith Williams and D.J. Jones will also definitely be in the mix. Hickman seems to be a logical choice to replace Brett Byford at center. Losing pro prospect Carl Nicks at left tackle could hurt.
Returning starters: Hickman, Huff, Murtha, Slauson.
Key losses: Nicks, Byford.
Receiver
Nebraska needs youth to step up here. The Huskers lose four seniors who totaled 293 receptions and 34 touchdowns, most notably Maurice Purify and Terrence Nunn.
Seniors Nate Swift and Todd Peterson will have to be the leaders. Swift has 103 career catches and 12 scores. Who else? Niles Paul, Menelik Holt, Will Henry, Chris Brooks, Wes Cammack and Currenski Gilleylen will all be competing for playing time.
“It’s just all if it comes mentally,” Ganz said of the young receivers. “They have all the ability in the world. It’s really going to be up to me, Nate and Todd to really bring them along. It’s a big opportunity for them. It’s a big spring.”
Returning starter: Swift.
Key losses: Purify, Nunn.
Defense
Defensive line
The Huskers return four starters on a defensive line that is coming off a difficult season. Zach Potter and Barry Turner return at the end spots, while Ty Steinkuhler and Ndamukong Suh are back inside.
The Huskers lacked depth on the line, got dented often against the run and recorded just 13 sacks last year. But, still, there’s plenty of fan optimism, with new coaches and a new system in place. Turner is believed to be a guy with high potential, and Potter and Suh showed flashes of what Husker coach Bo Pelini will want to see on a more consistent basis this fall.
After transferring from junior colleges, seniors Kevin Dixon and Shukree Barfield both learned on the job last year as backups at defensive tackle. Other guys who will battle for playing time are Pierre Allen, Ben Martin and Clayton Sievers. David Harvey and redshirt freshmen Will Yancy and Jared Crick also look to get in the mix.
Returning starters: Potter, Turner, Suh, Steinkuhler.
Key losses: none.
Linebacker
It’s no easy task to say who will emerge at linebacker come fall. Spots are wide-open after the departures of Bo Ruud, Steve Octavien, Corey McKeon and Lance Brandenburgh.
One returning player who figures to be a favorite to win a starting job is Phillip Dillard, who had 37 tackles at the MIKE position last fall. Other returning Huskers looking for playing time are Latravis Washington, Blake Lawrence, Austin Stafford, Nick Covey and Tyler Wortman.
The landscape will change in the fall when freshman recruits such as Will Compton, Sean Fisher, Alonzo Whaley and Micah Kreikemeier report to camp. It’s possible position changes could also eventually factor in here. Major Culbert will start the spring at safety but might be tried at linebacker.
Returning starters: none.
Key losses: Ruud, Octavien, McKeon, Brandenburgh.
Secondary
The Huskers lose six seniors here but return two starters in safety Larry Asante and cornerback Armando Murillo. Anthony Blue, Prince Amukamara and Rickey Thenarse all seem strong candidates for the other starting positions.
Blue will have to come back from an ACL tear that is keeping him out of spring ball.
Other players who will look to impress are Anthony West, Eric Hagg and Matt O’Hanlon. Hagg and West both saw action as freshmen last season.
Returning starters: Murillo, Asante.
Key losses: Zack Bowman, Cortney Grixby, Tierre Green, Andre Jones, Ben Eisenhart, Bryan Wilson.
Special Teams
Kicker
It doesn’t appear the kicking game will be a problem for the Huskers in 2008. Nebraska returns sophomore Alex Henery, who is yet to miss a PAT (45-for-45 ) or a field goal (8-for-8) in his college career. Then there’s strong-footed Adi Kunalic to handle kickoffs. He became a fan favorite last season, leading the nation in touchback percentage.
At punter, senior Dan Titchener is back. He has pinned teams inside the 20-yard line on 42 of his kicks the past two years.
Senior Jake Wesch is around as a backup and would seem the likely candidate to continue with holding duties.
Returning starters: Henery, Kunalic, Titchener.
Key losses: none.
Returners
Plenty of players will get a chance to show what they can do returning kicks. Three guys you might see back deep in various situations are Marlon Lucky, Niles Paul and Nate Swift.
Lucky has the most experience of anyone around on kickoff returns, having returned 22 in his career.
The Huskers will be looking to find someone who can replace Cortney Grixby, who set a Big 12 record for kickoff return yardage last season.
Returning starters: none.
Key losses: Grixby, Andre Jones.
- Cliffs Notes to Husker Spring Football
By BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star
Wednesday, Mar 26, 2008 - 12:25:19 am CDT
It’s not known if Clifton Hillegass ever gave any attention to Husker football, but the man behind Cliffs Notes was a Nebraska native.
Since the beginning of Cliffs Notes in 1958, young minds have used the guides to help understand what they just read or — in some cases — get a quick summarization on something they didn’t read at all 10 minutes before a test.
What we have here isn’t exactly Cliffs Notes on Dickens.
Pelini, yes.
Nebraska’s spring football season begins today, the first under head coach Bo Pelini.
With so many words written and said about Husker football, here’s an attempt to offer a guide to some of the basic things to know and expect about spring camp and this Nebraska team.
We’ll tackle “The Old Man and The Sea” at a later date.
WHAT’S PELINI’S GOAL FOR THIS SPRING SEASON?: Laying bricks, even if the going is slow.
Pelini said this week that “you can make the mistake of trying to be the Patriots tomorrow.”
With new coaches in place, patience will be important this spring. But Pelini said he does want to make sure basic principles on both sides of the ball are established.
“Build a foundation,” he said. “Just keep building a foundation, which we have been doing down in the weight room and in the conditioning program. (We’ve been) developing the athleticism and that type of thing, and now we just get to put in some X’s and O’s.”
WHO WILL BE THIS TEAM’S SPOKESMEN?: Every year, a certain few players seem to emerge as spokesmen for the team. Sam Keller, Bo Ruud and Ndamukong Suh often faced the difficult questions during a 5-7 season last year.
Who will fans hear from the most this year?
Quarterback Joe Ganz will field plenty of questions and most likely do very well at answering them. Defensive end Zach Potter, safety Larry Asante, offensive lineman Matt Slauson and receiver Nate Swift are also impressive dealing with the media.
“It doesn’t bother me,” Ganz said of being a spokesperson. “I consider myself a vocal leader of the team, so talking to the press and the media just comes along with playing the position and being a leader of the team.”
WHAT POSITIONS HAVE THE MOST OPEN RACES?: Linebacker, the secondary and wide receiver.
No starters return from last year’s linebacker corps. The secondary brings back two starters — Asante and Armando Murillo — but will need youth to emerge. The same could be said at wide receiver, where the Huskers will need new names to step up and help out seniors Swift and Todd Peterson.
WHAT’S THE PRACTICE SCHEDULE?: The Huskers will work out about two hours each practice, with today’s beginning at 3:30 p.m.
All but one of the practices will be on the Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays leading up to the April 19 Red-White Spring Game.
ARE PRACTICES OPEN TO THE PUBLIC?: Nope. Not until the Spring Game, at least.
Pelini’s practices will be closed to the media, a common thing with many college programs.
“I just don’t want distractions,” Pelini said. “I don’t like the media making their determinations based on who’s doing what. That’s the part I don’t like. I want the message to get out, but I want to make sure the correct things are getting out there.
“I don’t want some guy making his determination of where our football team is and what we’re doing or not doing, and who’s playing well and who’s not playing well, based on his perception of what a guy might or might not be being asked to do. I just want to make sure the information getting out is correct.”
WHO’S OUT?: Two key Huskers you won’t see this spring are defensive tackle Suh and cornerback Anthony Blue, who tore his ACL. Both recently had surgery.
Running back Kenny Wilson, who missed last season because of a broken leg, will be limited at the start of spring drills.
“He’s coming along,” Pelini said. “He has good days and bad. He worked his butt off, and he went through everything in the winter.”
But Pelini also said another senior running back, Cody Glenn, who’s been bothered by foot problems, is “full-go.”
WILL THE QUARTERBACKS WEAR GREEN?: Yes, Pelini said, you’ll probably see green hands-off jerseys on Ganz and crew.
HOW PHYSICAL WILL THINGS GET?: “We’re not going to be out there playing tag,” Pelini said. “I’ll promise you that.”
Pelini has said he doesn’t envision many full-blown scrimmages, but that there would be plenty of mini-scrimmages.
As for maybe seeing the No. 1 offense go against the No. 1 defense in the Spring Game (something Bill Callahan did not do in his four years at Nebraska), Pelini said it was a possibility.
“It depends on where we are at that point. I’m sure there will be some aspect of 1s versus 1s,” Pelini said. “But it’s hard to commit to that yet until you know where things are and how the spring goes and where we are at that point injury-wise.”
HOW WILL A TEAM COMING OFF A 5-7 SEASON FIND CONFIDENCE?: Pelini said he believes confidence will take care of itself once players see some success.
“If they start feeling the success and believing in the system, believing in their coaches, believing in each other, then that mental psyche will take care of itself over time,” Pelini said.
“Me sitting up there in front of them and trying to read a bunch of psychological books to try to talk to these guys, that isn’t what it’s all about. It’s about developing their confidence in the belief of what's going on.”
- Spring Ball story lines.
LINCOLN — The fishbowl has been cleaned and is ready for use again.
Just in time for the biggest spring practice ever at Nebraska.
Well, at least since four years ago, or, the last time a new coach came to town, turned Nebraska football upside down and shook it like a snow globe.
Remember that?
Four years ago, a guy came in here and said he was going to change the culture of Big Red, make it like the National Football League and throw the ball just because. Funny, but the culture didn’t change. The coach did. What wasthat guy’s name again?
Bo Pelini is back. And as spring arrives like a welcome warm breeze after a long, cold winter, the metaphors will come to life this spring in and around Memorial Stadium. What will they do? What can they possibly do in 15 practices?
Here are the most intriguing characters of a most intriguing spring:
Coach Bo: We won’t begin to find out what sort of head coach Pelini is until he’s got fourth-andfive on Missouri’s 32, with three minutes left and MU up 24-21 and he has to decide whether to kick or punt or go for it. Can’t wait.
But it will be interesting to see if Pelini carries himself like a head coach. So far, he’s won all of the press conferences. I’m curious as to how much time he’ll spend on offense, how much he’ll yell, how much he’ll hug, how tough and physical his practices will become. At least we know that the Huskers won’t play “tag.” Last year, the second- and third-teamers were so bored at practice they got into water fights.
Husker fans will be able to read between the white lines. They know passion and chemistry. By the time of the 15th practice, or spring game on April 19, we’ll have a good indication of how well the “passion” foundation brick was laid this spring.
There will be other indicators, too: Constant helmet repair, players leaving . . . that will tell us that things are getting done.
Shawn Watson: He has gone from Bill Callahan’s caddy to the main guy in the cockpit, pushing all of the buttons on offense. Watson’s cupboard is not deep with proven receivers, but it’s chock- full of bruising backs and an offensive line with run-blocking potential. Throw in a quarterback who can run the zone read, and who knows what Watson will do? But one thing about Watson’s offenses at Colorado: They always fit the scheme around the personnel, not the other way around.
Joe Ganz: When Watson was retained as offensive coordinator, Ganz was all but assured pole position for the job, given his relationship with Watson. This is a confident, not cocky, kid who can make plays. It will be interesting to see how Ganz will react on top.
Marlon Lucky: Senior year, money year, new offense with new guy calling the shots. A big finale sits in front of Lucky like an open field. It’s hard to call Lucky a “sleeper.” But he’s myX factor for the 2008 season.
Cody Glenn: He’s been injured and lost in the shuffle. But way back when, like two years ago, he showed bruising potential. Watson used big backs at Colorado (as we remember all too well). Keep an eye on Glenn, as well as Quentin Castille and Roy Helu Jr.
Matt Slauson: This colorful and passionate big ugly has allstar potential. He needs some stability. Put him at right guard, run the diesels behind him and call it good.
Jaivorio Burkes: Big body, long arms. Love his potential at tackle.
Barry Turner and Zach Potter: Former defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove wanted his players big. Too big. No wonder Jayhawks were jogging right by these guys. Turner and Potter each have dropped about 20 pounds. Much has been expected of Turner. He’s underachieved. But I believe that Turner and Potter, at the bookends on defense, will be examples of how Pelini will transform this defense by putting players in the right place and motivating them. The defensive line will be better than people think, and it starts at the ends.
Larry Asante and Rickey Thenarse: It says right here that safety will be the most improved position on this team in 2008. Two reasons: the head coach played safety, and new secondary coach is Marvin Sanders. Under Pelini’s cover-two scheme, the safeties serve as cover for the corners as well as head-hunting missiles for receivers on crossing slants. Remember all of those plays made by the Bullocks twins in 2003?
Asante and Thenarse have talent. And they can hit. Asante says that big hits are all about being in the right position. There will be blood.
Ron Brown and Mike Ekeler: Brown, the gray fox and the most underrated assistant under Tom Osborne, should be rejuvenated after some time off. Ekeler will have people running into walls, just like he used to at Kansas State. Maybe they can still sneak him onto the kickoff team.
Players who leave: If Pelini’s practices are as hard as we think, expect some attrition. Maybe NU will lose a bunch of the Callahan players who came to NU to play for the NFL, not for Nebraska.
Tackling dummies: Vacation’s over for them.
- Some encouraging news.....
Situation looking better for Dallas Mavericks' Nowitzki
It's possible forward could return a little sooner than expected
10:40 PM CDT on Tuesday, March 25, 2008
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
esefko@dallasnews.com
For his 43rd birthday, all Avery Johnson wanted was one more point than the Los Angeles Clippers.
He got a bonus gift in the form of good news about Dirk Nowitzki's early recovery.
The first 48 hours are supposed to tell a lot about an injury, and the Mavericks said they got all the right results about Nowitzki's left ankle and knee problems. It's looking like the original two-week prognosis by owner Mark Cuban might be a worst-case scenario.
"From what I'm hearing, he's doing really well," Johnson said Tuesday. "That doesn't mean he's going to be back anytime soon. But for the type of injury, he's doing well. Hopefully, we'll catch a break with it. And he'll heal like he normally heals, and it won't take that long."
Officially, the team still says Nowitzki is out for an unspecified time.
Nowitzki, wearing a dapper brown jacket and the protective boot on his left leg, joined his teammates on the bench during the first quarter.
While his teammates went about the business of picking up the slack, Nowitzki was moving well. He chatted and laughed with trainer Casey Smith and equipment manager Al Whitley during timeouts. His presence was a reminder that things could have been so much worse.
"When it happened, I really thought it was a bad knee injury," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said.
Johnson was still thanking the hoop gods Tuesday.
"That [fall] won't make your hair gray, that will scare you," he said. "Dirk's had big falls for quite a while. And you just hold your breath. I'm just thankful he didn't say 'knee.' And we know what kind of injury I'm talking about."
That would be a serious ligament injury.
Doing fine in LA: Nick Fazekas' rookie season has been a lesson in the business of the NBA. He was drafted 34th, spent most of his time with the Mavericks at Tulsa in the Development League, then was waived to make room for Keith Van Horn to be part of the Jason Kidd trade.
He was signed in late February by the Clippers to a 10-day contract, then was signed for the rest of the season.
"In this league, a lot of negatives can be turned into a positive," Fazekas said. "When one door closes, a lot more open up, and that's kind of what happened. I've had a lot of opportunity here in LA to showcase what I can do. There's been a lot more opportunity than what I got here."
Fazekas had good things to say about the Mavericks organization and president Donnie Nelson for the way they handled his departure.
And the Clippers have had nothing but praise for Fazekas.
"When we first got him, we didn't think that much of him," Dunleavy said. "But we threw him in some games, and he would kind of always be in the right place at the right time, and he just kind of grew on us. At first, it was like, 'Whoa, what did we bring in here?' But he's been getting the job done.' "
Allen gets the nod: Malik Allen smiled and said "no problem."
All he had to do was fill in with 23 points and nine rebounds as Nowitzki's replacement in the starting lineup, right?
He had no illusions of grandeur, although he played solidly Tuesday with six points and nine rebounds.
"I'm not going to be Dirk," he said. "I'm not going to try to step out of my box. [But] without question, it's an opportunity for individuals and more importantly for our team. It's no secret we've been struggling. This would be a good time to build some confidence. And there's no better way to do it than without our best player."
- Dirk's stand up routine.
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