Nebraska must improve its defensive line play, Pelini said. He made little bones about it. He said the 2012 defensive line class — which included signees Vincent Valentine, Avery Moss, Aaron Curry and Greg McMullen — was the best he’d signed at Nebraska to that date and he expects all to make a good impact this year.
Pelini also took the opportunity to put the 6-foot-3, 325-pound Valentine — for whose services Nebraska beat Florida in a recruiting battle — on notice:
“Vincent’s got to learn how to work and push through,” Pelini said. “You’re that big, that physical and that talented — it was easy for him in high school. To step up to this next level, he’s got to understand the type of mentality, the type of work ethic, and being able to fight through when you’re tired. The self-imposed hurdles he has to overcome. Some of it’s mental with Vincent. He’s a young guy. There’s nothing new there. The faster he understands that, the more he’ll be able to help us.”
On the flip side, Pelini said incoming freshman defensive tackle Maliek Collins “walked in a grown man."
