HuskerfaninOkieland
Heisman Trophy Winner
OWH
Stick the highlight tape in the mail. Send it to Mel Kiper Jr. Challenge him to find flaws.
It was just one game, just three catches, but Nebraska's wide receiver play against Missouri demonstrates how far that position - and this offense - have come in two years.
Play No. 1: Maurice Purify takes a first-quarter handoff and lofts a perfect spiral to the back of the end zone, some 35 yards away. Terrence Nunn, running full speed while looking back into the sun, snatches it over a Missouri defender and plants a foot on the green before falling out of bounds. Touchdown.
No. 2: Zac Taylor drops from Mizzou's 7-yard line in the second quarter and tosses a ball at the pylon. Purify, utilizing his 6-foot-4 frame, leaps up and grabs it above three defenders in the area. Touchdown.
No. 3: Taylor, dropping back from the shotgun, looks for Nate Swift down the sideline in the fourth quarter. The Tiger cornerback is situated perfectly to break it up. Swift jumps, stretches his hand over the defender's head, and grabs the ball with his fingertips, gaining 34 yards. Next play, touchdown.
"We had three catches in that game that were as good as you'll see," said offensive coordinator Jay Norvell.
No need to talk at length about the olden days here, but imagine those three catches two years ago. Imagine those catches in the days of Tom Osborne's option, when a wideout could run like Jerry Rice, but wouldn't sniff the field if he couldn't flatten a safety downfield.
In coach Bill Callahan's first season, the West Coast offense tag associated with Nebraska would've made Bill Walsh cringe. Execution - a favorite buzzword of coaches - was as elusive as the BCS.
Two years later, the Huskers are the epitome of balance and rank 10th in the nation in total offense. Reasons are aplenty: Taylor, a talented stable of I-backs, team chemistry, an overall familiarity with coaches and their terminology.
You could make a sound argument, however, that wide receivers - the frosting on the original West Coast cake - deserve the most credit for again scaring opposing defensive coordinators.
"Last year a lot of guys stepped up, including myself," said Husker sophomore Swift. "We kind of made a name for ourselves. . . . This year, with Mo being in there and Frantz Hardy healthy, we've got a really good receiving corps."
NU's leading receivers in 2004 were as ill-suited for the West Coast offense as the fumblerooskie. Ross Pilkington, a possession receiver who could've passed for a body builder, led the group with 27 catches for 337 yards. But even he went five games without a reception. The second-leading wideout, Grant Mulkey, was a walk-on.
Joe Dailey completed just 48 percent of his passes, but he didn't get much help.
Norvell said the receiver position improved more than any during the 2005 season. Four wideouts caught more than 25 balls, led by Swift's 45 and Nunn's 43. This season, five Nebraska receivers have at least 235 yards receiving. NU has bolstered its depth with true freshman Menelik Holt. It has added a star in Purify.
"There's more margin for error when you have a big receiver like Mo," Norvell said. "He's so strong and physical. . . . He's given us a little bit different dimension."
At Texas A&M on Nov. 11, he sprung from the turf and grabbed the game-winning touchdown with 21 seconds left. No wonder receivers coach Ted Gilmore called Nebraska coaches after watching Purify playing basketball and told them he'd found the West Coast prototype, the kind of receiver Callahan envisioned when he landed in Lincoln.
Callahan in the opening days of 2004 spoke of an offensive revolution. It reeked of drama and intrigue. But his vision was long a blur to his fans.
Most sketchy was how he would attract to Lincoln strong-armed quarterbacks and rangy, sure-handed wide receivers.
Quarterback depth remains a concern. The necessary receivers, though, appear to be in place. Nebraska even has a few to spare. Osborne once made a habit of recruiting loads of high school I-backs, then turning the least effective into defensive backs.
That's what Callahan did this fall with former receivers Tyrell Spain and Isaiah Fluellen, who started for Frank Solich in 2003.
Callahan can rely on his current cast of receivers, but they weren't exactly blue-chippers.
Purify and Hardy were junior college transfers. Todd Peterson walked on. Nunn and Swift were originally recruited by Solich; Nunn reneged on his commitment when Solich was fired, but Callahan wooed him back.
In 2003, Swift told the World-Herald that then-offensive coordinator Barney Cotton had promised him NU would throw 20 to 25 times a game.
"He wants to get the receivers involved," Swift said that summer.
Cotton's goal for Nebraska has been fulfilled, even if he's not on staff to see it. Now when Norvell looks for playmakers, he looks first at his receivers.
"The wide receiver position can change a game quicker than any position on the field," Norvell said.
Even at Nebraska.
Stick the highlight tape in the mail. Send it to Mel Kiper Jr. Challenge him to find flaws.
It was just one game, just three catches, but Nebraska's wide receiver play against Missouri demonstrates how far that position - and this offense - have come in two years.
Play No. 1: Maurice Purify takes a first-quarter handoff and lofts a perfect spiral to the back of the end zone, some 35 yards away. Terrence Nunn, running full speed while looking back into the sun, snatches it over a Missouri defender and plants a foot on the green before falling out of bounds. Touchdown.
No. 2: Zac Taylor drops from Mizzou's 7-yard line in the second quarter and tosses a ball at the pylon. Purify, utilizing his 6-foot-4 frame, leaps up and grabs it above three defenders in the area. Touchdown.
No. 3: Taylor, dropping back from the shotgun, looks for Nate Swift down the sideline in the fourth quarter. The Tiger cornerback is situated perfectly to break it up. Swift jumps, stretches his hand over the defender's head, and grabs the ball with his fingertips, gaining 34 yards. Next play, touchdown.
"We had three catches in that game that were as good as you'll see," said offensive coordinator Jay Norvell.
No need to talk at length about the olden days here, but imagine those three catches two years ago. Imagine those catches in the days of Tom Osborne's option, when a wideout could run like Jerry Rice, but wouldn't sniff the field if he couldn't flatten a safety downfield.
In coach Bill Callahan's first season, the West Coast offense tag associated with Nebraska would've made Bill Walsh cringe. Execution - a favorite buzzword of coaches - was as elusive as the BCS.
Two years later, the Huskers are the epitome of balance and rank 10th in the nation in total offense. Reasons are aplenty: Taylor, a talented stable of I-backs, team chemistry, an overall familiarity with coaches and their terminology.
You could make a sound argument, however, that wide receivers - the frosting on the original West Coast cake - deserve the most credit for again scaring opposing defensive coordinators.
"Last year a lot of guys stepped up, including myself," said Husker sophomore Swift. "We kind of made a name for ourselves. . . . This year, with Mo being in there and Frantz Hardy healthy, we've got a really good receiving corps."
NU's leading receivers in 2004 were as ill-suited for the West Coast offense as the fumblerooskie. Ross Pilkington, a possession receiver who could've passed for a body builder, led the group with 27 catches for 337 yards. But even he went five games without a reception. The second-leading wideout, Grant Mulkey, was a walk-on.
Joe Dailey completed just 48 percent of his passes, but he didn't get much help.
Norvell said the receiver position improved more than any during the 2005 season. Four wideouts caught more than 25 balls, led by Swift's 45 and Nunn's 43. This season, five Nebraska receivers have at least 235 yards receiving. NU has bolstered its depth with true freshman Menelik Holt. It has added a star in Purify.
"There's more margin for error when you have a big receiver like Mo," Norvell said. "He's so strong and physical. . . . He's given us a little bit different dimension."
At Texas A&M on Nov. 11, he sprung from the turf and grabbed the game-winning touchdown with 21 seconds left. No wonder receivers coach Ted Gilmore called Nebraska coaches after watching Purify playing basketball and told them he'd found the West Coast prototype, the kind of receiver Callahan envisioned when he landed in Lincoln.
Callahan in the opening days of 2004 spoke of an offensive revolution. It reeked of drama and intrigue. But his vision was long a blur to his fans.
Most sketchy was how he would attract to Lincoln strong-armed quarterbacks and rangy, sure-handed wide receivers.
Quarterback depth remains a concern. The necessary receivers, though, appear to be in place. Nebraska even has a few to spare. Osborne once made a habit of recruiting loads of high school I-backs, then turning the least effective into defensive backs.
That's what Callahan did this fall with former receivers Tyrell Spain and Isaiah Fluellen, who started for Frank Solich in 2003.
Callahan can rely on his current cast of receivers, but they weren't exactly blue-chippers.
Purify and Hardy were junior college transfers. Todd Peterson walked on. Nunn and Swift were originally recruited by Solich; Nunn reneged on his commitment when Solich was fired, but Callahan wooed him back.
In 2003, Swift told the World-Herald that then-offensive coordinator Barney Cotton had promised him NU would throw 20 to 25 times a game.
"He wants to get the receivers involved," Swift said that summer.
Cotton's goal for Nebraska has been fulfilled, even if he's not on staff to see it. Now when Norvell looks for playmakers, he looks first at his receivers.
"The wide receiver position can change a game quicker than any position on the field," Norvell said.
Even at Nebraska.
