Well I guess I will admit I was wrong about Dillard. It looks like he will still be competing and spliting time with Mceon. I agree they are pretty much saying here, Octavian the spot is yours dont screw it up. I also think they must have quit a bit of confidence in Yancy to compete for playing time at the open end. Another thing I found to be very interesting is the move by Thenarse. Either they told Asante he would be playing the strong safety position which would pretty much put Thenarse on the second team, or they plan to start Thenarse and Asante and put Green to the second team. Also with the amount of corners graduating next year and the move by Thenarse I found it interesting to see West move to Safety. As it stands right now if players keep the same positions next year we will have Young, Sullivan, Blue, and Murillo at the corners in 08, we will see though. Those are some pretty interesting moves to me.
Starting LB corps
- Thread starter CowboyBob
- Start date
I don't know what situation would require him to play linebacker. A passing situation he would be more useful as an edge rusher and I am not for sure how he would help in a running situation. What type of a situation were you thinking of?
They must have a lot of confidence in Blake Lawrence, Austin Stafford, and Nick Covey. With the switch of Rudd that makes WILL with no clear cut backup right now if I'm not mistaken. Dillard and Brandenburgh will be the backups for MIKE and SAM more than likely, so they must be counting on one of those three guys to take over the WILL 2nd string. If covey does have 4.49 speed then I wouldnt mind seeing what he can do.
According to the OWH, Covey and Dillard are going to back up McKeon at MIKE. Brandenburgh is going to back up Octavien at WILL. Kyle Moore is going to back up Ruud at SAM. These are to start off spring ball, so who knows how it shakes out.
Eric the Red
Team HuskerBoard
NU Football: Linebackers feeling hungry
BY RICH KAIPUST
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
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• On the Web: NU Football
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LINCOLN - Only two current Nebraska football players have started more games than Corey McKeon. Only a handful have played as many as Bo Ruud.
Corey McKeon was one of several Nebraska linebackers to deal with injuries last season, suffering from knee and ankle problems.Few possess the promise and mystery of Steve Octavien.
They stand together in Husker spring practices as the starting linebacker trio. They would like to stay together for an entire season.
"It would be nice to see that," McKeon said. "I don't think we've gone a year without someone being banged up. Hopefully this year it'll be that way."
Nowhere have the Huskers been hit harder by injuries than at linebacker during the past two seasons. That consistently has tampered with a position where NU keeps thinking that it has some of its best talent, depth and experience.
NU defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said it's unlike anything he's ever been around - and he speaks with 27 years of experience.
Cosgrove keeps his sense of humor about it. But he does hope out loud that the Huskers are maybe over the hump with such bad luck.
"You would think, wouldn't you? What have I done?" said Cosgrove, who then quickly adds: "What have these kids done wrong? Nobody deserves that fate."
If there is some sort of jinx involved, Ruud said it goes without saying that the linebackers would like to see it end.
"But you just hope for the whole team that way," he said. "You want to see what the linebackers can do, but you also want to see what the whole defense can do if we all play our best."
Ruud has made the safest trek through his career, which now includes 36 games, 23 starts and 162 career tackles. The only game he missed during the past three seasons was the 2005 Alamo Bowl, the result of a broken arm in a mid-December practice.
That followed a 2005 regular season in which Octavien broke his leg before halftime of the first game and Stewart Bradley didn't make it to the midway point before blowing out a knee.
That hardly got it all out of their system.
Phillip Dillard started 2006 by going down with a torn ACL in the opener, costing NU its backup to McKeon at middle linebacker. McKeon ran into knee and ankle problems, missing one Big 12 game and playing hurt in most others.
Octavien recovered from an appendectomy during preseason camp, then rarely was full speed because of hamstring woes. Key backup Lance Brandenburgh played the second half of the season with his right arm in a cast because of a broken bone.
And as much as they would like to complain, they wouldn't trade places with Nick Covey. Since coming to NU, he redshirted in 2005 because of shoulder surgery and missed 2006 with a torn ACL.
"There's always something," McKeon said. "To perform healthy would be nice, but we've got some tough guys at 'backer and we play through things."
With everybody healthy - for now - Cosgrove said the NU defense has been able to expand packages for linebackers. With the defensive line going through a makeover and the secondary stung by the loss of cornerback Zack Bowman, McKeon plainly said: "It's on the linebackers' shoulders to get this defense going."
McKeon said Octavien has looked good at weakside linebacker. Ruud reports no trouble with his move from weakside to strongside, where he replaces Bradley.
"It's been a pretty easy move for me," Ruud said. "A little bit in the back of your mind you want to say, 'OK, I want to make sure things look and feel all right,' and they did. They felt good. The first or second practice, I knew right away.
"I like what we're doing, and the defense is really starting to shape up and things are going well."
Can they stay that way? Can the linebackers put together full seasons?
Cosgrove obviously wants it to go that way, and he hasn't shied from piling more responsibility on three positions he believes are capable and ready for it.
"I expect them to take it," Cosgrove said. "Those guys have been playing for us for a long time. They're quick thinkers, they're quick reactors, and they've got to give us a little bit more."
BY RICH KAIPUST
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
• Huskers praised after 80-play scrimmage
• NU Football: Elkhorn lineman Robinson picks NU
• On the Web: NU Football
RELATED
• Huskers praised after 80-play scrimmage
• NU Football: Elkhorn lineman Robinson picks NU
• On the Web: NU Football
LINCOLN - Only two current Nebraska football players have started more games than Corey McKeon. Only a handful have played as many as Bo Ruud.
Corey McKeon was one of several Nebraska linebackers to deal with injuries last season, suffering from knee and ankle problems.Few possess the promise and mystery of Steve Octavien.
They stand together in Husker spring practices as the starting linebacker trio. They would like to stay together for an entire season.
"It would be nice to see that," McKeon said. "I don't think we've gone a year without someone being banged up. Hopefully this year it'll be that way."
Nowhere have the Huskers been hit harder by injuries than at linebacker during the past two seasons. That consistently has tampered with a position where NU keeps thinking that it has some of its best talent, depth and experience.
NU defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said it's unlike anything he's ever been around - and he speaks with 27 years of experience.
Cosgrove keeps his sense of humor about it. But he does hope out loud that the Huskers are maybe over the hump with such bad luck.
"You would think, wouldn't you? What have I done?" said Cosgrove, who then quickly adds: "What have these kids done wrong? Nobody deserves that fate."
If there is some sort of jinx involved, Ruud said it goes without saying that the linebackers would like to see it end.
"But you just hope for the whole team that way," he said. "You want to see what the linebackers can do, but you also want to see what the whole defense can do if we all play our best."
Ruud has made the safest trek through his career, which now includes 36 games, 23 starts and 162 career tackles. The only game he missed during the past three seasons was the 2005 Alamo Bowl, the result of a broken arm in a mid-December practice.
That followed a 2005 regular season in which Octavien broke his leg before halftime of the first game and Stewart Bradley didn't make it to the midway point before blowing out a knee.
That hardly got it all out of their system.
Phillip Dillard started 2006 by going down with a torn ACL in the opener, costing NU its backup to McKeon at middle linebacker. McKeon ran into knee and ankle problems, missing one Big 12 game and playing hurt in most others.
Octavien recovered from an appendectomy during preseason camp, then rarely was full speed because of hamstring woes. Key backup Lance Brandenburgh played the second half of the season with his right arm in a cast because of a broken bone.
And as much as they would like to complain, they wouldn't trade places with Nick Covey. Since coming to NU, he redshirted in 2005 because of shoulder surgery and missed 2006 with a torn ACL.
"There's always something," McKeon said. "To perform healthy would be nice, but we've got some tough guys at 'backer and we play through things."
With everybody healthy - for now - Cosgrove said the NU defense has been able to expand packages for linebackers. With the defensive line going through a makeover and the secondary stung by the loss of cornerback Zack Bowman, McKeon plainly said: "It's on the linebackers' shoulders to get this defense going."
McKeon said Octavien has looked good at weakside linebacker. Ruud reports no trouble with his move from weakside to strongside, where he replaces Bradley.
"It's been a pretty easy move for me," Ruud said. "A little bit in the back of your mind you want to say, 'OK, I want to make sure things look and feel all right,' and they did. They felt good. The first or second practice, I knew right away.
"I like what we're doing, and the defense is really starting to shape up and things are going well."
Can they stay that way? Can the linebackers put together full seasons?
Cosgrove obviously wants it to go that way, and he hasn't shied from piling more responsibility on three positions he believes are capable and ready for it.
"I expect them to take it," Cosgrove said. "Those guys have been playing for us for a long time. They're quick thinkers, they're quick reactors, and they've got to give us a little bit more."
BIGREDFAN_in_OMAHA
All-American
End the curse! Sacrifice some virgins if necessary!! 
:bonez :bonez :bonez
:bonez :bonez :bonez