NU Defense

[caveman99]

I would say were like 28th at the end of the season cause the line is there. the line backer will be better than last year cause they will have a better understanding (being two years in instead of just the spring the last group had.) and also better prepared to cover (whaley's a athlete and fisher is a converted saftey) so that helps out the secondary and allows guy like asante and thenarse to be who they are (safties not 4th and 5th cb) also adding to that is the cb west will be just as good as murillo(and if he's not blue or dennard will) and prince will be better. mix in good defensive coaching and were at least 28th.

I think another point that is worth mentioning is that at WLB, May gives a huge advantage for NU because of his speed. He is basically a Safety playing LB, that allows NU to stay in the 4-3 base and still play Nickel Based Coverage without giving the switch away by swapping personnel. Yes they will still bring Hagg in as the NB often, if he isn't playing Safety, but I think less than normal. This could be a big strategic advantage for Bo.

 

[huskers1]

Great point, May is also one of the players I am looking forward to watching next year. I really do think our linebackers will be pretty decent next year with the talent we have. Like mentioned earlier they have had two years in the system now so they should be able to play faster. Mix that with the speed that should be gained through Dobson's work and I am hoping to see as fast a defense in recent memory on the field in a couple months. I for one hope the starting corners are Prince and Dennard. Dennard is a freak athlete and in the spring game I remember seeing him break on some balls qukcer than I have seen in a loooong time. I hope Hagg is permanantley at safety, we have enough corners to fill the NB spot.

 

[Hunter94]

Most magazines talk about Kansas' offense vs. our defense, but is our D really expected to be that good? I always worry about the secondary, as I'm sure the line with Suh will be just fine. I always hold my breath in fear every time the opponent launches one deep and I realize that the only thing standing in the way of a 70 yard TD is Larry Asante.

Will our D be able to make up for a young and inexperienced offense?

it's hard to make it without both...a good defense is a big asset and will help hold down scoring, but it will take some offensive performance to make for a better than average season...honestly, some parts of the offense are going to have to "get it going" early in the season for this team to make some noise...

 

[SECHusker]

I think we have the potential to be real good. Our D-line should be solid to great with a lot of experience. The linebackers are physically more talented and should gain more experience as time progresses. If Hagg is back at safety there should be more flexibility at the DB position and Prince should be a solid to good corner. I would say top 30 D. with the potential to be the best in the conference.

The top D in the B12 last year finished at 51. But in your defense (like what i did there) you finished 55 last year so you might be able to get down to the 30 - 40 area, maybe, but not likely in the B12

I think the strength of our D is going to surprise a lot of people, not just for the sake that we will be getting better but because the offenses we are going to facing are not going to be as prolific. Crabtree, Maclin, Coffman, OU's line, KU's line, Inglesias, and a lot of other firepower from the big twelve are gone.

 

[Danimal]

We shouldn't be out of position nearly as much this year. Sanders didn't realize how remedial we needed to go after Coz/Elmo screwed the pooch and just wasn't on the same page as the db's for too long. Can only be better this season, especially at safety. The LB's will be young but should fly to the rock. D-line will be the strength again. Hope freshmen Meredith, Williams, Baker, Jackson, and Ankrah can provide quality depth.

 

[BIGREDIOWAN]

IMO we will be the best in the Big XII and probably somewhere in the top 30 in the nation. The defense is going to be the glue of the team this year with the offenses unknowns. If the defense does their job they will give the offense a little time to get their rythm together at the beginning of the season.

 

[HuskerfromIL]

BLACKSHIRTS will be MUCH better this year for 2 reasons. This will be the 2nd year in Bo's system.......and this will be the 2nd year in Bo's system......I guess that is one reason, but A MAJOR reason!

Just wait...it is going to be fun!

 

[huskertim]

Most magazines talk about Kansas' offense vs. our defense, but is our D really expected to be that good? I always worry about the secondary, as I'm sure the line with Suh will be just fine. I always hold my breath in fear every time the opponent launches one deep and I realize that the only thing standing in the way of a 70 yard TD is Larry Asante.

Will our D be able to make up for a young and inexperienced offense?

it's hard to make it without both...a good defense is a big asset and will help hold down scoring, but it will take some offensive performance to make for a better than average season...honestly, some parts of the offense are going to have to "get it going" early in the season for this team to make some noise...

Agreed. Probably the biggest reason our D showed so well in the second half last season was because the offense held such a great TOP. If they maintatin the same philosophy (and execution) than yes, the D will be better if only because the coaching staff and players will be on the same page from day one instead of all having to learn on the fly like last year.

IMCO #1 in the Big 12 (mostly because we play in the north) and top 40 nationally.

 

[huskertim]

Well pressure from the D-line obviously reduces the pressure on the secondary. Although we improved greatly on the defensive front last year, I still feel that we need create more pressure and control the running game before we are able to improve in our secondary. Even the best safety relies on the pressue on the quarterback to make consistant reads. Suh is obviously a threat, however he is one man who can only do so much.

I think we will see more pressure this year, I kind of got the impression early last year that the coaches didn't entirely trust the secondary and LBs to hold their own if they let the line cut loose. Unfortunately, they where proven right on that one a few times.

 

[SECHusker]

It seems as though there are some high hopes for some of our incoming def. players (link)

3. Sean Fisher, OLB, Nebraska: Of all the young linebackers Nebraska is stockpiling, Fisher should be the safest bet to start this fall. A 6-6, 230-pound redshirt freshman, Fisher figures to form one half of the two-backer schemes the Huskers will roll out against spread formations. Fellow redshirt freshman Will Compton will be in the mix for a starting job, too.

“It’s a young group right now, but in saying that, it’s got to become an old group by the time the season starts,” Nebraska linebackers coach Mike Ekeler told the Lincoln Journal Star. “Young is not in our vocabulary. There will be no excuses. We’ve got to go out there and we’ve got to play as good as any linebacker corps in the country.”

 

[RedDenver]

It seems as though there are some high hopes for some of our incoming def. players (link)

3. Sean Fisher, OLB, Nebraska: Of all the young linebackers Nebraska is stockpiling, Fisher should be the safest bet to start this fall. A 6-6, 230-pound redshirt freshman, Fisher figures to form one half of the two-backer schemes the Huskers will roll out against spread formations. Fellow redshirt freshman Will Compton will be in the mix for a starting job, too.

“It’s a young group right now, but in saying that, it’s got to become an old group by the time the season starts,” Nebraska linebackers coach Mike Ekeler told the Lincoln Journal Star. “Young is not in our vocabulary. There will be no excuses. We’ve got to go out there and we’ve got to play as good as any linebacker corps in the country.”

Not to mention that Fisher fits the hybrid LB/DE role quite well, also.

 

[HuskerGBR]

Well pressure from the D-line obviously reduces the pressure on the secondary. Although we improved greatly on the defensive front last year, I still feel that we need create more pressure and control the running game before we are able to improve in our secondary. Even the best safety relies on the pressue on the quarterback to make consistant reads. Suh is obviously a threat, however he is one man who can only do so much.

I think we will see more pressure this year, I kind of got the impression early last year that the coaches didn't entirely trust the secondary and LBs to hold their own if they let the line cut loose. Unfortunately, they where proven right on that one a few times.

That was my impression as well Tim. It seemed like we held back on blitzing more than what we saw Pelini do in 2003 or at LSU. I think if our secondary shows they can handle coverages better then we will see a lot more pressure. LB's and safeties...I think we will see a lot more pressure being generated from those guys.

 

[Fuzzy]

It was brought up that the Coverage team only had 6 interceptions last year, and what Bo was doing to improve that.

The response was that last year they didnt have depth in the coverage team and there was alot of young and inexperienced players out there, and he felt that last year was an harsh introduction to what the NU coverage was up against, he said they were conditioning to be quicker, work on their techniques and there is more depth now in the coverage. I feel that the secondary will be better than last year, but the question really is, how much better will they be?

From the way the coaches were talking at the end of the spring game, the DL and LB core is very good and is expected to have no problems going into the fall camp. Keep in mind that other 6 interceptions last year came from the DL and LB core, and Suh was the only one to get TD's from those interceptions.

The only starter we lost this year was Armando Murillo, and thats it. Blue, West, O'Hanlon, Asante, Thernarse, Hagg, Akumakara are all back this year, and are expected to have improved over the spring and summer season.