Carl Pelini clarifies the "Peso" scheme

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Nexus

All-American
And here is your answer....

You may have heard Nebraska has a new name for a defensive package it will probably use in abundance this year: The Peso. What is it? It's not any change in play calls or some dramatic shift in alignment. It's just a name for a defensive package that coaches believe will keep the Huskers from having to substitute as much when faced with offensive shifts.
"A lot is being made of nothing. Not one call is changed," Husker defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said.

The Peso consists of four D-linemen, two linebackers and five defensive backs -- the fifth DB being a hybrid player like Eric Hagg or Austin Cassidy.

In it, Hagg or Cassidy can act as a third linebacker when a team is in a base offensive package, but then shift outside the box to NU's nickel defense if the offense goes to a one-back set. No subs needed.

"We're still calling our base defenses. We're still calling our nickel defenses," Pelini said after Wednesday's practice. "We just have one guy (Hagg or Cassidy) who we expect to play a linebacker spot in a base set and be our adjust guy out of the back when (the offense) goes one-back."

"The big question was, well, is it a 4-2-5?" Pelini added. "Well, to me, no, it's still a 4-3, but you just have a little smaller WILL linebacker (Hagg) in there. But we didn't change any of our calls. Our playbook's exactly the same. ... Rather than saying, OK, try to take three linebackers and adjust it to one-back sets. We'd rather take a nickel package and adjust it to the bigger sets"

That's it. Nothing more. As Pelini notes, Nebraska was running this against Texas and Arizona.

As for Hagg? "He won't ever be off the field probably, but Cassidy's pushing his butt," Pelini said. "Cassidy's having a great spring. You'll always have one of those two guys on the field."

What about DeJon Gomes? He's working at safety, but Pelini said Nebraska hasn't practiced any dime packages yet this spring. Gomes specialized as a dime backer last year.

Pelini also confirmed Anthony West, who started last season at corner, is working at safety. "There was a learning curve for him, but it's coming along for him."

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Yeah, where Hagg was considered to be a corner/safety last year, he's now considered to be essentially a linebacker. "Peso linebacker" or whatever. So we have two guys who would've been in the safety mix in Hagg and Cassidy, that now aren't a part of it because they've essentially "moved" to linebacker...it seems. And safety was open to begin with.

With West's experience you gotta think there's a lot of potential for him to earn time back there. Hopefully he has some field awareness, and with him the problem was mostly when he was asked to be in 1-on-1 coverage against receivers, no?

At safety we now have working PJ Smith, Courtney Osbourne, Dejon Gomes, Rickey Thenarse, Anthony West...those seem to be the top 5 names off my head. So a lot of potential to crack the 2-deep.

 
zoogies said:
Yeah, where Hagg was considered to be a corner/safety last year, he's now considered to be essentially a linebacker. "Peso linebacker" or whatever. So we have two guys who would've been in the safety mix in Hagg and Cassidy, that now aren't a part of it because they've essentially "moved" to linebacker...it seems. And safety was open to begin with.

With West's experience you gotta think there's a lot of potential for him to earn time back there. Hopefully he has some field awareness, and with him the problem was mostly when he was asked to be in 1-on-1 coverage against receivers, no?

At safety we now have working PJ Smith, Courtney Osbourne, Dejon Gomes, Rickey Thenarse, Anthony West...those seem to be the top 5 names off my head. So a lot of potential to crack the 2-deep.
Click to expand...
Also West might be heading the list for dime back if Gomes is moving to safety.

 
With Nebraska’s base defense officially moving to a two-linebacker look, where’s former BUCK linebacker Sean Fisher now playing?“I’m working at the MIKE, which is kind of like what the outside used to be,” said Fisher, a sophomore from Omaha. “They’re pretty similar. Me and Will (Compton) and guys who have been here, they’re pretty interchangeable. Once you get stuff figured out, it’s pretty easy to switch back and forth.”

Fisher started six games and made 35 tackles last season as a redshirted freshman.

“It’s a pretty easy transition,” Fisher said. “Nickel’s all the same. Nothing in that respect has changed. Just the base (is different). It’s the same calls, just a little bit different alignments.”

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RedDenver said:
zoogies said:
Yeah, where Hagg was considered to be a corner/safety last year, he's now considered to be essentially a linebacker. "Peso linebacker" or whatever. So we have two guys who would've been in the safety mix in Hagg and Cassidy, that now aren't a part of it because they've essentially "moved" to linebacker...it seems. And safety was open to begin with.

With West's experience you gotta think there's a lot of potential for him to earn time back there. Hopefully he has some field awareness, and with him the problem was mostly when he was asked to be in 1-on-1 coverage against receivers, no?

At safety we now have working PJ Smith, Courtney Osbourne, Dejon Gomes, Rickey Thenarse, Anthony West...those seem to be the top 5 names off my head. So a lot of potential to crack the 2-deep.
Click to expand...
Also West might be heading the list for dime back if Gomes is moving to safety.
Click to expand...
Oh, and New Recruit Corey Cooper...if he's the real deal, he'll be in the discussion this summer.

 
Anyone find it a bit ominous that our defense is named after a Latin American currency that is worth essentially nothing in a country that is in the economic toilet? Couldnt we have called the the quarter, or the silver dollar?

 
accountability said:
Anyone find it a bit ominous that our defense is named after a Latin American currency that is worth essentially nothing in a country that is in the economic toilet? Couldnt we have called the the quarter, or the silver dollar?
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Quarter is already a defense though, and I think dollar may be too. Maybe 50-cent piece...

 
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