zeWilbur

Not busts at all, just young. We've had a few guys step up like Long and Choi so we haven't had to play the others much early. We are finally getting around to taking the time to develop linemen before they see significant minutes. Pipeline. Woot

Looks like the metric system got a hold of his profile!

He runs the risk of not playing until his SR year. But at least now he'll be in the 19 man competition every year. That is the important part...

The sideline scanning would be interesting. I wonder how they are going to be able to complete brain scans in real time. I assume there will not be in-helmet technology. Probably just too expensive to do. But there could be a large MRI type booth. Fun side effect: If it worked we could market them as Pelini "Privacy" Booths©. "Hey ref, step in to this booth so I can make sure you truly understand why I am screaming at you!" Take that ESPN!

Dang. I didn't even get to use mine yet! Not as much fun building something and not getting to use it...

Did my part. Wrote a new bot this morning in preparation for the arms race. Hooray for multi-threading! Edit: And I actually voted too!

The offensive formation really doesn't have a whole lot to do with blocking schemes of the interior OL. What determines the blocking scheme of the OL is the alignment of the defense. To give a rather rudimentary example an offense is in 21 personnel 2 RB and 1 TE in a I-right set and the play is iso right against a 3-4. On this play the left tackle may block the DE, he might combo with the LG on the DE and then scrape to the next level to block either the LOLB or LILB. That's assuming of course that the defensive alignment is essentially a base set. Same offensive formation, personnel and play against a 4-3 the left OT may have to wall or seal off the backside DE or Will LB. He might even combo with the LG to block the DT and then scrape to the next level to pick up either the Mike or Will LB. This is of course assuming the defense plays base and doesn't blitz or stunt. Iso right out of 21 personnel and I-right set blocking schemes can also change if the defense shifts or slant the line, or move to an over set. If the defense blitzes that can change who blocks who drastically. Edit: Interms of your question about OL schemes Nebraska installed in 2010 I don't know all the specifics but I do remember one change that Barney made was making the OL's first step up the field rather than lateral. Thanks -- this was very good. The point I am trying to make -- and I think your insight supports it -- is that I see no evidence of any claims that our offensive schemes the past few years required the implementation of multiple distinct OL schemes, causing too much to be on the plate for those guys and resulting in (I guess??? our disastrous rushing output???). If there is any criticism to be made for the *scope* of our offense the past two years, it should be that it was far too limited. And that can't be helped really, with a young QB who is really growing on the job. Blocking primer for non big/ugly types. Fell free to tell me why you think it's wrong... The difference is pretty big in change of technique and that is where the trouble comes in. If I recall correctly 2009 had an emphasis on a zone-blocking scheme, 2010 a spread scheme, 2011 a spread/power scheme. In a zone scheme people move laterally and make sure that someone is blocked when they come into their area but still power based. Watching Michigan do this with Jake Long a few years back was thing of beauty. Usually single back with 1 or 2 tight ends where the back waits for a hole to open up. A spread scheme tries to match up, win man to man, or just hold out until they can get they ball away. Much more finesse than power. Again, lots of lateral movement but much more emphasis on beating your man individually rather than the natural double teams that a zone scheme creates. Emphasis on double teaming a d-linemen while you can before going to get a linebacker. God only knows what the personnel will be. Usually something like single back and 1 or 0 tight ends. Pass blocking for a spread will emphasize getting into your man quickly and keep him from getting his arms up even if you give ground faster. Bull rushers will cause the biggest problems here. A power scheme is basically having more bodies at the point of attack. The emphasis is striking quickly and catching the defense in a bad position so it is less of an issue if your man beats you. Emphasis on driving the d-line into the linebackers to clog their lanes. Besides pulling, little to no lateral movement, just go. Double team wherever possible. Usually a 2 back set but many teams try to run power from a spread look now-a-days with mixed results. Pass blocking for a power scheme will focus on maintaining space with the d-lineman while giving ground slowly as the routes tend to take longer. Speed rushers will cause the biggest problems here. These are entirely different blocking philosophies that each have strengths and weaknesses. But figuring out who you are supposed to block, how to get there, when you are actually supposed to be there, what position you should be in when you get there, and trying to do it all when you are already blocking someone else is not easy. Mastering each one takes years and changing every year can be just as bad for a lineman as anyone else. Unfortunately, the O-line scheme is tied to the overall offensive scheme which keeps changing and does require specific schemes because they require different skill sets. Spread is about getting the ball somewhere quickly whereas power is about being patient and waiting for a hole to open. The different formations lend themselves to different styles. A diamond formation is great for speed and deception but difficult to run power out of as the extra back is both probably not a great run blocker and not in a position to contribute at the point of attack. A pistol formation gives extra time to read a defense so it lends itself to the spread game. I-formation is great for power. Clearly we want to run them all. Mostly, we need consistent reps. Just like everyone else...

True, it just makes me nervous having been around/through a few athletic departments, including Nebraska's. The most likely kid to not pan out was the one with all the talent in the world so he never had to learn great technique. Finally gets to a level where he isn't a physical specimen any more and is too far behind to catch up. Not saying this kid is like that. Just that when I hear about his bench first it sends up a red flag. Regardless, seems to have a really good first step. Does a pretty good job shedding blocks too. Would love to see him against a legit tackle. His highlights show him in good position then he just muscles on through. It might be interesting to see what happens when he can't. But I definitely like what is out there so far!

Never has there been a more useless "impressive" number than the bench press. Any squat or Olympic lift numbers for the kid? After all, you can't fire a cannon out of a canoe...

SEC territory always makes me nervous. Seeing longhorns on the field just makes me sick. Seems like Joseph is already having some input on the offers in the South. Woot

Any word is legal when you throw in a hyphen. I think the people at Webster's invented it when they were feeling lazy. When it comes to recruiting I also greatly enjoy the term 'analymiss'. Seems about as accurate as anything else these days.

Michigan had a great Junior Day and two of my favorites are listed below. I have never been more excited for a look-a like thread. Taco Charlton, defensive end Jake Butt, tight end It needs to August already. This offseason stuff is for the birds...

Not going to lie, enjoying some pretty sweet schadenfreude at the moment! Hopefully it lasts for a good long while.

You shouldn't have to. Statements like that are why I am glad to be in a different conference. However... Two words. Cleve Bryant. Now then, the high road and the low road in the same post. That should make everyone happy. Or piss everyone off. I can never tell on this board.

Every now and again I am glad we are an Adidas school so we can avoid chasing some truly bad trends. Yes, I am referring to the corn helmet.

I see what you are saying Muck. It would be interesting to see some info on the next step from these numbers. Specifically, where they are from, where they go/went to school (stick with the state theme), and who they were drafted by. That would provide some regional context and probably some more head scratching. Is this information stored anywhere? The data analysis would be pretty simple.

I would hope so. Seems like the NFL practice of prefering 'measurables' has worked its way down into the HS rating systems. Probably doesn't help that the majority of population centers are in warm weather at this point. Football culture is pretty engrained in those areas too so they are more polished at an early age. That lends to getting an extra star when someone is on the edge.

Why haven't you been doing this already?!?

Missouri, providing cannon fodder for the SEC since 2012.

Neat stuff. You would think Texas would be lower since they never have to leave the state and all...

Don't suppose anyone has any more video where he goes up against lineman? It's nice that they run a lot of zone read in his tape (hey, someone actually knows our offense coming in!) but I didn't see enough play against lineman to convince me one way or the other. A ton of those pancakes are against DBs and I would like to see a little more before I join in the unbridled enthusiasm. Seems like a great candidate for the center spot in getting to the second level!

Of course. As the ties to the conference grow stronger alignments will shift. It's still something I've found fascinating to see. Even before they joined the league despite being more focused on the mid-Atlantic Penn State was still far more in line with ND, TSUN & Ohio State in who they looked at (they are of course also much closer to the center of mass for recruits in the B1G). So far Nebraska doesn't seem to have much contact with even the no brainers in the class of 2013 from Ohio (Jalin Marshall, Cam Burrows, Malik Zaire etc). Pelini recruiting strategy memo stolen from a coaches only meeting: ------------------------------------------- To anybody recruiting Ohio: If they're not from Youngstown they don't exist. That is all ------------------------------------------- FWIW, This memo may have also come from a meeting about replacing assistant coaches....

WOW. This kids offer list will be a mile long. Is it possible to have all seven coaches at the same in-home visit?!?

Nebraska commit? Would LOVE for this to be the case, but don't think it is. ...yet...

Great. Even more youth on the line for next year! A little bit of a stretch to get to that line of thinking from the twitter-verse but it was fun to take the trip...