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Well, it's still hard to gauge because OSU didn't really become "National Champion" OSU till J.T. Barrett got injured and Cardale Jones became the starter. Normally most teams would struggle going to their 3rd string QB, but OSU got BETTER. Why? It's not exactly clear but it could be argued that Jones had better leadership skills than Barrett. Some sort of "swagger" that the rest of the team rallied around. I really think OSU will end up using Cardale as the starter and Braxton will be used in different roles. I agree Meyer is an innovator and comes up with packages that fully exploit the talent he does have With Miller, Jones and Barrett all at his disposal, he will come up with something to work them all into the mix Heck when TIm Tebow was a Freshman, they used to run a 1940s SIngle Wing package with him, no one was doing anything like that- then Meyer put Percy Harvin at QB in several packages Worked out pretty well for him there Also- as the season progressed Meyer went away from what he normally does, that is what hurt them some Usually out of OSU you see a lot of QB centered run games- with Miller he ran QB powers, sweeps, and counters Then you see a full compliment of Zone reads, power reads and sweep reads They went away from that quite a bit when the injuries started piling up- you saw no QB powers/sweeps/counters and the sweep read and power read went away almost completely With 3 healthy and strong QBs- Meyer can be more wreckless- expect to see those plays return BTW those were all plays TIm Beck liked and believed in- but went away from- some completely gone (QB power/sweep/counter AND Power Read/Sweep Read) once Taylor Martinez started racking up his injuries. Beck will get his full arsenal of plays back and more- they will Jet Sweep read and something NU did a lot in practice but never ran in games that is a real bear to defend- the true triple- ZOne Read- QB/RB then Bubble/Smoke screen run pass option to the WR or Slot. Lots of teams running it now, OSU will definitely add it this year. Martinez couldn't run it- one of the 3 OSU QBs can. While Beck isn't the best play caller- he is innovative With the embarrassment of riches he has at OSU with the stable of QBs- all 3 better than anyone he coached at NU, a great O line, One of the top 3 RBs in College football and a bunch of thoroughbreds at Receiver- those guys are going to score a lot of points 15 returning starters No early NFL draft guys out With 14-18 (depends on service) kids coming in as 4-5 star recruits- Meyer always finds a way to get several key Freshmen to contribute right away- these guys are a bridge too far right now, not remotely close And Meyer doesn't choke in the big games- 8-2 in Bowl games

Lets see where OSU is in year 4 of the Meyer reign They've lost just 3 games in 3 years and have filled their stables with top ranked recruiting classes We saw who they can be when they blew out the second best team in the conference by more than 50, then took it to Oregon and Bama NU isn't in that type of conversation- unless OSU pulls a Nebraska against Iowa State type deal- the longest of longshots Would love to see it happen, but they are at a whole different level now

OSU early had some injuries and was trying to figure out who they would be without Braxton Miller, they figured it out. Look at the championship game and playoffs when they hit their stride. And they are getting better and deeper. OSU has lost just 3 games in the last 3 years With Meyer at the helm- one of the top 3 coaches in the country AND him being one of the top 3-4 recruiters in the country in talent rich Ohio- OSU can be like the Nebraska 93-97 dynasty when we blew out pretty much everyone that was less talented than us. Meyer has a very effective recruiting machine set up and plans on doing a bunch of very well attended satellite camps, they are great at it NU right now is in the same ballpark as Minnesota, Penn State and Iowa, a step behind Wisconsin. The goal for now is to consistently beat those we have better talent than, which wasn't done under Pelini and find a way to steal a win or two away from some that we are within striking distance of like a Wisconsin. Things, NU hasn't been able to do of late, in fact it took some very lucky ball bounces to make some of those wins happen. To think we will be able to compete. let alone beat OSU in at least the next few years is a longshot at best. I like Riley and hope he can help us get more competitive- but a guy like Meyer has won every place even teams with no players and no facilities, Bowling Green, Utah, then turned around a floundering Florida and went what 37-3 at a scandal riden Ohio State. Meyer is the proven commodity he's on his home turf a skip and a hop from Ashtabulah and he knows SEC country like the back of his hand.

NU was in the same universe talent wise- college football talent with Miami and CU Those games weren't huge mismatches by any stretch We aren't when it comes to OSU in 2015. When your third team QB is Cardale Jones and you have thoroughbreds at every position- we aren't in the same Universe While Mike Riley and his staff may be good coaches, they aren't Tom OSborne, Milt Tenopir and Charlie McBride Regardless of how anyone feels about Urban Meyer, he has won big at every stop and has won multiple National Titles, he is the real deal NU is a LONG way away right now Beating Minnesota, Iowa and Northwestern consistently and competing with Wisconsin comes first before we even start thinking about beating OSU under Meyer

Saban hates this: http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/4/22/8467537/college-football-recruiting-satellite-camps-nick-saban-jim-harbaugh Which means it's good for NU Until they change the recruiting rules to allow paid for summer visits, NU should do as many of these camps as they can in the states where all the opposition to that rule change comes from: Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, California, South Carolina and even Ohio There is another loophole many schools use: Pay an out of state High School coach to help out at YOUR camp in Nebraska- he drags local players along with

I was never on the Bo bandwagon He did some good things to keep a leaking ship from capsizing- now hopefully the next step is back to relativity He was an embarrassment in many ways and in the end not a good fit, Im very glad he is gone However I know several people including players and adult friends of mine who had consistent interactions with him who thought the world of him on a 1-1 basis Like most people he has his pluses and minuses- but demonizing him serves little purpose Time to move on

Are we supposed to? Yeah. Here's my angle: Like DPE, JT played qb in high school(top 10 dual threat recruit). JT is a receiver that has return skills and can do all the 'H Back' functions--think 'Jet Sweep'. So, as far as I can tell, JT is the most similar player to DPE on the team. If someone can think of a more suitable candidate, I'd be happy to hear about it. H Backs are Tight End or Fullback types who do a lot of blocking on DEs and LBs- that isn't JT JT is a slot or WR- the Slot or WR runs Jet Sweep- not H backs

Im just telling you what NU and Riley has run in the past and what Pro style teams run Guys that old don't change much, they believe in something and usually stick to it Pro style offenses don't usually run trap and I haven't seen any in the OSU film I watched- just a few games though The H back Wham isn't really that far off though and NU/Pelini and Pro style teams do run it some, it allows Linemen to get to the second level right away without the zone combo blocks- 1 less linemen to block As to TEs- yes the Pro Style uses a lot of them, some as H backs Riley may not have what he needs at TE to run it just yet- who knows What you or I want and what he really runs are 2 different things> Im not a fan of it, but that doesn't matter We haven't been a trap heavy team since TO days- not much at all under Pelini

Trap plays for Cross, yep. He's kind of a one trick pony in that regard and has shown he can take the quick hitter to the house on occassion as he does have some decent speed. Unfortunately neither NU under Pelini or Riley has a history of running trap much at all What we did see a little of was some H back WHam style plays that might kinda resemble trap a little Pro Style teams have run a little of that: http://www.onefootdown.com/2014/12/18/7413461/ofd-films-lsu-tigers-offensive-preview-notre-dame-lsu-football-analysis-music-city-bowl-2014

This is an example of a play Imani would run very well- on off tackle Toss ISO play: Not really a Power Play, they aren't kicking out the End Man on line of scrimmage with the FB- they are fanning him out with the TE and leading up with the playside G and FB https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsCsW-PeEEo Downhill, no quick read, no jump cuts bending it back, running to a preset hole- little ambiguity Riley hasn't run a lot of that kind of stuff lately and he's not real heavy on 2 back sets

I can assure you I have coached football for over 25 years very successfully both as a head and asst coach. Understand that you aren't always allowed to run what you want and sometimes even what you prefer to run isn't the right fit for the situation you are in. No one coaches in a vacuum. When you coach for an extended period of time you gain knowledge of the offenses you teach and the offenses you play against. When you attend clinics, read books, DVDs, work with other coaches and study the endeavor as a profession, you tend to get exposure to a wide gamut of approaches to coaching the game. It really isn't as simple as many make it out to be, if it was simple they wouldn't pay some guys $6,000,000 to coach it. You can also implement a variety of principles into your existing attack which could include veer, Wing T, zone and even spread. Depending on where you coach, you have to adapt to the talent and opposition, especially if you are in a situation with low numbers or a rebuild/turnaround. Even guys like Petito at MN have evolved a bit over time. So did Osborne, he went from unbalanced T with Devaney to a Pro I with spread principles, to an I option attack with lots of zone principles with Tenopir. TO even ran some 1 back stuff and went to a more QB centric running game with Frost at the helm late in his career. His double slant that was caught by Davison in the Mizzou game is a classic spread concept. His empty QB trap using Tommie wasn't in his 80s or 70s playbook, or his split flow power runs with Frost, TO said if he was coaching today he would probably be a Spread Option guy- closer to what Oregon runs. Ive met him private consultation and done some football work for him. But this isn't about what Ive run- I have a core set of principles that have guided every team Ive called plays for during the last 15+ years. This isn't about what offenses Ive run, it's about the x and o content in the posts. If you would like to talk real Xs and Os, go right ahead would be happy to discuss, no need for the personal attack. If you've found something technically Ive gotten wrong on any of my posts, feel free to point it judge it, criticize it- please point it out right now, would be happy to discuss. . If people want to understand what is really happening out there or even some true answers to some very simple things like "What is a Pro Style Offense?" I would have thought they would want to know. When I hear Sipple and Peterson getting it wrong on the radio when 95% of HS coaches know what it means and the fans hearing stuff from guys who don't know what they are talking about and restating it as fact- when it isn't, thought I might like to know, real basic stuff Same for need for Zone backs etc- this is something that all College and most High School guys would know, 100% of the guys who have coached zone. Some of the TV guys are awful- they don't know a jet sweep from an end around and any QB/RB mesh is a zone read- both definitions are usually wrong, so the fans don't learn- which is fine for most. What they like to show are the cheerleaders shaking their pom poms and personal interest stories. Thought people may want to know what's really happening. Why I love listening to Damon Benning during broadcasts. But I guess if it's more a rumor mill fan site- then not the place for me. Some of the football stuff I hear our fans say up in the stands is just ridiculous, so off base from what is really happening- real eye rollers. Its pure entertainment for most- that;s the deal.

The question is who plays this year Based on the offense this coaching staff traditionally likes to run- Newby is the better fit

Most teams that have a lead back run more gap type schemes than zone, a lead back in Zone just gets in the way, slows down the play Tenopir late in his career zone blocked a lot of option plays- but the FB wasn't in the mix- he was running option Teams with real tight splits also don't run a lot of zone You see several Power O plays in there along with Iso. the outside runs don't look like OZ This kid has the macro skills to run zone- very good body control, explosiveness, quick decision making, jump cuts well He would be perfect for what Oregon likes- small quick explosive zone runners

Most people who know football know Chip Kelleys coaching pedigree and know he didn't ever coach at USC or anything close to that kind of school before he got his gig at Oregon. Pretty common knowledge, unique path through New Hampshire, a trail blazer. Someone that is trying to portray themselves as knowing the details of running zone would probably know about that.

Good question Ive never run/coached the true pro style offense as defined by guys who have coached it in real life. However I do understand it quite well. I was more or less tutored by one of the top guys nationally that run it/teach it. If I did run it, I would run what most experts call the "East Coast" less popular flavor- Gibbs approach with Zone, Power and Counter Trey along with all the traditional pro pass concepts from UC. Of course it would depend on what I had for talent. Im not a square peg into round hole guy. If I was coaching College ball I would fall in the Malzahn camp, Wing T principles out of Shotgun many times Spread- the guy is a genius. Simplicity, putting defenses into conflict, series based football- handful of plays with adjustments, maximizing the equation. He plays defenses against themselves, great playcaller, great scheme. I also like Urban Meyer, a Single Wing coach per his book "Urbans Way" who adapts to his talent base. He changes a bit every year based on what he has for talent. Excels at doing the ordinary extraordinarily well. Amazing coach- watch what he can do this year without worrying about QB injuries, (something that DRAMATICALLY changed what Becks offense looked like) Meyers offense this year will look a lot like what he ran earlier- at OSU or at Bowling Green, will be fun to watch. The goal is to win the game, end of story. You have an approach/philosophy and adapt those concepts- what you know and what you and your coaching staff CAN coach - to the equation you are given. Adapt to what your players CAN do and who you play- what your conference, opponents can consistently do. Guys like Meyer and Malzahn do that and consistently win, no matter where they are at, they are the elite in coaching today. How they teach and how they practice is even more important than their scheme. Personally Ive Coached the Veer, Osborne Flavor I, Spread, Double Wing, Wing T concepts and lots of Spread Jet stuff. Happy to talk real xs and os with anyone honest/open minded.

I was coaching out of state last year I didn't get a chance to see any practices or live games in person with exception of last home game That doesn't surprise me one bit The little I saw of him in Spring Game I liked Tight, no wasted movement, quick, explosive Read the OZ pretty well Attacked the landmark- made correct read

Most of the national experts feel FLY is much more effective UC I prefer it in Gun, the timing is easier and it doesn't have to be perfect to be effective Peripheral vision out of gun is much easier- can call for the snap if the jet back is coming too fast UC is pretty scary for the QB- no room for error on the mesh- less peripheral vision So it depends on what you like and have Since Riley is a pro style guy, expect it to be UC What most guys run off of that fly action: IZ, Waggle Play Action pass (boot away from motion) and weakside speed option Rileys teams have shied away from the weakside speed option- so who knows LOts more options out of Gun, but my guess is we don't see it He "doesn't want the QBs to be RBs" which means no QB inverted veer "options" or powers, counters- keeps which were all great plays Beck had but abandon due to QB injury concerns. He wont have any problem running all of that with the 3 QBs he has at OSU. The QB counter off of jet was probably Becks highest ypc plays while at NU- only ran a handful of times.

Oh but it has Anyone can read the Oregon site, the fishducks site- you would find a lot of what Oregon does has morphed over time I realize this may be something new for those that think Chip Kelley coached at USC BTW we wont be a zone read team Over time we will be a zone team- there is a difference in how the backside DE is accounted for That will also mean the "zone read" plays that are aren't a read and are optimized for the keep or give will be gone too- The plays Imani could have run, plays we ran years ago- the power read and sweep read (inverted veer) are long gone- when Beck tired of having hurt QBs- Those WERENT zone read plays, MUCH different series- announcers were clueless as to what those plays were and we ran them a bunch. Nothing in Kelleys Nike Coach of the year notes discounted what I said about zone runners Note that Oregon has had small shifty backs- because they run a ton of zone Imani wouldn't see the field for them in their scheme, I take that back- they probably wouldn't have recruited him What I learned about zone didn't come from a single article I downloaded 10 minutes prior to my post As I said before LOTs of High SChool teams wont run zone- because they don't have kids who can run it You can have a great kid, good speed, power, even good in HS who never gets how to run zone, it happens Same goes even for some big time programs. I heard Saban talk a couple of years ago about a year they ran a bunch of gap stuff because they didn't have a consistent zone runner.

Chip Kelley never coached at USC So Im doubting he ever left there- because he never worked there So Im doubting anyone ever went to a clinic he put on as a coach from there However right now when you search on Inside Zone Read amazingly Chip Kelleys Nike Coach of the Year notes from when he Coached at Oregon - it was posted on a USC site So that's how you got confused thinking Chip coached at USC- from what was pulled up on google right before the post He didn't- he was at New Hampshire before he got on with Oregon http://www.trojanfootballanalysis.com/pdfdocs/oregonruns.pdf GSM Hard to beat Damon Bennings analysis of this aspect of the NU program Hes been spot on in the past While Ive learned quite a bit about zone over the last 8-10 years, Damon knows more and is closer to the situation than me, so I defer to him on this one.

For the RB- the Inside Zone is much harder to run than OZ from a coaching standpoint that's zone 101-- baby step stuff Like learning the stance Inside zone requires an immediate read and change in direction Watch Rex's highlights if you don't believe me- wow All of those coaching concepts ala Chip Kelley were plucked from something found on google - it comes up as #1 when you do a google search- 5 minutes before those "coaching points" were posted here. That wasn't something anyone already knew. until that point- probably first thing they ever read about it- never coached it : http://www.trojanfootballanalysis.com/pdfdocs/oregonruns.pdf

Not enough homework This isn't YMCA football where "everyone blitz"= blitzfirst how appropriate RBs aren't rated by how big or fast they are, how much the fans like them, they are judged on how they can execute in the offense- that's all that matters Go back to where you plucked your zone coaching points up on the internet a few minutes before your post- then go to the next google page on whats required of zone backs It matters not if it's inside or outside zone as to the macro skills for the RBs, skills required are exactly the same And long term, doubtful these guys run zone read, it's going to be zone FYI last year- lots of the "zone reads" weren't- they were optimized for one or the other- something Beck has liked to do for some time and he even let slip at one clinic I heard him speak at. Have you seen Cross in the jump aka zone cut drills they do where they have 4 coaches 5 yards apart and they flip their backs to determine which side the back jump cuts to and then they do 4 of those in a row? I have- he doesn't do that very well, something a back needs to do running both inside and outside zone I get you are wearing some cross colored glasses- saying REx and Imani are the same type of back with the same type of lateral speed- which the film clearly showed wasn't the case. But this is getting a bit ridiculous. FYI there are some High SChools that wont run zone some years because they don't have a SINGLE back who can consistently run it. Even Bama one year under Saban- he said he ran more gap/power stuff because he didn't have a consistent zone back. It's a lot more difficult than most people understand, until they've coached it, get it. I'll stick with what Benning thinks is the depth chart- Im thinking I don't have more hard core info than him or better RB coaching skills than him- but I guess you do Very funny.

About 2 months ago I met 2 of DPEs High School coaches Talked with them for about 20 minutes one time and maybe 10 another they said: DPE was a bit under the radar nationally because they were forced to play him a bunch at QB his Senior year, something he wasn't suited for in college He has a lot of confidence in himself They felt very confident he was legit DI and would make an early splash. They weren't surprised at all by what he did last year. Kid wasn't the easiest to work with- they worked hard to make sure he stayed on the right path- didn't get into a bunch of details with it, I didn't press the issue. When I asked "Is he a good kid"? They wouldn't answer, talked around it.

I don't think you understand what a zone back has to do Here is a short article from an expert that gives some insight on what a RB has to do on the outside zone AKA stretch play: http://myemail.constantcontact.com/O-Line--Blocking-the-Stretch-Outside-Zone-Scheme.html?soid=1104030277664&aid=v0EARWuEDnQ Once you read that- you get why Ameer is so good at running zone This guy really knows what he is doing Once you understand the requirements of the RB to run the play- then you have to ask yourself, which RBs on the roster have the skills to consistently run this? Of course that requires you have data- understand what each guy can and cant do The guys like Benning who understand the article, coach it, have run it themselves and then of course go to practice and get the data first hand probably are a little better qualified than the rest of us to have an accurate opinion of the situation. That's why DB is so spot on about his RB assessments and so early on picked out both Helu and Abdullah as the guys who would start out of very crowded and talented fields.

Youre right, he should have been 9-11 or even 10-11 and the receivers didn't have to make great catches, the balls he threw were in stride He throws a very catchable balls- long, medium or short. Receivers love that touch. Zack will gain the respect of his teammates Amazing kid, well liked and respected by everyone Father is legendary coach, known on the national level- clinic circuit Very close knit family, looks like dad, lots of dad in him- on field coach and motivator Well grounded, humble, spiritual kid- he's a keeper. He's not going to crumble in big games When he was an undersized Freshman in HS his teammates adopted him, they were all on his side when he got a few varsity snaps, ran the ball well His Soph year he worked his way into a leadership role in a storied program. More of a runner then than passer- his team put up some incredible rushing numbers. IIRK he played both the QB and Spinning Fullback spots in the Apopka Single Wing offense. His Junior year he was the leader and he lead his team to the 8A Florida state title- largest class- big boy football. Apopka attended several Nebraska practices and the clinic Bo put on in Florida and adopted some of NUs power read and sweep read concepts. They became more of a spread team. His Senior year- out with a concussion but still the leader of the team- lost in State Finals Pro style offense is a lot about delivering the ball on rhythm- timing Big arms are good, but understanding the offense, getting the ball out on rhythm is huge So is pocket presence, not wild scrambles. Maybe moving to Pro style was the best thing for this guy. Kid squares his shoulders up really well, nice footwork, great follow through, he's very coachable His feet are underrated, he sees the field well, has good speed and body control. He's not going to score from 60, but he is very mobile- what I like to call smart mobile, running when the payoff is there, not forcing the run or the pass.

You compared Imani to Rex- lateral cuts "Cross won't set land speed records and definitely doesn't cut as well as Newby laterally. Of course, we've had backs like that also (Rex) and done just fine " Complete running backs are lateral cut guys- which Rex was You don't get 3300 yards rushing or 60 receptions and return kicks without being able to lateral cut well and he missed a bunch of games He had what 1 tackle for loss- because he was great at the read on the zone play which requires the lateral cut Complete RBs don't have 1100 yard rushing after 3 years The word "complete running back" means not just good at running the ball which is why coaches let them play running back....but also good at pass protection and blitz pickup and catching the ball. Complete running back doesn't mean individual traits of running style. I'm glad you have a different definition when it fits your argument but this definition is how I was using it. As I said, I'm not saying Cross is Rex. I'm saying Rex didn't have lateral cuts like Abdullah and like we've been used to with Abdullah. I'm saying that Cross' lack of lateral cuts you guys keep hanging on shouldn't eliminate him from being considered a good back because we've had backs that are similar in running style (read: less lateral cuts than Abdullah or say Wilbon) Have fun continuing to spin this into things I DIDN'T say. Using your very own words- I included them in the posts Catching the ball, really? - YOUR WORDS "but also good at pass protection and blitz pickup and catching the ball" Ive been to practice, they don't throw to Imani for a reason- Cross has caught 3 passes in 3 years, that is 1 per year, how does that make him a good pass catcher/ complete back? REx caught 60 and returned kicks Had you watched the film you would have seen your words ""Cross won't set land speed records and definitely doesn't cut as well as Newby laterally. Of course, we've had backs like that also (Rex) and done just fine " Watch the film and go to the spots everyone pointed out and then say Cross and Rex don't have lateral speed- they are in the same galaxy. Your words not mine, man grasping at some pretty sorry straws. Wow- that's some crazy stuff if you really believe it. Get over the man crush/love rush cloud and get back to reality- he's only a kid You're really excited by this eh? Spin away dude. It's pretty comical how much this makes you go off...all because someone has a different opinion than you. When someone is wrong- they fail to debate the facts They attack the messenger, change the conversation- very common When the data proves youre wrong, youre wrong The 21 year old first year football fan who sits behind me and reads one article a week about NU and isn't shy about sharing her "knowledge" and insight also has an opinion- it just isn't a very informed one If anyone really wants to know who the best Running Back is and who will be starting- based on expertise, fact and not man crushes: Damon Benning has always been spot on He attends practice He knows how to evaluate RBs correctly He totally understands the macro skills needed for each type of play in each offense He truly understands offenses- including what Riley will run and what is needed by the backs to run Rileys offense He is a coach and very accomplished former player- he teaches this stuff He talks to other former players and coaches who are also attending practices He watches game film and knows what to look for He has been spot on plucking Helu out of a deep pack VERY early when no one else was He did the very same thing with Abdullah when Abdullah was buried in a pile of 3-4 very good RBs- very early when no one else was To think anyone here would know more than him- when it comes to RBs- silly He is on Newby as the starter, so am I for many of the same reasons RIght now NU doesn't have a Helu, Rex, Ameer type back, but someone will start based on how they fit with the offense- right now Newby