Alex 4.0

Not likely, Lee and Washington are ahead of him IMO. After watching him in the spring game, I thought it was pretty obvious he hasn't adjusted to the speed of DI football quite yet, and our offense isn't easy to learn by any means. Tough to say how much he progresses in fall camp and the first few games though. If we make it half way through the season you better believe that Bo will do whatever he can to keep the RS on him.

I have heard that he may decide before signing day, depending on visits in such. I think the reasoning was that he realized by waiting til the end it puts the team he is joining in a bit of a bind making them wait that long. (in reference to Dawson)

I was going to post this exact same thing... it was Ebke, none the less... speed is speed, and he has it. he needs to see the field in some way, thats for sure.

My Take on the Offense Quarterbacks Zac Lee looks pretty decent. He seems to know where to throw the ball for the most part, has the timing for our methodical offense down. BUT he did throw some footballs in places that should have ended up as an INT. he was sneaking them over some of our more "inadequate" defensive players, pretty risky. All in all though, not too bad. Ganz will be missed a little bit. Latravis Washington looked brilliant on a few plays and blew it on a few others (as to be expected from a LB convert QB) But there is reason to be excited about this guy. I think if he could run the ball you would have seen him with 75yds rushing on his scrambles alone. Passing the ball it is ALWAYS full power, very little touch. He missed a few receivers, and had a tendency to throw the ball nose down into the dirt. He stared down a lot of receivers, but also moved around a little bit and found some checkdowns at times. His arm strength is nuts. Cody Green is a 17 year old guy that hasn't adjusted to the speed of college ball. Unless it magically clicks for him in fall, he really should redshirt. He threw the ball downfield several times, and every time the ball was underthrown. If anything they need to be out of reach for everyone. He was behind several receivers on routine throws for our offense. The ball looks nice though. I think he is going to be really good, just not this year unless he makes some major strides. He had some decent wheels from the few times he took off with it, didn't look to be hobbled at all. Running Backs Castille looked faster this year than last year. When Suh was playing, he disrupted the run game big time plugging up the middle, but as the game went on (and Suh came out) Castille started to look much better. For the second year in a row Thenarse got rocked by Castille (thenarse tackling with his head down). One play that surprised me was a sweep around the outside, I didn't think castille would make it to the corner but he really exploded and was able to cut it up field. Lester Ward was impressive between the tackles. For his size it was really fun to watch him find a seam and squeak out 4 or 5 yards. He had a fumble (stripped). Wasn't really fast by any means, but was a very "natural" and smooth runner. Austin Jones was pretty shifty back there. He complimented our style of play very well, looked good taking a draw and making a couple of cuts. He is a very serviceable backup. No complaints about him. Collins Okafor really stepped up in this game and showed a couple of nice runs. Although he was playing later when the younger guys were out there, he hit the hole full speed. A lot of times guys are too tentative running the football when they could be breaking runs open, not Collins. I think this game helped his stock and I wouldn't be surprised to see him get some snaps early this year just to see what he can do in a game situation. Receivers Meno Holt... ??? didn't even seem like he was out there playing. He didn't play the whole game, but he didn't stick out while he was in there. Seemed a lot like last year I guess, I was just hoping he would shine more. A lot of the more "important" players were saved in this game, I hope that is the case with meno. Will Henry, again... I really expected to see a couple lobs to him in the endzone on a fade, but not the case. He dropped a ball or two, and didn't have a whole lot thrown his way. He also was wide open in the endzone and the ball was overthrown to him. I'm not sure what it is about this guy, but I always just think he is going to be a big threat but never is. Chris Brooks. This guy had his stock rise up a bunch in this game. He was catching latravis lasers all over the field in the first half, and many of the passes were off the mark. He seemed to be giving full effort out there and really impressed. Mendoza looked quick out there, made some nice catches too. The more he gets the WR position the better, because he has some serious speed and his hands looked decent. Antonio Bell didn't disappoint. This guy looked like a gamer out there. He made some nice plays. He stretched the field a couple of times for us, and returned a lot of kickoffs. He got the ball out past the 20 pretty much every time and showed some flash as well. I think as he adjusts more to the game and gets more comfortable with the offense he will look even faster, which is great. FINALLY someone that is a legitimate threat down the sideline. Tim Marlowe is a stud punt returner... watch out for him. He was quick with the ball in his hands, had pretty good vision. I am happy that we have this guy for 4 years, he will end up making some big plays for us before all is said and done. Some people said that Ty Kildow is faster, quicker, and has more moves than Marlowe, we are going to have a great return game if this is true. TE's all looked great. Getting open, we passed it to them quite a bit too. Ben Cotton impressed with his combination of size and speed. Not a burner (not Kyler Reed!) but pretty solid. Right before his touchdown catch he had a ball thrown to him in the endzone which he should have caught. The pass was perfect, he just slowed down for the ball...which he shouldn't have done. Reed is the biggest receiving threat we have at TE since Herian... he needs to see the field. period. OL did a decent job for the most part. It is really hard to tell with these guys considering how they are split up. OL and DL saw a lot of guys playing and without the cohesiveness that a line develops it is tough to say. From what I could tell though, we looked pretty decent. Not mind blowing, not horrible. Before Suh came out though, our OL was getting beat up. Whew, that was the offense... Defense to come later if I find the time.

Henery's kick was pretty far right... looked like it had the distance, but I watched the snap and hold in the replay because he missed it so bad. It looked like the snap was low and the holder had to pick it up off the ground and set the ball... so that may have played into it.

I will add a detailed full break down later this evening when I have time....

I will have my complete spring game break down later... BUT for now, the things that stood out to me. We have decent depth at RB... I was nervous that after castille and helu we had a huge dropoff. Not the case. Lester ward found seams that didn't exist, okafor ran hard every play (no homo) and jones was really shifty. good stuff. WR, once again we saw some drops from a couple of guys. Will Henry just wasn't getting a lot of balls thrown his way, but when he did, he dropped some. A lot of that is mental... hopefully he can get it straight. Antonio Bell is going to be a good receiver for us... he caught a lot of good balls. Brooks was on fire in a slot position early in the game and caught a lot too. Meno didn't impress a whole lot... TE's - VERY impressive... I will elaborate more on these guys when I give a full update. QB - There were some very suspect throws made by all three guys... throws that probably wouldn't work outside of the spring game. overall though, they weren't terrible. I think latravis will be a decent backup, to the point where green will redshirt (which he REALLY does need... he isn't ready)

Don't forget about Ward. He will see playing time at the running back position this year. I will defer to make that judgment until after I see him play tomorrow. There was one article on him gaining the #3 spot on the roster... If Bobby and Sarah got A's on a spelling test, Timmy got a D, and everyone else failed, does that mean Timmy is really smart since he is third in the class and should be sent to the spelling bee? Lets hope Timmy gets higher than a D tomorrow so he can prove me wrong.

as of right now it looks like most of the rain is for tonight and tomorrow morning.... hopefully thats the case. Check out weather.com's hour by hour detailed forecast. It says by 12 noon it will be a 30% chance, and that carries on through the afternoon with the chance for an isolated thunderstorm or two.

Both, haha. Personally, seeing that Washington took the move from LB to QB, thats my hot pick for this game, i want to see what he has to offer at the QB position. It will be nice to see Cody Green in action as well. As for Lee, well i think its a matter of faith that i dont really care how this game turns out for him. With Helu not playing, and the fact that we have seen Castille in action during the Bowl game, it will be very interesting to see what other backs are out there behind these guys. i would mention Mendoza but it seems he has been moved to WR, a 5-11 WR. It would be fun to see Okofar, Ward and Jones take a few snaps. Brooks, Holt, Gilleylen, Cammack and Henry, 5 good wide recievers who have spent a good deal of time on the team behind Swift and Peterson, its going to be great to see all of them in action going up for passes Saturday. I praised McNeill last year for stepping up with Teafatiller, and i expect no less than what we saw last season to continue this year, but Young and Hill can now step up to get the credit they both deserve in this game. Allen and Turner take over for Ty Steinkuhler and Zach Potter, but im looking forward to see Baker Steinkuhler, Josh Williams, Cameron Meredith, and David Harvey as i feel they might be the future DL starters. Moore and Crick will get their shot to shine alongside Suh. Dillard is back, never had a chance to see him in action, but i cant wait, since the departure of Cody Glenn and Tyler Wortman. With Koehler and Holt as familiar to me as apple pie, May and Grove are two names in hearing alot about now, just another reason to watch the spring game, especially with Blake Lawerence out and Washington at QB. Lance Thorell, i kept seeing this guys name all over the field in the 08' and his biggest play was the broken up pass against the Buffs (play after that Suh intercepted the ball for a TD) I cant wait to see how much he has improved during the offseason. With Asante, Thenarse, and O'Hanlon back at safeties, im not too fond at watching the secondary this year, i just hope they improved on their speed. *sidenote* I wonder if we will see Justin or Jordan Makovicka play? WR's - Watch for Antonio Bell (#2), he may very well be the fastest player we have on offense (including mendoza). So I expect him to see a deep ball once in the game. TE's - You failed to mention what could be the two biggest factors at that position this year. Kyler Reed and Ben Cotton. Ben Cotton could have played last year... one of the few players that coaches said that about for freshmen. He has the size, technique, hands and decent speed. Reed is a freak of nature. he is a pure receiving threat at TE... LB's - Fisher, Whaley and Compton will all see time out there. Fisher is most likely to start the first game next year. and remember the quotes about Whaley being "unblockable" when he was on the scout team D? We should see about him. DB's - How much has Prince and West improved? we have heard their praises. Heard they made major strides... lets see about that. Dennard is a freak athlete... and the more things click the more you will see that. These guys are supposed to be one of the strengths of this team... they are supposed to make the biggest leap mentally in year 2 under pelini... Watch Hagg at safety. He is a baller. This is the area I will be watching the most...

N

and Iowa State... Helu can break tackles using a wider array of moves... but Castille will typically blast into somebody and fall forward for an extra yard or two... which is why he sort of fell into the short yardage back. IF Castille is given more carries where he can get in the open you will see him break a few more tackles (Clemson). Last year he still didn't play naturally until late in the season. Early in the year he could have had a couple of TD's that he botched (missed option pitch when he would have been gone... tripped over the yard lines a couple of times) Later in the year it clicked for him... look for Helu and Castille to tear it up pretty equally. That is going to be a badass 1-2 punch.

long story short. Out of high school where he actually played quarterback, he was recruited by some big time programs. Ohio State and West Virginia both wanted him as a qb... supposedly. The hs offense was option based, so he hasn't spent much time passing the ball. When he got here, he was put on defense to play lb. he wasn't cracking the depth chart there, played sparingly on special teams... They suggested it before spring practice that he make the move to qb, and he decided he was willing to do it. reports are he throws the hardest ball out of all the qbs but lacks accuracy. expect to see a lot of vanilla play calling for him in the spring game, and a lot of running plays. I am going to guess he is going to be paired up with Castille to make the teams a little more even.

does that mean they are the #1's though? Because I thought they were going to split the teams up for the spring game evenly...

sounds like this year they are probably going to do a draft system and split the teams up evenly. While some people think that the "first team" units should remain intact to establish chemistry, I like the fact that there will be stronger competition.

With Paul out... which WR(s) is going to step up. I want to see Bell's speed and Henry making grabs out of midair with his leaping ability. but shortly after I see that, I want to see prince and west making some interceptions, and hagg laying a hit on a TE.... I think... I don't REALLY want to see interceptions that much... but yet I do. Who do I root for?

He himself will beat Notre Dame man. I hope so. anything to keep them from winning is fair in my book.

Uh ohhhh Cy... I hope iowa state has been recruiting 7'0" CB's http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...RTS36/903310322

EDIT: It's official. http://www.journalstar.com/blog/huskers.ph...p;tb=1&pb=1 On green. Have him sit, don't pull the shirt unless it Lee goes down for good at some point. If it is going to be a couple plays here and there, I think we will see washington (handing the ball off)

Blake Lawrence eddie munster

Ever since the day we signed Henry I have been waiting for him to earn some PT. At the very least in goal line situations. He would be a ridiculous mismatch, in a good way. We need somebody to emerge, but this competition between Holt, Henry and Brooks is much needed. I remember being at the Western Michigan game last year and he was put in for a few plays and I watched him carefully. He actually ran very very fluidly for someone his size, then Ganz threw him a ball on a slant and it went right through his hands. (May have ended up as an INT actually), then I never really saw him in on many plays after that. He also had a nagging injury last year so I am sure that kept him out of contention for playing time.

Bo hasn't said anything other than "Health concerns - unrelated to high blood pressure issue he dealt with last season" They are keeping the lid sealed pretty tight on it right now. Word is he has lost a lot of weight... not necessarily in a good way.

Was there any mention of Okafor? All I heard when we recruited him was what a manchild he was and his greatness. Now, I hear absolutely nothing about him. Is he not panning out, or are there just that many that are better? Is there a chance he makes it into the rotation? I read a few things about him, but no links. Okafor is a barn burner, but one thing he was criticized for in high school was his inability to make cuts and read holes, something Helu does very well. My guess is that he has the physical tools, mostly, but the mental tools are what is keeping him back. Obviously something is up because Lester Ward is apparently the third back, and Ward wasn't as highly rated as Okafor was. Yeah, I have heard he is the fastest back we have right now. BUT, if you ever watched his HS footage, all his long runs are pretty much straight down the field. His vision and cutting seems to be his weakness. Hopefully he will develop that a little bit at some point. Some guys never do. Ward was rated a ** in part because he had a hard time staying healthy his last couple of years of high school... if he had the chance to put it together and show what he could do, he pry would have been rated higher. Some players are just natural at finding lanes and making things happen (Helu - Who in many posters opinions when we signed him should have been moved to LB before he stepped on campus )

He is a Junior....He has this summer, he has a senior year, a summer conditioning, a fall camp, a possible RS year.... you get where I am going? 225 at that point isn't HORRIBLE.... and with a year and a half of Dobson, don't you think that number would go up?

koolaid is flowing in this thread.... Would be awesome if you were right about these guys making a big splash like that. BUT, here is how I see it. Thad Randle has poor footwork. he was able to do what he did against high schoolers, (yes, decent comp it texas, but still) but don't count on it carrying over to BIG 12 olinemen.... who block DT's on a regular basis that have been in a college system for sometimes 4 or 5 years. Burkhead has decent size and speed, but he is going to be a running back. The coaches have said this and Rex has said this. He is going to be here for fall camp, so IF.... BIG IF, he is placed in the slot for a few formations I am not sure it would be worth burning his eligibility. There is no way he is going to be better at blocking schemes than guys that have been here. If I am wrong, I will admit it, but I don't see it happening. Qvale is a beast, that is for sure. But again... you are talking about a lineman that played against pretty weak high school competition. Coming in for fall camp and actually dominating? He is going to overtake one of our other tackles? I doubt it. Too much technique involved that these guys didn't have to worry about in high school. The staff is pretty adamant about NOT wasting a year of eligibility if a guy is going to be a down the depth chart or see mop up duty. If burkhead is a stud returner, then we may see him out there as a True freshman. Out of all the newcomers I see WR and CB (nickel or dime) places for contribution... So Brandon Kinnie and Antonio Bell at WR on certain plays Gomes at CB in nickel situations, as he learns the D, he could push for PT at one of the other corner positions.