SwiftFan87 Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 From the Big Red Today in the OWH 8:30 a.m.: Nebraska receivers coach Ted Gilmore drew applause this morning at the Big Red Breakfast for his answer to a question about how the Huskers plan to attack fourth-ranked Oklahoma Saturday night in Norman. "Without giving away the game plan, we're going to go at them," Gilmore said, pausing as the crowd at the Holiday Inn clapped to show its approval. "We're not going to sit back. We're going to compete. We're going there to win." Gilmore may not have been thinking it, but no doubt many in the crowd remembered the Huskers' past two road games against teams ranked in the top five: A 28-10 loss in 2006 at Southern California and a 30-3 defeat at OU in 2004, both games in which Nebraska did not exactly appear to go for the jugular. Gilmore talked primarily today about his receivers, led, of course, by senior Nate Swift, who set the Huskers' all-time career record for receptions last week in the NU win over Baylor. We'll have a full story later today on Gilmore's appearance. Quote Link to comment
SwiftFan87 Posted October 31, 2008 Author Share Posted October 31, 2008 Also from the Life in the Red blog Happy Halloween if you're into that sort of thing. I dressed up as a sports writer who didn't have time to comb his hair. I admit I did get a slight bounce in my step, very slight since it was 6:49 in the morning, when I approached the Holiday Inn here in Omaha and saw NEBRASKA VS OKLAHOMA on the marquee. Ted Gilmore was this week's speaker at the Big Red Breakfast. He noted how the last time he spoke at this deal, late in last last season, there were some "interesting dynamics. So I enjoy these cirucmstances a little bit better." People clapped when he said, "How about Nate Swift?" "That's a young man that has earned everything he's had happen to him," Gilmore said. The wide receivers coach also praised senior Todd Peterson, who he remembers being impressed with even in his first year. "I said, 'You know, if we give Todd Peterson some more reps, I think he'll pass some of these young men.' ... And obviously we know what he's done to this point." Gilmore said Niles Paul is the "toughest kid I have probably coached in my whole career." There was little seperation between receivers, Gilmore said. "Two fumbles in camp was the only difference in him not being a starter." The coach said the top four receivers all graded very high this fall camp. "The difference between the top four guys, we're talking one drop here or there." Gilmore said Menelik Holt will not play against OU. Paul will get his first start. Curenski Gilleylen, he said, has all the ability in the world. "We have to get Curenski to have the confidence in himself that we have in him." He said Will Henry is "probably my most improved player in that group" and is "growing into his body." Gilmore was coy about Marcus Mendoza practicing some wide receiver, which Bo Pelini mentioned was going on earlier in the week. “Who said he was wide receiver,” Gilmore said after someone asked him about it. “I think Mendoza is a running back until somebody tells me different." He smiled. "Will I try to steal him? Absolutely.” What would Gilmore like to get out of this recruiting class at wide receiver? "We need a big body guy and a sepearation guy. I'm trying to get one of each." Gilmore said he'd like to find "a guy that can catch a hitch, make someone miss and go the distance." Someone asked if Joe Ganz did go down, who would play quarterback -- Pat Witt or Zac Lee. "Right now that'd be Pat Witt." About Tom Osborne: "Tom's just there for support. he does not interfere at all. He does not." About Bo Pelini: "It's black and white with Bo and when you operate that way with kids, they appreciate it because they know where you stand." Asked about any young guys that were standing out, Gilmore said mentioned John Levorsen and Josh Williams. He said Williams, a defensive end, came it at just 217 pounds and is now 237. Quote Link to comment
SwiftFan87 Posted October 31, 2008 Author Share Posted October 31, 2008 Glad to hear that we're going there to WIN and not playing to lose. Quote Link to comment
DaveH Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 I would hope so. Is this like when Eckler said he as really excited about the defense against Missouri, then they got stomped? Quote Link to comment
BIGREDFAN_in_OMAHA Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 Boy that sounds like the type of talk which Chase Daniel viewed as a lack of respect. Glad to see Gilmore and the staff showing confidence which the players can feed off of. Quote Link to comment
papersun87 Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 Glad to hear that we're going there to WIN and play to lose. This is reassuring stuff. I love hearing the coaches talking about a game plan and attitude to WIN, and not just survive. Will it play out on the field? I guess we'll find out. Quote Link to comment
captain obvious Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 OMG THIS IS BILLBOOOARD MATERIALZ WHOO SEZ THEY CAN BEET OU IS HE FRICKING KIDDDING !!!/1?!!?!?!?1 ROFLXZZFMOMG Quote Link to comment
np_husker Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 http://journalstar.com/blog/huskers.php?ti...p;tb=1&pb=1 Ted Gilmore was this week's speaker at the Big Red Breakfast. He noted how the last time he spoke at this deal, late in last last season, there were some "interesting dynamics. So I enjoy these cirucmstances a little bit better." People clapped when he said, "How about Nate Swift?" "That's a young man that has earned everything he's had happen to him," Gilmore said. The wide receivers coach also praised senior Todd Peterson, who he remembers being impressed with even in his first year. "I said, 'You know, if we give Todd Peterson some more reps, I think he'll pass some of these young men.' ... And obviously we know what he's done to this point." Gilmore said Niles Paul is the "toughest kid I have probably coached in my whole career." There was little seperation between receivers, Gilmore said. "Two fumbles in camp was the only difference in him not being a starter." The coach said the top four receivers all graded very high this fall camp. "The difference between the top four guys, we're talking one drop here or there." Gilmore said Menelik Holt will not play against OU. Paul will get his first start. Curenski Gilleylen, he said, has all the ability in the world. "We have to get Curenski to have the confidence in himself that we have in him." He said Will Henry is "probably my most improved player in that group" and is "growing into his body." The coach said Henry told him he won't be on the punt team this week. Last week, Henry had a roughing-the-kicker penalty that kept alive a Baylor drive. He said Henry was understanding of the situation. "He'll be fine. He was doing what we tried to ask him to do and it just didn't work out." Gilmore was coy about Marcus Mendoza practicing some wide receiver, which Bo Pelini mentioned was going on earlier in the week. “Who said he was wide receiver?” Gilmore said after someone asked him about it. “I think Mendoza is a running back until somebody tells me different." He smiled. "Will I try to steal him? Absolutely.” Gilmore said Khiry Cooper will play both football and baseball. About him redshirting: "If I was forcing the issue, I think I probably could have gotten him ready. But I didn't want it to be a situation like a year ago with Niles Paul where, 'Are you getting enough reps where it's worth doing it?' And I don't think it's worth doing it." Gilmore said Cooper visited with several people about the decision to redshirt, including Paul, before a verdict was reached. Paul, of course, caught a pass in just the first game, but didn't see much action after that, playing seven games, mostly on special teams. What would Gilmore like to get out of this recruiting class at wide receiver? "We need a big body guy and a separation guy. I'm trying to get one of each." "The thing that I'm missing is I need a guy that can catch a hitch, make someone miss and go the distance." Someone asked if Joe Ganz did go down, who would play quarterback -- Pat Witt or Zac Lee. "Right now that'd be Pat Witt." Gilmore played and was an assistant coach at Wyoming. He was asked if he'd be interested in a head coaching job at Wyoming, a job which isn't open right now but is being speculated about since Joe Glenn's team is 2-6. The coach smiled: “Why would you say things are shaky there? I have my own problems to worry about. ... I’m worried about what’s going on at Nebraska.” About Tom Osborne: "Tom's just there for support. He does not interfere at all. He does not. ... He hired Bo asa head coach because he feels Bo is capable. Bo hired his assistant becase he feels they're capable. It's an environment across the board where everybody is empowered to do their job." About Bo Pelini: "It's black and white with Bo and when you operate on those conditions with kids, they appreciate it because they know where you stand." About last season: "The best way I can sum it up, as a coach, at times there were times when we were shielded. We were in the office, working on the game. But those young men, they were out in it all day, and they'd hear about it. And it affected them. It affected everybody. So when you come in there ... and ask them to do certain things and ask them not to pay attention to (the criticism), you know as well as I do that that's easier said than done." About recruiting: "There's a lot of young men that we're still on and those are young men that are wanted by everybody. So those decisions aren't going to come fast. You're going to have to wait it out. ... I think the best decision is an informed one. I would rather have a young man take his time and when he makes the decision, you know he made it for the right reason." Asked about any young guys that were standing out, Gilmore mentioned John Levorsen, Courtney Osborne and Josh Williams. He said Williams, a defensive end, came in at just 217 pounds and is now 237. Gilmore said NU left "14 points for sure" on that field against Baylor. "We can't kick ourselves in the backside this week." About the game plan for Oklahoma, Gilmore left it at this: "We're going to go after them." That drew applause from a crowd that remembers the last visit to Norman when NU lost 30-3 and seemed to go into an offensive shell. Gilmore said most players today don't understand the significance of NU-OU. "When you don't play every year, you have to remind these kids what this game's about." Quote Link to comment
SwiftFan87 Posted October 31, 2008 Author Share Posted October 31, 2008 Glad to hear that we're going there to WIN and play to lose. This is reassuring stuff. I love hearing the coaches talking about a game plan and attitude to WIN, and not just survive. Will it play out on the field? I guess we'll find out. Woops thanks for catching my typo. I fixed it Quote Link to comment
TheKiD Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 I just hope this isn't another one of those "brilliant game plans" we saw against MU; meaning hopefully they don't get too fancy and just get the kids fired up and ready to play. Quote Link to comment
huskerswrkhavoc Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 I would hope so. Is this like when Eckler said he as really excited about the defense against Missouri, then they got stomped? even if we go out there and get crushed, idgaf... if we play to actually win the game and take chances and blow it? oh well. at least we went down fighting. something that OBVIOUSLY DIDNT HAPPEN LAST REGIME........ USC circa 2006. Quote Link to comment
admo Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 It's really unfortunate for Holt. You could see he was gaining a lot of confidence in his ability these past several weeks. On the other hand, that same confidence has been maturing for Niles Paul as well. So it will be good to see what he can do out there with extended playing time. I'm glad they havent lost faith in Curenski. So I wont either. Mendoza in the open field could be exciting. Even a few quick end-arounds. Good to hear about Levorsen & Josh. Both should have good careers here at NU. They're excellent athletes. Keep the playcalling simple (with a few tricks and downfield shots here and there), get Ganz into a rhythm, and these guys can move the ball. Avoid the penalty bug & turnovers. Play sound & good things will happen to these guys. I'm geeked! GBR! Quote Link to comment
holvy83 Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 Why not throw it deep, OU probably looking for the quick short routes that we have done the last 3 weeks, the few times we went deep last week we burnt them b/c they did not expect it. Take it to em boys! Quote Link to comment
Drowning_in_the_Sea_of_Red Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 I would hope so. Is this like when Eckler said he as really excited about the defense against Missouri, then they got stomped? That's exactly what I first thought when I read the title... Quote Link to comment
MCAT800 Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 I just hope this isn't another one of those "brilliant game plans" we saw against MU Quote Link to comment
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