4/2 practice

[Eric the Red]

The team ran through some basic drills till about 11:30.

 

The final hour or so of practice the team went through various situational scrimmages.

 

First ir went to goaline situations. At the three and the one. Overall considering the position the defense is put in, they came away the winners.

 

The next scrimmage took place around the 35. The coaching staff moved the situation around every play. Usually starting on second or third down. Mixed results depending on what your looking for. The offense was fairly consistent in reaching first downs. The did a good job of getting to the chains. If you were looking for big plays, you were disappointed. The defense was steady. Bend but don't break type defense.

 

They finished up with special teams.

 

Some observations........

 

Cory Ross is going to surprise people in the nation this year. He's so consistent. He broke off the only big run of the afternoon, about 40 yards. He also caught a one handed swing pass and took it to the house from about 25 out.

 

I think for me anyway, the QB battle might be beginning to see some separation. Dailey makes a lot of nice, "nifty" plays. He can see the field really well sometimes. He's got quicker feet, more speed and a little sling shot of an arm than Taylor. But Taylor seems to to just complete more passes than Dailey. Taylor is more relaxed and more willing to take that short pass. Taylor has patience, but also seems smarter with his passes. He has a little better ability to pick out the "hot" receiver than Dailey. I just don't get that icky feeling when I see Taylor drop back as when Dailey does. This could easily be because we saw Dailey last year. Dailey certainly got better, and he's a good player, but Taylor is just more fluid.

 

BTW...Jordan Adams got about 5 snaps near the end of practice. Ganz is the third string guy right now.

 

On the D..

 

Barry Cryer looks as though he's going to see serious time. He's big and he fast.

 

Wali made a couple nice plays, but was playing with the 3rd team defense. I assume he'll move up, but I like Callahan's approach of pushing Wali M. down the depth chart until he can prove himself again.

 

Solid play from everyone else.

[Blackshirt]

Great nsight, thanks ETR.

[Eric the Red]

OOoops forgot to mention there were about three dozen or so recuits on hand.

[hoyamannn]

OOoops forgot to mention there were about three dozen or so recuits on hand.

 

What recruits, do you have any idea?

[hoyamannn]

ETR, I've also been hearing Dontrelle Moore just doesn't look very good. What's your take on him?

[Eric the Red]

He can be very physical at times. He'll blow up a fullback like no ones buisness, but other times he's not a factor because he went the wrong way. He's mostly been working with the 2's and 3's. He'll be on the field this year, maybe situational, but special teams should be his spot.

[Eric the Red]

OOoops forgot to mention there were about three dozen or so recuits on hand.

 

What recruits, do you have any idea?

I know a kid from Minnesota was there, but I wouldn't say there were any big time kids. At least I don't think there were any. A lot of solid recruits, mostly without offers right now.

[Eric the Red]

The team ran through some basic drills till about 11:30.

 

The final hour or so of practice the team went through various situational scrimmages.

 

First ir went to goaline situations. At the three and the one. Overall considering the position the defense is put in, they came away the winners.

 

The next scrimmage took place around the 35. The coaching staff moved the situation around every play. Usually starting on second or third down. Mixed results depending on what your looking for. The offense was fairly consistent in reaching first downs. The did a good job of getting to the chains. If you were looking for big plays, you were disappointed. The defense was steady. Bend but don't break type defense.

 

They finished up with special teams.

 

Some observations........

 

Cory Ross is going to surprise people in the nation this year. He's so consistent. He broke off the only big run of the afternoon, about 40 yards. He also caught a one handed swing pass and took it to the house from about 25 out.

 

I think for me anyway, the QB battle might be beginning to see some separation. Dailey makes a lot of nice, "nifty" plays. He can see the field really well sometimes. He's got quicker feet, more speed and a little sling shot of an arm than Taylor. But Taylor seems to to just complete more passes than Dailey. Taylor is more relaxed and more willing to take that short pass. Taylor has patience, but also seems smarter with his passes. He has a little better ability to pick out the "hot" receiver than Dailey. I just don't get that icky feeling when I see Taylor drop back as when Dailey does. This could easily be because we saw Dailey last year. Dailey certainly got better, and he's a good player, but Taylor is just more fluid.

 

BTW...Jordan Adams got about 5 snaps near the end of practice. Ganz is the third string guy right now.

 

On the D..

 

Barry Cryer looks as though he's going to see serious time. He's big and he fast.

 

Wali made a couple nice plays, but was playing with the 3rd team defense. I assume he'll move up, but I like Callahan's approach of pushing Wali M. down the depth chart until he can prove himself again.

 

Solid play from everyone else.

Couple newspaper takes on the QB battle.

 

NU's top quarterback spot still up for grabs

 

We're halfway through spring practice, with one major scrimmage complete, and we've learned one thing about the battle for Nebraska's starting quarterback job.

 

There's still no clear-cut leader.

 

Taylor airs it out in NU scrimmage

 

Bill Callahan credited "a two-club wind," but nevertheless quarterback Zac Taylor's deep throws highlighted Saturday's scrimmage. Taylor, the junior college transfer, hit Isaiah Fluellen with a 47-yard pass and later connected with Mark LeFlore on a 65-yard touchdown. Taylor said he's still streaky. He fumbled snaps and needs to get quicker with decision-making. But he had his moments Saturday.

[Eric the Red]

NU Football Notebook

 

 

-- INJURY REPORT: There's still no official word on sophomore I-back Brandon Jackson's shoulder injury, suffered during Wednesday's practice. NU head coach Bill Callahan said Saturday he was awaiting information about the extent of the injury. With Jackson on the mend, senior starter Cory Ross is the only experienced running back in spring camp. In other injury news, starting strong safety Daniel Bullocks was limited Saturday because of a strained hamstring suffered Friday. In Bullocks' absence, Brandon Rigoni, a 5-foot-6, 180-pound junior from Lincoln, saw considerable action with the first string. "Rigoni's real tough, and everybody knows that about him," Bullocks said. "I think he made good plays out there today."

 

-- IN THE ZONE: Nebraska plans to use more zone coverage on defense this year than it did in 2004. Halfway through spring practice, however, Bullocks said he hasn't noticed a significant change. "It's pretty much the same thing we did last fall," he said. "We've just taken a couple of defenses out — we're running fewer defenses than we did last year."

 

-- UPBEAT: Callahan seemed upbeat as Nebraska reached the halfway point of spring drills. Eight practices remain, including the spring game. "This team worked extremely hard this week," he said. "I'm really proud of its effort. The guys put in four tough, hard, physical days in pads, and it's really paid off."

 

-- QUOTABLE: Following Nebraska's four-hour practice Saturday, Callahan said, "It's been a long day. But I'll tell you what, I'd like to stay out here longer if I could. The rules prevent me from doing that."

[HSKRNOKC]

This is all great stuff.Thanks Eric. Taylor will torch a few defenses this year.. Remember the last two years there would be somebody open deep, everyone that was watching could see the receiver except our qb. Lord would pull it down and run. Dailey would try a screen pass. The deep ball spraeds the feild. Its a great equalizer.

[Eric the Red]

ETR, I've also been hearing Dontrelle Moore just doesn't look very good. What's your take on him?

Hey hoyaman, I guess Moore is gettiing better as of 4/4

 

Cosgrove has also seen noticeable improvement from junior transfer Dontrell Moore, who switched positions from NU’s SAM (strongside) linebacker position to MIKE (middle) during the spring.

 

 

"(Dontrell) has been there only three days, and he has shown tremendous improvement each day," Cosgrove said. "He’s a very physical player and he’s starting to play under control. He’s picking up things very well, but it’s a big change for him. When he was a SAM, he had to have very little communication at that position. Now at the MIKE position, he has more responsibilities. But the thing I really like about him is the mistakes he makes from the practice before, he corrects the next day. He’s very coachable."

[joshuavacek]

150 more days until the first game. I can't wait.