Depth chart may not come til end of week

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

NE Statepaper

Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini hasn’t been kidding when he intimated that position battles may not end until one day before kickoff.

 

Pelini [said] after Monday’s practice – the first truly dedicated to preparing for Florida Atlantic – that NU would not release a depth chart Tuesday, as has been normally custom.

 

“It won’t be final until the end of the week,” Pelini said. “Changes every day. The competition’s on every day. We rep a lot of guys. We could give you a depth chart with a lot of “ORs” on it. We’ll see how it plays out. Whoever wins the job, that’s who’s going to be in the game Saturday.”

 

The closest battles continue at right tackle, wide receiver, punt returner, WILL and MIKE linebacker, and potentially in the secondary. Third-string is up for grabs at many more positions, as well.

 

At right tackle, offensive line coach Barney Cotton said both juniors Marcel and D.J. Jones should play “both fairly equally” in the FAU game.

 

“Both had good camps and both deserve to play,” Cotton said.

 

Cotton did not have the services of left guard Keith Williams, held out because of an undisclosed injury. In his absence Andy Christensen moved back over from right guard to work with the top units.

 

“I won’t talk about that, but he’s fine,” Pelini said. “He should be out here tomorrow.”

 

In practice, freshman walk-on Ron Kellogg III drew the job of simulating the Owls’ quarterback, Rusty Smith. Although Kellogg is 4-5 inches shorter than Smith, Pelini said the Omaha Westside product “did a really good job.”

 

NU returns to the practice field Tuesday after its weekly press conference.

 

[Igetbored216]

I think we already have a pretty good idea - other than the WR spot - what the depth chart will look like.

[admo]

I hope he's fooling. A week before the game and no one has stepped up yet to claim WR, LB, secondary spots?

They've only had last year, spring, and fall for players to win those spots.

 

Appears to me its going to be a few games to find out who's going to earn it.

[knapplc]

I hope he's fooling. A week before the game and no one has stepped up yet to claim WR, LB, secondary spots?

They've only had last year, spring, and fall for players to win those spots.

 

Appears to me its going to be a few games to find out who's going to earn it.

Or maybe everyone has stepped up. Or nobody has stepped up.

 

Most likely they're just trying to keep everyone sharp and on their toes so there's no coasting in these practices. FAU isn't an attention-getting opponent. They want these guys focused and ready to go.

[caveman99]

I hope he's fooling. A week before the game and no one has stepped up yet to claim WR, LB, secondary spots?

They've only had last year, spring, and fall for players to win those spots.

 

Appears to me its going to be a few games to find out who's going to earn it.

Or maybe everyone has stepped up. Or nobody has stepped up.

 

Most likely they're just trying to keep everyone sharp and on their toes so there's no coasting in these practices. FAU isn't an attention-getting opponent. They want these guys focused and ready to go.

I don't think it is a matter of someone not stepping up, I used to think that about RG but it appears that has righted itself lately. At the other positions there are a lot of talented players vying for time, perhaps they are all stepping up and seperation is tough to gain. Competition is really tight so the coaches are going to force them to earn every minute of playing time they get. If this is the case, then this team could be really really good. If players aren't stepping up, then I agree we will have an average year at best.

[admo]

I hope he's fooling. A week before the game and no one has stepped up yet to claim WR, LB, secondary spots?

They've only had last year, spring, and fall for players to win those spots.

 

Appears to me its going to be a few games to find out who's going to earn it.

Or maybe everyone has stepped up. Or nobody has stepped up.

 

Most likely they're just trying to keep everyone sharp and on their toes so there's no coasting in these practices. FAU isn't an attention-getting opponent. They want these guys focused and ready to go.

I don't think it is a matter of someone not stepping up, I used to think that about RG but it appears that has righted itself lately. At the other positions there are a lot of talented players vying for time, perhaps they are all stepping up and seperation is tough to gain. Competition is really tight so the coaches are going to force them to earn every minute of playing time they get. If this is the case, then this team could be really really good. If players aren't stepping up, then I agree we will have an average year at best.

Right, I could be reading too much into it. My reaction is that kickoff is four/five days away, the team is game planning this week, and the staff should note the starters for the season opener with confidence. No question lots of guys will be rotating and getting PT. I tend to think the staff isnt going to know exactly who's their guy at <insert spot> until they see it get done on the field.

[Malth]

This seems like a classic Pelini response. I'm sure he's just keeping everyone on their toes and not allowing any coasting before the season opener.

[snootalope]

This seems like a classic Pelini response. I'm sure he's just keeping everyone on their toes and not allowing any coasting before the season opener.

 

Maybe I'm just missing it, but has the depth chart still not been released??

[n.e.husker]

This seems like a classic Pelini response. I'm sure he's just keeping everyone on their toes and not allowing any coasting before the season opener.

 

Maybe I'm just missing it, but has the depth chart still not been released??

 

Correct.

I hope to see it at the end of the day today(doubtful) or by the end of practice tomorrow. I must say that i like how Bo is going about this, leaving it all up in the air creating compition all the way to the end of the week before game 1. Keep em hungry coach!

[Ohio Pete]

Here was a post on huskerextra last night:

Saturday's lineup forming

Posted by: Brian Christopherson at 6:35PM CST on September 2, 2009

There is no official depth chart Husker coaches are putting out leading into Saturday's game against Florida Atlantic. But enough's been said to basically lay out the defensive starting lineup for Saturday's game.

 

Here's what it would seem to be:

 

Barry Turner, DE

 

Jared Crick, DT

 

Ndamukong Suh, NT

 

Pierre Allen, DE

 

Mathew May/Blake Lawrence, WILL

 

Will Compton, MIKE

 

Sean Fisher, BUCK

 

Prince Amukamara, CB

 

Matt O'Hanlon, FS

 

Larry Asante, SS

 

Anthony West, CB

 

Eric Hagg, Nickel