If we had to play today!

[Vince from ShamWOW]

According to my nephew, Okafor should be much more in the game day play mix than any other back at NU, however he is not Beck's favorite player. He says the guys on D hate getting blocked by him and dislike tackling him just as much.

 

He's not the fastest of the backs, but he's not so slow as one notices the difference.

Forgive me but I do not share your belief of Okafor's abilities. I just think if he was truly all that was advertised in your post he would have seen some time even mop up duty. I played against guys that did certain things extremely well and it frustrated me to go against them in the drills were there ability excelled. Overall they didn't have what it took to combine the various fascist of the game so they didn't play.

 

They aren't my beliefs. I'm not privied to see him in practice. Neither are you.

 

The comments in my post come from my nephew who plays for NU. The comments, as I mentioned, are his and have come from him. He sees him first hand on a daily basis unlike you and me and everybody here.

 

Your junior high, or high school play is one thing. His NU play and comments towards Okafor is something completely different. Considering they aren't best of friends and really are just teammates, he's had nothing but positive football and teammate things to say about him.

[junior4949]

Let's assume Okafor is a great player but doesn't give much effort during practice. Do we really want an Allen Iverson on this team with this mentality especially at the college level? We might get instant gratification, but the long term affects could be devastating.

[RaiderMan]

Tech fans weren't too upset when Rex commited to NU. Even today, I doubt you would find one Tech fan (outside Plano) willing to trade Jeffers, Batch or Stephens for Rex. He would probably play IR in Tech's system anyway. So is Rex a much better RB than Tech fans thought or is Nebraska thin at the the RB position?

Well, I'd say TTech doesn't actually need any RB's. NU actually runs the ball AT a defense so we need RB's who can take on tacklers and follow blocks. TTech's run game is more like a surprise (like NU's passing game in the 80's and 90's) and almost any skill player could compete there.

 

Yours is one of the better descriptions of Tech's running game I've come across, although I'm not sure that "almost any skill player" could play the position for us. Our backs are mostly "open space" runners so we look for speedy/elusive backs who are not afraid to hit the open hole hard (like me!); they must also have good vision and be competent at pass protection. The picture I'm getting of Rex from NU fans suggests he would have been a great IR in our system. It's too bad we missed out but nice to see that y'all have embraced him.

[HuskerJosh]

According to my nephew, Okafor should be much more in the game day play mix than any other back at NU, however he is not Beck's favorite player. He says the guys on D hate getting blocked by him and dislike tackling him just as much.

 

He's not the fastest of the backs, but he's not so slow as one notices the difference.

Forgive me but I do not share your belief of Okafor's abilities. I just think if he was truly all that was advertised in your post he would have seen some time even mop up duty. I played against guys that did certain things extremely well and it frustrated me to go against them in the drills were there ability excelled. Overall they didn't have what it took to combine the various fascist of the game so they didn't play.

[irafreak]

"...- Watson said the Huskers will not implement a run package for freshman quarterback Cody Green to take some of the rushing load away from Helu in Burkhead's absence. Watson said Green needs to focus on his job as the backup QB.

 

“No, no, no, no,” Watson said. “We need him. He's got to be there to help us win games by passing the ball. That's important.”

 

Green has rushed six times for 79 yards and two touchdowns this year. But according to Watson, Green's running ability is “average, in terms of his overall speed.”

 

“He's kind of a nifty runner, kind of like Joe (Ganz),” Watson said.

 

 

Wha???????

 

Uh yeah...back to this....glad someone else took issue with that. That first big run of Cody Green's looked like he covered a lot of distance quickly due to his size so I really question Watson on that one. I'm getting closer and closer to throwing in the towel on our OC. That set of comments is perplexing.

[knapplc]

Uh yeah...back to this....glad someone else took issue with that. That first big run of Cody Green's looked like he covered a lot of distance quickly due to his size so I really question Watson on that one. I'm getting closer and closer to throwing in the towel on our OC. That set of comments is perplexing.

 

I chalk that up to Coachspeak more than anything. With the extreme vagaries surrounding injuries and the various players in or out (or out/back in, if you're Okafor), I'm really getting the impression from this staff that "truth" is a flexible commodity.

 

And I'm not sure I like that very much.

[Vince from ShamWOW]

Let's assume Okafor is a great player but doesn't give much effort during practice. Do we really want an Allen Iverson on this team with this mentality especially at the college level? We might get instant gratification, but the long term affects could be devastating.

 

 

I never said he is great player and never said he doesn't give much effort at practice. Where you got he's anything close to Iverson is beyond me. Per Mike he busts heads as much as busts his butt. The players like his play but for some reason Beck doesn't and doesn't hide his displeasure towards him either.

 

He said his received treatment and lack of play is more than odd.

[HuskerFanInGreenBay]

"...- Watson said the Huskers will not implement a run package for freshman quarterback Cody Green to take some of the rushing load away from Helu in Burkhead's absence. Watson said Green needs to focus on his job as the backup QB.

 

“No, no, no, no,” Watson said. “We need him. He's got to be there to help us win games by passing the ball. That's important.”

 

Green has rushed six times for 79 yards and two touchdowns this year. But according to Watson, Green's running ability is “average, in terms of his overall speed.”

 

“He's kind of a nifty runner, kind of like Joe (Ganz),” Watson said.

 

 

Wha???????

 

Uh yeah...back to this....glad someone else took issue with that. That first big run of Cody Green's looked like he covered a lot of distance quickly due to his size so I really question Watson on that one. I'm getting closer and closer to throwing in the towel on our OC. That set of comments is perplexing.

 

Yeah, those comments by Watson on Green's running ability really stood out to me. I was surprised that nobody brought those up sooner. Heck, nobody is comparing Green to Michael Vick when he was at VaTech or anything. But comparing Green's running ability/style to that of Joe Ganz is perplexing to say the least. Granted I don't get to see Green practice each day, however, from the little I've seen from Green he is a MUCH better/more elusive runner than Ganz. Could Watson possibly be just downplaying Cody's talent purposely because they plan on using his running ability more and involving him in some special packages? I think so. There's no way Watson could possibly believe what he said in that article.

[skersfan]

And it may defusing something they are thinking about doing. Cat and Mouse so to speak.

 

It is wise to keep what you plan to do, who you do it with and how you plan to do it under wraps until game time. The less they have to prepare for the better.

 

I think it is a matter of talent, and I think Watson is learning who and what he can depend on. I think we will see different and questionable things until we line up for Oklahoma and Kansas.

 

As for truths or coach speak that is the nature of the game.

 

I not in the least concerned with our RB situation. If they can hold onto the ball is my only concern.

 

All have talent or they would not be here. Are they as talented as Tech's who knows, but my guess is they will get the job done.

[irafreak]

I guess what troubled me about the statement was the way it sounded as though Cody Green wasn't expected to have many opportunities outside of scrambling to run the ball....which as we've seen hasn't been the case with zone reads and stuff. Had to be coach speak and I'm not really liking that either. Oh well. As long as the offense keeps moving forward...