SIGNED ATH Jake Cotton

[huskers1]

with the recent developments this now confuses me more than ever. again i think he could develop into something very good, but why not wait until later in the year at the very least? you'd have to think if we offered him in january he'd still come on board. now what if we offer and get the three fort scott guys? do we even have room for OO? what about hill? how about cooper?

[Ohio Pete]

Might be a done deal. A while ago, Cotton said they would take 4 OL in this class. A week or two ago, I noticed that none of our listed OL targets were still being actively recruited. I assumed that we were done at OL, and Cotton was an idiot. Well, since then, Jake Cotton was revealed as a silent commit (though he could end up in a number of places, OL seems likely) and now the Fort Scott guys including one big time OL are coming in. Perhaps 1 or more of these guys were really already wrapped up? And we will always make room for OO.

[huskers1]

Ya I assume we will make room for one guy maybe two, but at what point can we just simply not even make room? Lets say Cooper, OO, Hill, Hardrick, and the Juco LB all want to commit, can we even take them all?

[BigWillie]

This isn't the first time Barney has gotten the special ole pal treatment either. For one, he was hired back, and two, he hasn't been fired yet.

 

 

Barney is a shining example of it isn't what you know, but who you know.

[MadcatNU]

I thought Barney was a pretty well regarded OL coach in the profession?

[huskers1]

Seriously, is there any chance that Cotton could get the ax at the end of the season? I just have to think that we can do much better running the ball and blocking is the obvious reason. I look at teams like KSU, Stanford, Oregon State and they are running the ball at will with what seems to be lesser talent. At least lower recruited guys for the most part. I'm watching guys like Keith Williams get worse throughout the season and Ricky Henry flat missing blocks/assignments and Mike Smith get handled on almost every run play to his side.

[dylan]

Seriously, is there any chance that Cotton could get the ax at the end of the season? I just have to think that we can do much better running the ball and blocking is the obvious reason. I look at teams like KSU, Stanford, Oregon State and they are running the ball at will with what seems to be lesser talent. At least lower recruited guys for the most part. I'm watching guys like Keith Williams get worse throughout the season and Ricky Henry flat missing blocks/assignments and Mike Smith get handled on almost every run play to his side.

 

a. our quality lineman have all been playing with injuries (williams, hickman and smith) and we don't have the depth to let them sit.

 

b. we don't have anyone decent at right tackle. i guess marcel is OK at pass blocking.

 

c. henry regularly blows his assignment, but we just don't have anyone better. wish qvale wouldn't have gotten hurt, as i have to wonder whether he'd be starting by now.

 

d. we've struggled with injuries at running back

 

e. until recently, our OC didn't seem to want to commit to the run, particularly running plays other than outside zones and zone reads.

 

hopefully with better health and depth next season (and hopefully a continued commitment to power running and play action) we'll see better line play going forward. i worry about caputo in pass blocking, but otherwise the line should be better across the board next year.

 

and no, there is no way cotton gets "axed" this year.

[huskers1]

I don't know I have just heard this argument too many times to count. "We just need better players, wait till next year when we have different players come in and we have more depth". KSU is doing pretty well with not a lot of highly recruited guys. Stanford is absolutely running through people. I realize Helu is a BIG reason our running game was slowed but they still lack the ability to consistently open holes especially on short distance downs. Banged up or not, Smith, Williams, Hickman, and M. Jones all have a ton of experience and they still seem like they don't know who they hell to block on most plays. That's damn near two full years of being coached by and playing with the same players. KSU needed a half year to get their run game clicking with lesser talent. It's not going to get much better next year unless Qvale is simply amazing. We have the same exact O line coming in next year with the addition of two redshirt frosh and subbing caputo. I was one of the fans yelling at Wats to run the ball bt the tackles then the very next play we'd get stuffed for a two yard loss on 3rd and 2.

[dylan]

I don't know I have just heard this argument too many times to count. "We just need better players, wait till next year when we have different players come in and we have more depth". KSU is doing pretty well with not a lot of highly recruited guys. Stanford is absolutely running through people. I realize Helu is a BIG reason our running game was slowed but they still lack the ability to consistently open holes especially on short distance downs. Banged up or not, Smith, Williams, Hickman, and M. Jones all have a ton of experience and they still seem like they don't know who they hell to block on most plays. That's damn near two full years of being coached by and playing with the same players. KSU needed a half year to get their run game clicking with lesser talent. It's not going to get much better next year unless Qvale is simply amazing. We have the same exact O line coming in next year with the addition of two redshirt frosh and subbing caputo. I was one of the fans yelling at Wats to run the ball bt the tackles then the very next play we'd get stuffed for a two yard loss on 3rd and 2.

 

i don't know a lot about stanford or ksu's offenses or the talent on their lines (and whether that differs from their "rivals talent"), so i guess i can't offer much of a comparison. i do know that both of them have bruising, elite running backs though.

 

i agree the line needs to get better one way or the other and i expect significant improvement next year or i might start agreeing with you. in the meantime, this guy has coached NU's OL on a 10 win team, a 9 win team and what looks like another 9 win team. one bad year given the injuries and the inconsistent play across the board on offense isn't cause for termination in my book.

[huskers1]

The 10 win team was on a team that had one of the best defenses in the history of NU football especially when it came to TO's and had an option/power run game that didnt do a lot against the top tier teams. Last years team did decent but it also had the luxury of having two three year starters and nfl draft picks on the right side and a trio of very good skill players. this year IMO we are seeing how good of a coach cotton is. Smith, Hickman and Williams have all started for three years now and have two years experience in Cottons system so they should have nooo problem identifying who they are supposed to block. Marcel Jones also got extensive PT last year so he should have no problems either. Several times listening to Damon Benning speak he says that the o line is having big problems identifying the guys at the second level and thats why he would like to see a fullback in the game. Are you kidding me? Three, three year starters are having trouble doing that? That simply should not happen midway through the first season let alone midway through the second season with a new coach. He may be a decent power run game OL coach when a fullback is in the game but for the run scheme we are forcing our team to run he doesn't seem to be the guy.

[dylan]

The 10 win team was on a team that had one of the best defenses in the history of NU football especially when it came to TO's and had an option/power run game that didnt do a lot against the top tier teams. Last years team did decent but it also had the luxury of having two three year starters and nfl draft picks on the right side and a trio of very good skill players. this year IMO we are seeing how good of a coach cotton is. Smith, Hickman and Williams have all started for three years now and have two years experience in Cottons system so they should have nooo problem identifying who they are supposed to block. Marcel Jones also got extensive PT last year so he should have no problems either. Several times listening to Damon Benning speak he says that the o line is having big problems identifying the guys at the second level and thats why he would like to see a fullback in the game. Are you kidding me? Three, three year starters are having trouble doing that? That simply should not happen midway through the first season let alone midway through the second season with a new coach. He may be a decent power run game OL coach when a fullback is in the game but for the run scheme we are forcing our team to run he doesn't seem to be the guy.

 

was he referring to certain players? certain play calls? i haven't noticed many problems with identification from the left side of the line. was he talking about basic combo blocks to the second level or identifying guys on outside zone? and if our guys are better at executing a basic power game than outside zone type of plays, wouldn't it make more sense to tailor the play calling to the relative strengths of this unit than to keep asking them to do something they struggle with? i'm pretty sure pelini wants this offense to shift towards more of a power game over time anyways, we just haven't had the horses to be effective at it yet. that's why we switched to the spread halfway through last season, adjusting to what that group was better at.

 

by the way, i don't know if i'd call that 2003 defensive unit one of the best in NU history. as you may have noticed, the defense struggled against top tier teams just as much as the offense. that's why they're top tier teams. one thing the offense did very well in '03 and '08 was to control the ball, a large contributing factor to the defense being more effective. obviously it's hurt us that we're not able to do the same this year. some of that falls on the QB and receivers, and some on the issues at running back, but certainly the line has not played up to snuff either.

 

i'm not here to proclaim that cotton is a great line coach and should have a lifetime pass, i just don't think you judge and fire a guy based upon one season, particularly when he's dealing with injuries and a lack of depth.

[caveman99]

According to the OWH, Jake will start out on the D-line and NOT on the offensive line as I think many of us expected.

 

Omaha World Herald

Cotton likes D

 

It was defense or Dad.

 

Somehow, Jake Cotton said, he chose defense.

 

The Lincoln Southeast senior and Nebraska recruit said he will go to Nebraska as a defensive lineman, the other side of the ball from his father, Husker offensive line coach Barney Cotton, and brother, NU tight end Ben Cotton.

 

“Growing up, my brother was always one to be on offense, one to catch the ball,” Jake Cotton said.

 

“Being the younger brother, I always wanted to stop him.”

 

The 6-foot-7, 265-pound Cotton said it has been a thrill watching what Pelini and defensive coordinator Carl Pelini have done with the Blackshirts.

 

“My mom made fun of me when I said it gave me goose bumps to watch them play defense down in the Big 12 championship game,” he said. “The chance to play in that defense is unbelievable.”

 

So no push from pops to get him to switch?

 

“Playing defense for Coach Carl and Coach Bo?” Cotton said. “I don't think it matters.”

[huskers1]

I will say that since we are going to take Jake this is where I would like him most. If he can put on about 40-50 lbs in a couple years and become a huge run stuffer in the middle this schollie would be worth it IMO.

[RedDenver]

At 6'7" he's the tallest DT I've ever heard of. I'm sure there are examples, just can't think of any.

[MadcatNU]

Ditto. That's one tall DT.