Lavonte David has "freakish talents"

[carlfense]

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Practice report: Heat doesn’t deter harder hits

Life in the Red Life in the Red

 

By BRIAN ROSENTHAL, BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON and STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star

Monday, Aug 09, 2010 - 09:28:54 pm CDT

 

So the heat index was 109 degrees and, as you might guess, a serious stench accompanied Nebraska’s postpractice interviews.

 

But amid the odor that comes with a day of toiling in ridiculous heat, Niles Paul had some fun.

 

The team was in half pads Monday for the first time this fall camp, and the senior wide receiver was relishing in that.

 

“Because we got to hit for the first time in a long, long time,” Paul said. “You see guys out there being real physical, and I love what I see from the defense and offense. We were in half pads but it felt like we were in full.”

 

It apparently got a little chippie between the offense and defense, but that isn’t always the worst thing.

 

“It happens a lot. I hate to say it, but I’m kind of involved in a lot of those tussles,” Paul said with a smile. “And on defense, it’s kind of Pierre Allen who’s involved in a lot of those tussles. So it’s just everybody talking back and forth. Defense has each other’s back and offense has each other’s back, which is a great thing.”

 

Sometimes those tussles can actually help re-energize guys on a sweltering day.

 

“When things get tiring in practice ... it’s a way to reboot everybody,” Paul said. “Everybody gets excited like, ‘Oh, yeah, let’s go.’”

 

A growing process: Paul turned 21 on Monday. He said there’d be a dinner with the family, but no wild celebrations that some have when they hit that age.

 

Not even one beer for him.

 

Paul expressed regret Monday for an alcohol-related incident that occurred in May. (The receiver pleaded guilty to minor in possession and signed on to do some community service.)

 

“It was a whole growing process for me — me trying to go from a young man to a man,” Paul said.

 

“I know I’m better from it,” he added. “Mentally, I’m a stronger person than I’ve ever been before.”

 

Paul said he was pretty sure the team is going to have a no-alcohol policy this season, which he totally supports.

 

He said he didn’t think guys should be limited from going downtown during the season. “But just be safe. Everybody’s men here. I think everybody can handle themselves pretty well. I don’t think it’s a big deal if people go downtown but we’ll discuss that within the Unity Council.”

 

Green at peso: Redshirt freshman Andrew Green is practicing at the peso position along with senior Eric Hagg and junior Austin Cassidy, said secondary coach Marvin Sanders.

 

“You just look at his athletic ability,” Sanders said of the 6-foot, 190-pound Green. “It’s kind of a hybrid spot, so that’s the type of guy we look for at that position.”

David shows 'freakish' talents: Sophomore Eric Martin said junior college transfer Lavonte David is “freakish” for a guy who’s 6-1 and 210 pounds. Make no mistake, David is seriously in the mix at linebacker.

 

“He has a very good man coverage,” Martin said of the junior. “One-on-one, he has good reaction. He’s faster than all of us. His reaction time is way better than all of ours.

 

“That’s what I mean by freakish. When we’re doing one-on-ones and stuff, running back tries to make a move, he’s usually the one to stick with him, like more than all of us. I mean, he’s not perfect, but more than anybody else does, he sticks with the running back.”

Opposites attract: Who knew linebackers and quarterbacks could be friends?

 

Apparently so, as proven by Martin and redshirt freshman quarterback Taylor Martinez.

 

Both come from California, but differ quite a bit in their personalities.

 

Most Husker fans already realize Martin’s no shy guy.

 

As for Martinez?

 

“He’s not talkative, really. He’s more of a keep-to-himself type of person,” Martin said. “He’s cool when you get to talk to him and be his friend. But he doesn’t really talk much. He’s not the type of person that would walk up to you and say hi. You have to walk up to him or chase him down to say hi.”

 

As for that quarterback race between Martinez, Zac Lee and Cody Green?

 

Paul expects it to be a doozy.

 

“It’s going to be a difficult race, I know that right now,” Paul said. “Because everybody is playing at a high level.”

 

This and that: Coach Bo Pelini seemed surprised at a notion that a decision had to be made regarding the possibility of senior kicker Adi Kunalic redshirting. “I don’t know where that came from,” Pelini said. “He’s playing.” ... Senior guard Keith Williams missed practice with a pulled muscle and is expected back Wednesday. “He could’ve practiced, but we decided to shut him down for a couple of days,” Pelini said. ... Nebraska has practiced the first three days minus one ill player on the 105-man roster. That unnamed player is expected to return Tuesday, Pelini said. ... There’s been an addition to the post-practice menu for players. Pickles. Coming off the field, next to the Gatorade, there’s a plethora of pickles. Pickle juice is believed to help combat muscle cramps.

[bleedNUred]

Awesome to hear this, looking forward to seeing this guy play for us.

[redout22]

If Eric Martin is calling David a freak then he must really be something. Wow the LB spot is going to be a fun one this year.

[irieboy8]

i think it says a lot about the program that guys can be so forth coming and really believe in doing whats best from the program rather than the typical qoutes from the other guys that say 'oh hes great, a real talent' or some lame act or whatever... shows players really believe in winning and honoring guys who are brining it no matter who there are.... hope LD sees some playing time with that snippet

[whateveritis1224]

I really think that David starts out as the Dime Linebacker, though it's hard to see how often he'll see the field in that position. Then as the season progresses he'll move to a starting linebacker spot. Just from what we know about him, he's like another Safety at the Linebacker spot. Fast enough to run with the running backs coming out of the backfield and the receivers coming across the middle, and hopefully physical enough to be put on an island for run plays.

[GMoose]

Now if Lavonte could just put on 30 pounds between now and september...it'll be like Dillard never left!

[BIGREDFAN_in_OMAHA]

Could be the next Demorrio Williams

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

Pelini said. ... Nebraska has practiced the first three days minus one ill player on the 105-man roster. That unnamed player is expected to return Tuesday,

I'm guessing the "ill player" is Yoshi?

[krc1995]

I hope "freakish" means "terrel farley" like.

[knapplc]

Pelini said. ... Nebraska has practiced the first three days minus one ill player on the 105-man roster. That unnamed player is expected to return Tuesday,

I'm guessing the "ill player" is Yoshi?

It's not Yoshi. They mentioned something about this "ill" player a while back.

[Blaze1up]

The man has speed.

turn off sound

[whateveritis1224]

He came out of high school as a pretty decently rated safety, so it explains the speed. I'm really looking forward to the football season, it's about time for it to start.

[ESPY]

I hope "freakish" means "terrel farley" like.

Exactly what I envision from David. There are so many similarities between these two. How sweet would it be to have a Farley-like LB on this D? That happens, & there's no question this year's Blackshirts rival the Suh-led team of '09.

 

Oh & I gotta say I was surprised to hear so many guys on this board say David would have to redshirt before getting on the field officially. Did ya'll say that because we already have so many LBs? I mean what gives? Have you seen the footage of this guy in JUCO? This ain't no shlub - there's a reason our coaches targeted this guy so heavily.

 

My prediction - Lavonte is gonna be one of our biggest contributors as a Blackshirt by season's end, up there with Prince, Crick & Gomes.

[74Hunter]

I hope "freakish" means "terrel farley" like.

Exactly what I envision from David. There are so many similarities between these two. How sweet would it be to have a Farley-like LB on this D? That happens, & there's no question this year's Blackshirts rival the Suh-led team of '09.

 

Oh & I gotta say I was surprised to hear so many guys on this board say David would have to redshirt before getting on the field officially. Did ya'll say that because we already have so many LBs? I mean what gives? Have you seen the footage of this guy in JUCO? This ain't no shlub - there's a reason our coaches targeted this guy so heavily.

 

My prediction - Lavonte is gonna be one of our biggest contributors as a Blackshirt by season's end, up there with Prince, Crick & Gomes.

We have a ton of Soph. LBs, I would really like to see Martin redshirt this year, since we have David (Jr.), Fisher, Compton, and Whaley, all pretty competitive.

[Husker Richard]

I hope "freakish" means "terrel farley" like.

Exactly what I envision from David. There are so many similarities between these two. How sweet would it be to have a Farley-like LB on this D? That happens, & there's no question this year's Blackshirts rival the Suh-led team of '09.

 

Oh & I gotta say I was surprised to hear so many guys on this board say David would have to redshirt before getting on the field officially. Did ya'll say that because we already have so many LBs? I mean what gives? Have you seen the footage of this guy in JUCO? This ain't no shlub - there's a reason our coaches targeted this guy so heavily.

 

My prediction - Lavonte is gonna be one of our biggest contributors as a Blackshirt by season's end, up there with Prince, Crick & Gomes.

 

 

I'm not advocating a redshirt for him as I feel that the best players should play, but I believe that those that are doing so are assuming that he will not be able to pick up the complex Pelini defensive scheme quickly enough to read and react and play without thinking. We saw some of this last year and we've heard from defensive players that have struggled and not fully grasped the system that they felt that they were thinking too much instead of using their instincts and playing fast.