Carl Pelini relishes defensive experience

[Husker_x]

Carl Pelini someday will leave brother Bo’s shadow.

 

Someday can wait at least one more season.

 

In that regard, there’s good reason why Carl, Nebraska’s defensive coordinator, turned away Tennessee’s strong offseason overture. Make no mistake, first-year Volunteers head coach Derek Dooley this past February made a strong push to hire Carl as defensive coordinator.

 

The reason he stayed put plays out before his eyes every day during the Huskers’ preseason camp.

 

“There’s great opportunity here,” Carl said Monday. “I’ve always wanted to have a good, talented, veteran defense. We’ll keep pushing to see how good we can get.”

 

Bo, Nebraska’s third-year head coach, didn’t have to talk Carl into staying.

 

“I just knew this year was going to be a great opportunity for us as a program,” said Carl, who oversees a defense that returns seven starters. “It’s true in a lot of programs — Year Three is the year. Now we have our depth. We have great experience.”

 

Nebraska led the nation in fewest points allowed last season (10.4 per game). However, saying no to Dooley wasn’t necessarily a no-brainer. Carl is set to make $375,000 this year, while Tennessee ended up hiring Boise State’s Justin Wilcox for $650,000 annually. The Vols return six starters from a 2009 defense that ranked 22nd overall.

 

Carl turned 45 in July (he’s two years older than Bo). Based on past conversations with Carl, he’s very interested in someday running his own defense (Bo obviously is heavily involved now), and eventually becoming a head coach.

 

Meanwhile, Bo actually might welcome the prospect of having to fend off teams trying to hire his assistants at season’s end.

 

Who could be surprised if Bo’s defensive staff gets raided?

 

After all, the Husker defense possesses a deep pool of talent. Perhaps most important, many players have two seasons of experience in the system. The players have achieved a comfort level that plays a major role in fueling their burgeoning confidence.

 

It’s all come together for the defense systemwise, Carl said.

 

“It shows up in our installations,” he said after Monday morning’s practice. “We’re at least a week, and maybe two, ahead of last year in terms of what we’re working on already.

 

“The communication aspect of it, there’s no comparison. There’s talking going on constantly on the field. We’re all on the same page. It’s been sharp. It’s been making our offense better because they’ve really had to execute — which they have been doing.”

 

I’m interested in Nebraska’s line play on both sides of the ball, especially on offense. Next to the quarterback battle, significant offensive line improvement is the most critical factor in determining whether NU remains a good team or becomes a BCS bowl-level outfit.

 

Has anything about line play stood out to this point?

 

“How physical on both sides of the ball it’s been,” Carl said. “Both lines are deeper. The battles with the twos (second strings), and even the threes, are much more physical and closer than they’ve been in the past. It looks like the ones are out there, even when the twos are out there.”

 

It’s difficult to say which side is getting the upper hand.

 

“At this time of the summer, we know each other so well,” he said. “The offense knows our schemes and techniques. There are a lot of stalemates going on because of it.”

 

Meanwhile, Big 12 rival Texas also pushes forward with confidence.

 

“I do think this could be our best defense,” 13th-year Longhorns head coach Mack Brown told The Dallas Morning News. “We should be really, really good on defense.”

 

Better than Nebraska? Carl’s glad he stayed around to find out.

 

“Our guys are really locked in, as Bo says, in terms of the culture,” Carl said. “We’d like to see it all come to fruition.”

 

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[HuskerfaninOkieland]

Carl can't leave...it's not allowed.

[CornHunka]

I'm afraid we'll have Carl on the staff only 2 more years, then he'll go off to prove that the Blackshirts aren't only just Bo.

[bleedNUred]

Carl can't leave...it's not allowed.

Agreed, the longer we keep this staff together the better. Unless we win a National Title I don't see him leaving, but once we get to that pinnacle who knows how the coaching staff might change.

[knapplc]

Carl Pelini relishes defensive experience

 

 

[Husker_x]

I think Colt McCoy was smeared in that stuff last year. No wonder Suh was after him so often.

[ESPY]

And let's relish him while he's here. Carl's done a fantastic job. Where would we be w/o him & Bo?

[Huskerballz]

And let's relish him while he's here. Carl's done a fantastic job. Where would we be w/o him & Bo?

 

And Dr. Tom.....