Thenarse says "Locker must prove he's a good QB"

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

AP

 

Husker S says Locker must 'prove he's great QB'

By ERIC OLSON (AP) – 1 hour ago

 

LINCOLN, Neb. — Rickey Thenarse has heard all about Jake Locker.

 

About how the Washington quarterback is a Heisman Trophy candidate and projected No. 1 draft pick, about how he can strong-arm passes into narrow openings, about how he can be just as dangerous as a runner when his protection breaks down.

 

To Thenarse, the Locker lore is a great motivator for No. 8 Nebraska (2-0) as it prepares for Saturday's game against the Huskies (1-1) in Seattle.

 

"We want to go out and play good defense and make him prove to the world that he's a great quarterback," the senior safety said. "We don't want to put him on no pedestal.

 

"We want to go out and prove that we can take down a good quarterback with our defense. We're a pretty confident group. We'll just see on Saturday."

 

Nebraska's defense is coming off a five-interception, seven-sack outing against Idaho last week.

 

But it's a unit that's still in the developmental stage after two major injuries at linebacker and the departure of Associated Press national player of the year Ndamukong Suh, who is now a rising star for the Detroit Lions.

 

Sure, the Huskers had lots of interceptions and sacks last week. But their overall numbers against overmatched Western Kentucky and Idaho have been good, not great, when compared with the 2009 defense that allowed the fewest points in the nation and ranked seventh overall.

 

"The first two opponents were good teams, but definitely going against a team like Washington, we're really going to see how far we've come and what we're made of," defensive tackle Jared Crick said. "If we can come out of there with a 'W,' it's going to tell a lot of things for us."

 

Strong defense has been the Huskers' identity in Bo Pelini's three seasons as coach. His team has championship aspirations this season, and with Big 12 play starting in two weeks, the matchup with Locker will prepare the Huskers for what lies ahead.

 

"He's as talented a quarterback as we've faced in the three years I've been here," defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said.

 

Though Washington hasn't won more than five games in a season since 2003, Locker last year led the Huskies to upsets of then-No. 3 USC and then-No. 19 California. Some NFL draft gurus believe Locker would have been the No. 1 overall pick in April if he had not decided to return to school.

 

"Just hearing the hype, it's definitely going to be fun to see what we can do against a guy who could potentially go very high in the draft," Crick said.

 

Locker's main target is Jermaine Kearse, who has 287 yards on 14 catches in games against BYU and Syracuse. The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder set career highs with nine catches, 179 yards and three touchdowns passes last week.

 

"He doesn't seem like a big receiver like we have, but he has the ability to break a lot of tackles and make a lot of plays," safety DeJon Gomes said.

 

Crick said it's essential to maintain discipline against Locker, who won't hesitate to run if the pocket collapses.

 

"We've gone against plenty of dual-threat quarterbacks, so it's not our first rodeo," Crick said. "We're going to go in with a smart, pass-rush mindset, but we're going to try to get after him as best we can.

 

"We've got to keep hitting him every time we get a chance and slowly but surely make him feel us. It's going to be hard to rattle the guy, but if we can grind away at him, we can do good things."

 

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[n.e.husker]

I read that they are shuffling the Oline around. Cam, Crick, Baker and peires eyes getting bigger

[307husker]

Headlines like that tend to come back to bite a person in the ass... Not good.

[UGAHusker]

Headlines like that tend to come back to bite a person in the ass... Not good.

 

 

Kinda reminds me of Andre Jones in 2006. Maybe not quite as extreme, but you don't need to give any additional bulletin board material.

[Husker Z]

I don't think he said anything that would be considered bulletin board material, just that they aren't going to roll over because they are playing a potential NFL QB.

 

With that said, media can ask questions in a way where they can get an answer they want and twist it even further to CREATE bulletin board material. Which, I fully expect some Washington newspaper to do with this.

[Apathy]

Headlines like that tend to come back to bite a person in the ass... Not good.

 

 

Kinda reminds me of Andre Jones in 2006. Maybe not quite as extreme, but you don't need to give any additional bulletin board material.

I agree but like what UGAHusker said it wasn't as bad as what Jones said when we played at USC in 06. I think Thenarse chose he words wisely in this article and not to be too cocky.

 

I was preparing myself when clicking on this thread to see nothing but trash talking but it wasn't that bad and thats a good thing because I hate it when people talk a lot of trash and then don't back it up later.

[GSG]

Here's another quote they left out of the article:

 

"We're gonna take these doggies to obedience school." - GSG5545

[Husker_x]

I think Thenarse is right. What has Locker done, exactly, except position himself on an individual level to go high in the draft? I agree that he's got all the tools. What he doesn't have is many Ws checked in the column, or a conference championship, or even a recent bowl game. Locker has a lot to prove. If he shreds our secondary I'll do more than take my hat off.

[melscott62]

i'd prefer ricky just shut up. nothing good comes out of this, and besides what exactly has he done in his career? let your game do the talking

[knapplc]

Isn't that because it's a team game, though? Locker's resume is brief, but the guy has undeniable talent. His biggest problem is the lack of talent surrounding him.

 

I expect him to move the ball on us. I expect him to rip off some big runs. But at the same time, I expect our D to hold him to Field Goals, not TDs. We tend to do that, to pretty good opponents even.

 

We just need to play four quarters of football.

[EZ-E]

Well, we played OKAY against a PRETTY good team that had an ABOVE AVERAGE QB last year in Texas. I expect our team to be ready. Bo Pelini will have his team ready to play four quarters of football.

[PurpleReign]

Locker breaking his thumb in the 3rd or 4th game in 2008 is why we went winless (that and Tyrone was our coach) that year. He has not had much talent around him. Stick him on Florida's team and he would have blown away Tebow's stats.

 

In Sark's 2nd year the talent level is much improved, but we are the underdog in this game.

[huskered17]

i'd prefer ricky just shut up. nothing good comes out of this, and besides what exactly has he done in his career? let your game do the talking

 

GBR!!!

[EZ-E]

Locker breaking his thumb in the 3rd or 4th game in 2008 is why we went winless (that and Tyrone was our coach) that year. He has not had much talent around him. Stick him on Florida's team and he would have blown away Tebow's stats.

 

In Sark's 2nd year the talent level is much improved, but we are the underdog in this game.

 

That is a very safe comment to make about Tebow. You really cannot be proven right or wrong.

[HuskerInLostWages]

Locker breaking his thumb in the 3rd or 4th game in 2008 is why we went winless (that and Tyrone was our coach) that year. He has not had much talent around him. Stick him on Florida's team and he would have blown away Tebow's stats.

 

In Sark's 2nd year the talent level is much improved, but we are the underdog in this game.

 

Since you're a fan of the Huskies, could you tell us if you thought this would be considered bulletin board material? Speak freely as we won't jump your arse here, and we'll be able to see it through a fan of the opposing teams eyes. Appreciate it man.