Mike Ekeler finds his humor quite handy

Nexus · October 2, 2010

Mike Ekeler is a quick-witted and snappy sort who's fast with a smile.

The Nebraska linebackers coach's sense of humor comes in handy these days, as he guides his inexperienced starters under the close watch of a head coach who happens to be a perfection-seeking defensive guru with, ahem, a bit of a temper.

Ekeler's job is difficult enough under the best of circumstances. Then Sean Fisher broke his leg Aug. 17, and Will Compton injured his foot Sept. 2, two days before the season opener. Fisher's out for the season, and Compton won't return for a week or two.

Imagine Nebraska's defensive line losing starters Jared Crick and Baker Steinkuhler. Such was the impact of Fisher and Compton's loss on the Husker linebacker corps.

"I have a lot more gray hair now," Ekeler says. "I didn't have any gray hair at the beginning of the season, and I may have no hair by the end of the season. And I may be unemployed."

Of course, he was joking about the job part; at least I took it as a joke.

"I tell Fish and Compton I hate them every day, " says Ekeler, again joking.

Still, you get his point.

Fisher and Compton played extensively last season as redshirt freshmen, starting six and eight games, respectively. They understand Nebraska's schemes "inside and out and front and back," says Ekeler, while current starters Eric Martin and Lavonte David are "starting to figure it out."

"Starting to figure it out" doesn't always cut it when perfection is the objective, especially considering linebackers have the responsibility of positioning teammates and making on-field adjustments on the fly.

So, Ekeler keeps drilling his guys. Keeps teaching. Keeps pushing. Martin, David and Alonzo Whaley are "a work in progress," says Ekeler, painting a picture that indicates the work/progress rate currently favors the former.

"In my opinion, our secondary's playing at an extremely high level, our D-line's playing at a high level, and we're holding back our defense in a lot of ways," Ekeler says.

He has a point. That said, he's also being a bit hard on himself. After all, sixth-ranked Nebraska (4-0), in the midst of a bye week, has played well defensively. It entered this week ranked 15th nationally in total defense, allowing only 265.0 yards per game, and eighth in points allowed (12.8).

However, "Bo (Pelini) demands perfection, as he should," Ekeler says.

Nebraska isn't perfect. The Huskers rank 56th defending the run, and more than a few breakdowns can be traced to the linebackers, which explains why Pelini wasn't exactly heaping praise on David, the talented junior-college transfer, even after David recorded 19 tackles last week against South Dakota State.

"I missed a lot of calls," David says. "I'm not sure how many, but I know there were key calls I missed."

David didn't arrive on campus until this summer. Nevertheless, his average of 11 tackles per game leads the Big 12. He's doing plenty right. Same goes for sophomores Martin and Whaley and the others. Ekeler deserves credit, although he's not the sort to take much, nor is he the sort to make excuses.

Players get hurt. Others have to step up. It's part of sports.

"We were ready to go in there, but we weren't all that ready," Martin says of the situation Nebraska faced at linebacker after Fisher and Compton were injured. "We weren't ready to be out there starting. So somebody was going to get thrown under the bus."

Don't look now, but the next stop is Kansas State. Ekeler played linebacker and raised hell on special teams for Bill Snyder. In fact, Snyder appointed Ekeler captain in 1994, apparently the first such appointee by the legendary coach.

The 2010 Wildcats' physical running game will provide a good appraisal of Ekeler's linebacker crew Thursday night, for all of the nation to see on ESPN.

"They have a great offensive line and running back, so we'll have to be very technical," says Ekeler, and this time he wasn't joking at all.

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