Nebraska’s Els Will Remind Prep Coaches How Important They Are

[n.e.husker]

Last February, Nebraska Coach Bo Pelini hired Lincoln native Ross Els to replace Mike Ekeler as the Huskers' linebacker coach. Els, who played at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, has coached under three former Huskers - Barney Cotton at Hastings College, Tony Samuel at New Mexico State and Frank Solich at Ohio. So he's assimilated Nebraska culture from the past. Having visited Bo Pelini three times at LSU and three times at Nebraska, he's also embraced the outside-the-box philosophies of Nebraska's head coach and his brother, Carl, a former fellow staff member at Ohio. Els sat down this week for a conversation with the N-Sider.

 

http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=205182017

[Ringer02]

"if we need to run a spread offense, we'll run a spread offense. If we need to run a two-back, we'll run a two-back, just like we did in the spring game. We are a diverse offense, and there are many, many things that are going to be good for us on the offensive side of the ball this fall"

 

this makes me nervous...does this mean we're going to have another good at everything great at nothing offense?

[n.e.husker]

I hate hearing the word "multiple"

 

However it isnt only Watsons favorite word, Bo throws it around too often.

[zoogs]

"if we need to run a spread offense, we'll run a spread offense. If we need to run a two-back, we'll run a two-back, just like we did in the spring game. We are a diverse offense, and there are many, many things that are going to be good for us on the offensive side of the ball this fall"

 

this makes me nervous...does this mean we're going to have another good at everything great at nothing offense?

 

imagine that...

 

Not wanting to be one-dimensional. Very few places where this is a crime.

 

IMO, people need to get over it and just accept that we will want to have an offense that can hit defenses in more ways than one. That philosophy is not the problem. It has always been about the coaching. Hopefully this staff is one the same page now. But we've heard that before.

[Husker_x]

The offense last year wasn't 'multiple'. It wasn't even 'singular'. It featured no strength or any consistent way of gaining yards or points. The problem with our offense wasn't that it was one-dimensional. It was that all dimensions sucked. Fix that and you'll be able to taste the honey on the word from then on.

[Hercules]

"if we need to run a spread offense, we'll run a spread offense. If we need to run a two-back, we'll run a two-back, just like we did in the spring game. We are a diverse offense, and there are many, many things that are going to be good for us on the offensive side of the ball this fall"

 

this makes me nervous...does this mean we're going to have another good at everything great at nothing offense?

 

Osborne's offense operated out of lots of formations, lots of different looks - the key is to make sure that the concepts being applied are consistent so that the players can execute out of any look. Power football is power football whether it's in the Power I or in a 5 WR set.

 

Beck and Pelini have made it clear that their goal is to make sure players have a sound conceptual understanding of what the offense is doing so that they can execute at a high level. I don't know whether the offense is going to be more run-based or pass-based or whatever, but they made it clear last spring that they were going to simplify things so that the players could actually master the scheme. Whatever we do run, it's not going to be so "multiple" that the players are overwhelmed and can't execute. At least, I think that's the idea.

[Eric the Red]

I hate hearing the word "multiple"

 

However it isnt only Watsons favorite word, Bo throws it around too often.

 

 

I'm thinking I have heard Pelini say more than once that a mulitple offense that can produce instead of a single minded offense that can produce. I think the reasoning is obvious.

[bbhusker]

IMO the biggest problem the last few years wasn't necessarily the the offense we ran but how the plays were called. Watson never tried to get our guys into a rhythm, especially a young QB like TM. It seemed like every time we got going and something was working he would go away from it. Plus, Watson never really had a plan B, which was evident in the Texas game.

 

I think Beck will run an offense much like Bo's D, start out seeing what the other team gives you and adjust from there. In game adjustments is what I would like to see more than anything. Haven't really seen much of that on O since T.O. retired.

[zoogs]

Why be a jack of all trades, master of none?

 

Develop one plan that's good, instead of two plans that are both just alright.

 

I hope our next OC never has a plan B. We don't need no Plan B's, we are Nebraska. Opponents know what we call and can't stop it anyway, that's the only way we roll.

 

I think Beck will run an offense much like Bo's D, start out seeing what the other team gives you and adjust from there

 

Taking what the defense gives you??? BLASPHEMER!

[bbhusker]

T.O. used to do this all the time. He would watch and wait to see what the D was going to do and then bait them with a series of plays and then hit them with a large gain or TD. That's why the option pass or FB trap was so successful when he did call that certain play. I'm saying Beck needs to do the same thing. I remember seeing the offensive coaches on the sidelines all the time with a marker board in hand making in game adjustments when T.O. was the HC.

[zoogs]

You mean he'd do something that was working and then go away from it to try some other crazy fluffball stuff?

 

I am just messin I agree.

[bbhusker]

No biggie, just hoping and praying this new O is all the coaches are saying it will be.

[kchusker_chris]

IMO the biggest problem the last few years wasn't necessarily the the offense we ran but how the plays were called. Watson never tried to get our guys into a rhythm, especially a young QB like TM. It seemed like every time we got going and something was working he would go away from it. Plus, Watson never really had a plan B, which was evident in the Texas game.

Maybe because he was trying to be multiple? I don't blame the multiple thing on Watson at all (not to sound like a Watson supporter) - but that's Bo's doing entirely...and it's derived from having a defensive approach to preparing an offense. What's the hardest thing for a DC? Prepping for an offense that has no tendencies. What's the easiest thing for a DC? Prepping for an offense that is not affective in any single area. Unfortunately trying to be one caused us to be the other.

[knapplc]

Watson's problem wasn't that he was multiple, it was that he called the wrong play at the wrong time with players who were improperly trained to perform and he took too long to get the plays in.

 

You can be as singular or as multiple as you want as long as your players know implicitly what they're doing and you don't take 25 of the 40 seconds to get the call in. If Beck gets his offense to the line with 20 seconds on the clock, that alone will be a vast improvement over Watson.

[billdozer15]

Why be a jack of all trades, master of none?

 

Develop one plan that's good, instead of two plans that are both just alright.

 

I hope our next OC never has a plan B. We don't need no Plan B's, we are Nebraska. Opponents know what we call and can't stop it anyway, that's the only way we roll.

 

I think Beck will run an offense much like Bo's D, start out seeing what the other team gives you and adjust from there

 

Taking what the defense gives you??? BLASPHEMER!

I cant stand the philosophy of "take what the defense gives you". The precise reason the defense is giving you something is because you cant do it and they know this from watching video all week. When T.O. was coach they knew we were going to run and guess what? WE RAN! We didnt take what the defense gave us, we took what we wanted and baited them into changing their style and then you hit em with the home run PA. Until we actually can impose our will on a team and do what we want nothing is going to get any better on offense. "Taking what the defense gives you" is another way of saying "We give up and will do what you want us to"