Has anyone noticed?

[HuskerinLibertyMO]

I've been watching the BTN's trip to fall camp across the league...is it just me or do the facilities especially the grass practice fields so far just look horrible? Iowa looked like they were practicing in someone's back yard, Illinois looked pretty rough even Oklahoma's practice field on ESPN Total Access looks like a freakin' goat ranch. It just surprised me to see what appears to be such a huge discrepancy between what NU has and what the other teams have.

[General Blackshirt]

DiNardo said that Nebraska, PSU, and OSU have the best facilities in the Big Ten by far.

[kchusker_chris]

I've been watching the BTN's trip to fall camp across the league...is it just me or do the facilities especially the grass practice fields so far just look horrible? Iowa looked like they were practicing in someone's back yard, Illinois looked pretty rough even Oklahoma's practice field on ESPN Total Access looks like a freakin' goat ranch. It just surprised me to see what appears to be such a huge discrepancy between what NU has and what the other teams have.

Oklahoma I can see, they are in drought conditions. I think that's just how it generally is when you've got 150 guys in cleats on there for 4-6 hours a day though. (http://www.soonersports.com/facilities/wilkinson-practice-facility.html)

 

The Huskers practice on field-turf, so that's why it looks so great. Doesn't require much water

[HuskerinLibertyMO]

I've been watching the BTN's trip to fall camp across the league...is it just me or do the facilities especially the grass practice fields so far just look horrible? Iowa looked like they were practicing in someone's back yard, Illinois looked pretty rough even Oklahoma's practice field on ESPN Total Access looks like a freakin' goat ranch. It just surprised me to see what appears to be such a huge discrepancy between what NU has and what the other teams have.

Oklahoma I can see, they are in drought conditions. I think that's just how it generally is when you've got 150 guys in cleats on there for 4-6 hours a day though. (http://www.soonersports.com/facilities/wilkinson-practice-facility.html)

 

The Huskers practice on field-turf, so that's why it looks so great. Doesn't require much water

 

Chris, the Huskers have grass practice fields too.

[HuskerT]

I watched the Husker preview also, but it was hard to focus on the field in the backround with the wind blasting through and blowing everything all over the place. The grass did look nice and green from what I could tell.

[knapplc]

I've been watching the BTN's trip to fall camp across the league...is it just me or do the facilities especially the grass practice fields so far just look horrible? Iowa looked like they were practicing in someone's back yard, Illinois looked pretty rough even Oklahoma's practice field on ESPN Total Access looks like a freakin' goat ranch. It just surprised me to see what appears to be such a huge discrepancy between what NU has and what the other teams have.

Oklahoma I can see, they are in drought conditions. I think that's just how it generally is when you've got 150 guys in cleats on there for 4-6 hours a day though. (http://www.soonersports.com/facilities/wilkinson-practice-facility.html)

 

The Huskers practice on field-turf, so that's why it looks so great. Doesn't require much water

 

Chris, the Huskers have grass practice fields too.

 

We haven't had grass fields for a while. Those two fields east of the Hawks center are FieldTurf. I've been on them several times. The soccer field inside Ed Weir track is grass, but to me knowledge the football team doesn't practice there.

 

 

 

I watched the Husker preview also, but it was hard to focus on the field in the backround with the wind blasting through and blowing everything all over the place. The grass did look nice and green from what I could tell.

 

That's because they're FieldTurf. Synthetic grass held together by rubber pellets.

[General Blackshirt]

I think this fall is the first time we've only had turf. I think they switched out the grass fields last spring; not sure if it was before or after practice.

[corncraze]

I think this fall is the first time we've only had turf. I think they switched out the grass fields last spring; not sure if it was before or after practice.

Wonder if this is partly why we're seeing so many lineman go down. Turf is harder on players' bodies.

[ZRod]

I think this fall is the first time we've only had turf. I think they switched out the grass fields last spring; not sure if it was before or after practice.

Wonder if this is partly why we're seeing so many lineman go down. Turf is harder on players' bodies.

I was going to say it's weird that they were watering the turf last fall because I specifically remember dodging the sprinkles through the fence when I walked behind the Cook for class.

 

And I would think that this turf would actually be better for the body than grass, because of the rubber. It's relatively soft and forgiving compared to dirt and grass. I remember the first time I ever walked on it and played on it at our high school fields and conditioning camps at UNL and it's kind of a weird spongy feeling if you've never experienced it before.

[Enhance]

I've played on field-turf and grass, and in my experience field-turf always cushions the fall a bit better. I don't think injuries have anything to do with the field.

 

Injuries usually come down to poor execution, intensity or sheer bad luck.

[HuskersGJ]

I think the turf=hard surface was true with the old astroturf but FieldTurf is definately not like the old Astro surface. The only similarity IMO is that neither of them are real grass.

Is it the rubber pellots that make for a softer surface?

 

I love the stuff- they way it looks, playing on it, etc. I know its not as "pure" as grass its been a while since Nebraska had real grass on the main field at Memorial anyway.

[Blackshirt316]

The FieldTurf on the outdoor practice fields AND the FieldTurf inside the Hawks Center is EXACTLY the same as the FieldTurf inside Memorial Stadium.

 

When they designed the Hawks Center they made sure the field surface was an exact duplicate of the field surface the players would feel on Game-day and when they redid the outdoor fields this past year they did the same thing.

[knapplc]

The FieldTurf on the outdoor practice fields AND the FieldTurf inside the Hawks Center is EXACTLY the same as the FieldTurf inside Memorial Stadium.

 

Is the surface inside Cook the same? It's been a while since I've been in there.

[Husker from Kansas]

I think this fall is the first time we've only had turf. I think they switched out the grass fields last spring; not sure if it was before or after practice.

Wonder if this is partly why we're seeing so many lineman go down. Turf is harder on players' bodies.

 

i played on field turf in college and there do seem to be a lot of injuries to ankles and knees because if you try to plant and your feet are wide then your feet seem to slip alot easier and then your legs are extended and if someone hits you are falls into you then your in some serious trouble

[HuskerinLibertyMO]

So I'm only a year behind on the grass practice fields!

 

Will Shields told me a few years back that he actually preferred to play on Field Turf. Said he felt it was easier on the body. I'm sure everyone has different opinions, just figured guys that played as long as he did would have preferred grass.