Mavric Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 4. 2010 Nebraska Prince Amukamara - Cornerback All-American - 1st round Eric Hagg - Nickel 5 interceptions - 7th round Rickey Thenarse - Free safety Unit's highest-rated recruit: 4-stars - Undrafted Austin Cassidy - Strong safety Two-time 1st team Academic All-American - Undrafted DeJon Gomes - Dime 99 tackles, 3 INTs, 7 breakups as a hybrid LB/S - 5th round Alfonzo Dennard - Cornerback 2nd cousin of Michigan State's Darqueze Dennard - 7th round A year after finishing No. 6 in defensive S&P+ with lineman Ndamukong Suh, one of the most dominant defenders in history, Nebraska only slipped to No. 9 without him. These Huskers spent most of their snaps playing dime defense with Gomes hanging around in the box, which led to the dime safety finishing with 99 tackles. Alpha dog: Amukamara was the major talent. He drew the toughest assignments, and his performance in the pass-happy Big 12 earned him his first-round contract. 1 Quote Link to comment
NUance Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I think the backfield we had in 2001 was just as good. Maybe better. LCB: Keyuo Craver Rover: Dion Booker FS: Willie Amos RCB: DeJuan Groce / Erwin Swiney Quote Link to comment
Red Five Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I think the backfield we had in 2001 was just as good. Maybe better. LCB: Keyuo Craver Rover: Dion Booker FS: Willie Amos RCB: DeJuan Groce / Erwin Swiney They were not better IMO. Prince and Fonzie were better corners then Craver or Groce, and all four were light years better than Swiney. Groce and Craver were good, but Prince and Fonzie were amazing. Groce was a darn good punt returner. Hagg and Gomes were much better than Booker and Amos as well. Quote Link to comment
Landlord Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Interesting list. Did they not go with the 2009 unit, because they somehow thought that Suh's presence was a knock on the secondary? Quote Link to comment
NUance Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I think the backfield we had in 2001 was just as good. Maybe better. LCB: Keyuo Craver Rover: Dion Booker FS: Willie Amos RCB: DeJuan Groce / Erwin Swiney They were not better IMO. Prince and Fonzie were better corners then Craver or Groce, and all four were light years better than Swiney. Groce and Craver were good, but Prince and Fonzie were amazing. Groce was a darn good punt returner. Hagg and Gomes were much better than Booker and Amos as well. Yeah, Hagg and Gomes were both way underrated. They were better than Booker and Amos. Although Willie Amos got injured early on in his Husker career. Never was the same again. He might have been great if he hadn't blown is knee out. Craver, Groce, Swiney, Amukamara and Dennard are among the best CBs we've had in, like, forever. All five played Sundays. Craver, Groce and Swiney each played three or four years in the NFL. One of them (was it Craver?) would've played longer except for the wacky weed. Also, people might not remember this, but Dennard was injured in 2010 and missed a couple of games. True Frosh Ciante Evans played most of the snaps in those two conf games. So I think Craver and Groce (with Swiney as back-up) were just as good in coverage in 2001 as Amukamara and Dennard were in 2010. /IMHO Quote Link to comment
Red Five Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I think the backfield we had in 2001 was just as good. Maybe better. LCB: Keyuo Craver Rover: Dion Booker FS: Willie Amos RCB: DeJuan Groce / Erwin Swiney They were not better IMO. Prince and Fonzie were better corners then Craver or Groce, and all four were light years better than Swiney. Groce and Craver were good, but Prince and Fonzie were amazing. Groce was a darn good punt returner. Hagg and Gomes were much better than Booker and Amos as well. Yeah, Hagg and Gomes were both way underrated. They were better than Booker and Amos. Although Willie Amos got injured early on in his Husker career. Never was the same again. He might have been great if he hadn't blown is knee out. Craver, Groce, Swiney, Amukamara and Dennard are among the best CBs we've had in, like, forever. All five played Sundays. Craver, Groce and Swiney each played three or four years in the NFL. One of them (was it Craver?) would've played longer except for the wacky weed. Also, people might not remember this, but Dennard was injured in 2010 and missed a couple of games. True Frosh Ciante Evans played most of the snaps in those two conf games. So I think Craver and Groce (with Swiney as back-up) were just as good in coverage in 2001 as Amukamara and Dennard were in 2010. /IMHO Swiney never had was an honorable mention all Big 12 according to his huskers bio. He doesn't deserve to be in the conversation with the other 4. Looking at the other 4, Groce seems to be lacking as his best CB awards are 2nd team all Big 12. The others were all at least a 1st team all Big 12 or a 2nd team all American. Craver 2000 - honorable mention all big 12 2001 - 1st team big 12, 1st team all American, Thorpe semifinalist Groce (CB awards only) 2001 - honorable mention all big 12 2002 - 2nd team all big 12, 4th team all American Prince 2009 - 2nd team all big 12 2010 - 1st team all big 12, 1st team all American, big 12 defensive player of the year, Thorpe finalist Fonzie 2010 - 2nd team all big 12 2011 - 1st team all big 10, 2nd team all American Quote Link to comment
Redux Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Interesting list. Did they not go with the 2009 unit, because they somehow thought that Suh's presence was a knock on the secondary? Guessing stats werent as stellar since QB's had less time to actually make passes. Quote Link to comment
NUance Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I think the backfield we had in 2001 was just as good. Maybe better. LCB: Keyuo Craver Rover: Dion Booker FS: Willie Amos RCB: DeJuan Groce / Erwin Swiney They were not better IMO. Prince and Fonzie were better corners then Craver or Groce, and all four were light years better than Swiney. Groce and Craver were good, but Prince and Fonzie were amazing. Groce was a darn good punt returner. Hagg and Gomes were much better than Booker and Amos as well. Yeah, Hagg and Gomes were both way underrated. They were better than Booker and Amos. Although Willie Amos got injured early on in his Husker career. Never was the same again. He might have been great if he hadn't blown is knee out. Craver, Groce, Swiney, Amukamara and Dennard are among the best CBs we've had in, like, forever. All five played Sundays. Craver, Groce and Swiney each played three or four years in the NFL. One of them (was it Craver?) would've played longer except for the wacky weed. Also, people might not remember this, but Dennard was injured in 2010 and missed a couple of games. True Frosh Ciante Evans played most of the snaps in those two conf games. So I think Craver and Groce (with Swiney as back-up) were just as good in coverage in 2001 as Amukamara and Dennard were in 2010. /IMHO Swiney never had was an honorable mention all Big 12 according to his huskers bio. He doesn't deserve to be in the conversation with the other 4. Looking at the other 4, Groce seems to be lacking as his best CB awards are 2nd team all Big 12. The others were all at least a 1st team all Big 12 or a 2nd team all American. Craver 2000 - honorable mention all big 12 2001 - 1st team big 12, 1st team all American, Thorpe semifinalist Groce (CB awards only) 2001 - honorable mention all big 12 2002 - 2nd team all big 12, 4th team all American Prince 2009 - 2nd team all big 12 2010 - 1st team all big 12, 1st team all American, big 12 defensive player of the year, Thorpe finalist Fonzie 2010 - 2nd team all big 12 2011 - 1st team all big 10, 2nd team all American Craver 2001 - 1st team big 12, 1st team all American, Thorpe semifinalist Groce 2001 - honorable mention all big 12 Prince 2010 - 1st team all big 12, 1st team all American, big 12 defensive player of the year, Thorpe finalist Fonzie 2010 - 2nd team all big 12 Without looking up who the other CBs were in the B-12 back then, wouldn't you say these awards are pretty similar? I think I'll stick to what I originally said: I think the backfield we had in 2001 was just as good. Maybe better. Quote Link to comment
bleedNUred Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Glad to see our boys getting credit, loved watching both secondaries. Quote Link to comment
H2h Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I'm still reeling from someone describing Erwin Swiney as one of the best CB's at NU in a long time. Like, do people watch the games? 1 Quote Link to comment
Ulty Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Back in Swiney's playing days, he barely should have been starting, let alone being mentioned among the best of the decade. How he got on an NFL squad who knows. 1 Quote Link to comment
Lyons in the Sea of Red. Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 No one probably agrees, but I still think Fonzie was the best of the bunch. He had more edge than Prince, which showed on the field. Quote Link to comment
California Husker Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Swiney was fast....very fast. That's how he kept his job and that's what got him a gig in the NFL. The hope is that you can always improve technique, but with speed, you got what you got. Look (and believe me I am in NO WAY comparing the two), but Deon Sanders was never a good DB. He was just so incredibly fast that it made up for his lack of technique. Quote Link to comment
True2tRA Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 No one probably agrees, but I still think Fonzie was the best of the bunch. He had more edge than Prince, which showed on the field. Fonzie was a stud, but I think Prince was the best. I think the backfield we had in 2001 was just as good. Maybe better. LCB: Keyuo Craver Rover: Dion Booker FS: Willie Amos RCB: DeJuan Groce / Erwin Swiney Craver was a freaking beast! Quote Link to comment
H2h Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 No one probably agrees, but I still think Fonzie was the best of the bunch. He had more edge than Prince, which showed on the field. I agree completely Quote Link to comment
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