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Breaking down the offense: It's Sam's club
BY DIRK CHATELAIN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Steve Pederson might want to consider expanding Memorial Stadium again - for the spring game.
You thought the Zac Taylor era was noteworthy? You thought plucking a no-name from Bob Stoops' backyard and turning him into an All-Big 12 quarterback was interesting?
Wait 'til you get a load of this next guy.
The 2006 season had a few nice story lines, but the biggest might have come in August when former Arizona State quarterback Sam Keller announced his transfer to Nebraska. Keller's wait is coming to an end.
He'll start the spring as the quarterback front-runner, ahead of veteran backup Joe Ganz, junior college transfer Zac Lee and freshman Patrick Witt.
When Nebraska scrimmages for the public April 14, all eyes will be fixed on Keller, whom most scouts touted before his transfer as a first- or second-round NFL draft pick.
"We've got to replace Zac, and that will be hard to do," offensive coordinator Jay Norvell said. "But we've got a lot of good football players in the wings. If they step up, we've got a chance to be much better next year."
Keller's personality is more like Nebraska's defensive No. 13 (Corey McKeon) than its offensive one (Taylor). He's been known to bow after touchdown passes, to scold teammates for making mistakes. But if the senior can boost his offense over the hump, few in Nebraska will care about his disposition.
Big-game performances were the knock on the 2006 offense. It shined on opening drives and in the red zone. It developed a multi-faceted rushing attack and found an explosive wideout and turned the ball over just 25 times.
But Nebraska averaged just 12.8 points per game against four Top 10 foes. Just as disturbing were the Huskers' second-half stumbles.
The last 10 games, they scored 14 points combined in the third quarter. Their 79 first-quarter points during that span surpassed their 78 second-half points. They blew large leads to Kansas, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. They didn't even score in the second half the final two games.
The numbers raise questions about Bill Callahan's ability to adjust once he completes his 15-play script. An answer to that question requires time.
Assembling Callahan's 2007 offensive cast of characters doesn't.
"All the receivers are back," Taylor said. "All the running backs are back. They're going to have a good quarterback, whoever it is. And that offensive line is pretty young. I have a feeling they're going to be a much better team the next couple of years. All those guys are just going to get better in the offseason."
One position to keep an eye on is offensive line. Competition during spring ball should only strengthen the unit, which at times lacked able bodies the past three years.
"Our whole two-deep, they've all started at some time," tackle Matt Slauson said. "And now we've got Keith Williams coming up and he's a big-time player. We've got D.J. Jones. We've got some huge guys. We're going to have so much talent and so much size, it's going to be a lot of fun to watch."
Carl Nicks, who filled in for Slauson at right tackle late in the year, went a step further: "Our offensive line next year, I think, is going to be the best part of our whole offense."
Sorry, Carl, that's not what folks will be talking about at the spring game.
Breaking down the offense: It's Sam's club
BY DIRK CHATELAIN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Steve Pederson might want to consider expanding Memorial Stadium again - for the spring game.
You thought the Zac Taylor era was noteworthy? You thought plucking a no-name from Bob Stoops' backyard and turning him into an All-Big 12 quarterback was interesting?
Wait 'til you get a load of this next guy.
The 2006 season had a few nice story lines, but the biggest might have come in August when former Arizona State quarterback Sam Keller announced his transfer to Nebraska. Keller's wait is coming to an end.
He'll start the spring as the quarterback front-runner, ahead of veteran backup Joe Ganz, junior college transfer Zac Lee and freshman Patrick Witt.
When Nebraska scrimmages for the public April 14, all eyes will be fixed on Keller, whom most scouts touted before his transfer as a first- or second-round NFL draft pick.
"We've got to replace Zac, and that will be hard to do," offensive coordinator Jay Norvell said. "But we've got a lot of good football players in the wings. If they step up, we've got a chance to be much better next year."
Keller's personality is more like Nebraska's defensive No. 13 (Corey McKeon) than its offensive one (Taylor). He's been known to bow after touchdown passes, to scold teammates for making mistakes. But if the senior can boost his offense over the hump, few in Nebraska will care about his disposition.
Big-game performances were the knock on the 2006 offense. It shined on opening drives and in the red zone. It developed a multi-faceted rushing attack and found an explosive wideout and turned the ball over just 25 times.
But Nebraska averaged just 12.8 points per game against four Top 10 foes. Just as disturbing were the Huskers' second-half stumbles.
The last 10 games, they scored 14 points combined in the third quarter. Their 79 first-quarter points during that span surpassed their 78 second-half points. They blew large leads to Kansas, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. They didn't even score in the second half the final two games.
The numbers raise questions about Bill Callahan's ability to adjust once he completes his 15-play script. An answer to that question requires time.
Assembling Callahan's 2007 offensive cast of characters doesn't.
"All the receivers are back," Taylor said. "All the running backs are back. They're going to have a good quarterback, whoever it is. And that offensive line is pretty young. I have a feeling they're going to be a much better team the next couple of years. All those guys are just going to get better in the offseason."
One position to keep an eye on is offensive line. Competition during spring ball should only strengthen the unit, which at times lacked able bodies the past three years.
"Our whole two-deep, they've all started at some time," tackle Matt Slauson said. "And now we've got Keith Williams coming up and he's a big-time player. We've got D.J. Jones. We've got some huge guys. We're going to have so much talent and so much size, it's going to be a lot of fun to watch."
Carl Nicks, who filled in for Slauson at right tackle late in the year, went a step further: "Our offensive line next year, I think, is going to be the best part of our whole offense."
Sorry, Carl, that's not what folks will be talking about at the spring game.
