Fall Camp Notes

[WyoHusker56]

Ahh... a little bit later than usual this year, but we're finally getting this annual story/headline.

Nebraska offense is narrowing schemes down to Huskers' 'bread and butter'

This made me think of something interesting too. Lubick has called plays at a high level when he was at UW and Walters had never really been a high level play caller before. It might help Frost a lot in his calls to have Lubick up in the booth with his experience seeing things from above and in his ear.

 

[Husker in WI]

Jamin Graham and Pheldarius Payne have apparently switched positions.

Graham (listed at 6-4, 240) now working at DE.  Payne (6-3, 275) now working at OLB.

Word is Payne doesn't have the height/arm length to really be a top shelf DE in a 3-4.  I would have to think he'll play the strong OLB spot that Davis and Nelson played last year which is basically a stand up DE.  Might be a good option against power run teams.

Graham is obviously taller but will have to bulk up to play the DE spot.

Those are both really interesting, but doesn't seem like a great sign for Graham? I thought his appeal was the twitchiness and length at OLB. He needed weight for OLB coming in, so maybe it was just easier to put on than expected and the frame works at DE too. 

Payne as a jumbo OLB makes more sense to me, he's supposed to be similar to the Davises but he's 30-40 lbs short. If he is quick enough it makes sense, I'd love to see him/Nelson in a Za'Darius Smith type role. 

 

[Mavric]

Payne as a jumbo OLB makes more sense to me, he's supposed to be similar to the Davises but he's 30-40 lbs short. If he is quick enough it makes sense, I'd love to see him/Nelson in a Za'Darius Smith type role. 

Sorry, I should have clarified Alex Davis, not Carlos and Khalil.

 

[Husker in WI]

Sorry, I should have clarified Alex Davis, not Carlos and Khalil.

Oh I knew who you meant, I just meant when Payne was a DLineman he was most similar to Carlos/Khalil. But similar to them minus 40 lbs doesn't really fly in the Big Ten. 

 

[Decked]

Anyone who’s seen Payne lately could tell that he’s about 250-260. Makes sense. As for Graham..his biggest knock out of high school was his lack of ability to play in space. Always seemed like a tweener. A lot of people thought he didn’t translate well to a 3-4 scheme as an OLB. Seems like an Alex Davis type play to me. Hope he finds success at DE. 

 

[bugeater17]

Anyone who’s seen Payne lately could tell that he’s about 250-260. Makes sense. As for Graham..his biggest knock out of high school was his lack of ability to play in space. Always seemed like a tweener. A lot of people thought he didn’t translate well to a 3-4 scheme as an OLB. Seems like an Alex Davis type play to me. Hope he finds success at DE. 

I've always kind of thought Graham would end up at DE. Hopefully he can add mass but keep his athleticism and be a force as a pass rusher. 

 

[Decked]

I've always kind of thought Graham would end up at DE. Hopefully he can add mass but keep his athleticism and be a force as a pass rusher. 

Gonna have to be a great football IQ guy I think to become a starter here. Tough road ahead. 

 

[Toe]

Nebraska offense is narrowing schemes down to Huskers' 'bread and butter'

From the article:

Last season, as Frost often said, the performances around the quarterback — NU played three — were often lacking. A bad snap against South Alabama. A group of receivers who couldn’t consistently get open at Colorado or Minnesota. A back missing a crucial block on a third down against Indiana. An entire offensive line struggling to block Iowa’s front four. “When we watch clips of last year’s season, it’s the people around him,” Lubick said of Martinez’s play, which dropped from his prodigious freshman season.

This is something I keep saying: most of Martinez's supposed regression last season was really due to a drop in the play around him, particularly the loss of the previous OL seniors and not having a legit replacement for Stanley Morgan. It's also why I don't think there's any real chance of McCaffrey unseating him, barring injury. Rumors of 2AM's demise have been greatly exaggerated.

 

[Mavric]

This is something I keep saying: most of Martinez's supposed regression last season was really due to a drop in the play around him, particularly the loss of the previous OL seniors and not having a legit replacement for Stanley Morgan. It's also why I don't think there's any real chance of McCaffrey unseating him, barring injury. Rumors of 2AM's demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Obviously you need to familiarize yourself with the contents of this thread to correctly adjust your thinking:

 

[Enhance]

Rumors of 2AM's demise have been greatly exaggerated.

I think it would've taken a generational talent to overcome enough of the weaknesses from Nebraska's roster last year, and that's no knock again 2AM. I think it's just the reality of how difficult division one football is. It's also why I think we have to take the "wE cOuLd'Ve HaD bUrRoW" crowd with a grain of salt.

That said, I will admit I was a bit disappointed in some of 2AM's progress (or lack there of) last season. Obviously, as we agree, a lot goes into that. It's not all on his shoulders. But there were some decisions and choices he made last year that felt a bit regressive from year one. Maybe that really was because of him trying to do too much. We'll get a more complete view of the picture this year. But, I agree, I'd be shocked if McCaffrey took the job in a fair fight.

 

[teachercd]

Moving positions is almost always a bad sign for someone.

 

[Caliborn72]

Moving positions is almost always a bad sign for someone.

I don’t really disagree although I think it’s generally a much better proposition if you rotate towards the line rather than away from it. Domann became a really good player for us as more of a linebacker with closer to safety speed.

Moving from DL to LB or LB to S will always have me skeptical. Not that it’s impossible or anything but I do agree with you.

 

[teachercd]

I don’t really disagree although I think it’s generally a much better proposition if you rotate towards the line rather than away from it. Domann became a really good player for us as more of a linebacker with closer to safety speed.

Moving from DL to LB or LB to S will always have me skeptical. Not that it’s impossible or anything but I do agree with you.

Yeah, I agree with that.  Usually that is the plan though, not a "Wow, this kid isn't what we thought, we need to move him" thing.

Who knows, maybe it will work!

I suppose if they move Boe Wilson to WR we should take it as a bad sign.

 

[knapplc]

Players who have successfully switched positions with success, off the top of my head, are Cody Glenn, Stanley Jean-Baptiste and Baker Steinkuhler. I know there are more but I'm not recalling them right now.  So you can switch up and be good.

I suppose there's an equal number, if not greater, of players who've switched and weren't successful. None come to mind immediately, but likely that's because once they switch, we don't hear from them again.

 

[flatwaterfan]

I thought Graham and Payne would be better fits as DE's in a 4-3 and as such I always figured they were targeted for specialty roles to provide immediate help in pass rushing.  That must not be working out so now their roles are flipped but I still see them fitting specialty roles in their new positions too and they will have things to work on.   Hope they can work it out.  It's going to be a challenge.