Husker_Power
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By SAMUEL McKEWON
August 15, 2007
Five More Keys to San Antonio (And Just Maybe New Orleans)
Part Two of Two: Offensive cohesion, freshmen and the Missouri game will determine just how far Nebraska goes in 2007
In round two of this keys focus, we continue to examine just what will determine Nebraska's success in the 2007 season.
Getting up to speed- Optimism always blooms in fall camp, and Nebraska's offense is so loaded at the skill positions - particularly receiver - that it would seem easy to plug in a signal-caller and let the Huskers hum. Well, hold on.
When it comes to mastering his role in Nebraska's West Coast Offense, Nate Swift's been around the block, said hi to the neighbors and smacked all the big trees.
The junior receiver enters his fourth year at NU. He's been the redshirt kid learning the ropes in 2004. The breakout performer in 2005. The third option in 2006. Now he's one of the seasoned veterans in Head Coach Bill Callahan's intricate, varied offense.
He can look at the freshmen receivers - including Omaha North product Niles Paul - and sympathize as they work out jitters and learn from mistakes. Because he's spent almost a quarter of his life inside Callahan's system, he can look at the newcomers in fall camp and see who's "gets it," and who doesn't.
Although there's big talk for the 2007 offense, Swift, who's seen just about every play Nebraska could run over the last four years, knows there isn't necessarily a lot of continuity. Two-year starter Zac Taylor graduated, and with him left not only a grasp of the offense, but the experience to apply that knowledge just before the snap on the field.
Quarterbacks Sam Keller and Joe Ganz have learned quickly, Swift said, but neither of them have orchestrated this offense against an opponent in a hostile atmosphere.
"That second year with Zac, he knew the offense in and out," Swift said. "He knew everything. We could put in tons of plays, tons of shifts every - he'd get everybody right. If somebody didn't know on the field, he'd get them there.
"And now it's a little different. You kinda have to go back to the basics a little and teach Keller. And Ganz is getting experience now, so now he has to see how it is in the game, how quick it is."
The Kiddos- Youth is now. College football teams can't afford, as it's said, to live in the "was." They've got to live in the "is." Like the Southern California football program that has exploded over the last five years, NU seems to making a pretty concerted effort to inject the three-deep roster with as many freshman pups who can stay on the porch.
Some, including running back Quentin Castille, quarterback Patrick Witt, defensive backs Shawn Sullivan and Prince Amukamara, receivers Niles Paul and Curenski Gilleylen, may not be vie for starting jobs, but could push for playing time.
"A lot of the younger guys are either finding their way and they're falling off," Swift said. "The two receivers we've got (Paul and Curenski Gilleylen) are still hanging around in there. They're still getting a lot of reps and doing good things."
The two best things freshmen can offer are energy and a chance at the spectacular play.
Can most of them play every down? No. Herschel Walker and Tommie Frazier come along once in a generation.
But they can be a spark. Their spirit can be infectious. They can, have and always will drive coaches a little nuts, but their exuberance can make a veteran huddle crack up at the right moment. Freshmen are the little brothers on a team. They're young men, yes, but there's always a little more sentiment attached to the rookie performances.
Every so often, a little brother making a play is worth more than a fifth-year senior.
Special teams- No fancy titles here. No time for it. Nebraska's performance was wildly inconsistent last season. Some impressive peaks - two fake field goals for touchdowns against Kansas State and Colorado, an excellent effort on kickoff coverage - were offset by an average kicking performance by now-departed Jordan Congdon, and the continued, bewildering lack of success on kickoff return.
There wasn't one kickoff return longer than 32 yards. Folks, considering that 15 of those yards are more or free, that's not just poor, it's unlucky. NU not only couldn't break one, it was not the beneficiary of busted kickoff coverage.
It's been five years since Nebraska had a premier kickoff returner in Josh Davis. Time to find another. Is it one of the incumbents, Tierre Green and Marlon Lucky? Is it a freshman?
It would be too much to expect any of the place-kickers, including Adi Kunalic and Jake Wesch, to win any games for Nebraska, or even make a bunch outside of 40 yards. It should be another season of Nebraska going for it on 4th down from the opponent's 30. Far from ideal, but that result will be fine if NU can change the field position more often in the return game.
The Mizzou Question:Every Husker fan with a connection to the outside world knows by now that Missouri has become a darling of the media and the coaches in the Big 12. The Tigers, whose most significant win last year occurred when they jumped out to a giant lead against Texas Tech on the road, then held on by their claws. The Tigers, who have pretty honest intentions of winning 10 or 11 games this seasons.
Is this Missouri team the one that drags that entire state out several decades of pigskin mediocrity? Have the Tigers developed an offensive magic at Faurot Field that bewitches and confuses the Blackshirts the minute the game starts?
This game is delicious for fans and players alike because it's early, it actually matters, and it's probably going to be on national television. Already the message boards are on fire. MU quarterback Chase Daniel is the first real team leader since Brock Olivo and Corby Jones left a decade ago. Tony Temple might be the best MU running back in, oh, 30 years. Martin Rucker and Chase Coffman form the best tight end duo in America.
And yet...and yet...Nebraska should absolutely win this game.
Crowds in Columbia are loud enough, but Colorado and Kansas State both have better home field advantages in the Big 12 North, much less Nebraska.
And the recent history? Well, along with the 2001 loss to Colorado, the 2005 game – a 41-24 loss - was as complete and stunning a collapse in recent Husker history. NU rushed for -2 yards. Gave up 523 total yards. Made Brad Smith look like Vince Young and Matt Leinart combined.
And still NU was a costly Terrence Nunn fumble away from taking the lead in the second half. Consider that.
If Missouri's fans are expecting that kind of meltdown again, they're expecting the wrong team. Missouri only beats Nebraska if it runs the ball (possible), controls the clock (not that likely), and wins the line of scrimmage (seeing will be believing). It took Daniel, a smart, assured quarterback, almost three quarters to figure out NU last year. He can't wait that long again.
Nebraska has to avoid falling into the hype. Is Missouri likely to be undefeated on Oct. 6? Yes. Is it likely to be the biggest football game for Missouri's students, teachers, administrators, grandmothers, dogs, landfill operators and snow globe salespeople since the 1970s? Probably – especially if Nebraska upsets No. 1 Southern California? Could you imagine that? It might even reach the level of excitement for a Tiger exhibition basketball game.
Little of it matters. NU has better interior players, equally good skill players and a playing style conducive to big games in the Big 12. Missouri will try, as it has in its last two victories over Nebraska, to run around the Huskers. To capture this year's Big 12 North title, the Tigers will have to run right through NU. Can they? The North title depends on who can take a better punch to the facemask.
Frankly, it's nice to have the rivalry back, isn't it?
X: As in factor. What surprises lie inside this Husker team in 2007? In other words, who or what is this year's Brandon Jackson? Is it a player? Does Zack Bowman do a Ty Law impression? Do Courtney Grixby and Andre Jones turn into shutdown corners? Does Marlon Lucky fail to produce, only to be replaced by Major Culbert, who excels? Does some freshman completely blow up in the return game?
X, of course, can go the other way. Is there an injury that would cripple this team? Has Sam Keller, the likely starter at quarterback, got the right stuff? What if Mo Purify never gets quite together? What if there's still no pass rush? What if Nebraska's 3-3 after Oct. 6, staring at Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Texas on the schedule? It could happen
Nebraska could also be 8-0 walking into Austin just before Halloween, too.
What makes NU interesting – and for now, fun – are the sheer range of possibilities. The safe line says nine or 10 wins. But it could be seven. Could be 12. It could be New Orleans – and don't think it's not possible. Or it could be a bowl game before Christmas.
Just about anybody would settle for a trip to San Antonio, and another shot at Oklahoma, which – count on it – will be waiting, schnooer ready.
LINK
August 15, 2007
Five More Keys to San Antonio (And Just Maybe New Orleans)
Part Two of Two: Offensive cohesion, freshmen and the Missouri game will determine just how far Nebraska goes in 2007
In round two of this keys focus, we continue to examine just what will determine Nebraska's success in the 2007 season.
Getting up to speed- Optimism always blooms in fall camp, and Nebraska's offense is so loaded at the skill positions - particularly receiver - that it would seem easy to plug in a signal-caller and let the Huskers hum. Well, hold on.
When it comes to mastering his role in Nebraska's West Coast Offense, Nate Swift's been around the block, said hi to the neighbors and smacked all the big trees.
The junior receiver enters his fourth year at NU. He's been the redshirt kid learning the ropes in 2004. The breakout performer in 2005. The third option in 2006. Now he's one of the seasoned veterans in Head Coach Bill Callahan's intricate, varied offense.
He can look at the freshmen receivers - including Omaha North product Niles Paul - and sympathize as they work out jitters and learn from mistakes. Because he's spent almost a quarter of his life inside Callahan's system, he can look at the newcomers in fall camp and see who's "gets it," and who doesn't.
Although there's big talk for the 2007 offense, Swift, who's seen just about every play Nebraska could run over the last four years, knows there isn't necessarily a lot of continuity. Two-year starter Zac Taylor graduated, and with him left not only a grasp of the offense, but the experience to apply that knowledge just before the snap on the field.
Quarterbacks Sam Keller and Joe Ganz have learned quickly, Swift said, but neither of them have orchestrated this offense against an opponent in a hostile atmosphere.
"That second year with Zac, he knew the offense in and out," Swift said. "He knew everything. We could put in tons of plays, tons of shifts every - he'd get everybody right. If somebody didn't know on the field, he'd get them there.
"And now it's a little different. You kinda have to go back to the basics a little and teach Keller. And Ganz is getting experience now, so now he has to see how it is in the game, how quick it is."
The Kiddos- Youth is now. College football teams can't afford, as it's said, to live in the "was." They've got to live in the "is." Like the Southern California football program that has exploded over the last five years, NU seems to making a pretty concerted effort to inject the three-deep roster with as many freshman pups who can stay on the porch.
Some, including running back Quentin Castille, quarterback Patrick Witt, defensive backs Shawn Sullivan and Prince Amukamara, receivers Niles Paul and Curenski Gilleylen, may not be vie for starting jobs, but could push for playing time.
"A lot of the younger guys are either finding their way and they're falling off," Swift said. "The two receivers we've got (Paul and Curenski Gilleylen) are still hanging around in there. They're still getting a lot of reps and doing good things."
The two best things freshmen can offer are energy and a chance at the spectacular play.
Can most of them play every down? No. Herschel Walker and Tommie Frazier come along once in a generation.
But they can be a spark. Their spirit can be infectious. They can, have and always will drive coaches a little nuts, but their exuberance can make a veteran huddle crack up at the right moment. Freshmen are the little brothers on a team. They're young men, yes, but there's always a little more sentiment attached to the rookie performances.
Every so often, a little brother making a play is worth more than a fifth-year senior.
Special teams- No fancy titles here. No time for it. Nebraska's performance was wildly inconsistent last season. Some impressive peaks - two fake field goals for touchdowns against Kansas State and Colorado, an excellent effort on kickoff coverage - were offset by an average kicking performance by now-departed Jordan Congdon, and the continued, bewildering lack of success on kickoff return.
There wasn't one kickoff return longer than 32 yards. Folks, considering that 15 of those yards are more or free, that's not just poor, it's unlucky. NU not only couldn't break one, it was not the beneficiary of busted kickoff coverage.
It's been five years since Nebraska had a premier kickoff returner in Josh Davis. Time to find another. Is it one of the incumbents, Tierre Green and Marlon Lucky? Is it a freshman?
It would be too much to expect any of the place-kickers, including Adi Kunalic and Jake Wesch, to win any games for Nebraska, or even make a bunch outside of 40 yards. It should be another season of Nebraska going for it on 4th down from the opponent's 30. Far from ideal, but that result will be fine if NU can change the field position more often in the return game.
The Mizzou Question:Every Husker fan with a connection to the outside world knows by now that Missouri has become a darling of the media and the coaches in the Big 12. The Tigers, whose most significant win last year occurred when they jumped out to a giant lead against Texas Tech on the road, then held on by their claws. The Tigers, who have pretty honest intentions of winning 10 or 11 games this seasons.
Is this Missouri team the one that drags that entire state out several decades of pigskin mediocrity? Have the Tigers developed an offensive magic at Faurot Field that bewitches and confuses the Blackshirts the minute the game starts?
This game is delicious for fans and players alike because it's early, it actually matters, and it's probably going to be on national television. Already the message boards are on fire. MU quarterback Chase Daniel is the first real team leader since Brock Olivo and Corby Jones left a decade ago. Tony Temple might be the best MU running back in, oh, 30 years. Martin Rucker and Chase Coffman form the best tight end duo in America.
And yet...and yet...Nebraska should absolutely win this game.
Crowds in Columbia are loud enough, but Colorado and Kansas State both have better home field advantages in the Big 12 North, much less Nebraska.
And the recent history? Well, along with the 2001 loss to Colorado, the 2005 game – a 41-24 loss - was as complete and stunning a collapse in recent Husker history. NU rushed for -2 yards. Gave up 523 total yards. Made Brad Smith look like Vince Young and Matt Leinart combined.
And still NU was a costly Terrence Nunn fumble away from taking the lead in the second half. Consider that.
If Missouri's fans are expecting that kind of meltdown again, they're expecting the wrong team. Missouri only beats Nebraska if it runs the ball (possible), controls the clock (not that likely), and wins the line of scrimmage (seeing will be believing). It took Daniel, a smart, assured quarterback, almost three quarters to figure out NU last year. He can't wait that long again.
Nebraska has to avoid falling into the hype. Is Missouri likely to be undefeated on Oct. 6? Yes. Is it likely to be the biggest football game for Missouri's students, teachers, administrators, grandmothers, dogs, landfill operators and snow globe salespeople since the 1970s? Probably – especially if Nebraska upsets No. 1 Southern California? Could you imagine that? It might even reach the level of excitement for a Tiger exhibition basketball game.
Little of it matters. NU has better interior players, equally good skill players and a playing style conducive to big games in the Big 12. Missouri will try, as it has in its last two victories over Nebraska, to run around the Huskers. To capture this year's Big 12 North title, the Tigers will have to run right through NU. Can they? The North title depends on who can take a better punch to the facemask.
Frankly, it's nice to have the rivalry back, isn't it?
X: As in factor. What surprises lie inside this Husker team in 2007? In other words, who or what is this year's Brandon Jackson? Is it a player? Does Zack Bowman do a Ty Law impression? Do Courtney Grixby and Andre Jones turn into shutdown corners? Does Marlon Lucky fail to produce, only to be replaced by Major Culbert, who excels? Does some freshman completely blow up in the return game?
X, of course, can go the other way. Is there an injury that would cripple this team? Has Sam Keller, the likely starter at quarterback, got the right stuff? What if Mo Purify never gets quite together? What if there's still no pass rush? What if Nebraska's 3-3 after Oct. 6, staring at Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Texas on the schedule? It could happen
Nebraska could also be 8-0 walking into Austin just before Halloween, too.
What makes NU interesting – and for now, fun – are the sheer range of possibilities. The safe line says nine or 10 wins. But it could be seven. Could be 12. It could be New Orleans – and don't think it's not possible. Or it could be a bowl game before Christmas.
Just about anybody would settle for a trip to San Antonio, and another shot at Oklahoma, which – count on it – will be waiting, schnooer ready.
LINK
