Huskers Change Special Teams Practice Approach

Mavric

Mavric

Yoda
Staff member
Nebraska hasn’t done much full-team work this spring on punts or kickoffs, special teams coordinator Bruce Read said Tuesday.

Instead, by head coach Mike Riley’s design, the focus has been on individual details and assignments.

“We haven’t covered a kickoff and we really haven’t covered a punt yet, since we only had punt the first couple days,” Read said. “It’s really all been drills. It’s been good. It’s been kind of interesting.
We’re really focusing on technique and ‘how-to’ rather than ‘here’s the whole scheme everybody needs to know.’ It’s been kind of fun, really — and challenging. We haven’t really gone through a spring like that.”

Riley, he said, wants the Huskers to be good technicians.

“He wants us to be sound at what we do,” Read said. “He wants a guy to have a smaller picture of what he does in a play rather than the whole big picture.”
Click to expand...
OWH

 
Last edited by a moderator:
On kickoff return, Morgan, Brandon Reilly and Joshua Kalu are the top options. Read has long wanted to give Reilly a shot at returning kickoffs, while Morgan broke a few toward the end of last season. NU had the least-productive kickoff return unit in the Big Ten based on average and one of the worst in college football.
Click to expand...
That can't continue with a dedicated coach making half a million.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/feist

NU was 28/128 in overall special teams performance last year according to Football Outsiders. So maybe he should just get a pay cut not a pink slip?

Seriously if there's one thing I suggest we fans do NOT worry about is if someone is overpaid. I'd prefer they bumped all salaries 100k as that helps us to retain and attract the best.

 
Sargon said:
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/feist

NU was 28/128 in overall special teams performance last year according to Football Outsiders. So maybe he should just get a pay cut not a pink slip?

Seriously if there's one thing I suggest we fans do NOT worry about is if someone is overpaid. I'd prefer they bumped all salaries 100k as that helps us to retain and attract the best.
Click to expand...
if somebody took Bruce read I'd thank them. lol
 
Well I wouldn't cuss em. Honestly I think Mike knows he needs to create a recruiting ninja machine and if he can't have that with the staff today he'll revisit the yank a Hank technique. Read may be on a 2 man list there. Just guessing.

 
holy sh#t! welcome to virtual practice for special teams..........chalk boards and diagrams. no need to go full speed because of injuries, but i hope there has been serious walk thrus at least!

 
Sargon said:
Well I wouldn't cuss em. Honestly I think Mike knows he needs to create a recruiting ninja machine and if he can't have that with the staff today he'll revisit the yank a Hank technique. Read may be on a 2 man list there. Just guessing.
Click to expand...
Who is the second on that list?

 
Sargon said:
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/feist

NU was 28/128 in overall special teams performance last year according to Football Outsiders. So maybe he should just get a pay cut not a pink slip?

Seriously if there's one thing I suggest we fans do NOT worry about is if someone is overpaid. I'd prefer they bumped all salaries 100k as that helps us to retain and attract the best.
Click to expand...
Yes and no. We apparently weren't as bad as it seemed - though really it was only a couple units that seemed poor. But that's part of the point - some of the units are more affected by scheme than others.

And it's not like he had a lot of work to do. By the same ratings, we were #8 in the country the year before. So we got noticeably worse to be #28. Not that he had total control over that either:

Field Goal Efficiency - Improved from #91 to #20 - I give Reed some credit as it does sound like he worked on some mechanical issues. But it was also going from a true Freshman kicker to a sophomore.

Punt Return Efficiency - Went from #1 to #50 - Losing DPE didn't help but we simply didn't have many opportunities to return punts, even if DPE was back there. Some of that is our opponents scheme but it didn't seem like we were giving Westy (and whoever else)much of a chance.

Kick Return Efficiency - Went from #20 to #86 - Probably the one most directly affected by scheme and we got a lot worse.

Punt Efficiency - Improved from #66 to #29 - Probably the least affected by scheme and mostly to do with how well your punter is doing - we had the best punter in the conference.

Kick Efficiency - Improved from #99 to #78 - Small improvement, probably split about evenly between scheme and skill of the kicker

So in what I would argue is the areas most affected by scheme we got a lot worse and in the area least affected by scheme we got a lot better. I don't think that's a ringing endorsement. He may have done some work to improve Brown and, to a lesser extent, Foltz but that's harder to know for sure.

 
Mav you may have missed that I was not actually arguing in favor of said coach, at all. All of your analysis here is solid IMO. I'm trying to be patient with all the Skers (as much as I can which is not as much as many others can). If I were forced to conclude at this moment I'd prolly go negative due to recruiting. I understand (maybe incorrectly) that Read is some sort of special assistant that goes beyond normal position and recruiting duties. This may be adequately addressed from an admin not a coach spot. He did sign a killer punter and Mr. Brown got his stuff together pretty good after a rough start. With ALL the coaching and position recruit count required from positions like OL and DL and WR and DB's we cannot imo afford to have any coaches only pull in one guy/yr IMO.

I would say in defense of most of the coaches that the roster sort of set up most of them for trouble...all but WR.

Who is the second on that list?
Click to expand...
RB coach. Recruitniks might have more names.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
No hate towards Davis from me. Guy has landed one good back (zigbo), landed one who might be better (Bryant) and helped get the FB back into Husker football.

What's to be mad about? Just because he hasn't landed a Stud in 2017 yet? Give it a minute.

Read would be the next to go, and I'm not even saying anything against him. Just doesn't recruit much as far as we can see and Riley or someone could perhaps take over ST. GA type job perhaps? Riley doesn't run the O or D so that's a logical choice honestly.

 
Decked said:
Sargon said:
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/feist

NU was 28/128 in overall special teams performance last year according to Football Outsiders. So maybe he should just get a pay cut not a pink slip?

Seriously if there's one thing I suggest we fans do NOT worry about is if someone is overpaid. I'd prefer they bumped all salaries 100k as that helps us to retain and attract the best.
Click to expand...
if somebody took Bruce read I'd thank them. lol
Click to expand...
Going by that Florida International was 17th overall. Their ST coach was Shannon Moore, he is from my hometown (Gordon, NE up in the panhandle). He just signed on at East Carolina... His last year at FIU he made like $122,000, imagine he's around $150k now, but he'd be a guy I'd like to see coaching at UNL someday

 
Mavric said:
So in what I would argue is the areas most affected by scheme we got a lot worse and in the area least affected by scheme we got a lot better.
Click to expand...
Not sure I agree here. There is plenty of "scheme" on the coverage units. Each guy has his responsibility and all it takes is one or two guys to be out of position to give up a long return.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top