Kalu Moving to Safety

This move may me to try and get more athletes on the field at the same time. Jackson could develop into a great CB, if given the opportunity.

 
Not sure if this has anything to do with Kalu trying the safety spot, but I heard grumblings that Riley was pissed off that Lamar Jackson didn't progress very much in 2016. He started game one as a true frosh, got little playing time after that, and then struggled big time against Tennessee in the bowl game. Riley didn't put the blame on Jackson, but put the blame on Banker and Stewart for not being able to get the best athletes on the field. Jackson was a high profile recruit in 2016, and should be counted on for 2017, but he's still a big unknown.

 
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ColoradoHusk said:
Not sure if this has anything to do with Kalu trying the safety spot, but I heard grumblings that Riley was pissed off that Lamar Jackson didn't progress very much in 2016. He started game one as a true frosh, got little playing time after that, and then struggled big time against Tennessee in the bowl game. Riley didn't put the blame on Jackson, but put the blame on Banker and Stewart for not being able to get the best athletes on the field. Jackson was a high profile recruit in 2016, and should be counted on for 2017, but he's still a big unknown.
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Makes a lot of sense. I am unsure if it has been a talent deficit at NU or a coaching deficit (not just under Riley). Appears Riley is bringing in some guys with solid rep/potential as coaches. I like trying things to put the best product on the field.

 
ColoradoHusk said:
Not sure if this has anything to do with Kalu trying the safety spot, but I heard grumblings that Riley was pissed off that Lamar Jackson didn't progress very much in 2016. He started game one as a true frosh, got little playing time after that, and then struggled big time against Tennessee in the bowl game. Riley didn't put the blame on Jackson, but put the blame on Banker and Stewart for not being able to get the best athletes on the field. Jackson was a high profile recruit in 2016, and should be counted on for 2017, but he's still a big unknown.
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DWilliams also said that Jackson still has work to do. But that should be a surprise. He played safety in high school. Pretty unlikely that he'd be ready to start at corner after a few weeks of practice. That's why I don't really get why they tried to force him out there. It was obvious that he wasn't ready.

Not sure what all that has to do with Kalu, though. If he wasn't progressing, that would mean Kalu should stay at corner. Unless they're just trying to force Jackson to pick it up. But that would seem to be a mistake.

 
From some practice on-lookers, it sounds like safety is a natural fit for Kalu. He breaks on balls much faster than the other safeties. This "look see" may be about getting the best DBs on the field all at once and getting the best look at safety, as oppose to any indictment on Kalu's abilities at corner.

 
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This is purely to get the most talent on the field. However, this is an experiment. End lol.

 
From this article:

Thursday was a brand-new look at defensive back for Nebraska. Defensive coordinator Bob Diaco and safeties coach Bob Elliott moved Joshua Kalu, a starting cornerback last season, to safety. Kalu was actually recruited to Nebraska as a safety, so he’s familiar with the spot. In turn, sophomore corner Lamar Jackson took Kalu’s spot in the starting rotation. This move actually makes sense for a couple of reasons:

The starting battle between safeties Antonio Reed and Kieron Williams didn’t seem to be going well, and the coaches definitely need another name to throw in that spot. Kalu is an obvious choice.

It gets Jackson on the field.

Jackson was Nebraska’s highest-rated recruit in the 2016 class and is a talent you just have to get on the field. A move from Kalu to safety puts Jackson on the field, and fills a potential weakness at safety. It will be interesting to watch if this actually works out.
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If this writer is correct, it may have more to do with finding a starting safety opposite Aaron Williams.

 
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I was worried it would be a problem, I'm not sold on KWilliams or Reed. Hoping Domann continues to progress, he could really help back there.

 
We are going to bench a guy who made two game saving INT's for us last year? Kieron Williams made big plays for us last year. Throw in the batted ball against Oregon where if he doesn't make that play, Oregon scores. KWill is a playmaker, and I do not see why we just force Lamar Jackson on the field when Tennessee receivers were beating him pretty good when he was healthy in the bowl game. I like the Kalu, Jones duo and you take away that brotherly competition that DWill(so many Williams) talked about during his press conference.

We are really deep in the secondary, but idk why we put in a Sophmore corner who played safety in high school over a proven player in Williams who played two years here and some his freshman year. Also moving a proven corner to safety does not make a ton of sense when Kalu did a good job opposite Chris Jones. I see the potential in Lamar Jackson, but I feel he isn't quite there yet, maybe by mid season he will prove me wrong.

 
HuskermanMike said:
We are going to bench a guy who made two game saving INT's for us last year? Kieron Williams made big plays for us last year. Throw in the batted ball against Oregon where if he doesn't make that play, Oregon scores. KWill is a playmaker, and I do not see why we just force Lamar Jackson on the field when Tennessee receivers were beating him pretty good when he was healthy in the bowl game. I like the Kalu, Jones duo and you take away that brotherly competition that DWill(so many Williams) talked about during his press conference.

We are really deep in the secondary, but idk why we put in a Sophmore corner who played safety in high school over a proven player in Williams who played two years here and some his freshman year. Also moving a proven corner to safety does not make a ton of sense when Kalu did a good job opposite Chris Jones. I see the potential in Lamar Jackson, but I feel he isn't quite there yet, maybe by mid season he will prove me wrong.
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Funny thing about that Oregon play....he was out of position and burned for an inexcusable game winning TD. Their QB terribly under threw it allowing him to make the play.
Kieron, imo, is good enough to beat 75% of our schedule. But will struggle against the OSU, PSU, Michigan, and Wiskys of the conference.

 
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