When Nebraska defensive ends coach John Papuchis makes mid-game lineup changes this fall, conditioning likely won't be the reason.
Carl Pelini, coaching the defensive tackles, will have the same luxury.
Finally, three years after they took over as the architects of the Huskers' defensive line, Papuchis and Pelini can confidently say they have substitution options.
Papuchis, speaking at the Greek Orthodox Christian Church of Greater Omaha on Friday night, told a crowd of about 250 people that he thinks Nebraska has enough talent on the defensive line to go four-deep at both the tackle and end positions during games this fall.
Unlike the 2008 and 2009 seasons, reserves won't solely be utilized as momentary placeholders as exhausted starters rest briefly on the sidelines.
It's the main reason why Papuchis isn't overly stressing over the loss of veteran senior defensive end Barry Turner and All-America tackle Ndamukong Suh.
“I think we're going to make up for what we lost in talent with depth and quality numbers,” Papuchis said.
Nebraska's top end, senior Pierre Allen, returns as the most experienced member of the defensive line, a unit that the Huskers relied heavily on throughout the 2009 season. The front four pressured quarterbacks by themselves, reducing the need for blitzes and allowing the seven other defenders to sit back in coverage.
Allen played an integral part in that. His numbers — 51 tackles and five sacks — weren't necessarily jaw-dropping for a defensive end, but Papuchis said Allen performs his job exceptionally well.
“He doesn't get all the accolades that I think he deserves because in our defense we ask him to very unselfish,” Papuchis said.
And next fall, Papuchis will have more reasons to keep Allen fresh, which may ultimately enhance his effectiveness.
Sophomore Cameron Meredith has emerged as the other probable starter at defensive end.
Behind him, the two top backups — redshirt freshman Jason Ankrah and sophomore Josh Williams — have the capability to make a considerable impact as well, Papuchis said.
“The sky's the limit,” he said.
It's easy for Papuchis to be optimistic. And his colleagues on the opposite side of the ball can relate.
Not surprisingly, increased depth might end up surfacing as the catalyst for team-wide improvement this season.
Nebraska's banged-up offensive line will enter preseason camp healthy, something that's encouraging to running backs coach Tim Beck.
Beck, who also spoke at the fundraiser Friday night, spent nearly 15 minutes giving the audience an introductory tutorial of the zone read option play, referencing the importance of adequate blocking repeatedly.
And at times last year, it wasn't easy for Nebraska's offensive line to execute, in practices and in games, because the first-team unit dealt with injuries. To make matters worse, most of the backups were hobbled or sidelined, too.
“They never got a chance to recover,” Beck said. “(The injuries) were nagging all year.”
Even starting quarterback Zac Lee played through pain. The senior underwent offseason surgery on his throwing arm last winter.
Beck didn't make it too long in his question-and-answer session with fans Friday night before he was asked about Lee. But Beck insisted he had no news.
“I haven't talked to him,” Beck said. “We expect him to be 100 percent.”
While Lee sat out spring practices, sophomore Cody Green and redshirt freshman Taylor Martinez took additional reps, opening up the discussion that the top quarterback job could be a three-man race when preseason camp starts Aug. 7.
The position battle will likely be one of several topics addressed next week at the Big 12 media days in Dallas. Coach Bo Pelini speaks Monday.
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