Position Changes

[NUance]

Oh come on. You can't be serious. D.J. got beat some, but who didn't last year? D.J. looked pretty good most of the time. Marcel didn't play as much, but looked promising for a sophomore.

Ok, so your logic is that because everyone sucked last year, it's okay? If that's the case, then why don't we just keep our whole o-line in from last year?

Is that what I said? Well then I guess we’ll need to petition the NCAA to get Hickman another year of eligibility.

Are you one of those guys who thinks Yoshi has a starting tackle spot locked down? If so there is no need for you to cream your jeans over some incoming juco just because there was a puff piece in the newspaper about him. Do you think Fort Scott Community College has a better program for offensive lineman than NU? I think he will be good. Maybe great. Someday. But I want to see him play a few series first before we put him in the NU offensive lineman hall of fame. A few series in Div. I-A, that is, not community college foootball.

 

[Igetbored216]

Are you one of those guys who thinks Yoshi has a starting tackle spot locked down? If so there is no need for you to cream your jeans over some incoming juco just because there was a puff piece in the newspaper about him. Do you think Fort Scott Community College has a better program for offensive lineman than NU? I think he will be good. Maybe great. Someday. But I want to see him play a few series first before we put him in the NU offensive lineman hall of fame. A few series in Div. I-A, that is, not community college foootball.

No, I have never seen Hardrick play before, so I can't say how good or bad he will be or if he will even claim a spot on the depth chart during his Nebraska career.

On the other hand, I have seen both Marcel and DJ play, and based on what I have seen I can tell you that they are not quick enough to play tackle. Their footwork is slow and their technique is not suited to be taking on athletic DEs on the edge (or LBs in a 3-4 or similar scheme). So, unless something changed and suddenly they got alot better, that's what my opinion will be on the matter.

Nice rant though...

 

[ESPY]

Why does everyone "feel for Mendoza" in this situation? He must've been a favorite when he got on campus a couple years ago or something. My take - there's a reason a player doesn't get PT & is forced to try different positions - he just doesn't cut it. I mean how many other guys have had to change positions, get thrown to the back of the line, and NOT received any of the Mendoza feelings? I don't care who it is, I want the best out on the field. End of story.

 

[ESPY]

and Mike Smith is now working out at center.

This could work out pretty well for us. Mike Smith is smart. Doesn’t seem to miss too many assignments. He will do fine at center. But I doubt that Yoshi starts at LT this year if Smith moves. He will back up Marcel Jones. That would be my guess.

Where does Mike Caputo stand in all this? Seeing as how he's the only OL with any college PT at C, he has to the favorite, especially considering how well he did in that role...right?

 

[DJR313]

and Mike Smith is now working out at center.

This could work out pretty well for us. Mike Smith is smart. Doesn’t seem to miss too many assignments. He will do fine at center. But I doubt that Yoshi starts at LT this year if Smith moves. He will back up Marcel Jones. That would be my guess.

Will Mike Smith even play? Mike Caputo is a guy that had impressed the coaches enough that they wanted to move Hickman, the best O-lineman, to Guard to make way for him to start as well. Smith getting moved to center may as well have been a dismissal from the team, because he will most likely disappear now. Who knows, maybe he'll take to center like a fish to water.

 

[GMoose]

and Mike Smith is now working out at center.

This could work out pretty well for us. Mike Smith is smart. Doesn’t seem to miss too many assignments. He will do fine at center. But I doubt that Yoshi starts at LT this year if Smith moves. He will back up Marcel Jones. That would be my guess.

Will Mike Smith even play? Mike Caputo is a guy that had impressed the coaches enough that they wanted to move Hickman, the best O-lineman, to Guard to make way for him to start as well. Smith getting moved to center may as well have been a dismissal from the team, because he will most likely disappear now. Who knows, maybe he'll take to center like a fish to water.

Caputo is undersized for a B12 linemen, and Mike Smith being undersized for an LT is why they're moving him to center. So unless Smith totally flounders at center, I think Caputo will be the backup

 

[Igetbored216]

Caputo may be small, but he knows how to use his strength and leverage to his advantage. The dude is good and I would be surprised if he wasn't starting at center. Pensick and Smith being moved to C is probably just to create some depth, like earlier posters eluded to. And boy do we need depth at o-line. I do not want a repeat of 2009 where we have limited o-linemen and the ones we do have are injured. It's hard to get any kind of consistency with that formula.

 

[REDSTEEL]

and Mike Smith is now working out at center.

This could work out pretty well for us. Mike Smith is smart. Doesn’t seem to miss too many assignments. He will do fine at center. But I doubt that Yoshi starts at LT this year if Smith moves. He will back up Marcel Jones. That would be my guess.

Will Mike Smith even play? Mike Caputo is a guy that had impressed the coaches enough that they wanted to move Hickman, the best O-lineman, to Guard to make way for him to start as well. Smith getting moved to center may as well have been a dismissal from the team, because he will most likely disappear now. Who knows, maybe he'll take to center like a fish to water.

Caputo is undersized for a B12 linemen, and Mike Smith being undersized for an LT is why they're moving him to center. So unless Smith totally flounders at center, I think Caputo will be the backup

Some of Nebraska best centers have been his size.

Caputo, Mike OL 6-1 275 Jr. Omaha, Neb. (Millard North)

Graham, Aaron C 6-4 285 Sr. Denton, Texas (Denton)

Taylor, Aaron C 6-1 305 Jr. Wichita Falls, Texas (Rider)

Raiola, Dominic C 6-2 300 Jr. Honolulu, Hawaii (St. Louis School)

 

[Enhance]

and Mike Smith is now working out at center.

This could work out pretty well for us. Mike Smith is smart. Doesn’t seem to miss too many assignments. He will do fine at center. But I doubt that Yoshi starts at LT this year if Smith moves. He will back up Marcel Jones. That would be my guess.

Will Mike Smith even play? Mike Caputo is a guy that had impressed the coaches enough that they wanted to move Hickman, the best O-lineman, to Guard to make way for him to start as well. Smith getting moved to center may as well have been a dismissal from the team, because he will most likely disappear now. Who knows, maybe he'll take to center like a fish to water.

Caputo is undersized for a B12 linemen, and Mike Smith being undersized for an LT is why they're moving him to center. So unless Smith totally flounders at center, I think Caputo will be the backup

Some of Nebraska best centers have been his size.

Caputo, Mike OL 6-1 275 Jr. Omaha, Neb. (Millard North)

Graham, Aaron C 6-4 285 Sr. Denton, Texas (Denton)

Taylor, Aaron C 6-1 305 Jr. Wichita Falls, Texas (Rider)

Raiola, Dominic C 6-2 300 Jr. Honolulu, Hawaii (St. Louis School)

I was going to say the same thing.

Center's can be some of the most versatile guys as far as size goes. They don't need to be 6'6" like the tackles, because they don't need the arm span for pass-pro. Caputo is a very reasonable size and I'd even say he's a bit bigger than 275. Probably floating around 280-285 as the weight listed on Huskers.com are from awhile ago.

 

[DJR313]

and Mike Smith is now working out at center.

This could work out pretty well for us. Mike Smith is smart. Doesn’t seem to miss too many assignments. He will do fine at center. But I doubt that Yoshi starts at LT this year if Smith moves. He will back up Marcel Jones. That would be my guess.

Will Mike Smith even play? Mike Caputo is a guy that had impressed the coaches enough that they wanted to move Hickman, the best O-lineman, to Guard to make way for him to start as well. Smith getting moved to center may as well have been a dismissal from the team, because he will most likely disappear now. Who knows, maybe he'll take to center like a fish to water.

Caputo is undersized for a B12 linemen, and Mike Smith being undersized for an LT is why they're moving him to center. So unless Smith totally flounders at center, I think Caputo will be the backup

Like a couple other posters have said, Caputo knows how to use his leverage. I think Rimington was only about 6'2" 275 lbs when he played, but what made him great was how he attacked lineman utilizing his leverage. A guy who is 6'1" is going to have a lower center of gravity than a guy that is 6'6". Low man will usually win when you are matching comparable strengths. A guy who is 6'6" and 290 and doesn't have great feet is kind of in no man's land as far as lineman go.

 

[GMoose]

and Mike Smith is now working out at center.

This could work out pretty well for us. Mike Smith is smart. Doesn’t seem to miss too many assignments. He will do fine at center. But I doubt that Yoshi starts at LT this year if Smith moves. He will back up Marcel Jones. That would be my guess.

Will Mike Smith even play? Mike Caputo is a guy that had impressed the coaches enough that they wanted to move Hickman, the best O-lineman, to Guard to make way for him to start as well. Smith getting moved to center may as well have been a dismissal from the team, because he will most likely disappear now. Who knows, maybe he'll take to center like a fish to water.

Caputo is undersized for a B12 linemen, and Mike Smith being undersized for an LT is why they're moving him to center. So unless Smith totally flounders at center, I think Caputo will be the backup

Some of Nebraska best centers have been his size.

Caputo, Mike OL 6-1 275 Jr. Omaha, Neb. (Millard North)

Graham, Aaron C 6-4 285 Sr. Denton, Texas (Denton)

Taylor, Aaron C 6-1 305 Jr. Wichita Falls, Texas (Rider)

Raiola, Dominic C 6-2 300 Jr. Honolulu, Hawaii (St. Louis School)

Don't get me wrong...I want Caputo in there more than anyone, I went to HS with him and spent 2 of those years in the weight room with him...he's a hard worker. All I'm sayin' is that if Smith is getting moved to center for sake of size, that might have something to do with Caputo's size.

 

[husker B-rent]

and Mike Smith is now working out at center.

This could work out pretty well for us. Mike Smith is smart. Doesn’t seem to miss too many assignments. He will do fine at center. But I doubt that Yoshi starts at LT this year if Smith moves. He will back up Marcel Jones. That would be my guess.

Will Mike Smith even play? Mike Caputo is a guy that had impressed the coaches enough that they wanted to move Hickman, the best O-lineman, to Guard to make way for him to start as well. Smith getting moved to center may as well have been a dismissal from the team, because he will most likely disappear now. Who knows, maybe he'll take to center like a fish to water.

Caputo is undersized for a B12 linemen, and Mike Smith being undersized for an LT is why they're moving him to center. So unless Smith totally flounders at center, I think Caputo will be the backup

Some of Nebraska best centers have been his size.

Caputo, Mike OL 6-1 275 Jr. Omaha, Neb. (Millard North)

Graham, Aaron C 6-4 285 Sr. Denton, Texas (Denton)

Taylor, Aaron C 6-1 305 Jr. Wichita Falls, Texas (Rider)

Raiola, Dominic C 6-2 300 Jr. Honolulu, Hawaii (St. Louis School)

players are also bigger now than they were 10 years ago, Caputo is small for a modern D1 center no matter how you slice it.

 

[husker B-rent]

what i have heard is that Mendozas problem is that he doesnt have very good hands and that is why he is not playing IB, WR, or KR. People have been saying that for a while and this move to a position that doesnt require the ability to catch the ball routinely seems to follow suit with that.

Bottom line is that this at least gives him the opportunity to learn a position that he may have a shot of playing in the NFL (whether he sees the field or not in college), because he does not fit the role of IB or WR in the NFL...

 

[GMoose]

what i have heard is that Mendozas problem is that he doesnt have very good hands and that is why he is not playing IB, WR, or KR. People have been saying that for a while and this move to a position that doesnt require the ability to catch the ball routinely seems to follow suit with that.

Bottom line is that this at least gives him the opportunity to learn a position that he may have a shot of playing in the NFL (whether he sees the field or not in college), because he does not fit the role of IB or WR in the NFL...

That's true. Prince was playing WR until the Bo came. His hands weren't great, but now look at him...first team all big 12 :koolaid2:

 

[zoogs]

Was Prince really?

I thought he wanted to be a RB but was always a CB.