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Swift, Paul are among punt returner options
BY JON NYATAWA
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN — Nebraska coach Bo Pelini isn't in too big of a hurry to name the team's No. 1 punt returner.
Pelini made it sound like the decision could wait until sometime next week, while the team's in full preparation for its Aug. 30 season opener against Western Michigan.
"Ultimately, it comes down to our feel at the end," Pelini said. "The first thing you've got to do is catch the football and be trustworthy back there to make good decisions."
As of Saturday, senior Nate Swift was the leading candidate, according to Pelini. Although moments earlier, Swift said he thought sophomore Niles Paul was the No. 1 guy. And Paul's not sure either because he spends half his time on the punt coverage team when the Huskers are running those drills.
"We're working a lot of guys," Pelini said.
And most of those players are young. Other than Swift and Paul, Pelini said freshmen Tim Marlowe, Alfonzo Dennard and Khiry Cooper have all caught punts in a relaxed practice setting.
Cooper, an MLB draft pick who didn't sign with the Los Angeles Angels before Friday's deadline, has potential for developing into a reliable returner, according to Pelini. But Cooper has yet to have any live experience catching punts — in a team scrimmage or in a collegiate game.
Really, nobody has an extensive amount of game action, at least not enough to be comparable to the time Cortney Grixby spent as Nebraska's returner.
Grixby returned just eight punts for 50 yards in 2007, but began his senior season with 43 career returns. Last season's staff also had Terrence Nunn and his 35 career returns to fall back on.
Swift would be considered the veteran of this group, one of the reasons Pelini and his staff are confident with letting him return punts. His stat line says he has just five returns, a somewhat skewed figure since fair catches, touchbacks and out-of-bounds kicks aren't factored in.
If he's called on, Swift said he'll have no problem catching those kicks.
"I've pretty much been doing punt returns my whole life," he said. "It's nothing new. I've always felt comfortable back there, whatever the situation is."
Well, almost every situation. Swift, then a sophomore, wasn't too thrilled about calling for a fair catch during a 2006 game against Texas.
"There were some blizzard conditions. It was windy and swirling inside the stadium," Swift said. "They punted it like 1,000 feet in the air and those guys are all around you screaming while you're trying to fair catch it. That's the worst. No one wants to be in that position."
That in-game pressure is really the only aspect of the position that can't be simulated. In practices, Swift said, they've worked on catching varying lengths of punts and on reacting to different ways the ball drops.
Like Swift, Paul said he tends to stay pretty relaxed while returning punts, no matter what kind. At Omaha North High School, Paul recorded an 18-yard punt return average during his senior year.
And this season, he has an even better group of players blocking for him.
"I know we have a nice punt return team and they're blocking their tails off for me," he said. "I feel real comfortable back there. The coaches, they all trust me doing it this year, so hopefully, I can."
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=3918...;u_sid=10408939
BY JON NYATAWA
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN — Nebraska coach Bo Pelini isn't in too big of a hurry to name the team's No. 1 punt returner.
Pelini made it sound like the decision could wait until sometime next week, while the team's in full preparation for its Aug. 30 season opener against Western Michigan.
"Ultimately, it comes down to our feel at the end," Pelini said. "The first thing you've got to do is catch the football and be trustworthy back there to make good decisions."
As of Saturday, senior Nate Swift was the leading candidate, according to Pelini. Although moments earlier, Swift said he thought sophomore Niles Paul was the No. 1 guy. And Paul's not sure either because he spends half his time on the punt coverage team when the Huskers are running those drills.
"We're working a lot of guys," Pelini said.
And most of those players are young. Other than Swift and Paul, Pelini said freshmen Tim Marlowe, Alfonzo Dennard and Khiry Cooper have all caught punts in a relaxed practice setting.
Cooper, an MLB draft pick who didn't sign with the Los Angeles Angels before Friday's deadline, has potential for developing into a reliable returner, according to Pelini. But Cooper has yet to have any live experience catching punts — in a team scrimmage or in a collegiate game.
Really, nobody has an extensive amount of game action, at least not enough to be comparable to the time Cortney Grixby spent as Nebraska's returner.
Grixby returned just eight punts for 50 yards in 2007, but began his senior season with 43 career returns. Last season's staff also had Terrence Nunn and his 35 career returns to fall back on.
Swift would be considered the veteran of this group, one of the reasons Pelini and his staff are confident with letting him return punts. His stat line says he has just five returns, a somewhat skewed figure since fair catches, touchbacks and out-of-bounds kicks aren't factored in.
If he's called on, Swift said he'll have no problem catching those kicks.
"I've pretty much been doing punt returns my whole life," he said. "It's nothing new. I've always felt comfortable back there, whatever the situation is."
Well, almost every situation. Swift, then a sophomore, wasn't too thrilled about calling for a fair catch during a 2006 game against Texas.
"There were some blizzard conditions. It was windy and swirling inside the stadium," Swift said. "They punted it like 1,000 feet in the air and those guys are all around you screaming while you're trying to fair catch it. That's the worst. No one wants to be in that position."
That in-game pressure is really the only aspect of the position that can't be simulated. In practices, Swift said, they've worked on catching varying lengths of punts and on reacting to different ways the ball drops.
Like Swift, Paul said he tends to stay pretty relaxed while returning punts, no matter what kind. At Omaha North High School, Paul recorded an 18-yard punt return average during his senior year.
And this season, he has an even better group of players blocking for him.
"I know we have a nice punt return team and they're blocking their tails off for me," he said. "I feel real comfortable back there. The coaches, they all trust me doing it this year, so hopefully, I can."
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=3918...;u_sid=10408939
