It’s been a spring of counting pesos, praise for Niles Paul and conversations about potentially redshirting a kicker.
But mostly it’s been crickets.
When one of the biggest talkers of this Husker spring football season is whether kickoff man Adi Kunalic will redshirt, then you haven’t much choice but to declare it a quiet April.
That isn’t a bad thing if you’re Bo Pelini. In a way, it’s a nod to the stability residing in the program.
No new assistants on the staff. No key dismissals from the team. No season-ending injuries. No major off-the-field misdeeds; at least none that are known about.
Silence rules, and yet
a quarterback race unfolds.
Questions have been asked, but the answers from coaches have remained general. The quarterbacks have been made off-limits for interviews.
This just adds to the curiosity, of course, and will make the quarterbacks — most notably Cody Green and Taylor Martinez — the main focus of most fans attending Saturday’s Red-White game.
Opinions on the quarterbacks will by flying across dinner tables and through cyberspace by 4 p.m. Saturday.
But what else? What else do we take from this spring?
Let’s review.
The biggest surprise?
Austin Cassidy (No. 8 in White). Coaches may have seen it coming, but you’d be hard-pressed to hear many (or any) outside observers who were talking about the junior from Lincoln Southwest prior to this spring.
But
Cassidy is deserving of your attention Saturday. What makes Cassidy so important to this defense is his versatility. He could play nickel back (which has become one of the most important positions on the field). He could play safety.
Like Eric Hagg, he’s a hybrid. At 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, he’s big enough to stop the run as a linebacker and fast enough to blanket wide receivers in coverage.
Hagg calls Cassidy the smartest defensive back on the team. Secondary coach Marvin Sanders said it would surprise him if Cassidy is not a big factor in next fall’s game plan.
Sometimes you hear kind words about a player in the spring and it’s just some flattery to fill the air. The guy never ends up playing significant downs in the fall.
In the case of Cassidy, the talk matters.
The up-and-comers?
Let’s look to the big uglies to answer this question.
Start on the defensive line. Put the binoculars on defensive tackle Thaddeus Randle (No. 53 in Red) and Jason Ankrah (No. 9 in White).
Even though he redshirted in 2009, Ankrah worked with the top two units during practices. He might not be a favorite to start this fall — remember that Pierre Allen and Cameron Meredith are in the picture — but he definitely should be a contributor.
As for Randle, defensive tackle Jared Crick said the the 6-foot-1, 280-pound redshirt freshman never shuts off his motor.
“He’s got the quick feet, the intensity. He’s got all this potential,” Crick said.
Randle will definitely be part of a four- or five-man rotation that includes Crick, Baker Steinkuhler and Terrence Moore.
Moving to
the offensive line, JUCO newcomer Yoshi Hardrick has been lauded throughout the spring. But a hand injury will keep him out Saturday.
But there are two redshirt freshmen Husker fans should be anxious to see: right guard Brent Qvale (No. 76 in Red), and left tackle Jeremiah Sirles (No. 57 in White).
Both are in the equation for starting spots, fueling competition.
“They’re a lot more explosive group, a lot more physical, a lot faster, and you see that they’re not so nicked up,” Crick said of this year’s Husker O-line. “You see that burst more than you saw last season.”
The word of the spring?
Peso.
Early this spring camp, talk revolved around a new name Nebraska had for a defensive scheme it used against Texas and Arizona.
The peso. Basically, it means Hagg or Cassidy don’t leave the field no matter what the offense shows personnelwise. If the offense shows a heavy run formation, Hagg/Cassidy play like a linebacker. If the offense spreads the field, Hagg/Cassidy become a nickel back.
So is this is a big deal?
Probably not as big of one as it seemed. Here’s why: Nebraska used at least five defensive backs 90 percent of the time in 2009. So this doesn’t represent a great shift in the personnel.
“It’s really a carry-over of what we had evolved to at the end of last year,” defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said.
The biggest position moves?
We started the spring with news that
Mike McNeill was going to play what Bo Pelini described as “the adjustor,” a hybrid position that includes lining up McNeill more as a wide receiver.
Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson has said McNeill’s role isn’t much different than it was when he was a tight end, but it’s worth watching how they use No. 44 in White on Saturday.
Other key moves include DeJon Gomes (No. 7 in White), who had four picks as a dime back last year. He’s been seeing reps at safety. Anthony West (No. 5 in Red) also moved to safety from cornerback.
Gomes is particularly important to spotlight, because his playmaking abilities and football IQ make it important to find a spot for him on the field.
On the O-line, Mike Smith moved from tackle to the center and guard spots. Injury will sideline him Saturday. But you can focus on No. 62 in Red. That’s Cole Pensick, the product of Lincoln Northeast, who has moved from the defensive line to center.
Most important quotes of spring?
This quote from offensive line coach Barney Cotton made it clear what kind of toughness he expects from his guys in 2010.
“We’ve talked about it in my (meeting) room,” Cotton said. “Whether you feel good or not, it’s five seconds of pain and 30 seconds of rest. You play through the pain, you get to rest and then you go out and do it again. You just don’t come out of the game. And you keep practicing.
“Because offensive linemen can’t sit during practice and then play in a game. Maybe a running back can or somebody else can. But if you’re a lineman, if you’re going to play, you’re going to practice.”
On the other side of the ball, Carl Pelini’s words showed just how heavy the competition on the defensive side of the ball is this year.
“There’s not a big difference now when our 2’s are on the field now and our 1’s are on the field,” Pelini said. “It’s hard to tell who the 2’s are and who the 1’s are right now.”
And there was wide receivers coach Ted Gilmore, who spoke of the progress of Niles Paul (No. 24 in White).
Paul’s flashes of goodness last year were interrupted by inconsistencies. But Gilmore has seen differences this spring.
“One thing that comes to mind right now is details, he’s doing it,” Gilmore said. “And that’s been part of his game in the past, that he didn’t detail it. And he’s doing that. … He’s doing things now that two years ago I honestly didn’t think he’d be able to do. I didn’t know how important it was to him.”
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