NamelessHusker
Banned
[SIZE=14pt]Grixby hopes his experience bolsters unproven secondary[/SIZE]
BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
Though only a sophomore, Cortney Grixby enters fall camp as Nebraska's most seasoned cornerback. That says two things, really. One, the Huskers aren't blessed with experience or depth on the outer edges of their secondary. And two, Grixby survived a challenging, eye-opening season as a true freshman.
"He got thrown in the fire fast — probably too fast," Nebraska defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said. "You never want that to happen, especially a freshman."
Grixby, at 5 feet, 9 inches, played, and he played a lot. He saw action in all 11 games, and he started against Pittsburgh and Kansas, when senior Lornell McPherson was injured. He had 21 tackles, four pass breakups, and he's still looking for his first career interception.
"My head was spinning a lot," Grixby said.
There were rough times. He specifically remembers missing a tackle on Oklahoma's Mark Bradley that resulted in a touchdown. Cosgrove remembers Grixby once falling down and getting beat on the post.
"The amazing thing," Cosgrove said, "is it didn't affect him."
Grixby didn't have time to worry. He had another play to cover, another lesson to learn.
"I just had to be ready," Grixby said. "I didn't have time to really be nervous, I didn't have time to say, ‘Well, I'm not ready.' It was like, ‘I'm out there, so now I've got to play with a senior mentality.'"
Grixby said he came out of the fire a better player.
"I wouldn't change it for nothing," Grixby said. "The mistakes I made, I'm learning from them now."
Grixby wasn't alone with the mistake-making. Nebraska's secondary, which was billed as a team strength entering the 2004 season, fell apart. The Huskers ranked last in the Big 12 Conference and 110th nationally in pass defense, allowing an average of 267.6 yards per game.
So, if you want to be smart, you could argue it's a good thing that all but one player is gone from last year's group of cornerbacks.
McPherson and Kellen Huston graduated, and Fabian Washington declared early for the NFL Draft. Titus Brothers is still on the roster but has moved to safety. Donald DeFrand, who played sparingly last season, injured his knee during the spring and isn't in fall camp.
On the other hand, beyond Grixby, what do Cosgrove and cornerbacks coach Phil Elmassian have at cornerback?
"We're fortunate, (because) we have our two- and three-deep there," Cosgrove said. "Now, how good that three-deep is, I don't know.
"The No. 1 thing is, we have to have starters. That's the first thing. If you can't figure out a starter, you're going to have problems. You'd like a clear-cut starter. Then you find your backups."
Tierre Green, who moved from running back to cornerback during the spring, said Friday he was working at right cornerback, with Grixby on the left. Behind Green was Bryan Wilson, and behind Grixby was Zackary Bowman. Wilson and Bowman are junior college transfers.
Of course, that's subject to change, given we're just two days into fall camp. And if you'll remember, coaches began referring to the corner positions in the spring as boundary and field, rather than right and left. So that could change, too.
"I think, ultimately, coach would like to go right and left, and not necessarily distinguish a strong or a weak corner," Green said. "You can do so much more when you have two guys who can cover real good."
Grixby said that reverting to the ‘right-left' thinking was so each player could see more snaps on the strong and weak sides.
"Maybe it will be more defined (later) as far as where he wants to play some of the corners," Grixby said.
However the corners are defined, Grixby would seem to be in line for a starting spot, given his experience. Green, meanwhile, is still learning the position, although he said he's made strides, particularly with his fundamentals.
"You can be the fastest guy on the field, and if you don't have the hips, or if you don't have a good, smooth back pedal, it's hard for you to transition downfield on deep balls or break on certain balls," Green said. "I made some great strides today with my back pedal. It's a work in progress."
Bowman comes highly-touted, and both Grixby and Green say the juco transfer has already made great improvements from the first day of fall camp to the second. Says Cosgrove: "He's going to get an opportunity right away."
Also practicing at cornerback are Joey Robison, Chris LeFlore, Jake Peetz and true freshman Robert Rands.
"Everybody's going to get their chance," Green said. "Coach is an equal-opportunity kind of guy. He wants to see what everybody can do."
Grixby said he's not worried about a lack of depth or experience. He says the cornerbacks are learning, gelling and remaining positive.
"We just want to win," Grixby said. "Coach E. always tells us ‘win' stands for What's Important Now. And right now, what's important is us learning and getting it down, so that by September, for Maine, we'll have it all together."
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
Lincoln Journal Star
BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
Though only a sophomore, Cortney Grixby enters fall camp as Nebraska's most seasoned cornerback. That says two things, really. One, the Huskers aren't blessed with experience or depth on the outer edges of their secondary. And two, Grixby survived a challenging, eye-opening season as a true freshman.
"He got thrown in the fire fast — probably too fast," Nebraska defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said. "You never want that to happen, especially a freshman."
Grixby, at 5 feet, 9 inches, played, and he played a lot. He saw action in all 11 games, and he started against Pittsburgh and Kansas, when senior Lornell McPherson was injured. He had 21 tackles, four pass breakups, and he's still looking for his first career interception.
"My head was spinning a lot," Grixby said.
There were rough times. He specifically remembers missing a tackle on Oklahoma's Mark Bradley that resulted in a touchdown. Cosgrove remembers Grixby once falling down and getting beat on the post.
"The amazing thing," Cosgrove said, "is it didn't affect him."
Grixby didn't have time to worry. He had another play to cover, another lesson to learn.
"I just had to be ready," Grixby said. "I didn't have time to really be nervous, I didn't have time to say, ‘Well, I'm not ready.' It was like, ‘I'm out there, so now I've got to play with a senior mentality.'"
Grixby said he came out of the fire a better player.
"I wouldn't change it for nothing," Grixby said. "The mistakes I made, I'm learning from them now."
Grixby wasn't alone with the mistake-making. Nebraska's secondary, which was billed as a team strength entering the 2004 season, fell apart. The Huskers ranked last in the Big 12 Conference and 110th nationally in pass defense, allowing an average of 267.6 yards per game.
So, if you want to be smart, you could argue it's a good thing that all but one player is gone from last year's group of cornerbacks.
McPherson and Kellen Huston graduated, and Fabian Washington declared early for the NFL Draft. Titus Brothers is still on the roster but has moved to safety. Donald DeFrand, who played sparingly last season, injured his knee during the spring and isn't in fall camp.
On the other hand, beyond Grixby, what do Cosgrove and cornerbacks coach Phil Elmassian have at cornerback?
"We're fortunate, (because) we have our two- and three-deep there," Cosgrove said. "Now, how good that three-deep is, I don't know.
"The No. 1 thing is, we have to have starters. That's the first thing. If you can't figure out a starter, you're going to have problems. You'd like a clear-cut starter. Then you find your backups."
Tierre Green, who moved from running back to cornerback during the spring, said Friday he was working at right cornerback, with Grixby on the left. Behind Green was Bryan Wilson, and behind Grixby was Zackary Bowman. Wilson and Bowman are junior college transfers.
Of course, that's subject to change, given we're just two days into fall camp. And if you'll remember, coaches began referring to the corner positions in the spring as boundary and field, rather than right and left. So that could change, too.
"I think, ultimately, coach would like to go right and left, and not necessarily distinguish a strong or a weak corner," Green said. "You can do so much more when you have two guys who can cover real good."
Grixby said that reverting to the ‘right-left' thinking was so each player could see more snaps on the strong and weak sides.
"Maybe it will be more defined (later) as far as where he wants to play some of the corners," Grixby said.
However the corners are defined, Grixby would seem to be in line for a starting spot, given his experience. Green, meanwhile, is still learning the position, although he said he's made strides, particularly with his fundamentals.
"You can be the fastest guy on the field, and if you don't have the hips, or if you don't have a good, smooth back pedal, it's hard for you to transition downfield on deep balls or break on certain balls," Green said. "I made some great strides today with my back pedal. It's a work in progress."
Bowman comes highly-touted, and both Grixby and Green say the juco transfer has already made great improvements from the first day of fall camp to the second. Says Cosgrove: "He's going to get an opportunity right away."
Also practicing at cornerback are Joey Robison, Chris LeFlore, Jake Peetz and true freshman Robert Rands.
"Everybody's going to get their chance," Green said. "Coach is an equal-opportunity kind of guy. He wants to see what everybody can do."
Grixby said he's not worried about a lack of depth or experience. He says the cornerbacks are learning, gelling and remaining positive.
"We just want to win," Grixby said. "Coach E. always tells us ‘win' stands for What's Important Now. And right now, what's important is us learning and getting it down, so that by September, for Maine, we'll have it all together."
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
Lincoln Journal Star
