The O-line will be solid in 2010

[Heartbeats4Huskers]

Do we have any centers besides Caputo?

 

[girlknowsfootball]

Depth this year is going to go from 6OL players, to as many as 13OL players. Competition is going to double... I think we're going to see a dramatic difference at the OL position. Last year they started out learning a West Coast/Spread offense... I believe they have replaced the WC with the Option component now. So our OL last year had to begin learning a newer/simpler offense during the middle of the season last year. Now they have half of last year, a month off before the bowl, spring training, and 7on7's to learn this new stuff. All 3 of the new OL we are bringing in specialize in run blocking. You are going to see a MUCH improved run game this year, that will essentially open up the passing game more. I look for a lot of offensive improvement.

Oh... and I predict Yoshi will play LT not RT... he will be a good blindside guy and will help Zach or Cody have more time to throw.

 

[MCAT800]

Competition will pay off this year, but not in the dividends some may think.

Greater competition does not right the ship. Poor technique, mental discipline in the red-zone, missing your blitz reads, poor fit and finish, getting blown off the ball, etc, etc, etc has nothing to do with a lack of competition. And throwing someone else into the melee without solid coaching won’t fix the problem.

Correct I am not a Cotton fan, I would like to see what he can accomplish with his guys and some depth before we start the fire Cotton chant. Saw the rumor in the recruiting forum that Milt and TO were working with the offensive coaches, so hopefully Cotton gleaned something from Milt.

 

[ESPY]

One thing I've learned is that tempting as it may be, naming names won't do anything.

I remember when we were gonna have a BEAST LB corps. McKeon, Ruud, Octavien, Brandenburgh, Dillard...etc. Forgot some names but it was 6 or 7 guys in all. This was '07, when we had far from a beast of a LB corps. Same with the DL that year, when we had four starters that all had a year or two of heavy playing time and were ready to evolve into beast status: Potter, Turner, Steinkuhler, and Suh. That turned out pretty poorly (for '07) too.

Experience (returning contributors) - DJ Jones, Marcel Jones, Mike Smith, Mike Caputo, Ricky Henry, Keith Wiliams

Depth (incoming redshirt frosh) - Nick Ash, Jesse Coffey, Brent Qvale, Jeremiah Sirles

More depth - incoming OL recruits and Hardrick

DJ, Mike, and Marcel have done nothing but struggle. I think the consensus on Caputo is that he'll be a pretty solid center. Henry is a mix bag of high energy potential and volatile 15-yard-penalty-maker. Williams is a veritable beast but even he got beat plenty with poor technique this year, I think.

After that, you have a bunch of redshirt freshmen - who have earned some positive press, but honestly, a TON of players earn positive press and reports. We feel good about them until the minute they step on the field on do something bad. Although if these guys do, they are still just freshmen. Which makes it okay, but it also makes it such that we are going to have to expect some youth/freshman mistakes.

Hardrick will probably be an improvement, but he's also totally new to Nebraska. Hopefully he adjusts, but right now we don't know yet. I'm just saying - when we name out names, sometimes we count the chickens before they hatch, and we tend to assume "a year's worth" of progression for current players when in reality, little progression or even regression are also possibilities.

You're right. Naming names can definitely backfire on any optimist. But, what if one of those names was Baker Steinkuhler? I've heard there's a chance he will move from the D-line to the O-line in 2010. Based on what he did as a 5-star OL in high school, I'd say we would see drastic improvement b/c he can flat out dominate as an OL.

 

[huzkerbob]

All good offense's start at the O-line.

Agreed, and while I don't think the O-line will return to pipeline form in in 2010. I do think they will definitely be a stronger and deeper unit. My biggest question is can these guys develop into the kind of cohesive line that improves together through spring ball and into fall? Because if there was one glaring issue with the line this year it was that they did not improve much from where they where to start the year. Sure injuries and other factors played a role in their development, but those issues arise every season.

I think if Cotton can settle on a rotation in spring so that there isn't so many questions to be answer in the fall, then the Big Red Machine might really be rolling again come conference play!