H
HuskerNKingwood
Guest
I'm not doing this because I want to, I am doing this because I'm being asked to by posters like WorsterMan who want details on what happened at our spring extravaganza on Saturday. So, by popular demand, here's a recap.
Yes, we sold out. For a spring football scrimmage. I don't know how well Bo will do, to tell the truth. What I do know is this. Excitement is high as is optimism. We did sell out (and I got a pretty mean sunburn which is peskily hanging around my neck)
What was interesting about the teams for our spring game was that they were chosen by a draft system. To give you an idea of how competitive this was, Joe Ganz, who is considered our #1 BY FAR, was the quarterback for the Red team. The center he takes snaps from every day, a guy by the last name of Hickman, was the starting center for the White team. It wasn't the gauntlet that is the 1s vs 1s, but it isn't the softfest that is the 1s vs. 2s.
Very vanilla scrimmage, however. Bo didn't exactly show his cards, which is a good thing.
The first play was a blast from the past, so to speak - as in an option play. The only problem is the ball got batted when pitched, and it was recovered by the defensive team.
Joe Ganz, the man who you saw in the last two minutes of last year's game in Austin, is the unquestioned #1 QB. He is VERY comfortable with the players and the system overall.
Our wide receivers are going to be sucktastic this year. Nate Swift is fine, but Purify and Nunn are gone, and there's just no one else there that is consistent.
The running game, on the other hand, will be in good hands. In particular, I suspect you guys will see a lot of zone read with Ganz this year when watching Husker games. The zone read will help the backs, and we have a good set of backs this year. Lucky is unquestioned #1 and should be one of the best backs in the conference this year. Roy Helu Jr and Quentin Castille, who both saw time last year, will fight it out for the #2, and IMO based on what I saw it's too close to call.
There will be more intensity on defense thia year. One of our assistant defensive coaches, Mike Ekeler, was actually out on the field during the game screaming after plays.
However, I don't see us magically starting to get a lot of 3 and outs. We're just not going to be that spectacular in that regard. So we'll need to force turnovers to win games - a lot of them. And with the QBs in this conference (Booger Daniel, Reesing, Harrell, Bradford, Hawkins' son, Freeman) that will be no easy task.
Cody Glenn, who played running back his first three years here, has moved to linebacker and I think you'll really be surprised about how good he'll become this season. He has settled into that linebacker position fast, which is very rare.
Our kicking game is solid. Adi Kunalic, who may have the deepest leg at NU since Kris Brown in the mid 90s, can kick touchbacks like no one's business. He also has a pretty big leg on field goals. Alex Henery is our short kicker, and he's not spectacular, but solid.
Our three keys, in every game, will be as follows:
1. Control the clock. We can't get in quarterback shootouts this year because we're not gonna win those. We have to run the ball and keep opposing offenses off the field. This is doubly important because we just don't know how good this defense is yet.
2. Turnovers, turnovers turnovers (and no, not the cherry kind). That's gotta be the name of the game for this defense. We are not a spectacular unit, so we have to force the opposing offense to make mistakes.
3. How well the team comes together as a unit. Someone is going to have to step up and be a leader for this team, whether it be Ganz or someone else. I think if any two players are gonna do it, it'll be Ganz and Glenn. Ganz because he patiently waited his turn without whining till Keller got hurt in the game in Austin, and Glenn because he moved to linebacker for the benefit of the team.
Honestly, my predictions haven't changed. I thought we'd win 7 to 9 and go to a minor bowl this year, and that is still my prediction.
(Mizzou wins the North one more time this year, by the way, and it KILLS me to say that)
Comments are welcome. Thanks.
Yes, we sold out. For a spring football scrimmage. I don't know how well Bo will do, to tell the truth. What I do know is this. Excitement is high as is optimism. We did sell out (and I got a pretty mean sunburn which is peskily hanging around my neck)
What was interesting about the teams for our spring game was that they were chosen by a draft system. To give you an idea of how competitive this was, Joe Ganz, who is considered our #1 BY FAR, was the quarterback for the Red team. The center he takes snaps from every day, a guy by the last name of Hickman, was the starting center for the White team. It wasn't the gauntlet that is the 1s vs 1s, but it isn't the softfest that is the 1s vs. 2s.
Very vanilla scrimmage, however. Bo didn't exactly show his cards, which is a good thing.
The first play was a blast from the past, so to speak - as in an option play. The only problem is the ball got batted when pitched, and it was recovered by the defensive team.
Joe Ganz, the man who you saw in the last two minutes of last year's game in Austin, is the unquestioned #1 QB. He is VERY comfortable with the players and the system overall.
Our wide receivers are going to be sucktastic this year. Nate Swift is fine, but Purify and Nunn are gone, and there's just no one else there that is consistent.
The running game, on the other hand, will be in good hands. In particular, I suspect you guys will see a lot of zone read with Ganz this year when watching Husker games. The zone read will help the backs, and we have a good set of backs this year. Lucky is unquestioned #1 and should be one of the best backs in the conference this year. Roy Helu Jr and Quentin Castille, who both saw time last year, will fight it out for the #2, and IMO based on what I saw it's too close to call.
There will be more intensity on defense thia year. One of our assistant defensive coaches, Mike Ekeler, was actually out on the field during the game screaming after plays.
However, I don't see us magically starting to get a lot of 3 and outs. We're just not going to be that spectacular in that regard. So we'll need to force turnovers to win games - a lot of them. And with the QBs in this conference (Booger Daniel, Reesing, Harrell, Bradford, Hawkins' son, Freeman) that will be no easy task.
Cody Glenn, who played running back his first three years here, has moved to linebacker and I think you'll really be surprised about how good he'll become this season. He has settled into that linebacker position fast, which is very rare.
Our kicking game is solid. Adi Kunalic, who may have the deepest leg at NU since Kris Brown in the mid 90s, can kick touchbacks like no one's business. He also has a pretty big leg on field goals. Alex Henery is our short kicker, and he's not spectacular, but solid.
Our three keys, in every game, will be as follows:
1. Control the clock. We can't get in quarterback shootouts this year because we're not gonna win those. We have to run the ball and keep opposing offenses off the field. This is doubly important because we just don't know how good this defense is yet.
2. Turnovers, turnovers turnovers (and no, not the cherry kind). That's gotta be the name of the game for this defense. We are not a spectacular unit, so we have to force the opposing offense to make mistakes.
3. How well the team comes together as a unit. Someone is going to have to step up and be a leader for this team, whether it be Ganz or someone else. I think if any two players are gonna do it, it'll be Ganz and Glenn. Ganz because he patiently waited his turn without whining till Keller got hurt in the game in Austin, and Glenn because he moved to linebacker for the benefit of the team.
Honestly, my predictions haven't changed. I thought we'd win 7 to 9 and go to a minor bowl this year, and that is still my prediction.
(Mizzou wins the North one more time this year, by the way, and it KILLS me to say that)
Comments are welcome. Thanks.
