Any Lessons From the Red-White Game?
Spring football is over, and what have we learned?
First and foremost, only in Nebraska would 57,000+ people PAY to watch a contest that had all of the drama and intrigue of unarmed slaves versus lions in the Roman coliseum. Seriously, the 1s against 2s thing makes for a good "festival", but not for a good football game. God bless the Husker fan. Nobody loves a blowout more than we do. Travel writer Bill Bryson once wrote that if NU could take a flame-thrower to its opponents, they would. And the crowd would love it. He was probably right. Glib, but right.
Here are just a few observations from one of the 57,000, as viewed from some great seats in East stadium.
On Offense:
-- Cody Glenn runs like a Mack truck. He has great power and better speed than most expected. I know people love Lucky (and he did show very well, too). But, WOW Glenn runs with abandon. He's reminiscent of another big back in the Big 12, Adrian Pederson. Am I reaching? No, he runs with that much power. And the two were from neighboring high schools and are very aware of each other.
-- I'm thrilled to see the emphasis on the running game and offensive balance. They have the personnel to do it, and a solid running game is a quarterback's best friend. Strange as it sounds, running the ball could make Taylor's season even better.
-- Slauson is an absolute beast. He's gotta be at least 330. He and Mike Huff (pleasant surprise) did a very fine job on the right side of the line. That could very well be our "run side". Many of the most effective runs were behind them.
-- Other O-line thoughts - When Mann comes back at center in the fall, they'll figure out the left guard spot. They wouldn't waste Christensen at backup center, would they? Patrick looked fairly good at tackle. Murtha false started on the first series for the White squad. Come on, Murtha! Prove to me there is substance to all that hype and get your head in the game.
-- Taylor was very steady and accurate, though he did nearly throw an interception early on. I felt sorry for Joe Ganz, not being able to show much against the black shirt D much of the game. He did show some very quick feet. If he's called in to duty, expect to see a lot of bootlegs and waggle plays. Beau Davis threw and interception. That's what he does, I guess. Memo to Beck - get healthy...soon. He wasn't even throwing hard in warm-ups. It was clear then that he wasn't going to play.
-- NU will have a LOT of receivers come this fall. The starters are obvious. And Peterson looked good. And, looking over the white squad, Brooks and Spain have the physical tools. The Red TE's are developing. Great to see Herian back playing a lot of snaps. I know they say that TD pass to him was "broken up", but in my book, he dropped it. Or at least he didn't fight for it. Mueller dropped a TD, and then caught one on the very next play. Think the coaches want him to step up? Uh...yeah. Tomerlin played a lot for the Whites and got some reps with the Reds at the end. At FB - how about Dane Todd? Good to see catches from that spot, and he blocked very well.
On Defense:
-- Great to see a healthy Steve Octavien. Goodness gracious does that guy look the part. Extremely athletic. And, he backs it up with play. McKeon is always around the ball. He's the leader out there. Dillard played well too at MLB for the Whites. The rest of the LB corps will be good too. I can't remember a time when our 3-deep looked this good across all three spots. 1999, maybe.
-- NU could be deep at the front 4 spots, too. The starting D-linemen all looked good. And those tackles (Dagunduro and Cryer) are potentially every bit as good as last year's starters. Carriker is an animal. Moore and Turner both have great talent. And, don't let Potter and Suh get lost in the shuffle. Any other year, and those guys would be penciled in as starters. And Suh may just get there. Potter gets overshadowed by Carriker. But, of all the White team defenders, he stood out most. Always after the QB.
-- Now the bad news -- NU is not so deep in the secondary. Bowman is a stud. Grixby looks very good too. After that, they don't have much at corner. Brothers is trying to make the most of it, and did some things well. Chris LeFlore, not so much. Andre Jones must come in and contribute right away at corner.
-- Shanle and Green were never really tested too much. Though Green broke up a pass to the TE, I believe. Wilson may offer some depth at safety. After that, they may have too look to one of the incoming freshman to contribute.
On Special teams:
-- Hey Jordan, make that kick.
-- Don't like seeing the kick return against the Red team coverage. It is nice to see a lot of potential returners though. Bowman even caught a few punts.
-- Speaking of punts, they weren't great. A lot of line drives and very returnable balls. That is an area that must improve. It's nice to have the long snapper (Kelly) back, though.
» Enjoy this article?
Send it to your friend or get Husker news by email!
Related Stories: Red-White Game
Post a comment