A Buzz in the Air

8 comments so far August 23, 2007 by Steve Hanway

In January, there was a certain amount of satisfaction that Nebraska was finally appearing to be competitive with the better teams in the conference and around the country. However, there was also some apprehension that with the departure of NU’s starting offensive backfield (Zac Taylor, Dane Todd, Brandon Jackson) and the starting defensive line (Adam Carriker, Jay Moore, Barry Cryer, and Ola Dagunduro) the Huskers could well regress which would not only be painful this year but could cause a cycle of negativity among fans and recruits that could mean bad things for the program in the future.

NU fans watched closely for signs of progress in the off-season, particularly in the offensive backfield and defensive line as well as with recruiting for the future. Looking at everything that’s transpired since NU last took the field there seems to be a growing optimism that not only is the 2007 team capable of matching last season’s achievements, but of surpassing them.

There are a number of things fans can point to:

Depth
Things have not been this competitive in the secondary in recent memory. You have to go back to the 1990’s to find a two-deep at safety that had four scholarship players on it. Not since 2001 have the Huskers had anything close to the depth they now have at cornerback if you include the injured Zack Bowman and new arrivals like Armando Murillo, Prince Amukarmara and Anthony Blue. The Huskers have five starter-quality linebackers and some young studs to develop. The perceived weakness at defensive line still features letterman and once touted recruits Ndamukong Suh, Zach Potter, Barry Turner, and Ty Steinkuhler. A big body like Brandon Johnson is sitting third string.

You also have to go back to the 1990’s to find so many offensive lineman worthy of playing time. You have to go back to 1999 to find a genuine competition at quarterback as we had up until Monday. While some are banged up or lacking experience, there have not been five worthy I-backs on scholarship since 1997 (and even then Dan Alexander was listed as a fullback). We’ve probably never seen a total collection of receivers this good at Nebraska. NU has found a kicker who hit a 60-yard field goal in practice. Top to bottom, the roster has not looked this good in five to ten years.

Conditioning
Whether it’s Barry Turner or Terrence Nunn getting bigger, or Zach Potter getting smaller, it sounds like Dave Kennedy has fixed many of the problems we were hearing about (from former long-snapper David Kolowski, for example) with regards to conditioning. The 1990’s titles were won in the off-season and that remains true for anyone wanting to contend today. You can’t get fat like Harrison Beck or Josh Freeman and expect to outplay Division I athletes who have put in the time getting conditioned.

Filling Holes
It’s one thing to have depth. That means you’re not seeing a big drop-off between starters and reserves. It’s another to take a position that was a weakness a year ago and turn it into an area of strength. The Huskers have gone from relying on Blake Tiedke in 2005 and Andrew Shanle in 2006 at safety to having a battle between Larry Asante and Rickey Thenarse for playing time. The coaches had so little confidence in Jordan Congdon a year ago, that when a long field goal seemed like NU’s only hope in a couple of games last season, the coaches opted to throw desperation passes. Now, Adi Kunalic is drawing comparisons to Sebastian Janikowski. In 2004, the lead-footed Santino Panico was returning kicks. This year, the Huskers are trying out speedy players like Andre Jones. Key vulnerabilities from recent years could now very well become powerful weapons. That’s a great way to improve your team.

Recruiting
Not only did the 2007 recruiting look strong in January, we’re seeing a lot of new players making noise. Whether it’s Quentin Castille and Roy Helu drawing raves at running back from teammates, it’s Kevin Dixon on the defensive line impressing his coach, Asante making violent hits, or Amukamara racking up interceptions, there are clearly guys that can contribute now and will be big contributors in the future.

On top of that, the 2008 class is mostly complete and is loaded with premium talent. The offense of the future has a top-tier quarterback behind a top-tier offensive line, with a top-tier running back to hand to, along with an impressive set of defensive lineman and linebackers.

Gaining Respect
Once again the Huskers appear to be the consensus choice among preseason prognosticators to win the Big 12 North. Not only does it feel good to see the Huskers get that kind of love. But the Consensus is usually right. In eleven Big 12 seasons, the consensus choice to win the Big 12 North presented by Stassen has gone 9-2. The only misses were picking Nebraska in 2001 (the Huskers did play in the national championship game that year) and Missouri in 2004 (they finished 5-6 that year under Gary Pinkel).

Put it all together and it’s easy to understand how Husker fans can be exciting about this team and the future of this program. Not to say they weren’t eight months ago, but with so much good news since then (along with some bad, like Slauson’s shoulder injury, Purify’s suspension and tragic loss of a family member, I-back injuries, and Teafatiller’s DUI charge) it’s hard not to be excited about a team that just keeps looking better.

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