Husker Spring Game "Draft" Intriguing
11 comments so far
April 13, 2008 by
Bill Callahan's use of the Red-White Spring Game as a glorified exhibition intended to entertain crowds and woo recruits. Top units never squared off against each other, and scores got a bit out of hand. After a year or so of this, hard-core NU football fans grew pretty tired of the lack of competition. Many folks - BRN included - would like to see a stiffer level of competition in the Spring Game. And we'd hoped Bo Pelini would bring it. Interestingly, according to reports we won't be seeing true ones-vs.-ones action this spring either. My mild disappointment is offset only by the notion that there will be some sort of "draft" used to select the Red and White squads.
Who are the GMs?
My first question when it comes to Pelini's draft system is ... who will be picking the teams. If it is the offensive and defensive coaches, I suspect they would tend to pick some of their guys, right? That may lead to a heavy dose of first-team players getting paired together. Or, maybe it would be cool to have two player (possible future captains) do the picking. Wow, that would be fun to watch. I think it would be somewhere between the NFL draft and picking sides for kick ball in the 6th grade, with one part strategy the other part friendship. I am very curious to see who will be doing the picking, and the order of selections. It could make for some nice PR fun.
I'm No Mel Kiper Jr.
I have a woeful time forecasting the NFL draft. I lack Mel Kiper’s love of minutia and his amazing head of hair. I can't even think how the Husker draft would play out. Who would you take first? I assume QB1 Joe Ganz would top the list. But, maybe he's doing the picking? Would he take one of the offensive line's big uglies to protect him? Where would you slot Marlon Lucky? He's got to go in the first few rounds, right? On defense, where would you start? Murillo is the top corner on the team, they have market value in the NFL. Would that hold true here, too? I would think Phil Dillard the defacto leader of the defense at middle linebacker would go pretty high in this format too.
Okay, Seriously...
As it relates to the Spring Game, I think the idea of a draft is pretty fantastic, actually. It inserts a bit of fun in to a fairly mundane activity. And, it's a little more authentic than last year’s ridiculous fake photo shoots and celebrations. And seriously, won't this create fairly equal teams? Assuming the captains or coaches are taking turns making picks, it should put significant players on both sides of the ball for Red and White. It's not truly the ones-vs.-ones, but it is an improvement over the Christians vs. Lions set up fans endured under Callahan.
The only downside I see to this - as both a fan and media outlet - is that we won't have a really good sense of the depth chart following spring ball. Maybe Pelini is savvy to that notion too, and it is exactly how he wants it. Even teams and no depth chart may very well drive home the intense sense of competition he is trying to foster.
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Glenn Baker Apr 14 08
I am driving up from Alabama and I was hoping to have Pelini go back to 1's vs 1's. Oh well can't have everything we want. I hope to see some hard hitting and good tackling and just a better prepared team when it comes to fundamentals. This is my first spring game and I am 42 years old. I just want my old Huskers back, playing hard and never giving up, taking pride in wearing the uniform and after the game the other team knows they were in dogfight. Go Huskers!!
Husker Mike Apr 14 08
I think this might be close to 1's vs 1's, as when the game starts, at worst, you'll have 1's vs. 2's at a position. And more likely is that you'll have a mix of players on the field. Football is a team game, and if the talent is somewhat even across both rosters, we'll see the stars emerge. It should eliminate the mismatches that made the previous "starters vs. scout team" game a complete farce.
In any event, I agree with the intrigue of the concept. Maybe I'll have a different position next week, but for now, I'll give it a chance.
Ty Hughes Apr 14 08
I can't waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaait!
doombob Apr 14 08
You know what I can't wait for? The awesome weather forecast that BRN provides! Oh, and I hope they give us enough advance notice for the "roster" so that we can have a game day pocket guide!
HuskerDeck Apr 14 08
Love reading your comments, I find this intriguing as well.
Jason Apr 14 08
Doombob, a mini-weather forecast is in the works. I don't plan on doing a pocket guide since I doubt the rosters or even uni numbers will be announced ahead of time. But hey, if enough people ask for it, I'll whip something up. :)
I do have a couple hundred business card sized schedules that I'm going to give out at the spring game. They'll look great in your wallet! Give me a shout if you're going to the game and I'll save one for you.
JimmyMac in Reno Apr 14 08
Weather on Saturday is predicted as 70 degrees and clear skies. Perfect for the first day of BO Ball.
Greg Morrow Apr 14 08
I don't think Pelini puts it on his assistants, to do the drafting. What might be interesting could be a position grouping selecting it's counterpart. Like, receivers drafting the secondary for their side. So one side gets Thenarse, one side gets Asante. And so on. You hit 'em all spring, you get to pick 'em. Receivers pick secondary, Linebackers pick Backs and linemen get divided equally.
At Quarterback though, Ganz, Beau and Spano on one side, Lee, Witt and Ebke on the other, absolutely.
Mark B Apr 15 08
I would be too big of fan of captains (or future captains) picking the teams. That is what Ron Prince did over at KSU, and I seem to remember quite a few Husker fans laughing about that.
Florida had it's strength coaches pick the teams. I would expect something similar to that that here. I predict Ekeler picking the Red squad and Brown picking the White.
Kent Apr 16 08
I went to the KSU spring game last year (decked out in all red gear). The game was pathetic. There was no offense because the players on the field were not used to playing together. I think the draft idea is a bad one. I would rather see 1s on 1s.
Kent Apr 16 08
I went to the KSU spring game last year (decked out in all red gear). The game was pathetic. There was no offense because the players on the field were not used to playing together. I think the draft idea is a bad one. I would rather see 1s on 1s.