When Blackshirts Were Blackshirts: Josh Bullocks
5 comments so far
July 1, 2008 by
As the season approaches and we all anticipate major improvement in the defense under Bo Pelini, we felt it was time to revisit some of the great defensive players of the last few decades. We begin, in a way where it ended, with Josh Bullocks, a player that thrived under Bo Pelini and Marvin Sanders but was also part of a defensive unit in 2004 that surrendered 70 points to Texas Tech (though the Husker offense played a role in that too).
In 2003, Josh Bullocks snared a record 10 interceptions from his free safety spot. On top of that he returned a blocked punt for a touchdown and blocked a punt. It’s not like he saved his big plays for the worst teams on the schedule. He had two picks against #24 Oklahoma State to open the season, then had picks against Southern Mississppi, Missouri, Texas A&M, #16 Texas, and Kansas State in the game that featured Bo Pelini’s famous confrontation with Bill Snyder. His All-American honors that year were the last seen by a Husker defender.
A year later, under “new management�, Bullocks saw his number of tackles rise substantially to where he was second on the team in solo tackles (which isn’t necessarily what you want from your free safety). His number of interceptions fell to just two as the combination of a weaker pass rush up front, teams avoiding his area of the field, and no doubt some new responsibilities to adapt to made him far less dangerous to opposing teams.
When we think about what a transition from Kevin Cosgrove to Bo (or Carl) Pelini will be, we can think about what the transition from Pelini to Cosgrove was in reverse. Cosgrove’s defense made an All-American talent look like an honorable mention All Big 12 player. Maybe a player like Larry Asante, Rickey Thenarse, Major Culbert or Armando Murillo can emerge as the next Josh Bullocks. The interception total might be too much to ask, but finding a playmaking safety would certainly be an upgrade from last year and a step in the right direction.
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brad Jul 01 08
Our schedule in 2003 was piss-poor. Bullocks was a great player but the last time we were playing great defense was in 2001 (pre-Colorado).
Penn State was like 3-9 in 2003. Texas A&M, which you've included among your allegedly good teams, was like 5-6. Colorado had a losing record. Kansas had a losing record. Utah State was a corpse (3-9). Iowa State had like 2 wins.
We played three good (Missouri, Texas, and KSU) and two halfway-decent (Michigan State and Oklahoma State) teams that year. Our defense played well against the piss-poor teams and the halfway decent teams, but the three good teams had them begging for mercy.
The last time the Blackshirts were Blackshirts was mid-2001, and maybe even 2000 because 2001 turned out to be a paper tiger.
darren Jul 01 08
Wow, brad. Nothing like a wet blanket first thing in the morning. ;-)
The way I see it, at team can't help or control the strength of its schedule, just the results they put up. That 2003 D finished ranked 11th in the country. That's blackshirt-worthy to me. Put it this way - I'd take it now, considering the sorry state of affairs last year.
And, stick around. I'm sure Steve's upcoming offerings will provide you with players/teams you may consider more worthy of the title.
brad Jul 01 08
"The way I see it, at team can't help or control the strength of its schedule..."
Which is why you measure how good a defense, offense, or overall team is against THE BEST TEAMS it plays as a reference point. You always measure yourself against the best, not Utah State.
I think the "fetal position" was a call in our 2003 playbook, judging by our performance against the good teams we played.
I have to go back to 2000 or maybe mid-2001. We were standing strong against the best then.
donfl Jul 01 08
Jeez Brad, did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed or what? Bullock's performance in 03 was spectacular regardless of the comp. You fail to remember BO had them playing with a fervor that was missing the previous year. Give credit where it's due, NOBODY in the nation had a year like he did, just maybe it was the coaching schemes that had him in the right position at the right time. Get real, we would take that kind of productivity from any of our safeties this year. GBR.
Greg Morrow Jul 01 08
Nebraska's last All American? Yoza!
No question, Nebraska's last top defenders were on Nebraska's last legitimate Blackshirt D. Josh sniffing out and tracking down across the field to nab the ball againt Utah St.,- was amazing! That defensive depth chart was littered with guys getting paid to play, as of right now. Why bother listing them off? Easy to look up. Far and away, the reason for the turnaround from '02, was the inspired play of these guys and their young defensive coaching staff, including Jimmy Williams.
This year will feature Nebraska's next legitimate Blackshirt D, with the added advantage of a much more experienced staff, in dealing with spread options and stretch hand offs.
If Bo knew then, (in '03) what he knows now, Frank would've already had to replace him, because by now, he'd be somebody else's HC, from the success he'd have had here.