Hey Husker Fans! Welcome to the inaugural post of The Cornhusker Blog.
If you're like me, you are starting to get a little impatient for the start of the 2008 Nebraska football season. It has already been a loooooonnnnng, strange off-season, and we've still got about a month-and-a-half until Fall Camp starts. Passing the time isn't easy. I've begun pulling out old VHS tapes from the glory years, reading all the national publications and scanning the Web for any serviceable Husker scoop.
It's just not enough.
Therefore, I figured I'd post five intriguing questions for the upcoming season and what I consider to be the answers. Here it goes...
1) How will the Huskers be different under Bo Pelini and the (mostly) new coaching staff?
Changing mindsets isn't a piece of cake, but from what I've seen out of Bo Pelini during his previous stint as the Husker DC as well as his stops at Oklahoma and LSU, he is a coach who inspires his minions to play with uncommon intensity. That intensity was sorely lacking during the debacle of 2007 -- especially on defense where the Blackshirts typically looked slow, confused and uninterested. Bo's pedigree encourages me that even if we don't yet have the overall talent to be a top-flight defense, we should expect to see far more turnovers, improved quickness and a nastier attitude. As for the other coaching hires, I love the return of Marvin Sanders as the DB coach, and am jazzed to see if the linebacking corps can possibly play with as much energy as is displayed by new backer coach Mike Ekeler.
2) Other than the obvious (Lucky, Ganz, Swift), who on offense will stand out?
I'll start with a few of the big dudes from what I think can be a stellar offensive line. During the spring we heard and saw reasons to believe Lydon Murtha might start realizing his incredible potential as a prototype NFL left tackle. I was also very impressed and expect a bright future from Murtha's young counterpart on the right side, Jaivorio Burkes. At the tight end spot, I'd really like to see Mike McNeill step up and give the Big Red a Matt Herian-like receiving threat. Look for Quentin Castille and Roy Helu to step up as nice change-of-pace options at the running back spot as well. I'll go on the record as saying Quentin Castille can be the best big back NU has ever had, if he can just hang on to the ball.
3) Same question for the defensive side of the ball.
While the overall talent level isn't where it needs to be to turn this group into a vintage Blackshirt D, there are some bright spots that I think will get even brighter under Bo's watch. Rickey Thenarse and Ndamukong Suh immediately come to mind as guys who have All-America upside and will benefit from a fresh start under the new regime. Of the many positives that came from spring practice, I was most pleased to hear the news that Phillip Dillard had slimmed down considerably. With a new emphasis on speed at linebacker, I expect Dillard to have a big year. Throwing out one unexpected name, I'll say a similarly trimmed-down Pierre Allen will emerge as a player who can come off the bench and pressure opposing QBs.
4) Other than the most obvious (Oklahoma), which game frightens you the most this year?
Well, the last time the Huskers played in Lubbock it was uglier than the Beano Cook/Pamela Anderson honeymoon video, so I'll go with the Red Raiders. (As a side note, right around when Beau Davis threw his 12th interception during that game, I broke one of the ceiling fans in my house...seriously pissing off my wife. Please share if you have any embarrassing "breaking stuff during a game" stories. Although if they have anything to do with harming people or animals, you should probably keep them to yourself.) The Missouri game will also be tough, as the Tigers return most of their starting squad and will begin the season solidly in the top ten.
6) What happened to the fifth question?!?
Oops. Sorry.
5) What qualifies you to voice your opinions on college football?
While this is the age of anarchic social media and people don't actually have to know anything in order to post their thoughts on a topic, I at least have some basic qualifications to be a Big Red Blogger. In addition to being a UNL grad (Class of '93), and a genuine Cornhusker football fanatic since I watched Ric Berns rumble through Barry Switzer's Oklahoma defense in 1978 (Dr. Tom's first victory over the Sooners), I have also previously written regular columns for collegefootballnews.com and Huskerpedia.com. I also played on some awesome intramural flag football teams during my college days. Remember the Swinging Beef defense of 1991? Anyone?
That's it for now. Please share your thoughts and tell other Big Red lovers to visit thecorhnuskerblog.blogspot.com.
--Bill
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5 comments:
I go by the screen name of Husker94 on BigHuskerFan.com but my real name is Jennifer and I've been on BHF.com for 5 1/2, years, and counting. I am passionate about Husker football as well, class of 2001, and I look forward to reading your blog(s). Take care and GBR!!!!
-Jennifer
HI Husker fans and thanks bill for adding another site to check out.
Im NUdynasty on a multitude of Husker boards. Huge fan of the Huskers since 1970. I was 4 so you cant call it jumping on the Husker bandwagon. LOL.
I cant wait for the season to begin and Hope your blog generates some intrest. Im gonna watch the Mizzou game now. later. NUdynasty.
Thanks for visiting! Please, spread the word about the Cornhusker Blog. I'll be posting more stuff today.
Thanks Bill you cant go wrong with another big red blog. Im a Husker fanatic trapped in oklahoma. Ive followed husker football for 20 years since I was 3 years old. You could say my dad and I are slightly obsessed with Husker football we have every televised game on tape since 1984 and several hit or miss games from before that. Its funny you laid out that list of games because in the last 2 weeks Ive watched everyone of them accept the 1997 missouri game. Ive focused alot on the 03 season also, trying to get an idea of what we might be looking at defensively for 08. I agree with you about suh and thenarse I think this year will be big for them both along with several others on the defensive side. Knowing that so many players lost weight and are working hard tells me they believe in the coaching staff and I think we will see a much improved effort from the entire team. The Big red machine will roll again!!!!!
My Two Cents...
1) How will the Huskers be different under Bo Pelini and the (mostly) new coaching staff?
They will play "for" nebraska. Win or lose, there will be no question about the level of effort. They will always show up.
2) Other than the obvious (Lucky, Ganz, Swift), who on offense will stand out?
Who says Lucky is obvious? I will say the line will show marked improvement. May not be the best in the nation, but we will have better overall protection. Maybe a 7 out of 10 stars, but it is an improvement from the 3.5 stars I would tag last years line with.
3) Same question for the defensive side of the ball.
I will go out on a limb and say the no one on the d-side will stand out, rather it will be an overall effort. Yes, some will have great games, and we will tag them as "the next whomever," but overall I think that the HuskerNation will be pleased with the defense as a whole.
4) Other than the most obvious (Oklahoma), which game frightens you the most this year?
None of them. Not to say I'm being cocky & think we'll win them all, but we will show up for every game. (really, EVERY game) Win or lose, there will be 22 players on the field "dying for that inch"
5) What qualifies you to voice your opinions on college football? Nothing, just another "Red Clad Loon" living in Omaha!!
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