Just left practice..... boy, Tanner Lee was having himself a day. #huskers
1:02 PM - 8 Apr 2017
Tanner, JD, DPE and Tre had a good scrimmage....
- Thread starter HBK4life
- Start date
Just left practice..... boy, Tanner Lee was having himself a day. #huskers
1:02 PM - 8 Apr 2017
Nick Gregath@Husker_Nick 1h1 hour ago
His wheel house is basically any type of smash or corner route. Big boy pass routes right there. #huskers throws a nice back shoulder too.
His wheel house is basically any type of smash or corner route. Big boy pass routes right there. #huskers throws a nice back shoulder too.
Nick Gregath@Husker_Nick 1h1 hour ago
Tre Bryant looked good as well. Had some real nice runs when they were working inside the red zone. #Huskers
Tre Bryant looked good as well. Had some real nice runs when they were working inside the red zone. #Huskers
Rich Kaipust@RKaipustOWH 25m25 minutes ago
Cole Conrad ran with No. 1s at center, after a flip of the coin for the start. It's Conrad and Michael Decker battling right now. #Huskers
Cole Conrad ran with No. 1s at center, after a flip of the coin for the start. It's Conrad and Michael Decker battling right now. #Huskers
That's silly," Riley said of activity that started between two freshmen. Added: "There's other ways to be competitive." #Huskers
HEARD: "That's junior high Football" — Coach Mike Riley after Nebraska struggled to get a play off.
HEARD: "Good drop! Good drop!" — Defensive coordinator Bob Diaco to safety Joshua Kalu after Kalu correctly hemmed in wideout JD Spielman.
HEARD: A fog horn blowing every two plays early in the scrimmage as offensive and defensive units shuffled in and out.
HEARD: "Hustle in and out of the huddle!" — Offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf.
HEARD: "What is that route? You tell me!" Langsdorf, chastising a reserve wideout.
SEEN: Late in the practice, Nebraska ran a "roundup" drill in which three defensive linemen squared off against three offensive linemen and tried to tackle a running back. It was a hit with the players, even if it overflowed into a bit of a scrum between the offense and the defense. The players had to do up-downs after the scrum.
HEARD: "That stuff is done!" Riley said after the scrum. Riley is notorious for extremely disliking player scuffles.
SEEN: JoJo Domann and Collin Miller in a competition to see which one could stand on one foot longer. Domann has a knee injury. Miller has a foot injury.
SEEN: Quarterback Patrick O'Brien rifling the ball skyward in frustration after he was sacked for a safety by Carlos Davis.
SEEN: O'Brien making several scrambles from the pocket against pressure. One would have resulted in a 15-yard gain.
SEEN: Cornerback Eric Lee having another good day, this time as a slot or nickel corner. Lee successfully defended a pass thrown into the end zone and had a pass breakup when the defense practiced in the dime.
SEEN: JD Spielman spinning out of a Kieron Williams tackle for a first down. Later, in a drill working against NU's dime, Spielman beat Williams on a jerk route for a big catch.
SEEN: Luke Gifford coming unabated on a blitz for what would have been a big-ticket sack of Tanner Lee.
SEEN: Cole Conrad seemingly emerging as NU's top center, moving ahead of Michael Decker for the scrimmage. Conrad started at right tackle at times last season.
SEEN: Several more good plays by linebacker Mohamed Barry, who was working with the No. 1 nickel defense.
SEEN: Once the reserves started scrimmaging, freshman quarterback Tristan Gebbia struggled with accuracy and timing, in part because he and his wideouts weren't on the same page. Far too many drops from his receivers, too.
SEEN: In the reserve scrimmage, several long — and good — runs from Wyatt Mazour.
SEEN: Tyler Hoppes making a tough catch in traffic against the coverage of Antonio Reed.
HEARD: "Good drop! Good drop!" — Defensive coordinator Bob Diaco to safety Joshua Kalu after Kalu correctly hemmed in wideout JD Spielman.
HEARD: A fog horn blowing every two plays early in the scrimmage as offensive and defensive units shuffled in and out.
HEARD: "Hustle in and out of the huddle!" — Offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf.
HEARD: "What is that route? You tell me!" Langsdorf, chastising a reserve wideout.
SEEN: Late in the practice, Nebraska ran a "roundup" drill in which three defensive linemen squared off against three offensive linemen and tried to tackle a running back. It was a hit with the players, even if it overflowed into a bit of a scrum between the offense and the defense. The players had to do up-downs after the scrum.
HEARD: "That stuff is done!" Riley said after the scrum. Riley is notorious for extremely disliking player scuffles.
SEEN: JoJo Domann and Collin Miller in a competition to see which one could stand on one foot longer. Domann has a knee injury. Miller has a foot injury.
SEEN: Quarterback Patrick O'Brien rifling the ball skyward in frustration after he was sacked for a safety by Carlos Davis.
SEEN: O'Brien making several scrambles from the pocket against pressure. One would have resulted in a 15-yard gain.
SEEN: Cornerback Eric Lee having another good day, this time as a slot or nickel corner. Lee successfully defended a pass thrown into the end zone and had a pass breakup when the defense practiced in the dime.
SEEN: JD Spielman spinning out of a Kieron Williams tackle for a first down. Later, in a drill working against NU's dime, Spielman beat Williams on a jerk route for a big catch.
SEEN: Luke Gifford coming unabated on a blitz for what would have been a big-ticket sack of Tanner Lee.
SEEN: Cole Conrad seemingly emerging as NU's top center, moving ahead of Michael Decker for the scrimmage. Conrad started at right tackle at times last season.
SEEN: Several more good plays by linebacker Mohamed Barry, who was working with the No. 1 nickel defense.
SEEN: Once the reserves started scrimmaging, freshman quarterback Tristan Gebbia struggled with accuracy and timing, in part because he and his wideouts weren't on the same page. Far too many drops from his receivers, too.
SEEN: In the reserve scrimmage, several long — and good — runs from Wyatt Mazour.
SEEN: Tyler Hoppes making a tough catch in traffic against the coverage of Antonio Reed.
Nebraska’s final Saturday practice before the spring game addressed a variety of situational management and awareness. The Huskers worked Red Zone offense and defense, worked with their own offense backed up against the end zone, worked on third downs, worked defensive sub packages designed to pressure, designed to defend space.
Overall, Mike Riley was happy with what the Huskers were doing with the practice and he gave several thoughts afterwards:
— Riley declined to comment much more on the quarterback situation between Tanner Lee and Patrick O’Brien, other than to say he thinks there are three practices left (counting the Red-White game) and they’re going to continue to keep things even and interchange reps with the 1s and the 2s.
— Cole Conrad and Michael Decker are now working at center, as John Raridon has been moved out to left guard, where he’s battling with Jalin Barnett for the top spot with the No. 2 offense. Riley said the move is an effort to get the best five linemen on the field and Conrad’s versatility allows them to move him off tackle and to the interior.
— Riley added that the coaches are always keeping an eye on the confidence of the offensive line unit and he said they do need to build some there, but he also thinks they stand to improve their mental toughness as well.
— A big thing for Riley this spring was the creation and implementation of identity runs. The coach said he has been more impressed with how they’ve run the ball over the past two weeks. He reiterated that it’s his desire to have the unit become more effective in the running game.
— The JoJo Domann injury hurts the Huskers in a variety of ways according to Riley, but perhaps most immediately on special teams, because Domann played four different spots. Domann also was gaining with the defense and likely would’ve been with the ones in several of the sub packages this fall.
— Both JD Spielman and Tre Bryant picked up praise from Riley on Saturday for their development. Bryant continues to challenge as the No. 1 running back, while Spielman is pushing for more and more playing time with the top receiver group as the slot guy.
— Other injury news, Stanley Morgan sat out of most of the work today following a soft tissue injury with his neck. He’s expected back on Tuesday.
— Wide receiver Bryan Reimers is also expected back on Tuesday, having had his knee checked out following the collision on Tuesday’s practice. The initial fear was Reimers would miss more time.
— Riley had to break up a fight at Saturday’s practice. He described the scene as a pair of freshmen mixing it up and then other players escalating the situation instead of scaling it down. Riley called it a teaching moment and one where he wants the leaders to step up and diffuse the scrapes the next time they occur.
Overall, Mike Riley was happy with what the Huskers were doing with the practice and he gave several thoughts afterwards:
— Riley declined to comment much more on the quarterback situation between Tanner Lee and Patrick O’Brien, other than to say he thinks there are three practices left (counting the Red-White game) and they’re going to continue to keep things even and interchange reps with the 1s and the 2s.
— Cole Conrad and Michael Decker are now working at center, as John Raridon has been moved out to left guard, where he’s battling with Jalin Barnett for the top spot with the No. 2 offense. Riley said the move is an effort to get the best five linemen on the field and Conrad’s versatility allows them to move him off tackle and to the interior.
— Riley added that the coaches are always keeping an eye on the confidence of the offensive line unit and he said they do need to build some there, but he also thinks they stand to improve their mental toughness as well.
— A big thing for Riley this spring was the creation and implementation of identity runs. The coach said he has been more impressed with how they’ve run the ball over the past two weeks. He reiterated that it’s his desire to have the unit become more effective in the running game.
— The JoJo Domann injury hurts the Huskers in a variety of ways according to Riley, but perhaps most immediately on special teams, because Domann played four different spots. Domann also was gaining with the defense and likely would’ve been with the ones in several of the sub packages this fall.
— Both JD Spielman and Tre Bryant picked up praise from Riley on Saturday for their development. Bryant continues to challenge as the No. 1 running back, while Spielman is pushing for more and more playing time with the top receiver group as the slot guy.
— Other injury news, Stanley Morgan sat out of most of the work today following a soft tissue injury with his neck. He’s expected back on Tuesday.
— Wide receiver Bryan Reimers is also expected back on Tuesday, having had his knee checked out following the collision on Tuesday’s practice. The initial fear was Reimers would miss more time.
— Riley had to break up a fight at Saturday’s practice. He described the scene as a pair of freshmen mixing it up and then other players escalating the situation instead of scaling it down. Riley called it a teaching moment and one where he wants the leaders to step up and diffuse the scrapes the next time they occur.
So do I.
I like the idea on Conrad at Center, he sure struggled at times at right tackle last year.
If the O-Line does not impress this fall I suspect Cav will "retire".
The Centers have been struggling with the shotgun snap. I wanna hear how they did today.
Quick hits
***As for the offensive line as whole, Riley said he an the staff needed to be “concerned”, “thoughtful”, and “excited” about continuing the growth of a “talented and experienced group” this offseason. Riley said the o-line needed to regain some of the confidence and toughness that was missing at the end of last season.
***Wide receiver Stanley Morgan Jr. participated in the first part of practice but did not play in the scrimmage, as Riley said he decided to hold Morgan out as he recovers from a soft tissue injury in his neck.
Riley said he expected Morgan to return to full work as early as Tuesday’s practice.
***Safety JoJo Domann (ACL) was obviously out but was not on crutches like he was on Thursday. He still had a large brace on his left knee. Riley said he didn’t even want to think about losing Domann, as he not only was going to be in the mix at safety but was also slated to be a starter on four special teams units.
***Some good injury news was that both receiver Bryan Reimers (knee bruise) and safety Kieron Williams (undisclosed) were both back at practice after sitting out on Thursday.
***It’s still early, but Riley said he wasn’t sure how they would handle the Red-White Spring Game format next week. He said they might do a point system where the offense plays the defense and the defense can score, but they could also do a two-team format.
***Towards the end of practice Nebraska held a pretty intense tackling drill between the offense and defense, and things heated up to the point for a fight broke out. Riley said it was two freshmen who started the tussle, but rather than have teammates quickly step in and break it up, some jumped in and escalated things further.
Riley stopped practice and made everyone take a knee, and he laid into the team about the lack of leadership and discipline in that situation. He added that fights in practice are by no means out of the norm, it was a good teaching moment that will hopefully change how the team reacts in the future.
***Nebraska hosted a couple of notable offensive line recruits for Saturday’s practice in three-star 2018 Sioux Falls (S.D.) Washington center Will Farniok and four-star 2019 Chatham (Ill.) Glenwood guard William Putnam.
***As for the offensive line as whole, Riley said he an the staff needed to be “concerned”, “thoughtful”, and “excited” about continuing the growth of a “talented and experienced group” this offseason. Riley said the o-line needed to regain some of the confidence and toughness that was missing at the end of last season.
***Wide receiver Stanley Morgan Jr. participated in the first part of practice but did not play in the scrimmage, as Riley said he decided to hold Morgan out as he recovers from a soft tissue injury in his neck.
Riley said he expected Morgan to return to full work as early as Tuesday’s practice.
***Safety JoJo Domann (ACL) was obviously out but was not on crutches like he was on Thursday. He still had a large brace on his left knee. Riley said he didn’t even want to think about losing Domann, as he not only was going to be in the mix at safety but was also slated to be a starter on four special teams units.
***Some good injury news was that both receiver Bryan Reimers (knee bruise) and safety Kieron Williams (undisclosed) were both back at practice after sitting out on Thursday.
***It’s still early, but Riley said he wasn’t sure how they would handle the Red-White Spring Game format next week. He said they might do a point system where the offense plays the defense and the defense can score, but they could also do a two-team format.
***Towards the end of practice Nebraska held a pretty intense tackling drill between the offense and defense, and things heated up to the point for a fight broke out. Riley said it was two freshmen who started the tussle, but rather than have teammates quickly step in and break it up, some jumped in and escalated things further.
Riley stopped practice and made everyone take a knee, and he laid into the team about the lack of leadership and discipline in that situation. He added that fights in practice are by no means out of the norm, it was a good teaching moment that will hopefully change how the team reacts in the future.
***Nebraska hosted a couple of notable offensive line recruits for Saturday’s practice in three-star 2018 Sioux Falls (S.D.) Washington center Will Farniok and four-star 2019 Chatham (Ill.) Glenwood guard William Putnam.
Finally some separation at running back?
Part of the recent improvement in Nebraska’s running game has to do with the progress both Tre Bryant and Mikale Wilbon have made at the running back position this spring.
In fact, Riley said the way things stand following Saturday’s practice, it’s currently a two-horse race between Bryant and Wilbon for the starting job, with Devine Ozigbo now the odd man out.
“I think that competition between those two guys is really close right now,” Riley said. “Devine’s doing well too, but I think that those other two, it’s pretty close.”
Bryant was the first running back out with the top offense on Saturday. Riley said the sophomore from St. Louis, Mo., has come a long way since making his debut as a true freshman last season.
More than anything, his experience last year has helped his confidence grow to where it’s starting to catch up with his natural talent.
“Tre’s a good example of a guy who has grown,” Riley said, “and he shows that growth just in how he carries himself and the confidence he has in what he’s doing.”
- Robin Washut
Part of the recent improvement in Nebraska’s running game has to do with the progress both Tre Bryant and Mikale Wilbon have made at the running back position this spring.
In fact, Riley said the way things stand following Saturday’s practice, it’s currently a two-horse race between Bryant and Wilbon for the starting job, with Devine Ozigbo now the odd man out.
“I think that competition between those two guys is really close right now,” Riley said. “Devine’s doing well too, but I think that those other two, it’s pretty close.”
Bryant was the first running back out with the top offense on Saturday. Riley said the sophomore from St. Louis, Mo., has come a long way since making his debut as a true freshman last season.
More than anything, his experience last year has helped his confidence grow to where it’s starting to catch up with his natural talent.
“Tre’s a good example of a guy who has grown,” Riley said, “and he shows that growth just in how he carries himself and the confidence he has in what he’s doing.”
- Robin Washut
Conrad to center, Raridon to guard in latest OL moves
Maybe the biggest shakeups of the day came along the offensive line, as Cole Conrad was the No. 1 center and split reps with Michael Decker.
As a result of Conrad, who started the last five games of last season at right tackle, moving inside to center, John Raridon moved over to left guard and shared No. 2 reps with Jalin Barnett.
Riley said the idea behind the moves was an effort to get the five best offensive linemen on the field together, regardless of previous positions.
“What we do is we continually look and evaluate not only positions - who’s first-string left tackle, the backup - we also have a conversation of who are the five best football players,” Riley said.
“If we think there is a situation like that where we might be missing the next best player after four - and that’s what we did with Cole, we created that competition, because Cole might be in the top five. He might not be the starting right tackle, but he might be in the top five starting offensive linemen.”
Just like the quarterbacks did to start the spring, Riley said Conrad and Decker and then Raridon and Barnett all flipped a coin to see who would get the first round of snaps. They will continue to alternate the rest of the spring.
“We’ve got some competition at center going, and we have some competition at guard,” Riley said. “We moved Cole Conrad into the center position with Decker, so they’re rotating like our quarterbacks do. They actually flipped a coin for the start.
“Then Raridon is playing left guard, so him and Jalin Barnett are rotating and flipping a coin for who’s going to be the (No. 2) left guard. So there’s some real competition throughout that unit, really.”
- Robin Washut
Maybe the biggest shakeups of the day came along the offensive line, as Cole Conrad was the No. 1 center and split reps with Michael Decker.
As a result of Conrad, who started the last five games of last season at right tackle, moving inside to center, John Raridon moved over to left guard and shared No. 2 reps with Jalin Barnett.
Riley said the idea behind the moves was an effort to get the five best offensive linemen on the field together, regardless of previous positions.
“What we do is we continually look and evaluate not only positions - who’s first-string left tackle, the backup - we also have a conversation of who are the five best football players,” Riley said.
“If we think there is a situation like that where we might be missing the next best player after four - and that’s what we did with Cole, we created that competition, because Cole might be in the top five. He might not be the starting right tackle, but he might be in the top five starting offensive linemen.”
Just like the quarterbacks did to start the spring, Riley said Conrad and Decker and then Raridon and Barnett all flipped a coin to see who would get the first round of snaps. They will continue to alternate the rest of the spring.
“We’ve got some competition at center going, and we have some competition at guard,” Riley said. “We moved Cole Conrad into the center position with Decker, so they’re rotating like our quarterbacks do. They actually flipped a coin for the start.
“Then Raridon is playing left guard, so him and Jalin Barnett are rotating and flipping a coin for who’s going to be the (No. 2) left guard. So there’s some real competition throughout that unit, really.”
- Robin Washut
If by all-pro Incognito mean, I'll take it. Dude maybe a total Jackass but he can play some damn good football
I mean any-time-you-need-15-yd-penalty-against-nebraska-just-run-you-mouth-to-him-and-voila incognito. Glad he learned to control himself better in the NFL
Would have liked to heard more of this myself.
No mention of the situation in any of the reports yesterday.
If Conrad moved to center, does that mean the Knevel has taken over the RT spot? Or has another player made a push?
I like Conrad and thought he did a nice job filling in at RT, so this next comment is not a dig at him.... We cannot get away from a walk-on at center, can we?
I like Conrad and thought he did a nice job filling in at RT, so this next comment is not a dig at him.... We cannot get away from a walk-on at center, can we?
The movement of Conrad is because they've just given up on the RT spot and are going with one of these because of similar production, and the additional bonus of Cav only having to coach 4 spots:
Sounds like we can't right now. I mean, I was really happy to hear Raridon was taking snaps at center, as he was a high 4 star recruit, a legacy, and also looked like he'd develop into a huge badass out there. We may be a year or two away from that.
You always see guys moving around trying different spots in the spring if for no other reason than to give them some experience in case of a rash of injuries like last year. Conrad is a smart kid and has shown that he can do a serviceable job at guard and tackle. Right now it looked like we have 2 pretty good options at RT so letting him learn center is just smart especially given Raridon's strugggles with shotgun snaps. Utter's problems snapping the ball last year really messed up the timing of our offense at times.
To be honest. Kinda glad he escalated it considering he has been timid or not his usual self. Put some damn fire in that line.
Huh? Those guys make Dan Vili-Waldrop look like Rob Zatechka.
Agreed. A little dysfunction on a team is good. Off the field, no good, but controlled dysfunction on the field is a sign of healthy competition. It's a delicate balance that must be struck, but some on field pushing and shoving with proper discipline after the scuffle, IMO, is a sign of health competition taking place.
How awful is Raridon on the shotgun snap? As for Conrad, his upside relative to Utter is much better as 6-6/300.
Given the comments of Riley, if I'm one of the younger guys, I would see the present situation as a huge opportunity. Work my ass off in the summer and take a spot in Fall camp.
I haven't been critical of Cav, but this year is where he proves out or doesn't. We now have three QBs that can run the offense preferred by Riley/Langs. Other than Conrad, Cav has 3 and 4 star talent across the line. He should be able to field a competent Oline. Stache Cotton was bagged on pretty hard on this board over the years. I suspect he could field a competitive Oline withe the talent currently on the roster.
Given the comments of Riley, if I'm one of the younger guys, I would see the present situation as a huge opportunity. Work my ass off in the summer and take a spot in Fall camp.
I haven't been critical of Cav, but this year is where he proves out or doesn't. We now have three QBs that can run the offense preferred by Riley/Langs. Other than Conrad, Cav has 3 and 4 star talent across the line. He should be able to field a competent Oline. Stache Cotton was bagged on pretty hard on this board over the years. I suspect he could field a competitive Oline withe the talent currently on the roster.
I've been a big supporter of Coach Cav since he was hired, as he was the only coach that, in his video interview made for fans, really seemed to understand the enormity of coaching at a place like this. "I've been waiting my whole life to coach at a place like this," I think I remember him saying.
Having said that, and having see him land some really good talent over the last two cycles, I have to agree with you guys; he has high three and four star talent across the board now, two deep. If you can't make a solid, if not exceptional, O-line out of that, I don't know if you can make a solid or exceptional O-line.
I shouldn't like thisThe movement of Conrad is because they've just given up on the RT spot and are going with one of these because of similar production, and the additional bonus of Cav only having to coach 4 spots:
He's been dealing with undisclosed injuries that have hampered his progress this spring. Depending on what the injuries are, it goes a long way towards explaining why he hasn't been able to emerge as the premiere back at the moment. I wouldn't count him out though; I bet he'll be back in the mix by fall.
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