By Sam McKewon / World-Herald staff writer The Omaha World-Herald
We've had the chance to see two more of Nebraska's training camp practices since I last posted roster thoughts. Here's the second batch, perhaps more refined than the first.
Again, this is one reporter's thoughts, informed to some degree by what coaches and players have said or shown in their reactions on the practice field. These takes may not list every player and other practice observers may not agree.
http://www.omaha.com/huskers/traini...cle_6eb905a8-423d-11e5-a108-fbb60cf3caf0.html
Quarterbacks: The challenge Tommy Armstrong faces in adjusting to a new passing offense has more than one front, but at least part of it relates to simply hitting open receivers more than 10 yards downfield. Armstrong has the arm strength and in recent practices he's identified the open guys. In some cases, he just has to throw better passes. In other cases, turning and throwing to the running back is a good option. Wide receivers missing practice with a muscle strain doesn't help. As a runner, Armstrong looks faster and fresher than he ever has. He isn't running that much in camp, but he does so with a burst.
Among the backups, Zack Darlington throws the ball with good accuracy — he tossed a corner route to the end zone just about perfectly on Thursday — generally finds the "right guy" late in the route tree. He appears less likely to force a bad throw because he'll wait an extra beat for the good one. He's savvy. A.J. Bush is long. Long-striding runner, long motion for a passer. Bush has his moments. He's thrown some really impressive passes, including a few on the run. At this point, I watch him and wonder how many ten-play drives he could lead. Ryker Fyfe has received the most snaps with the No. 2 offense that we've seen and he's done OK. He's been more accurate with the deep passes. Armstrong's been better on some of the tougher routes to throw because the velocity on his ball is better.
Overall, the position is a full-on work in progress, which was to be expected heading into the season. Coach Mike Riley's comments to Big Ten Network about needing to help Armstrong more should be digested by Husker fans. They're spot on. Find routes and plays that work and supplement the running game with it. Because the running game has looked pretty good thus far.
Running backs: Two of Nebraska's running backs stand out to me: Terrell Newby and Mikale Wilbon. Newby hits holes hard and runs downhill, and that's part of what Nebraska's new offense requires. Newby seemed hesitant in his first two years at NU, but he seems much less so in this camp. Wilbon is more of a jitterbug, which may make him a nice option in the screen game, but he also has a nose for moving a defense, then darting into a backside hole created by pursuit. Before his ankle ailment, Jordan Stevenson was showing flashes of good stuff — quick jump cuts, good acceleration — but sitting out even a week of workouts may force the issue as to whether Stevenson redshirts. A year in Nebraska's system - strength and conditioning, diet, academic support - could do wonders for Stevenson. Either way, he'll need to be patient. Among bigger backs, Imani Cross — again in great shape — pass blocks the best and has run well enough. Adam Taylor fits in and may be the best tackle-breaker. Devine Ozigbo has potential but could be a good redshirt candidate. He needs to learn the offense and get better in the pass blocking department. He's not yet the runner Newby or Wilbon is.
At fullback/H-back, Andy Janovich, Harrison Jordan and Luke McNitt all fit the bill as big loads, with McNitt the most skilled pass catcher by a small margin. All are good enough to play, and Jordan has a good low center of gravity.
Wide receivers/tight ends: Injuries have slowed this unit, so there isn't anything new to write about Jordan Westerkamp, De'Mornay Pierson-El, Brandon Reilly, Lane Hovey or Taariq Allen.
That means a lot of other guys — Stanley Morgan, Jamal Turner, Alonzo Moore, Lavan Alston and several walk-ons - have had chance after chance after chance to flash their skills.
Morgan, Moore and probably walk-on Brady Pelzer — who may not play much during the season — have made the most of those chances.
Morgan is Nebraska's best young receiver since Kenny Bell, who had to redshirt because he got dinged up in 2010 training camp and NU had a bunch of seniors that season. Morgan is a different receiver than Bell, who was faster and a niftier runner. Morgan is more polished, has better hands and a bigger frame. Morgan can make catches over the middle, too. He's quiet in practice. Focused. It works for him. He's earned playing time this year.
Moore has good speed and is learning — thanks to coach Keith Williams — to "have a plan" at the line of scrimmage for getting off of press coverage. Moore has more physicality to him than you'd expect — once he catches the ball. Pelzer is reminiscent of former Husker receiver Grant Mulkey. Similarly tough and willing to lay out for catches. He may have earned a rep or two during games.
Turner has been inconsistent. Still a guy with talent. Still a guy who will play. But still the receiver from 2011-2013, too. Alston has speed, but could use a redshirt season. Before he got hurt, Sam Burtch didn't practice nearly enough to make much of an impression, but seems to know the offense.
At tight end, Cethan Carter is the clear starter and looks how he looked last week. Big. Fast. In shape. He pushes some of those younger defenders, too. He still presents a good target on those shorter routes and he doesn't drop the ball much. However the Huskers do it, they need to keep him healthy and in the games. Behind Carter, you've seen a number of different guys — Sam Cotton, David Sutton, and Matt Snyder. Standing on the sideline, it's hard to gauge run blocking from a tight end, but Sutton and Cotton are ahead in that regard. Snyder has caught a few passes — then rumbled with the ball — in team periods. Whether Snyder plays or not this season, he'll be an unpleasant guy to tackle in a year's time because he has pretty good acceleration, and he has some knees on him.
Offensive line: Your left tackle (Alex Lewis) and right guard (Chongo Kondolo) spots have been settled. Lewis has had good battles all camp with Jack Gangwish, who brings top effort every time he can. There's not much of an on/off faucet, like there was with Randy Gregory. Lewis wins some, Gangwish wins some. Kondolo loses more than he wins against Maliek Collins, but Collins, the team's best player plus a grinder in practice, would do that to many linemen. Kondolo, though, stays late after practice night after night to work on technique and steps. He's seized his chance, and he has plays where he's very good. He'll have a good year.
At right tackle, Nick Gates has a future coaches love. He's mobile in the run game and very competitive in pass blocking drills, which tend to be pretty easy for defensive ends to win. Zach Sterup and Gates continue to battle for that job, with Matt Finnin currently as a reserve. At center Ryne Reeves and Paul Thurston both look decent; Thurston has improved as a player and should be the guy next season regardless of whether he wins the job this year. Reeves looks in good in pass protection from what I've seen. Both are better snappers than their predecessor. The No. 3 center is Chris Long, with Michael Decker as a freshman. He'll be redshirting, as will Christian Gaylord, who's moved around some but should land at tackle. Both will look like different players after a full year's worth of weight room work. Jalin Barnett will, too — especially in the flexibility/body reshaping category — but he has "oh my" moments.
At left guard, Dylan Utter will have to hold off Jerald Foster, and it'll be interesting to see if he can. Foster has the potential to be Nebraska's best lineman by next season. He moves lightly for his size, has excellent flexibility (watch high kick drills) and balance and just generally gets how to play the position. Utter has some old-school toughness — and he's strong. Compact and strong.
Among backups, left tackle David Knevel appears to be having a good camp — the LT job is his next year — while Tanner Farmer is growing into the guard role. Corey Whitaker is working with the second offensive line unit. Givens Price moved to defensive tackle — wise choice on his part — while Zach Hannon is a reserve. Sam Hahn continues to look like a guy who will play some tackle next season unless the Huskers load up on junior college guys.
Defensive line: Collins is a gamer and a grinder; he doesn't take a lot of plays off, he's not a guy who kneels a lot during down moments, and he works after practice. That's why he's a captain. Vincent Valentine just returned to camp. Kevin Williams has continued strong effort in camp, pushing the pocket, playing the run well, etc. Gangwish has had a good camp and he makes plays. Greg McMullen is stingy against the run and position coach Hank Hughes likes him. Among younger players, Carlos and Khalil Davis play very hard. Major effort! They come off the ball, they're eager to compete. Mick Stoltenberg is bigger but has retained some quickness; he'll play his share, and has shown himself to be a decent pass rusher. Defensive end Freedom Akinmoladun is similar to the twins — plays hard, tries hard, will get better with seasoning. Defensive end Ross Dzuris will play, as will defensive tackle Kevin Maurice. The minute he switched over to defense, Givens Price became Nebraska's biggest defensive lineman; he's bigger than Valentine and almost certainly weighs more. Could he help in a goal-line situation? Other reserve defensive linemen were covered in the previous update.
Linebackers: Josh Banderas and Michael Rose-Ivey continue to have good camps. Rose-Ivey made several excellent plays in the two practices we watched; he "gets" the game and has a knack, even in passing situations. It's good to have him back in the mix. At the weakside linebacker spot, Marcus Newby seems just a bit ahead of Dedrick Young, but both should play. Both are "plus" athletes. Behind that quartet, redshirt freshman Luke Gifford has looked really good. Better than I expected. He can cover, he'll come up and hit guys — that was a good scholarship offer by Nebraska, a kid who played quarterback and safety at Lincoln Southeast. Among the freshmen linebackers, Tyrin Ferguson is now working with the No. 2 unit at middle linebacker because Chris Weber is not practicing. Ferguson is rangy; he'll learn the physical part.
Secondary: Daniel Davie and Josh Kalu had strong practices on Thursday. I like their energy, their fire, their ability to challenge receivers on route. Kalu has worked at nickel. On Tuesday, Trai Mosley got beat a few times. Mosley and Jonathan Rose are the No. 2 group of corners now that Chris Jones has a knee injury. Boaz Joseph, Eric Lee and Avery Anderson are on the third units, and Lee and Anderson have had decent camps. At safety, Nate Gerry has continued a top camp. Aaron Williams and Keiron Williams will both play at least on special teams, and Aaron Williams has a nice ability to anticipate. Antonio Reed looks more like a linebacker than a safety, and he has a certain pop and attitude to his hits.
We've had the chance to see two more of Nebraska's training camp practices since I last posted roster thoughts. Here's the second batch, perhaps more refined than the first.
Again, this is one reporter's thoughts, informed to some degree by what coaches and players have said or shown in their reactions on the practice field. These takes may not list every player and other practice observers may not agree.
http://www.omaha.com/huskers/traini...cle_6eb905a8-423d-11e5-a108-fbb60cf3caf0.html
Quarterbacks: The challenge Tommy Armstrong faces in adjusting to a new passing offense has more than one front, but at least part of it relates to simply hitting open receivers more than 10 yards downfield. Armstrong has the arm strength and in recent practices he's identified the open guys. In some cases, he just has to throw better passes. In other cases, turning and throwing to the running back is a good option. Wide receivers missing practice with a muscle strain doesn't help. As a runner, Armstrong looks faster and fresher than he ever has. He isn't running that much in camp, but he does so with a burst.
Among the backups, Zack Darlington throws the ball with good accuracy — he tossed a corner route to the end zone just about perfectly on Thursday — generally finds the "right guy" late in the route tree. He appears less likely to force a bad throw because he'll wait an extra beat for the good one. He's savvy. A.J. Bush is long. Long-striding runner, long motion for a passer. Bush has his moments. He's thrown some really impressive passes, including a few on the run. At this point, I watch him and wonder how many ten-play drives he could lead. Ryker Fyfe has received the most snaps with the No. 2 offense that we've seen and he's done OK. He's been more accurate with the deep passes. Armstrong's been better on some of the tougher routes to throw because the velocity on his ball is better.
Overall, the position is a full-on work in progress, which was to be expected heading into the season. Coach Mike Riley's comments to Big Ten Network about needing to help Armstrong more should be digested by Husker fans. They're spot on. Find routes and plays that work and supplement the running game with it. Because the running game has looked pretty good thus far.
Running backs: Two of Nebraska's running backs stand out to me: Terrell Newby and Mikale Wilbon. Newby hits holes hard and runs downhill, and that's part of what Nebraska's new offense requires. Newby seemed hesitant in his first two years at NU, but he seems much less so in this camp. Wilbon is more of a jitterbug, which may make him a nice option in the screen game, but he also has a nose for moving a defense, then darting into a backside hole created by pursuit. Before his ankle ailment, Jordan Stevenson was showing flashes of good stuff — quick jump cuts, good acceleration — but sitting out even a week of workouts may force the issue as to whether Stevenson redshirts. A year in Nebraska's system - strength and conditioning, diet, academic support - could do wonders for Stevenson. Either way, he'll need to be patient. Among bigger backs, Imani Cross — again in great shape — pass blocks the best and has run well enough. Adam Taylor fits in and may be the best tackle-breaker. Devine Ozigbo has potential but could be a good redshirt candidate. He needs to learn the offense and get better in the pass blocking department. He's not yet the runner Newby or Wilbon is.
At fullback/H-back, Andy Janovich, Harrison Jordan and Luke McNitt all fit the bill as big loads, with McNitt the most skilled pass catcher by a small margin. All are good enough to play, and Jordan has a good low center of gravity.
Wide receivers/tight ends: Injuries have slowed this unit, so there isn't anything new to write about Jordan Westerkamp, De'Mornay Pierson-El, Brandon Reilly, Lane Hovey or Taariq Allen.
That means a lot of other guys — Stanley Morgan, Jamal Turner, Alonzo Moore, Lavan Alston and several walk-ons - have had chance after chance after chance to flash their skills.
Morgan, Moore and probably walk-on Brady Pelzer — who may not play much during the season — have made the most of those chances.
Morgan is Nebraska's best young receiver since Kenny Bell, who had to redshirt because he got dinged up in 2010 training camp and NU had a bunch of seniors that season. Morgan is a different receiver than Bell, who was faster and a niftier runner. Morgan is more polished, has better hands and a bigger frame. Morgan can make catches over the middle, too. He's quiet in practice. Focused. It works for him. He's earned playing time this year.
Moore has good speed and is learning — thanks to coach Keith Williams — to "have a plan" at the line of scrimmage for getting off of press coverage. Moore has more physicality to him than you'd expect — once he catches the ball. Pelzer is reminiscent of former Husker receiver Grant Mulkey. Similarly tough and willing to lay out for catches. He may have earned a rep or two during games.
Turner has been inconsistent. Still a guy with talent. Still a guy who will play. But still the receiver from 2011-2013, too. Alston has speed, but could use a redshirt season. Before he got hurt, Sam Burtch didn't practice nearly enough to make much of an impression, but seems to know the offense.
At tight end, Cethan Carter is the clear starter and looks how he looked last week. Big. Fast. In shape. He pushes some of those younger defenders, too. He still presents a good target on those shorter routes and he doesn't drop the ball much. However the Huskers do it, they need to keep him healthy and in the games. Behind Carter, you've seen a number of different guys — Sam Cotton, David Sutton, and Matt Snyder. Standing on the sideline, it's hard to gauge run blocking from a tight end, but Sutton and Cotton are ahead in that regard. Snyder has caught a few passes — then rumbled with the ball — in team periods. Whether Snyder plays or not this season, he'll be an unpleasant guy to tackle in a year's time because he has pretty good acceleration, and he has some knees on him.
Offensive line: Your left tackle (Alex Lewis) and right guard (Chongo Kondolo) spots have been settled. Lewis has had good battles all camp with Jack Gangwish, who brings top effort every time he can. There's not much of an on/off faucet, like there was with Randy Gregory. Lewis wins some, Gangwish wins some. Kondolo loses more than he wins against Maliek Collins, but Collins, the team's best player plus a grinder in practice, would do that to many linemen. Kondolo, though, stays late after practice night after night to work on technique and steps. He's seized his chance, and he has plays where he's very good. He'll have a good year.
At right tackle, Nick Gates has a future coaches love. He's mobile in the run game and very competitive in pass blocking drills, which tend to be pretty easy for defensive ends to win. Zach Sterup and Gates continue to battle for that job, with Matt Finnin currently as a reserve. At center Ryne Reeves and Paul Thurston both look decent; Thurston has improved as a player and should be the guy next season regardless of whether he wins the job this year. Reeves looks in good in pass protection from what I've seen. Both are better snappers than their predecessor. The No. 3 center is Chris Long, with Michael Decker as a freshman. He'll be redshirting, as will Christian Gaylord, who's moved around some but should land at tackle. Both will look like different players after a full year's worth of weight room work. Jalin Barnett will, too — especially in the flexibility/body reshaping category — but he has "oh my" moments.
At left guard, Dylan Utter will have to hold off Jerald Foster, and it'll be interesting to see if he can. Foster has the potential to be Nebraska's best lineman by next season. He moves lightly for his size, has excellent flexibility (watch high kick drills) and balance and just generally gets how to play the position. Utter has some old-school toughness — and he's strong. Compact and strong.
Among backups, left tackle David Knevel appears to be having a good camp — the LT job is his next year — while Tanner Farmer is growing into the guard role. Corey Whitaker is working with the second offensive line unit. Givens Price moved to defensive tackle — wise choice on his part — while Zach Hannon is a reserve. Sam Hahn continues to look like a guy who will play some tackle next season unless the Huskers load up on junior college guys.
Defensive line: Collins is a gamer and a grinder; he doesn't take a lot of plays off, he's not a guy who kneels a lot during down moments, and he works after practice. That's why he's a captain. Vincent Valentine just returned to camp. Kevin Williams has continued strong effort in camp, pushing the pocket, playing the run well, etc. Gangwish has had a good camp and he makes plays. Greg McMullen is stingy against the run and position coach Hank Hughes likes him. Among younger players, Carlos and Khalil Davis play very hard. Major effort! They come off the ball, they're eager to compete. Mick Stoltenberg is bigger but has retained some quickness; he'll play his share, and has shown himself to be a decent pass rusher. Defensive end Freedom Akinmoladun is similar to the twins — plays hard, tries hard, will get better with seasoning. Defensive end Ross Dzuris will play, as will defensive tackle Kevin Maurice. The minute he switched over to defense, Givens Price became Nebraska's biggest defensive lineman; he's bigger than Valentine and almost certainly weighs more. Could he help in a goal-line situation? Other reserve defensive linemen were covered in the previous update.
Linebackers: Josh Banderas and Michael Rose-Ivey continue to have good camps. Rose-Ivey made several excellent plays in the two practices we watched; he "gets" the game and has a knack, even in passing situations. It's good to have him back in the mix. At the weakside linebacker spot, Marcus Newby seems just a bit ahead of Dedrick Young, but both should play. Both are "plus" athletes. Behind that quartet, redshirt freshman Luke Gifford has looked really good. Better than I expected. He can cover, he'll come up and hit guys — that was a good scholarship offer by Nebraska, a kid who played quarterback and safety at Lincoln Southeast. Among the freshmen linebackers, Tyrin Ferguson is now working with the No. 2 unit at middle linebacker because Chris Weber is not practicing. Ferguson is rangy; he'll learn the physical part.
Secondary: Daniel Davie and Josh Kalu had strong practices on Thursday. I like their energy, their fire, their ability to challenge receivers on route. Kalu has worked at nickel. On Tuesday, Trai Mosley got beat a few times. Mosley and Jonathan Rose are the No. 2 group of corners now that Chris Jones has a knee injury. Boaz Joseph, Eric Lee and Avery Anderson are on the third units, and Lee and Anderson have had decent camps. At safety, Nate Gerry has continued a top camp. Aaron Williams and Keiron Williams will both play at least on special teams, and Aaron Williams has a nice ability to anticipate. Antonio Reed looks more like a linebacker than a safety, and he has a certain pop and attitude to his hits.
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