Here are some quick notes to pass along from Nebraska’s half-pads practice on Tuesday morning…
***We already knew Nebraska’s coaching staff loved Joshua Kalu at safety, but defensive coordinator Bob Diaco took that to a new level following Tuesday’s practice. While raving about what Kalu brings to the safety position, Diaco claimed he truly believed Kalu could end up being “one of, if not the best safety in the country” when all was said and done.
***Diaco said safety was a vital position in his defensive scheme, and having two guys like Kalu and Aaron Williams serving as the “quarterbacks” on the field would be invaluable.
**Diaco said he’s not focused on the long-term with the cornerbacks coming up to fill the void of Chris Jones’ injury. He said the Huskers “don’t fly at 40,000 feet” in their preparation, instead, they want to improve by “.001 percent” each day.
***Diaco talked about the addition of Gary Darnell as a defensive analyst, saying it was a no-brainer to bring in someone with Darnell’s experience. Diaco called Darnell a veteran coach “who has been there and done that at every level”, and that Darnell has a wealth of experience that he “can cycle back in his Rolodex of information going back to the ‘70s”.
***De’Mornay Pierson-El was at Tuesday’s practice wearing a green no-contact jersey, as he still needs to go through the required two acclimation practices before putting the pads on.
***Safeties coach Scott Booker did his first interviews on Tuesday, and he said he was definitely ready for all that comes with coaching at a place like Nebraska from his experience at Notre Dame.
***Just like the late Bob Elliott did this spring, Booker praised just how smart Aaron Williams was at safety and how much that would help the entire defense having him back there.
***Lamar Jackson said he grew up a lot over the past year just with his overall maturity. He admitted last year his ego was pretty big when he came to Lincoln, and when things got tough he said he would sometimes just go through the motions with his effort.
Now he’s taken on a totally different focus, saying he doesn’t even like to look back on last year’s film because he’s embarrassed by his play and effort.
***Jackson said Chris Jones expects to have his knee brace off sometime next week. Jackson said Jones had always been “backbone” and “security blanket”, and when Jones went down Jackson knew he had to step up both as a player and a leader at cornerback.
***Eric Lee said he knew what kind of opportunity was in front of him from the moment Jones went down, and now he’s determined to do everything he can to earn the starting position and answer the call.
***Cornerbacks coach Donte Williams said NU still has not done any work on the nickel defense this fall.
***We already knew Nebraska’s coaching staff loved Joshua Kalu at safety, but defensive coordinator Bob Diaco took that to a new level following Tuesday’s practice. While raving about what Kalu brings to the safety position, Diaco claimed he truly believed Kalu could end up being “one of, if not the best safety in the country” when all was said and done.
***Diaco said safety was a vital position in his defensive scheme, and having two guys like Kalu and Aaron Williams serving as the “quarterbacks” on the field would be invaluable.
**Diaco said he’s not focused on the long-term with the cornerbacks coming up to fill the void of Chris Jones’ injury. He said the Huskers “don’t fly at 40,000 feet” in their preparation, instead, they want to improve by “.001 percent” each day.
***Diaco talked about the addition of Gary Darnell as a defensive analyst, saying it was a no-brainer to bring in someone with Darnell’s experience. Diaco called Darnell a veteran coach “who has been there and done that at every level”, and that Darnell has a wealth of experience that he “can cycle back in his Rolodex of information going back to the ‘70s”.
***De’Mornay Pierson-El was at Tuesday’s practice wearing a green no-contact jersey, as he still needs to go through the required two acclimation practices before putting the pads on.
***Safeties coach Scott Booker did his first interviews on Tuesday, and he said he was definitely ready for all that comes with coaching at a place like Nebraska from his experience at Notre Dame.
***Just like the late Bob Elliott did this spring, Booker praised just how smart Aaron Williams was at safety and how much that would help the entire defense having him back there.
***Lamar Jackson said he grew up a lot over the past year just with his overall maturity. He admitted last year his ego was pretty big when he came to Lincoln, and when things got tough he said he would sometimes just go through the motions with his effort.
Now he’s taken on a totally different focus, saying he doesn’t even like to look back on last year’s film because he’s embarrassed by his play and effort.
***Jackson said Chris Jones expects to have his knee brace off sometime next week. Jackson said Jones had always been “backbone” and “security blanket”, and when Jones went down Jackson knew he had to step up both as a player and a leader at cornerback.
***Eric Lee said he knew what kind of opportunity was in front of him from the moment Jones went down, and now he’s determined to do everything he can to earn the starting position and answer the call.
***Cornerbacks coach Donte Williams said NU still has not done any work on the nickel defense this fall.
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