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Tuesday notebook: DBs living up to "Lockdown U" mentality
***Some good injury news to pass along was that senior wide receiver Brandon Reilly was a full participant in Tuesday's practice. Reilly missed last week's game vs. Oregon with a hamstring injury he suffered the week prior against Wyoming.
**The bad news, however, was that senior Alonzo Moore was sidelined with an unspecified injury. Moore missed most of practice last week with a shoulder injury he suffered against Wyoming.
***Defensive coordinator Mark Banker said his defense definitely didn’t play its best game against Oregon. While some of that had to do with the Ducks’ talent and speed, Banker said the defense had far too many “fundamental” errors in the win.
***Banker said Nebraska has been charting tackles a little differently this season, keeping track of “effective tackling” and “dominant tackling”. Banker said “effective” tackling was holding a ball carrier to 2.3 yards after contact or less. “Dominant tackling” is essentially zero YAC.
***Banker credited Nebraska’s switch to rugby style tackling for the improvement the defense has shown each week this season.
***Banker said he and John Parrella have to do a better job with their defensive line rotation going forward. He said the front four got “a little lethargic” at times on Saturday, and when he looked at the amount of snaps the line played, it made total sense.
***Banker said Nebraska isn’t taking anything for granted going up against a Northwestern offense that has struggled so far this season. Banker said the Wildcats “embarrassed us last season”, pointing to one run by quarterback Caleb Thorson in particular where the defense “looked like Mo, Larry and Curly out there trying to tackle him.”
***Banker admitted there was no way going into the season that he could’ve predicted Ross Dzuris would be playing at the level he has been through three games. However, he said Dzuris was a guy who always works hard, is a technician in his work, and has a passion for the game. When you have those characteristics, Banker said, you’re chances for success are going to be high.
***Banker said in all of his years of football he’d never seen a team go for as many two-point conversions as Oregon (5) did on Saturday.
***Linebacker Michael Rose-Ivey said he can definitely tell that Nebraska’s strength and conditioning work has been giving them a huge advantage late in games. He said it’s clear the Huskers have been in much better shape in the fourth quarter than their opponents, and he credited Mark Philipp and his staff for getting the team so physically ready.
***One thing linebackers coach Trent Bray said the defense will be focusing on this week is getting off the field on third downs. He said he counted 11 or 12 different times that Thorson was able to pass to convert a third-and-long in the Wildcats’ win over Duke.
***The Huskers spent most of the day on the fields outside of the Hawks Championship Center, as they start to get acclimated for the natural grass surface of Northwestern's Ryan Field on Saturday. The grounds crew also has let the grass on the practice fields grow a little longer than usual to help simulate the Wildcats' long-cut turf.
Tuesday notebook: DBs living up to "Lockdown U" mentality
***Some good injury news to pass along was that senior wide receiver Brandon Reilly was a full participant in Tuesday's practice. Reilly missed last week's game vs. Oregon with a hamstring injury he suffered the week prior against Wyoming.
**The bad news, however, was that senior Alonzo Moore was sidelined with an unspecified injury. Moore missed most of practice last week with a shoulder injury he suffered against Wyoming.
***Defensive coordinator Mark Banker said his defense definitely didn’t play its best game against Oregon. While some of that had to do with the Ducks’ talent and speed, Banker said the defense had far too many “fundamental” errors in the win.
***Banker said Nebraska has been charting tackles a little differently this season, keeping track of “effective tackling” and “dominant tackling”. Banker said “effective” tackling was holding a ball carrier to 2.3 yards after contact or less. “Dominant tackling” is essentially zero YAC.
***Banker credited Nebraska’s switch to rugby style tackling for the improvement the defense has shown each week this season.
***Banker said he and John Parrella have to do a better job with their defensive line rotation going forward. He said the front four got “a little lethargic” at times on Saturday, and when he looked at the amount of snaps the line played, it made total sense.
***Banker said Nebraska isn’t taking anything for granted going up against a Northwestern offense that has struggled so far this season. Banker said the Wildcats “embarrassed us last season”, pointing to one run by quarterback Caleb Thorson in particular where the defense “looked like Mo, Larry and Curly out there trying to tackle him.”
***Banker admitted there was no way going into the season that he could’ve predicted Ross Dzuris would be playing at the level he has been through three games. However, he said Dzuris was a guy who always works hard, is a technician in his work, and has a passion for the game. When you have those characteristics, Banker said, you’re chances for success are going to be high.
***Banker said in all of his years of football he’d never seen a team go for as many two-point conversions as Oregon (5) did on Saturday.
***Linebacker Michael Rose-Ivey said he can definitely tell that Nebraska’s strength and conditioning work has been giving them a huge advantage late in games. He said it’s clear the Huskers have been in much better shape in the fourth quarter than their opponents, and he credited Mark Philipp and his staff for getting the team so physically ready.
***One thing linebackers coach Trent Bray said the defense will be focusing on this week is getting off the field on third downs. He said he counted 11 or 12 different times that Thorson was able to pass to convert a third-and-long in the Wildcats’ win over Duke.
***The Huskers spent most of the day on the fields outside of the Hawks Championship Center, as they start to get acclimated for the natural grass surface of Northwestern's Ryan Field on Saturday. The grounds crew also has let the grass on the practice fields grow a little longer than usual to help simulate the Wildcats' long-cut turf.
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