Below are the HOL staff's practice observations from today.
Sean's observations [/B]
***I really enjoy watching wide receivers coach Keith Williams in practice. He has as a swagger and energy about him that you can tell all the players like. He's also quick to love up players after they make a big play and he will even smack talk a little with the defensive backs.
***A big thing I've noticed with the offense vs. last year is the cadence calls with the QB. They really mix up the cadence and the defense has no idea when the ball is going to be snapped. It's much different then the clap count NU did a year ago.
***I watched a lot of Wednesday's practice with one of my old high school coaches Chuck Osberg, who was the offensive coordinator for the Omaha Mammoths this past season, as well as UNO back in the 1980's with Sandy Buda. He's a true QB guru and knows offense very well. When the second practice got going his eyes immediately lit up watching AJ Bush throw the football. It's obvious to everyone he's got an impressive arm and arguably the most athletic ability of the other QB's. I'm not saying he's going to unseat Armstrong, but he's definitely on the come. He just makes it look very easy for day 3.
***I love the way Adam Taylor is running the football. He's physical and hungry. Also a coach on the previous staff told me this week if Taylor didn't get hurt in 2014, he probably would've played over Imani Cross.
***Wide receiver Brandon Reilly had another strong practice. He's just very consistent and catches almost everything thrown his way.
***Linebacker Josh Banderas has a nice interception off of Tommy Armstrong when he was dropped back into zone coverage. This is the most confidence I've seen Josh have on the field since he's been here. He just looks happy.
***Man I get a kick out of Mike Cavanaugh. After practice about 15 reporters came around him and talked to him for nearly 15 minutes. When it was all done he looked at me and said "is it like this every Wednesday?" I said: "Welcome to Nebraska coach. You are now the most interviewed offensive line coach in college football." He laughed and joked how at Oregon State the offensive line coach was rarely interviewed.
***Cavanaugh talked to me more about his relationship with Milt Tenopir. He said they talk quite a bit and he wants to pick his brain as much as possible. He also said he wants all the former offensive linemen to know they are welcomed to come back and visit. He enjoys having them around his guys.
***Cavanaugh has the offensive line mixed up pretty good. When you look at the Red and the White teams, he tried to get a good balance on each side. That's why he put some guys like Zach Hannon with the Red and then Chongo Kondolo with the White. He didn't want all veterans on one side. The biggest thing he's doing this spring is trying to teach toughness. He wants this group to play nasty and tough.
***Speaking of Hannon he looks great right now. He's down to 295 pounds. When he got to Nebraska as a freshman he tipped the scale as much as 350. He's got a whole new attitude this spring.
Nate's observations
***Former Huskers Jeremiah Sirles, Zaire Anderson and Jake Cotton were at the first session of practice today. They were all paying close attention to the individual periods.
***Former Nebraska defensive backs coach George Darlington was also at today's practice.
***The individual portions of today's practices were once again spent teaching/coaching basic fundamentals and technique. The linebackers did a few tackling stations and they spent a lot of time working on the proper footwork and hand placements to get off of blocks.
***I thought both quarterbacks Tommy Armstrong and AJ Bush had pretty good days for the most part today. Bush looked particularly good in the second session of practice and was able to get a ton of reps. There was a stretch of time where, even if all of the passes weren't caught, Bush really didn't have a poorly thrown ball.
***Tight end Cethan Carter looked good today and was targeted quite a few times. He was running a pretty wide variety of routes that you really haven't see the tight ends at Nebraska run in quite some time. He could be in for a very productive season.
***Running back Adam Taylor was running hard and delivering some blows in the first day of pads. He's a load to bring down and can definitely punish defenders. He also has shown the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield too. Terrell Newby got loose on a couple of nice runs today where he was able to show off his speed.
***I thought Josh Banderas had a great day at middle linebacker. He looked confident in his play calls and made several plays including an interception and a nice pass breakup in coverage against Cethan Carter. Marcus Newby flashed at times today. It's all about learning the system and becoming more consistent.
***Wide receiver Jariah Tolbert had a big day in the second session of practice. He had a couple of bad drops early on, but came back and reeled off several very impressive catches. Most of his catches came against solid coverage, but he was able to win those battles against the corners. I think Tolbert has an opportunity to become a pretty big part of the rotation at receiver.
***A couple of the corners who were battling against Tolbert were true freshmen newcomers Avery Anderson and Eric Lee. Both of them looked good, but had their true freshmen moments as well. There was one play where Anderson had great coverage on WR Taariq Allen who made a great catch in the air, but Anderson was able to knock the ball out as they fell to the ground.
Dan's observations
***Danny Langsdorf [/B]is a quiet guy, but he seems like a great teacher and communicator. He clearly already has the respect of the quarterbacks and brings some real knowledge to the position. After every play he meets with the passers and goes over the previous play with them. I think he’s going to be a great addition.
***Brandon Reilly[/B] had one of the best days of any player that I saw. He consistently got open underneath and made a ton of catches in the live sessions. Receivers coach Keith Williams said he’s “buying what Reilly is selling.”
***From what I could tell, the No. 1 offensive line was (left to right) Alex Lewis, Zach Hannon, Paul Thurston, Dylan Utter and Givens Price[/B] with Tanner Farmer[/B] and Ryne Reeves[/B] mixed in. The second unit was David Knevel, Jerald Foster, Robbie Painter, Chongo Kondolo and Matt Finnin[/B].
***Trai Mosley[/B] is a bit undersized at corner, but I really like his competitiveness. In the one-on-one drills with receivers, he made back-to-back great plays, first using his physicality to break up a slant, then his speed to keep up with Glenn Irons [/B]and tip away a deep pass.
***Chris Jones[/B] is another defensive back to keep an eye on. He’s just feisty out there and has pretty good size for the position.
***It’ll be interesting to see how Marcus Newby[/B] fits in once David Santos[/B] is healthy and back in the mix, but he looks good. He’s a much better athlete than he gets credit for and had absolutely no trouble covering backs or tight ends. If this system is that much easier to grasp it certainly plays in his favor.
***Expect to see a lot more jet sweeps in the offense this season.
***The receivers as a whole really struggled with drops today, particularly with passes in the sun. Alonzo Moore[/B], who continues to create separation with his speed, lost a couple looking into the sun.
***Jariah Tolbert [/B]had back-to-back drops on very catchable passes at the start of the scrimmage session, but AJ Bush[/B] smiled and put his arm around the dejected receiver to let him know it was OK.
***With maybe the exception of Tommy Armstrong[/B], Bush has the strongest arm on the team and is receiving the majority of the “White” team reps over Ryker Fyfe and Zack Darlington.
Robin's observations
***One way Nebraska’s coaching staff is maximizing the reps the Huskers take early on in practice is breaking the defense into four groups with linemen, linebackers and defensive backs all mixed together within each group. That gives each position coach running the four stations a chance to see their guys not only matched up against their respective positions, but against other groups as well.
***The top offensive line group for the Red squad was the same as it has been: LT - Alex Lewis, LG - Zach Hannon, C - Paul Thurston, RG - Dylan Utter, RT - Givens Price.
***The more I watch redshirt freshman receiver Glenn Irons practice the more I think he could emerge as a valuable weapon for Nebraska. He’s not the fastest guy out there, but he’s as shifty in the open field as anyone and can make almost anyone miss with the ball in space. He looked really good during individual drills and in skeleton work with the DBs.
***Speaking of the receiver vs. secondary drills, I loved how physical and competitive the units are with each other. We saw some big “pops” coming off the line, including a big jam from Daniel Davie at the line and then Jordan Westerkamp delivering a nice shot while making his break on an out route.
***One of the things I enjoyed most was watching Davie and De’Mornay Pierson-El go head-to-head. Davie is clearly NU’s best corner, and Pierson-El’s skills as a wide out have really come along since last season, particularly in how sharp his routes are. Those two seem to bring out the best in each other.
***Trai Mosley had a really nice practice at cornerback. During the full-team work, NU’s quarterbacks seemed to be going after him a lot on the right side, but the sophomore didn’t allow a single completion during that period.
***Thurston told me after practice that there has been a definite emphasis on the screen pass game with this new offense, which he said he loved since it utilized his athleticism much more than just grinding the in the trenches. “I like to get out there and hit the little guys every once in a while,” Thurston said.
***Speaking of screen passes, Adam Taylor could be a serious threat in part of the offense. He’s got good hands and immediately turns up field and knows his next move after the catch. Taylor has looked really good in the reps I’ve watched thus far.
This post was edited on 3/11 6:57 PM by Robin Washut
This post was edited on 3/11 6:58 PM by Robin Washut
This post was edited on 3/11 7:34 PM by Sean Callahan
This post was edited on 3/11 7:35 PM by Sean Callahan
Sean's observations [/B]
***I really enjoy watching wide receivers coach Keith Williams in practice. He has as a swagger and energy about him that you can tell all the players like. He's also quick to love up players after they make a big play and he will even smack talk a little with the defensive backs.
***A big thing I've noticed with the offense vs. last year is the cadence calls with the QB. They really mix up the cadence and the defense has no idea when the ball is going to be snapped. It's much different then the clap count NU did a year ago.
***I watched a lot of Wednesday's practice with one of my old high school coaches Chuck Osberg, who was the offensive coordinator for the Omaha Mammoths this past season, as well as UNO back in the 1980's with Sandy Buda. He's a true QB guru and knows offense very well. When the second practice got going his eyes immediately lit up watching AJ Bush throw the football. It's obvious to everyone he's got an impressive arm and arguably the most athletic ability of the other QB's. I'm not saying he's going to unseat Armstrong, but he's definitely on the come. He just makes it look very easy for day 3.
***I love the way Adam Taylor is running the football. He's physical and hungry. Also a coach on the previous staff told me this week if Taylor didn't get hurt in 2014, he probably would've played over Imani Cross.
***Wide receiver Brandon Reilly had another strong practice. He's just very consistent and catches almost everything thrown his way.
***Linebacker Josh Banderas has a nice interception off of Tommy Armstrong when he was dropped back into zone coverage. This is the most confidence I've seen Josh have on the field since he's been here. He just looks happy.
***Man I get a kick out of Mike Cavanaugh. After practice about 15 reporters came around him and talked to him for nearly 15 minutes. When it was all done he looked at me and said "is it like this every Wednesday?" I said: "Welcome to Nebraska coach. You are now the most interviewed offensive line coach in college football." He laughed and joked how at Oregon State the offensive line coach was rarely interviewed.
***Cavanaugh talked to me more about his relationship with Milt Tenopir. He said they talk quite a bit and he wants to pick his brain as much as possible. He also said he wants all the former offensive linemen to know they are welcomed to come back and visit. He enjoys having them around his guys.
***Cavanaugh has the offensive line mixed up pretty good. When you look at the Red and the White teams, he tried to get a good balance on each side. That's why he put some guys like Zach Hannon with the Red and then Chongo Kondolo with the White. He didn't want all veterans on one side. The biggest thing he's doing this spring is trying to teach toughness. He wants this group to play nasty and tough.
***Speaking of Hannon he looks great right now. He's down to 295 pounds. When he got to Nebraska as a freshman he tipped the scale as much as 350. He's got a whole new attitude this spring.
Nate's observations
***Former Huskers Jeremiah Sirles, Zaire Anderson and Jake Cotton were at the first session of practice today. They were all paying close attention to the individual periods.
***Former Nebraska defensive backs coach George Darlington was also at today's practice.
***The individual portions of today's practices were once again spent teaching/coaching basic fundamentals and technique. The linebackers did a few tackling stations and they spent a lot of time working on the proper footwork and hand placements to get off of blocks.
***I thought both quarterbacks Tommy Armstrong and AJ Bush had pretty good days for the most part today. Bush looked particularly good in the second session of practice and was able to get a ton of reps. There was a stretch of time where, even if all of the passes weren't caught, Bush really didn't have a poorly thrown ball.
***Tight end Cethan Carter looked good today and was targeted quite a few times. He was running a pretty wide variety of routes that you really haven't see the tight ends at Nebraska run in quite some time. He could be in for a very productive season.
***Running back Adam Taylor was running hard and delivering some blows in the first day of pads. He's a load to bring down and can definitely punish defenders. He also has shown the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield too. Terrell Newby got loose on a couple of nice runs today where he was able to show off his speed.
***I thought Josh Banderas had a great day at middle linebacker. He looked confident in his play calls and made several plays including an interception and a nice pass breakup in coverage against Cethan Carter. Marcus Newby flashed at times today. It's all about learning the system and becoming more consistent.
***Wide receiver Jariah Tolbert had a big day in the second session of practice. He had a couple of bad drops early on, but came back and reeled off several very impressive catches. Most of his catches came against solid coverage, but he was able to win those battles against the corners. I think Tolbert has an opportunity to become a pretty big part of the rotation at receiver.
***A couple of the corners who were battling against Tolbert were true freshmen newcomers Avery Anderson and Eric Lee. Both of them looked good, but had their true freshmen moments as well. There was one play where Anderson had great coverage on WR Taariq Allen who made a great catch in the air, but Anderson was able to knock the ball out as they fell to the ground.
Dan's observations
***Danny Langsdorf [/B]is a quiet guy, but he seems like a great teacher and communicator. He clearly already has the respect of the quarterbacks and brings some real knowledge to the position. After every play he meets with the passers and goes over the previous play with them. I think he’s going to be a great addition.
***Brandon Reilly[/B] had one of the best days of any player that I saw. He consistently got open underneath and made a ton of catches in the live sessions. Receivers coach Keith Williams said he’s “buying what Reilly is selling.”
***From what I could tell, the No. 1 offensive line was (left to right) Alex Lewis, Zach Hannon, Paul Thurston, Dylan Utter and Givens Price[/B] with Tanner Farmer[/B] and Ryne Reeves[/B] mixed in. The second unit was David Knevel, Jerald Foster, Robbie Painter, Chongo Kondolo and Matt Finnin[/B].
***Trai Mosley[/B] is a bit undersized at corner, but I really like his competitiveness. In the one-on-one drills with receivers, he made back-to-back great plays, first using his physicality to break up a slant, then his speed to keep up with Glenn Irons [/B]and tip away a deep pass.
***Chris Jones[/B] is another defensive back to keep an eye on. He’s just feisty out there and has pretty good size for the position.
***It’ll be interesting to see how Marcus Newby[/B] fits in once David Santos[/B] is healthy and back in the mix, but he looks good. He’s a much better athlete than he gets credit for and had absolutely no trouble covering backs or tight ends. If this system is that much easier to grasp it certainly plays in his favor.
***Expect to see a lot more jet sweeps in the offense this season.
***The receivers as a whole really struggled with drops today, particularly with passes in the sun. Alonzo Moore[/B], who continues to create separation with his speed, lost a couple looking into the sun.
***Jariah Tolbert [/B]had back-to-back drops on very catchable passes at the start of the scrimmage session, but AJ Bush[/B] smiled and put his arm around the dejected receiver to let him know it was OK.
***With maybe the exception of Tommy Armstrong[/B], Bush has the strongest arm on the team and is receiving the majority of the “White” team reps over Ryker Fyfe and Zack Darlington.
Robin's observations
***One way Nebraska’s coaching staff is maximizing the reps the Huskers take early on in practice is breaking the defense into four groups with linemen, linebackers and defensive backs all mixed together within each group. That gives each position coach running the four stations a chance to see their guys not only matched up against their respective positions, but against other groups as well.
***The top offensive line group for the Red squad was the same as it has been: LT - Alex Lewis, LG - Zach Hannon, C - Paul Thurston, RG - Dylan Utter, RT - Givens Price.
***The more I watch redshirt freshman receiver Glenn Irons practice the more I think he could emerge as a valuable weapon for Nebraska. He’s not the fastest guy out there, but he’s as shifty in the open field as anyone and can make almost anyone miss with the ball in space. He looked really good during individual drills and in skeleton work with the DBs.
***Speaking of the receiver vs. secondary drills, I loved how physical and competitive the units are with each other. We saw some big “pops” coming off the line, including a big jam from Daniel Davie at the line and then Jordan Westerkamp delivering a nice shot while making his break on an out route.
***One of the things I enjoyed most was watching Davie and De’Mornay Pierson-El go head-to-head. Davie is clearly NU’s best corner, and Pierson-El’s skills as a wide out have really come along since last season, particularly in how sharp his routes are. Those two seem to bring out the best in each other.
***Trai Mosley had a really nice practice at cornerback. During the full-team work, NU’s quarterbacks seemed to be going after him a lot on the right side, but the sophomore didn’t allow a single completion during that period.
***Thurston told me after practice that there has been a definite emphasis on the screen pass game with this new offense, which he said he loved since it utilized his athleticism much more than just grinding the in the trenches. “I like to get out there and hit the little guys every once in a while,” Thurston said.
***Speaking of screen passes, Adam Taylor could be a serious threat in part of the offense. He’s got good hands and immediately turns up field and knows his next move after the catch. Taylor has looked really good in the reps I’ve watched thus far.
This post was edited on 3/11 6:57 PM by Robin Washut
This post was edited on 3/11 6:58 PM by Robin Washut
This post was edited on 3/11 7:34 PM by Sean Callahan
This post was edited on 3/11 7:35 PM by Sean Callahan
