Some notes and observations from the final practice open to the media before Saturday's spring game...
Dan's observations
***I think Sam Foltz is in for a monster season. He's always had a cannon for a leg, and he's continued to boom punts all over the field. His accuracy is improving as well. When punting inside, he was calling out which ceiling tile he would hit before each punt.
***Luke Gifford impressed me with his speed. The converted safety chased down AJ Bush on a scramble and later jumped a route to pick off a pass.
***Brandon Reilly had himself quite a day and continues to draw major praise from the coaches and quarterbacks. He made a spectacular leaping catch over Boaz Joseph on a fade pattern, then later sprinted by Aaron Williams for an 80-yard touchdown on a fly route.
***One thing I've noticed about Zach Darlington is his willingness to throw short. Sometimes it seems Tommy Armstrong and Johnny Stanton are always looking downfield, but Darlington isn't afraid to dump passes off to backs or look underneath for the tight ends.
***Armstrong had some nice throws, but he had a few more interceptions as well. His up-and-down performances leave me wondering how the coaches are evaluating him.
***I've been buying Joshua Kalu stock since early last year and I'm not selling now. He was going against the backup receivers Wednesday, but he was all over them. And I'm not sure there's a more loose, carefree guy on the team. He's just fun to watch.
***Williams and Trai Mosley both worked with the first-team defense.
***Gabe Miller was at practice working with Josh Faulkenberry. Good to see the former long snapper staying involved and trying to help his replacement.
***It seems the number of false starts by offensive linemen decreases each practice as the group gets more comfortable.
***Most of the praise for the defensive tackles has gone to Maliek Collins and Vincent Valentine, and that's deserved. But don't forget Kevin Williams. He's very quick for a defensive tackle and has an ability to get to the quarterback, something the group as a whole will be more encouraged to do under the new scheme.
***Former Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion, who is currently training for the NFL Draft, was in attendance.
Nate's observations
***Former San Francisco 49er great Jesse Sapolu was at practice today. He was in town seeing his son, Roman Sapolu, who is a GA on Riley's staff. Other people I spotted at practice today included former Husker coaches Milt Tenopir and George Darlington, former Huskers Jake Cotton and Ciante Evans, and Larry The Cable Guy was there towards the end of practice as well.
***Wide receiver Jariah Tolbert is a player that continues to have a very solid spring. He had several nice catches again today. One of his catches was a one-handed grab in tight coverage and on another he showed some very solid speed in the open field after making a grab.
***Receiver Lane Hovey is another big-bodied receiver that has really looked good this spring. He had an outstanding day today making several nice catches in traffic. He always seemed to win any 50-50 balls against the secondary.
***Running back Adam Taylor showed off some nice hands once again today. He very rarely, if ever, caught the ball out of the backfield in high school so that was always one thing that I questioned about him when he came to Nebraska. He's more than proven that he can be an asset in the passing game however.
***Speaking on Taylor, I think he's got to be the most excited of any running back on the roster to be able to go "live" full-contact on Saturday. He's definitely a physical runner and at his best when able to dish out some punishment to defenders while carrying the rock.
***All of the freshmen that enrolled at semester have impressed me throughout the spring. Perhaps the player that has flashed the most out of the group though has been safety Aaron Williams who arguably came in with the least amount of fanfare. I remember speaking with Williams' father this past winter who told me that Aaron was going to surprise some people and play a lot this fall and so far everything he has said has been spot on. Williams has been seeing time with the 1's in both the base and nickel packages and has looked good in doing so.
***Freshman offensive lineman Nick Gates continues to play some right guard and right tackle. He's showed a lot of promise along with his fellow redshirt freshmen o-linemen Jerald Foster and Tanner Farmer.
***Safety Nate Gerry had a nice interception where he really showed off his speed and range as he came over the top and picked off a pass that was intended for Brandon Reilly. Cornerback Trai Mosley had pretty solid coverage on the play, but the ball was slightly overthrown by Tommy Armstrong.
***I feel like Tommy Armstrong is in his comfort zone when throwing 15+ yards out and able to let the ball rip. He's struggled with touch on the short out passes and underneath throws in between the hashes.
***Linebacker Luke Gifford had a nice interception in 7-on-7 work today. Being a former safety, his coverage skills are as good as any linebacker on the team.
***Both secondary units looked great today during team and especially during 7-on-7 periods today. It's hard to really notice a sharp drop off from the 1's on down to the 3's in my opinion. There were several times today where the quarterbacks had to hold on to the ball during 7-on-7 because no one was open. If the secondary can maintain that level of play during the fall it should allow for the D-line to have a monster season.
***Leroy Alexander, Jordan Nelson, and Eric Lee were a few of the players seen getting some reps as kickoff returners. De'Mornay Pierson-El and Chris Jones got some time returning punts.
Robin's observations
***There was a pretty cool site before the start of practice when Heisman Trophy winner and legendary NU receiver/return man Johnny Rodgers was chatting on the sideline with sophomore sensation De'Mornay Pierson-El. The two have already met, most recently at the Jet Award ceremony, but it's good to see a young guy like Pierson-El soaking up as much knowledge as he can from a guy who was as good as it gets at the same position.
***I noticed Zach Darlington got some reps with the second-team offense today, but it's still pretty obvious to me that AJ Bush is the No. 2 behind Tommy Armstrong right now.
***Speaking of Bush, it was nice to finally interview him after practice. It's clear the kid has no shortage of confidence, and he's really well spoken. He should be more than capable of handling himself in the NU quarterback spotlight down the road.
***Another young guy who has plenty of swag on the field is sophomore cornerback Josh Kalu. After nearly picking off Bush on the previous play, Kalu dared Bush to throw near him again, yelling "Don't test me, AJ!" across the line of scrimmage before the next snap.
***Bush keeps getting better every practice, but he still has a long way to go in his consistency. There was one sequence where he did a beautiful job of going through three different reads in the pocket before hitting Jariah Tolbert over the middle for a big gain, but then threw an interception to Luke Gifford on the very next play.
***Defensive line coach Hank Hughes was preaching "upper-body violence" to his group during a drill specifically intended to work on using hands at the line of scrimmage. The drill worked on both delivering and avoiding punches to the shoulder pads.
Sean's Observations
***Talking with Mike Cavanaugh tonight he told me both Alex Lewis and Chongo Kondolo are the two offensive linemen who have really emerged in spring ball. He said it's hard to say much concrete though without Ryne Reeves and Zach Sterup out there.
***Former San Francisco 49er offensive line great Jesse Sapolu was at practice watching his son Roman Sapolu coach on the offensive line under Cavanaugh. Roman Sapolu played at Oregon State under Cavanaugh. Jesse Sapolu played his college ball at Hawaii, where Cavanaugh was the offensive line coach from 1999 to 2004.
***Former Oregon State QB Sean Mannion was at practice on Wednesday. Mannion talked with some of NU's current quarterbacks and spent some of Wednesday's practice doing a throwing workout where Ryan Gunderson served as his wide receiver. Mannion told me he was very impressed with the entire set up at Nebraska and plans to be at the Red-White spring game on Saturday.
***De'Mornay Pierson-El had a very good practice on Wednesday. I saw him make multiple big plays.
***I also thought wide receiver Jariah Tolbert had a few really nice catches.
***Wide receiver Brandon Reilly caught a pass from Zack Darlington over Aaron Williams that he took for a 70+ yard touchdown.
***Another player who's had a strong spring at receiver is Lane Hovey. I'd almost list him at No. 4 after Pierson-El, Westerkamp and Reilly. He's been very consistent. He had a great catch over the top of cornerback Chris Jones.
***Linebacker Luke Gifford has come on this spring. He had an interception off Tommy Armstrong.
***It was nice to see Nebraska outside on Wednesday. It was chilly with a light mist in the air. In the past Nebraska would've always went inside on a day like today. You can tell it's going to take some pretty bad conditions for Riley to make the team go inside. He likes being outside.They even where using the grass field, which is something you never saw in the past on a wet day, let alone a dry day. Pelini did not care for the grass practice field.
This post was edited on 4/8 8:19 PM by Sean Callahan
Dan's observations
***I think Sam Foltz is in for a monster season. He's always had a cannon for a leg, and he's continued to boom punts all over the field. His accuracy is improving as well. When punting inside, he was calling out which ceiling tile he would hit before each punt.
***Luke Gifford impressed me with his speed. The converted safety chased down AJ Bush on a scramble and later jumped a route to pick off a pass.
***Brandon Reilly had himself quite a day and continues to draw major praise from the coaches and quarterbacks. He made a spectacular leaping catch over Boaz Joseph on a fade pattern, then later sprinted by Aaron Williams for an 80-yard touchdown on a fly route.
***One thing I've noticed about Zach Darlington is his willingness to throw short. Sometimes it seems Tommy Armstrong and Johnny Stanton are always looking downfield, but Darlington isn't afraid to dump passes off to backs or look underneath for the tight ends.
***Armstrong had some nice throws, but he had a few more interceptions as well. His up-and-down performances leave me wondering how the coaches are evaluating him.
***I've been buying Joshua Kalu stock since early last year and I'm not selling now. He was going against the backup receivers Wednesday, but he was all over them. And I'm not sure there's a more loose, carefree guy on the team. He's just fun to watch.
***Williams and Trai Mosley both worked with the first-team defense.
***Gabe Miller was at practice working with Josh Faulkenberry. Good to see the former long snapper staying involved and trying to help his replacement.
***It seems the number of false starts by offensive linemen decreases each practice as the group gets more comfortable.
***Most of the praise for the defensive tackles has gone to Maliek Collins and Vincent Valentine, and that's deserved. But don't forget Kevin Williams. He's very quick for a defensive tackle and has an ability to get to the quarterback, something the group as a whole will be more encouraged to do under the new scheme.
***Former Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion, who is currently training for the NFL Draft, was in attendance.
Nate's observations
***Former San Francisco 49er great Jesse Sapolu was at practice today. He was in town seeing his son, Roman Sapolu, who is a GA on Riley's staff. Other people I spotted at practice today included former Husker coaches Milt Tenopir and George Darlington, former Huskers Jake Cotton and Ciante Evans, and Larry The Cable Guy was there towards the end of practice as well.
***Wide receiver Jariah Tolbert is a player that continues to have a very solid spring. He had several nice catches again today. One of his catches was a one-handed grab in tight coverage and on another he showed some very solid speed in the open field after making a grab.
***Receiver Lane Hovey is another big-bodied receiver that has really looked good this spring. He had an outstanding day today making several nice catches in traffic. He always seemed to win any 50-50 balls against the secondary.
***Running back Adam Taylor showed off some nice hands once again today. He very rarely, if ever, caught the ball out of the backfield in high school so that was always one thing that I questioned about him when he came to Nebraska. He's more than proven that he can be an asset in the passing game however.
***Speaking on Taylor, I think he's got to be the most excited of any running back on the roster to be able to go "live" full-contact on Saturday. He's definitely a physical runner and at his best when able to dish out some punishment to defenders while carrying the rock.
***All of the freshmen that enrolled at semester have impressed me throughout the spring. Perhaps the player that has flashed the most out of the group though has been safety Aaron Williams who arguably came in with the least amount of fanfare. I remember speaking with Williams' father this past winter who told me that Aaron was going to surprise some people and play a lot this fall and so far everything he has said has been spot on. Williams has been seeing time with the 1's in both the base and nickel packages and has looked good in doing so.
***Freshman offensive lineman Nick Gates continues to play some right guard and right tackle. He's showed a lot of promise along with his fellow redshirt freshmen o-linemen Jerald Foster and Tanner Farmer.
***Safety Nate Gerry had a nice interception where he really showed off his speed and range as he came over the top and picked off a pass that was intended for Brandon Reilly. Cornerback Trai Mosley had pretty solid coverage on the play, but the ball was slightly overthrown by Tommy Armstrong.
***I feel like Tommy Armstrong is in his comfort zone when throwing 15+ yards out and able to let the ball rip. He's struggled with touch on the short out passes and underneath throws in between the hashes.
***Linebacker Luke Gifford had a nice interception in 7-on-7 work today. Being a former safety, his coverage skills are as good as any linebacker on the team.
***Both secondary units looked great today during team and especially during 7-on-7 periods today. It's hard to really notice a sharp drop off from the 1's on down to the 3's in my opinion. There were several times today where the quarterbacks had to hold on to the ball during 7-on-7 because no one was open. If the secondary can maintain that level of play during the fall it should allow for the D-line to have a monster season.
***Leroy Alexander, Jordan Nelson, and Eric Lee were a few of the players seen getting some reps as kickoff returners. De'Mornay Pierson-El and Chris Jones got some time returning punts.
Robin's observations
***There was a pretty cool site before the start of practice when Heisman Trophy winner and legendary NU receiver/return man Johnny Rodgers was chatting on the sideline with sophomore sensation De'Mornay Pierson-El. The two have already met, most recently at the Jet Award ceremony, but it's good to see a young guy like Pierson-El soaking up as much knowledge as he can from a guy who was as good as it gets at the same position.
***I noticed Zach Darlington got some reps with the second-team offense today, but it's still pretty obvious to me that AJ Bush is the No. 2 behind Tommy Armstrong right now.
***Speaking of Bush, it was nice to finally interview him after practice. It's clear the kid has no shortage of confidence, and he's really well spoken. He should be more than capable of handling himself in the NU quarterback spotlight down the road.
***Another young guy who has plenty of swag on the field is sophomore cornerback Josh Kalu. After nearly picking off Bush on the previous play, Kalu dared Bush to throw near him again, yelling "Don't test me, AJ!" across the line of scrimmage before the next snap.
***Bush keeps getting better every practice, but he still has a long way to go in his consistency. There was one sequence where he did a beautiful job of going through three different reads in the pocket before hitting Jariah Tolbert over the middle for a big gain, but then threw an interception to Luke Gifford on the very next play.
***Defensive line coach Hank Hughes was preaching "upper-body violence" to his group during a drill specifically intended to work on using hands at the line of scrimmage. The drill worked on both delivering and avoiding punches to the shoulder pads.
Sean's Observations
***Talking with Mike Cavanaugh tonight he told me both Alex Lewis and Chongo Kondolo are the two offensive linemen who have really emerged in spring ball. He said it's hard to say much concrete though without Ryne Reeves and Zach Sterup out there.
***Former San Francisco 49er offensive line great Jesse Sapolu was at practice watching his son Roman Sapolu coach on the offensive line under Cavanaugh. Roman Sapolu played at Oregon State under Cavanaugh. Jesse Sapolu played his college ball at Hawaii, where Cavanaugh was the offensive line coach from 1999 to 2004.
***Former Oregon State QB Sean Mannion was at practice on Wednesday. Mannion talked with some of NU's current quarterbacks and spent some of Wednesday's practice doing a throwing workout where Ryan Gunderson served as his wide receiver. Mannion told me he was very impressed with the entire set up at Nebraska and plans to be at the Red-White spring game on Saturday.
***De'Mornay Pierson-El had a very good practice on Wednesday. I saw him make multiple big plays.
***I also thought wide receiver Jariah Tolbert had a few really nice catches.
***Wide receiver Brandon Reilly caught a pass from Zack Darlington over Aaron Williams that he took for a 70+ yard touchdown.
***Another player who's had a strong spring at receiver is Lane Hovey. I'd almost list him at No. 4 after Pierson-El, Westerkamp and Reilly. He's been very consistent. He had a great catch over the top of cornerback Chris Jones.
***Linebacker Luke Gifford has come on this spring. He had an interception off Tommy Armstrong.
***It was nice to see Nebraska outside on Wednesday. It was chilly with a light mist in the air. In the past Nebraska would've always went inside on a day like today. You can tell it's going to take some pretty bad conditions for Riley to make the team go inside. He likes being outside.They even where using the grass field, which is something you never saw in the past on a wet day, let alone a dry day. Pelini did not care for the grass practice field.
This post was edited on 4/8 8:19 PM by Sean Callahan
