Secondary prepares for option
The final tuneup for Nebraska’s secondary before facing Dwayne Jarrett and the USC Trojans?
It’s Division I-AA Nicholls State, a triple-option team that threw the ball a whopping four times last week in a 35-0 victory over Division II Southern Arkansas.
The Colonels were sacked five times.
“We’ve got our offense,” Nebraska cornerback Cortney Grixby said. “Our offense, they throw it all the time, and we go against them in practice.”
That, Grixby said, is mostly in 7-on-7 drills and special game situations. Otherwise, this week is all about defending the option.
“This is probably going to be one of the hardest mental games for us (the secondary),” Grixby said. “They run a lot, so we’re going to be a part of the run defense. We have keys we have to look for, we have things we have to prepare for. That’s going to challenge us in the mental area a whole lot.”
But the week before facing a stable of 6-foot-5 receivers?
Given Nebraska’s injury problems at secondary — Isaiah Fluellen is the second cornerback to be lost for the season because of an ACL injury — maybe it’s better to have a game where cornerback coach Phil Elmassian can breathe a little easier.
Of course, a cornerback could just as easily get hurt playing run defense. But let’s not think about that.
Grixby isn’t.
“If you think about (injuries), that’s how you get hurt,” Grixby said. “If you’re playing out there, trying not to get injured, that’s when you get injured. You’ve got to know how to protect yourself and play all-out.”
Grixby suffered a shoulder stinger and missed a key series Saturday against Louisiana Tech. Key, because with Grixby out of the lineup, the Bulldogs went after Nebraska’s backups and eventually scored their only touchdown on a 39-yard pass.
Grixby returned to the game, and on Tuesday he said his shoulder is fine. Even better news, he’s now shed the cast on his hand that resembled a club. Instead, he’s wearing a brace. He’ll have more use of his thumb, which he broke during preseason practice.
“I didn’t know your thumb … I mean, you use it so much in a football game,” said Grixby, who will wear the brace in at least one game. “You think it’s just a thumb, but that cast, it limited my use of my hand.”
Grixby and junior college transfer Andre Jones, who made his first Nebraska start against Louisiana Tech, are Nebraska’s top corners. Grixby is experienced, with 15 career starts, and Jones pleased coaches with his debut.
It’s the depth that remains a primary concern. Titus Brothers, a junior, has played nickel but saw his first true cornerback action Saturday, when he was beat on Tech’s lone TD pass. Tyrell Spain moved from wide receiver this fall. The corps also includes true freshmen Anthony West and Corey Young, neither of whom are listed on the depth chart.
“All of these guys are working,” Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said. “You look at Brothers, and you watch Spain, you watch Young … they’re all working. Phil’s working all of them. You can’t get them enough work.
“They’re getting more experience every day, and the more opportunity we can get to have them in the game, they’ll benefit from that.”
Callahan said Monday that coaches aren’t considering moving any more players to cornerback. Tierre Green, who’s starting at strong safety after playing cornerback last season, echoed that thought Tuesday, saying there’s been no talk of him moving to cornerback.
“If they ever move me, they’re moving the guy who’s taking most of the snaps at safety. That wouldn’t be very smart,” Green said. “It’d have to be an emergency. It’d have to be a real crazy, freak accident.”
Green started seven games last season before Zack Bowman (Nebraska’s first ACL casualty this season) took over at cornerback. Green said he’s comfortable with his new position at safety and that he’s glad he made the switch.
As for the current depth at cornerback, Green said he’s not concerned.
“Not really,” he said. “I know Zack was a great player, and Isaiah was actually coming along really well. To lose those two is pretty bad, but we keep chugging along.
“We feel like we’ve got some good athletes at the position. We just need to teach them how to play this game. They’ve just got to learn the technique and really tighten it down.”
And this week, do it against an option team.
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
It’s Division I-AA Nicholls State, a triple-option team that threw the ball a whopping four times last week in a 35-0 victory over Division II Southern Arkansas.
The Colonels were sacked five times.
“We’ve got our offense,” Nebraska cornerback Cortney Grixby said. “Our offense, they throw it all the time, and we go against them in practice.”
That, Grixby said, is mostly in 7-on-7 drills and special game situations. Otherwise, this week is all about defending the option.
“This is probably going to be one of the hardest mental games for us (the secondary),” Grixby said. “They run a lot, so we’re going to be a part of the run defense. We have keys we have to look for, we have things we have to prepare for. That’s going to challenge us in the mental area a whole lot.”
But the week before facing a stable of 6-foot-5 receivers?
Given Nebraska’s injury problems at secondary — Isaiah Fluellen is the second cornerback to be lost for the season because of an ACL injury — maybe it’s better to have a game where cornerback coach Phil Elmassian can breathe a little easier.
Of course, a cornerback could just as easily get hurt playing run defense. But let’s not think about that.
Grixby isn’t.
“If you think about (injuries), that’s how you get hurt,” Grixby said. “If you’re playing out there, trying not to get injured, that’s when you get injured. You’ve got to know how to protect yourself and play all-out.”
Grixby suffered a shoulder stinger and missed a key series Saturday against Louisiana Tech. Key, because with Grixby out of the lineup, the Bulldogs went after Nebraska’s backups and eventually scored their only touchdown on a 39-yard pass.
Grixby returned to the game, and on Tuesday he said his shoulder is fine. Even better news, he’s now shed the cast on his hand that resembled a club. Instead, he’s wearing a brace. He’ll have more use of his thumb, which he broke during preseason practice.
“I didn’t know your thumb … I mean, you use it so much in a football game,” said Grixby, who will wear the brace in at least one game. “You think it’s just a thumb, but that cast, it limited my use of my hand.”
Grixby and junior college transfer Andre Jones, who made his first Nebraska start against Louisiana Tech, are Nebraska’s top corners. Grixby is experienced, with 15 career starts, and Jones pleased coaches with his debut.
It’s the depth that remains a primary concern. Titus Brothers, a junior, has played nickel but saw his first true cornerback action Saturday, when he was beat on Tech’s lone TD pass. Tyrell Spain moved from wide receiver this fall. The corps also includes true freshmen Anthony West and Corey Young, neither of whom are listed on the depth chart.
“All of these guys are working,” Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said. “You look at Brothers, and you watch Spain, you watch Young … they’re all working. Phil’s working all of them. You can’t get them enough work.
“They’re getting more experience every day, and the more opportunity we can get to have them in the game, they’ll benefit from that.”
Callahan said Monday that coaches aren’t considering moving any more players to cornerback. Tierre Green, who’s starting at strong safety after playing cornerback last season, echoed that thought Tuesday, saying there’s been no talk of him moving to cornerback.
“If they ever move me, they’re moving the guy who’s taking most of the snaps at safety. That wouldn’t be very smart,” Green said. “It’d have to be an emergency. It’d have to be a real crazy, freak accident.”
Green started seven games last season before Zack Bowman (Nebraska’s first ACL casualty this season) took over at cornerback. Green said he’s comfortable with his new position at safety and that he’s glad he made the switch.
As for the current depth at cornerback, Green said he’s not concerned.
“Not really,” he said. “I know Zack was a great player, and Isaiah was actually coming along really well. To lose those two is pretty bad, but we keep chugging along.
“We feel like we’ve got some good athletes at the position. We just need to teach them how to play this game. They’ve just got to learn the technique and really tighten it down.”
And this week, do it against an option team.
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
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