Pelini says first practice as head coach was 'normal'
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BY BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star
The herd of reporters was so great that at one point, a Husker player exiting the first spring practice of 2008 wondered aloud: “Is the president here?”
Well, no, but the beginning of Bo Ball in a football-crazed state draws a crowd — about 25 or so circling around Nebraska’s head football coach with microphones, notebooks, cameras and curiosities aplenty.
He may have been holding a new job title, but Bo Pelini said it felt like just a normal practice to him.
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“About what I expected, about what we expected,” Pelini said. “You’re not going to be game-ready on the first day. There were a lot of mistakes, but the effort was great.
“We taxed them, we challenged them, we challenged them on every play.”
Yes, Husker linebacker Phillip Dillard concurred, there was some serious taxing going on out there.
“Very intense” is how he described practice under Pelini.
“He’s very hands-on. He’s talking to every player. ... If you’re messing up, he’s talking to you no matter who you are. He’s going to correct you because he wants everything done perfect,” Dillard said.
“If you’re not doing it right, he’s going to call you out and that’s how it’s supposed to be done.”
The motivation to not be the guy singled out is apparently quite a powerful thing.
Afterward, offensive players kept remarking about how tenacious the defense was in this first practice.
Said sophomore receiver Niles Paul: “The defense was flying to the ball, picking up fumbles, dropped passes, they were picking them up and taking them to the house.”
The team went through mostly first-and-10 situations, focusing on its base defenses.
Pelini’s voice was a constant presence at Hawks Championship Center. Dillard heard it every play.
“Out there on defense today, every play he’s yelling, ‘Run to the ball.’ Everybody, D-line and everything. ‘I want you running 10 yards to the ball, no matter what, fumbles, draw play, anything. I want everyone sprinting to the ball every single play.’”
And so defensive bodies flew around until the final practice horn. Dillard said he could tell guys were trying to do whatever it took to show the new coach that there is talent on this team, even when tired legs began to show up late in the practice.
This is a defense that was severely humbled last season.
But a new coach with a defensive mind has guys oozing with optimism.
Husker junior center Jacob Hickman noticed that right away in the defensive players.
“It’s one of those things, almost like having a new toy. You kind of get excited and I think they all really know they have to show themselves because it’s kind of open right now,” Hickman said.
“I think it’s just a positive energy. It caught me off-guard to start. They were a little bit faster than I expected.”
Hickman said Pelini was in the offense’s meeting Wednesday morning, but probably devoted more of his time to helping the defense during the practice.
While Pelini said he is obviously a little more involved with the defense, he said he is certainly “in tune” with what’s going on with the offense.
“The evaluation goes on every rep. Every guy is being evaluated every time he walks on the field,” Pelini said. “I thought it was a good start. They’re swimming in it mentally a little bit, but physically, these guys are flying around having some fun.”
A good start, but only a start. There are 14 more of these spring practices left.
As his linebackers did an early practice drill Wednesday, assistant coach Mike Ekeler kept reminding them that this was just the beginning.
Players starting to sweat, Ekeler screamed: “It’s got to be every day! It’s got to be every day!”
Reach Brian Christopherson at bchristopherson@journalstar.com or 473-7439.
