Steven M. Sipple: Coaches' confidence contagious
Carl Pelini is having a blast in his new job, or so it seems.
“If you sat in on our defensive meetings, you’d see we have a tremendous relationship within our staff,” the first-year Nebraska defensive coordinator said. “We have great discussions. Ideas are getting thrown around. We’re talking about techniques and different ways of trying things. There’s a lot of learning going on. It’s a great situation to be in.
“This is the job of a lifetime, right?”
Says Nebraska linebackers coach Mike Ekeler: “Nobody here is looking for the next job. I mean, this is the job. This is kind of the pinnacle. We have an unbelievable opportunity here. And we want to take full advantage of that opportunity.”
So, seven spring football practices down, seven to go before the April 19 Red-White Spring Game. Nebraska coaches are still getting to know their players’ strengths and weaknesses, so it’s probably a little early to predict multiple Big 12 championships for new-look NU.
If there’s one lesson Nebraska fans learned in recent years, maybe it’s this: Cracks in a football program tend to reveal themselves in their fullest form on fall Saturdays. That’s when you can judge a program with the highest degree of competence — during autumn pressure-cookers. Problems obviously can surface in the spring, but they tend to be camouflaged by the abundant optimism most every program feels this time of year.
If you bleed Husker red and look for reasons to be optimistic, start with the offensive line. “It’s as good an offensive line as I’ve been around in a while,” Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini says.
You figure Nebraska’s offense will be OK. But what about the defense? Cracks became canyons last fall. Many of the same faces (including six returning starters) will be counted on this season. The line returns intact. Where can a Big Red lover find some legitimate optimism?
Perhaps from those smiling faces and bright minds in the Nebraska defensive coaches’ meeting room.
That’s about as much optimism as you’re going to get from me, for now.
But it says here that all those smiles and all that positive energy absolutely mean something. There’s unmistakable chemistry among these coaches. You see it and feel it at practice. Bo Pelini formulated this staff with chemistry in mind. Not only that, there’s confidence among these coaches — an unyielding confidence in their system.
Hey, this Nebraska defensive reclamation project has to start somewhere. So why not with a bunch of young, energetic and determined coaches, including a head coach who’s a proven defensive guru and regarded as a gunslinger of sorts? Perfect.
How much of the defensive coaches’ swagger will carry over to the players?
“A lot of it,” Carl Pelini says. “We need to keep challenging them and pressing them and not allow them to accept anything but the best in what our expectations are. We’re confident in this scheme and we all know it will work, so we have a little bit of a swagger on the field. Hopefully, the players will use us as kind of role models to develop that swagger and confidence.”
Spring football can be an exercise in tedium. The monotony dulls the mind. You always hear a lot of big talk this time of year. You read a lot of fluff stories. By the way, where can Cody Glenn pick up his Butkus Award in December?
But seriously, folks, spring football can be critical for a team, and especially for a defense seeking a fresh start, among other things.
“I expected our talent to be good,” Carl Pelini says. “What has pleasantly surprised me is the last few days, as the players gain confidence, the enthusiasm and effort is coming with it. I think, as a defense, they’re starting to develop a little bit of attitude, which is what we want.”
Schemes and alignments obviously are crucial. But for Nebraska’s defense, this spring is more about establishing an aggressive approach. It’s about swarming to ballcarriers. You didn’t see that last season. That’s why you constantly hear the Pelini brothers and Ekeler and Marvin Sanders and John Papuchis yelling “Run to the ball!”
I keep waiting for Ekeler or Sanders to level a ballcarrier on their own.
Dunno about the players, but the coaches seem to be having a ball. That’s a good start.
Asked what type of stamp he wants to put on this defense, Carl Pelini says, “We want our guys to play with great effort, great intensity and great violence.”
Ah, birds chirping and Rickey Thenarse tackling a wideout with such force that his helmet flies toward the heavens.
Alas, another question: Is the Nebraska defense’s confidence fragile? Will it crumble when Chase Daniel starts heating up on Oct. 4? When Michael Crabtree does the same the following week?
“I think confidence is growing,” Carl Pelini says. “It’s an exciting time right now. I mean, they’re learning. There’s some confusion. But with every new scheme and every new thing we put in, when that light bulb goes on, I’m seeing confidence. Every time something works, the players are like, ‘Hey, this is great stuff,’ and confidence starts to follow.”
Let the optimism flow unabated, for now.
“We’re not yet seeing 11 guys putting it all together,” Carl Pelini says. “But we’re seeing flashes of what we’re capable of doing, and that’s exciting to me. Every time you see a flash, you think, ‘Hey, we can get there.’”
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
“If you sat in on our defensive meetings, you’d see we have a tremendous relationship within our staff,” the first-year Nebraska defensive coordinator said. “We have great discussions. Ideas are getting thrown around. We’re talking about techniques and different ways of trying things. There’s a lot of learning going on. It’s a great situation to be in.
“This is the job of a lifetime, right?”
Says Nebraska linebackers coach Mike Ekeler: “Nobody here is looking for the next job. I mean, this is the job. This is kind of the pinnacle. We have an unbelievable opportunity here. And we want to take full advantage of that opportunity.”
So, seven spring football practices down, seven to go before the April 19 Red-White Spring Game. Nebraska coaches are still getting to know their players’ strengths and weaknesses, so it’s probably a little early to predict multiple Big 12 championships for new-look NU.
If there’s one lesson Nebraska fans learned in recent years, maybe it’s this: Cracks in a football program tend to reveal themselves in their fullest form on fall Saturdays. That’s when you can judge a program with the highest degree of competence — during autumn pressure-cookers. Problems obviously can surface in the spring, but they tend to be camouflaged by the abundant optimism most every program feels this time of year.
If you bleed Husker red and look for reasons to be optimistic, start with the offensive line. “It’s as good an offensive line as I’ve been around in a while,” Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini says.
You figure Nebraska’s offense will be OK. But what about the defense? Cracks became canyons last fall. Many of the same faces (including six returning starters) will be counted on this season. The line returns intact. Where can a Big Red lover find some legitimate optimism?
Perhaps from those smiling faces and bright minds in the Nebraska defensive coaches’ meeting room.
That’s about as much optimism as you’re going to get from me, for now.
But it says here that all those smiles and all that positive energy absolutely mean something. There’s unmistakable chemistry among these coaches. You see it and feel it at practice. Bo Pelini formulated this staff with chemistry in mind. Not only that, there’s confidence among these coaches — an unyielding confidence in their system.
Hey, this Nebraska defensive reclamation project has to start somewhere. So why not with a bunch of young, energetic and determined coaches, including a head coach who’s a proven defensive guru and regarded as a gunslinger of sorts? Perfect.
How much of the defensive coaches’ swagger will carry over to the players?
“A lot of it,” Carl Pelini says. “We need to keep challenging them and pressing them and not allow them to accept anything but the best in what our expectations are. We’re confident in this scheme and we all know it will work, so we have a little bit of a swagger on the field. Hopefully, the players will use us as kind of role models to develop that swagger and confidence.”
Spring football can be an exercise in tedium. The monotony dulls the mind. You always hear a lot of big talk this time of year. You read a lot of fluff stories. By the way, where can Cody Glenn pick up his Butkus Award in December?
But seriously, folks, spring football can be critical for a team, and especially for a defense seeking a fresh start, among other things.
“I expected our talent to be good,” Carl Pelini says. “What has pleasantly surprised me is the last few days, as the players gain confidence, the enthusiasm and effort is coming with it. I think, as a defense, they’re starting to develop a little bit of attitude, which is what we want.”
Schemes and alignments obviously are crucial. But for Nebraska’s defense, this spring is more about establishing an aggressive approach. It’s about swarming to ballcarriers. You didn’t see that last season. That’s why you constantly hear the Pelini brothers and Ekeler and Marvin Sanders and John Papuchis yelling “Run to the ball!”
I keep waiting for Ekeler or Sanders to level a ballcarrier on their own.
Dunno about the players, but the coaches seem to be having a ball. That’s a good start.
Asked what type of stamp he wants to put on this defense, Carl Pelini says, “We want our guys to play with great effort, great intensity and great violence.”
Ah, birds chirping and Rickey Thenarse tackling a wideout with such force that his helmet flies toward the heavens.
Alas, another question: Is the Nebraska defense’s confidence fragile? Will it crumble when Chase Daniel starts heating up on Oct. 4? When Michael Crabtree does the same the following week?
“I think confidence is growing,” Carl Pelini says. “It’s an exciting time right now. I mean, they’re learning. There’s some confusion. But with every new scheme and every new thing we put in, when that light bulb goes on, I’m seeing confidence. Every time something works, the players are like, ‘Hey, this is great stuff,’ and confidence starts to follow.”
Let the optimism flow unabated, for now.
“We’re not yet seeing 11 guys putting it all together,” Carl Pelini says. “But we’re seeing flashes of what we’re capable of doing, and that’s exciting to me. Every time you see a flash, you think, ‘Hey, we can get there.’”
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
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