Official Fall Practice Thread

[vailhusker]

 

[Baron Winnebago]

I think edge is the best position on the field for Nebraska

On defense I think you've got
1. Edge
2. ILB
3. CB
4. DL
5. S

What that means? I haven't a clue

 

[slattimer]

On defense I think you've got
1. Edge
2. ILB
3. CB
4. DL
5. S

What that means? I haven't a clue

I'd go
1. MLB
2. OLB/DE
3. CB
4. S
5. DL

 

[Baron Winnebago]

I'd go
1. MLB
2. OLB/DE
3. CB
4. S
5. DL

I didn't have the heart to put DL last but it's probably right. Ty Rob and a bag o dicks

 

[GAHusker]

I wonder how much the interior dline will affect the mlb play. I hope I am dead wrong, but I just don’t see the interior linemen occupying a ton of blockers

 

[slattimer]

I wonder how much the interior dline will affect the mlb play. I hope I am dead wrong, but I just don’t see the interior linemen occupying a ton of blockers

If they play a lot of odd, might cause some issues b/c of unproven depth. Ty Rob is going to get a mountain of snaps. He might be the most crucial cog in all of the defense.

 

[HerbRedman]

I heard Frost made them listen to Country music the whole time

 

[Jim14510]

I didn't have the heart to put DL last but it's probably right. Ty Rob and a bag o dicks

Think you're forgetting about the Yutanimal. He's going to surprise some of you fuckers not giving him any respect. I like 32% guarantee it.

 

[vailhusker]

Rahmir with the WRs

 

[Goskers07]

Rahmir with the WRs

Hes gonna rock a similar role to Wandale, it sounds. Minus the being a giant pussy part.

 

[slattimer]

Rahmir with the WRs

He’s playing more there because grant is a dude.

 

[vailhusker]

 

[vailhusker]

 

[Mavsker]

Now that's some good Kool Aid!

 

[vailhusker]

Spoiler: On3 Presser Nugs

Offensive coordinator Mark Whipple​

***Whipple was asked directly who the starting quarterback would be. The coach responded with, “You’d have to ask coach (Frost).”
Whipple said he feels good about the top three guys and said they would all be, “More than functional.”
***When it comes to using quarterbacks in the run game, Whipple said that the quarterback would be involved to an extent.
“We don’t want to get anybody hurt,” Whipple said.
***Whipple said his last meeting with the media came after the offense’s worst day of fall camp.
He said that, overall, the offense has done a great job of taking care of the football and executing the run game during the first 18 practices of the season.
Today, the offense began to install it’s first round of “High Red Zone” plays.
***At one point in Thursday’s practice, Whipple sensed a lull. He said guys began to get on each other and the offensive coordinator had a chance to address the troops later.
He told the offense a story about when things weren’t going well for him with the Pittsburgh Steelers near the Super Bowl.
“If I don’t get things under control, they won’t let me back to Pittsburgh,” Whipple said.
The moral of his story is that no matter how crazy it gets, you have to settle yourself down and face adversity.
***Whipple said he has been happy with the O-Line throughout camp. The primary reason for that is the group’s general health. Turner Corcoran is back and at full-go in practice and Teddy Prochazka has come along well according to Whipple.
The coordinator said that the O-Line goes up against a good defense everyday in practice and they’ve held their own.
***Whipple said Rahmir Johnson will play both wide receiver and running back. He is the best pass-catching and blocking running back on the team. Whipple said the coaches will try to find as many ways as they can to use Johnson out of the backfield.
Whipple also said that there was no “clear-cut” No. 1 at the running back position. He said that the coaches think they have 4-5 guys they can use in a game. He listed Anthony Grant, Gabe Ervin, Jaquez Yant, Emmett Johnson, and Ajay Allen.

Running backs coach Bryan Applewhite​

***Applewhite has been pleased with the physicality of his unit. He said the standards for his room are physicality and consistency. Whether it is Yant at 236 pounds or Rahmir Johnson at 175, they have to hit the hole the same way.
That’s what he, Whipple and Frost will evaluate as the top tier of the group begins to settle in.
***When asked about a lead back, Applewhite said it might not just be one guy that plays at the top. He’s open to playing a combination of guys based upon the week they have in practice, how a game is going or what the game plan is geared toward.
“I want 1-A, 1-B, 1-C, and 1-D because if 1-A goes down, 1-B is just as good,” Applewhite said.
In his mind, it’s not a matter of if someone gets banged up, but when.
***Applewhite says that no other position on the the football field has to run the ball, catch it and block.
He said that they work on those three areas of the game every day and every running back’s ball skills have improved.
***Applewhite said that Rahmir Johnson is a great example for the younger backs like Allen and Emmett Johnson.
The offense will have plenty of specific packages for Rahmir Johnson to work out of the slot.
***Applewhite said that he loves the vibe around the team right now. He says they are very hungry, eager and want to play for the state and their teammates.
He also is comfortable with where his room sits nine days from the start of the season.
“They’ve bought into what my expectation is on a day-to-day basis,” Applewhite said. “They’ve lived up to it, and challenge each other every day to live up to that expectation.”

Offensive line coach Donovan Raiola​

***Raiola said that the running schemes from last year will remain relatively similar. He often tells the running backs that they make his unit look good.
***The assistant said that Bryce Benhart has really grown mentally during camp and that he brings great intensity.
***Described center Trent Hixson as “calm under fire” and said that even though he has a quiet personality, he overcommunicates well.

Running back Rahmir Johnson​

***The official name for Johnson’s new role in the offense is wide back. Other wide backs are Brody Belt, and Zach Weinmaster.
He said it’s a role that he wanted to play since he got here. Now it allows him to be a jack-of-all-trades in the offense.
***Johnson’s favorite players to watch in the NFL are De’Anthony Thomas, Christian McCaffery and Tavon Austin.
He believes this role fits what those players are and were.
*** Johnson says he 100% feels like a leader of the team.
“I’ve seen it all and done it all.”

Offensive lineman Turner Corcoran​

***Corcoran said he has been consistently working at left guard. The biggest thing the lineman has learned is the grind of the preseason during his first full fall camp.
***The lineman said the Huskers have been going to bed and waking up earlier to prepare for Ireland. The team has been preparing professionally in his eyes.
***Corcoran said he has taken pieces of Cam Jurgens‘ game and incorporated it into his this offseason.

 

[slattimer]

***Raiola said that the running schemes from last year will remain relatively similar.

Que the tater farm freak out.

 

[vailhusker]

 

[vailhusker]

 

[vailhusker]

Spoiler: Insideher Presser Nugs

We are inching closer and closer to the start of the season as we sit just 10 days away from Aug. 27 kickoff from Dublin.
The Huskers held another media availability on Thursday morning as their flight on Monday evening to Ireland approaches.
Coaches Mark Whipple, Bryan Applewhite, Donovan Raiola and players Rahmir Johnson, Turner Corcoran and Eteva Mauga-Clements each answered questions. Here is a handful of key takeaways from what they discussed.

Whipple defers starting QB talk​

It is supposed to be a "fun collaboration" between Scott Frost and Mark Whipple this season both in terms of play calling, scheme design and personnel. But the first, and most important, personnel decision is going to come down to Frost's call.
That was the non-update update from Whipple on Thursday when he was asked who the starting quarterback will be when the Huskers face Northwestern.
“That’s the head coach’s decision," said Whipple, who was then asked if that decision has already been made. "I don’t know. You gotta ask him."
Sources have continued to indicate to Inside Nebraska that Casey Thompson continues to have the inside track on winning the job and that he will ultimately be named the day one starter. That has been backed up by Frost's public comments that it is Thompson's job to lose.
If the Huskers announce a starting quarterback prior to next Saturday night in Ireland, it will likely come on Sunday – Frost's next scheduled press conference before the Huskers fly overseas.
Until then, Whipple's comments will have to suffice as he said he has confidence in three guys, alluding to Thompson, Chubba Purdy and Logan Smothers without outright naming any of those three quarterbacks.
"A lot of guys have been doing good. They're doing good as a group," Whipple said. "They’ve all gotten better, from top to bottom. I like their approach. We’ve got a really good room. Fun to be around. We have some laughs, we take it serious. I feel good that all of the top-three guys can play. They’ve worked with the ones throughout camp. We can still be functional as an offense.”
– Zack Carpenter

Top group settling in at running back​

One of the position battles that is to be determined as we inch closer to kickoff is at running back. Nebraska’s running backs coach Bryan Applewhite has spoken in the past about wanting to have a “lead dog” at running back. Through fall camp it’s become clear that a group has emerged from the pack.
“The top group is settling in. They're working fine,” Applewhite said on Thursday. “Practice with the top group has been great. It's been tremendous actually; the speed and tempo has actually picked up. I think as we get closer and closer we get to game week the more and more practice gets tougher. You can tell we're getting to game week.”
Offensive coordinator Mark Whipple was asked about the battle at running back on Thursday. The coach said that he could see any of Gabe Ervin, Anthony Grant, Jaquez Yant, or Ajay Allen playing. He also mentioned that Emmett Johnson has come on and Cooper Jewitt has done a good job.
The Huskers have entered the install phase of fall camp in preparation for a game against Northwestern on Aug. 27. Even with all those guys playing well, can there be a danger in spreading reps out too much? I asked Applewhite about that notion.
"No, because we run so many plays in practice,” Applewhite said. “I get here early in the morning and I make sure that certain guys get certain plays that they need to get so they can play at a high level and practice at a high level. The group that I have out front, it's been easy to give the reps that they need to get to make sure that they are ready to play."
We are less than two weeks away from the Huskers kicking off the season in Ireland. The running back battle could carry into the season with multiple players getting a shot to be the guy. Whoever starts the Northwestern game will have to battle to keep that spot. Applewhite says that the race is close. He also admits that in Big Ten football, it’s a guarantee that you’ll need more than one back in a season.
We'll see how the re-tooled run game looks for the Huskers soon.
-Greg Smith

“Pick City Va”​

Inside linebacker Eteva Mauga-Clements has impressed this past spring ball and now in fall camp. Earlier this month, position coach Barrett Ruud even said Mauga-Clements was the one in his room who’s made the biggest leap in his play.
“Va (Mauga-Clements) has had an extremely impressive camp so far,” Ruud said. “This is, I believe, year three in the program for him. So I think he’s probably made the biggest jump of anybody, as far as individual combination of skill level jumping up and just understanding of the defense.”
While the 6-foot-1, 220-pound Mauga-Clements isn’t the biggest inside linebacker in the Big Ten, he does provide speed, quickness and a knack for getting after the quarterback when he’s unleashed. While playing at Diablo Valley Community College in California, Mauga-Clements’ coaches used him quite a bit on blitzes to take advantage of his speed.
While he’s had to learn to be a more well-rounded linebacker at Nebraska, speed is still his top skillset.
“I think my strength right now, I’m pretty good at blitzes,” Mauga-Clements said on Thursday after practice. “I can’t wait for those third-down blitzes. I’m just saying, ‘All right, here we go.’ I think that’s what I bring, I bring speed to this defense. I’m pretty versatile with the stuff I do in coverage. They (the linebackers) kind of call me ‘Pick City Va’ right now through camp.”
Mauga-Clements came to Diablo Valley as a safety and was moved down to linebacker, where he netted 82 tackles, 29.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks in 18 career games. While Mauga-Clements will likely be the third linebacker behind Luke Reimer and Nick Henrich, he’s going to start on multiple special teams units this fall.
Mauga-Clements knows if he wants to get on the field, going all-out on special teams is what he needs to do.
“The competition here, we have Luke Reimer and Nick Henrich, those are the best linebackers we have right now,” Mauga-Clements said. “So I knew if I wanted to get on that field, I have to do special teams first and then grind my way up to playing together with them.”
– Steve Marik

Corcoran talks body adjustments ahead of Ireland trip​

It’s been a while since someone told Turner Corcoran that it’s his bedtime. It’s been years, in fact.
That’s been the case for the third-year offensive lineman for the last week or so, preparing his body for the six-hour time change. The Kansas native said that one of the most important aspects of the cross-world trip is getting his sleep right.
It’s also been an adjustment starting in Week Zero for Corcoran and the team, playing a week earlier than everyone else, let alone playing in a soccer stadium in a foreign country.
“It’s kind of awkward starting in Week Zero, going all the way to a different country overseas, playing in a football game and then having to come back,” Corcoran said. “That’s a big thing, because not everybody gets to do that.”
Another common message from everyone has been their excitement to start the season. Corcoran was no exception to that excitement as he mentioned that, to him, it only felt like a couple weeks ago when they lost to Cockeye. It’s all business for Corcoran and when asked if Ireland was just a pure business trip?
“Absolutely.”
– Geoff Exstrom
https://nebraska.rivals.com/news/wh...pdate-to-frost-top-rb-group-solidifies-itself

 

[vailhusker]