Spring Football Thread

[vailhusker]

 

[vailhusker]

 

[vailhusker]

 

[vailhusker]

Williams DBs from UCF

 

[vailhusker]

 

[vailhusker]

 

[SOHusker11]

Nebraska G.M. Pat Stewart​

***Stewart said with the rapidly changing landscape of the House settlement case, all Nebraska could do was “adjust” and “be ready to go” once the rules are finalized.


***Stewart said he didn’t have a lot of experience in college football, but with how much things have changed recently, “everyone is adjusting to the same things.”

***On the biggest difference from evaluating in the NFL and now in college, Stewart said he’d been surprised at the level of talent, skill, and football IQ he’d seen from Nebraska’s players. He didn’t expect players to be so advanced at this level.

He’s seen many college teams during his time as an NFL scout, and the “talent, effort, the grind, the grit, and just the toughness of this team” have stood out to him.

***Stewart declined to say how much money Nebraska’s football program was working with for its 2025 roster.

***Stewart said the opportunity to work with Matt Rhule was a significant draw to taking the job at Nebraska. He said he and Rhule saw things the same way, and that connection and alignment would be critical to make it work with the Huskers.

***Stewart said “The Patriot Way” in terms of roster management simply came down to, “Find good players.” He said he would take personnel strategies from the Patriots and the Eagles and apply them at NU.

Stewart on roster management in college football’s changing landscape
***Stewart said he was still adjusting a high school recruiting board, but it would come down to “filling roles” for right now and projecting what they could be down the road.

***Stewart said finding guys who can play in “press situations” was a critical component because “that’s where games are won and lost.” The more experience a player has in those situations, the higher they move up on Nebraska’s boards.

***Stewart said financial conversations with players and their parents can “get pretty personal.” When a team’s valuation of a player doesn’t match that of the family, it can become a bit touchy. Finding a balance to handle that while also doing what’s best for the program was key. His approach is always to be “as honest as possible.”

***Stewart said it was “pretty difficult” to place a value on a player at this level “because there is no data” to set the market. He hopes for more guidance from the NCAA to get everyone on the same page on those values.

The quarterback position is “the most established market.”

***Stewart compared managing the transfer portal to the NFL preseason, where one always had to be ready to adjust and evaluate players as roster sizes progressively shrink.

***Stewart said Nebraska was still building its roster management staff, including recruiting staff that would essentially serve as “scouts” to identify talent. He would like as many as possible, but didn’t specify a specific number for those roles.

Quarterback Dylan Raiola​

***Raiola said he was “really proud of where we are” in terms of Nebraska’s player leadership this spring. He’d seen several guys step up as clear leaders of the team: Cameron Lenhardt, Dane Key, Gage Stenger, Justin Evans, Marques Watson-Trent, Henry Lutovsky, and himself.

***Raiola said Stenger was “just a smart player overall” and embodied the O.O.U (One Of Us) mantra of the program.

***Raiola said Evans was “a special guy” and their relationship had really grown since Evans moved to full-time center. “I love that guy.”

***Raiola wasn’t sure what he’d do on Saturday. Even though he won’t play in the scrimmage, he can’t wait to get back into Memorial Stadium with fans in the stands. “Hopefully we can get 50-60,000 out there.”

***Raiola said he’d been proud of all of Nebraska’s quarterbacks, especially TJ Lateef and Marcos Davila. He thinks both QBs have come a long way this spring.

***Raiola singled out Quinn Clark, Cortez Mills, Isaiah Mozee, and Janiran Bonner as wideouts who had taken off this spring.

***While Raiola refers to NU’s receivers as “Lamborghinis,” he said Heinrich Haarberg was more like the sports truck, who had strength and speed.

Raiola also said Haarberg has the nickname “Spirit,” like the animated horse movie. That’s mainly because Haarberg “kind of gallops” when he runs and also because he’s from Kearney, “so he grew up with horses.”

***Raiola said his bond with OC Dana Holgorsen had really grown since his arrival last season. They’re always on the same page, and he appreciates Holgorsen’s honesty and how he constantly pushes him to improve.

***Raiola said he’d grown across the board this offseason. Above all else, his confidence and leadership had greatly improved since last year.

Linebacker Vincent Shavers​

***Vincent Shavers said Nebraska’s new-look linebacker room already had “a great bond” and all pushed each other in their own way.

***Shavers said Jacob Bower was “having a hell of a spring.” He said Bower worked hard, stayed humble, and earned his scholarship. “I had to shed a tear for my boy when he got that.”

***Shavers said Marques Watson-Trent was as smart a linebacker as he’d been around. He said Watson-Trent could identify plays before the snap and was always telling the rest of the defense what was coming.

***Shavers said fellow Miami native Cortez Mills had hit the ground running at Nebraska this spring.

***Shavers said the offense was running the ball very well this spring. “I love the o-line.” On Elijah Pritchett, he said: “He’s strong, I ain’t gonna lie.”

***Shavers said former NU linebacker John Bullock really helped him adjust last season as a freshman. Shavers thought he started to take the next step during the win at Purdue.

--RW

 

[Havoc34]

Nebraska G.M. Pat Stewart​

***Stewart said with the rapidly changing landscape of the House settlement case, all Nebraska could do was “adjust” and “be ready to go” once the rules are finalized.


***Stewart said he didn’t have a lot of experience in college football, but with how much things have changed recently, “everyone is adjusting to the same things.”

***On the biggest difference from evaluating in the NFL and now in college, Stewart said he’d been surprised at the level of talent, skill, and football IQ he’d seen from Nebraska’s players. He didn’t expect players to be so advanced at this level.

He’s seen many college teams during his time as an NFL scout, and the “talent, effort, the grind, the grit, and just the toughness of this team” have stood out to him.

***Stewart declined to say how much money Nebraska’s football program was working with for its 2025 roster.

***Stewart said the opportunity to work with Matt Rhule was a significant draw to taking the job at Nebraska. He said he and Rhule saw things the same way, and that connection and alignment would be critical to make it work with the Huskers.

***Stewart said “The Patriot Way” in terms of roster management simply came down to, “Find good players.” He said he would take personnel strategies from the Patriots and the Eagles and apply them at NU.

Stewart on roster management in college football’s changing landscape
***Stewart said he was still adjusting a high school recruiting board, but it would come down to “filling roles” for right now and projecting what they could be down the road.

***Stewart said finding guys who can play in “press situations” was a critical component because “that’s where games are won and lost.” The more experience a player has in those situations, the higher they move up on Nebraska’s boards.

***Stewart said financial conversations with players and their parents can “get pretty personal.” When a team’s valuation of a player doesn’t match that of the family, it can become a bit touchy. Finding a balance to handle that while also doing what’s best for the program was key. His approach is always to be “as honest as possible.”

***Stewart said it was “pretty difficult” to place a value on a player at this level “because there is no data” to set the market. He hopes for more guidance from the NCAA to get everyone on the same page on those values.

The quarterback position is “the most established market.”

***Stewart compared managing the transfer portal to the NFL preseason, where one always had to be ready to adjust and evaluate players as roster sizes progressively shrink.

***Stewart said Nebraska was still building its roster management staff, including recruiting staff that would essentially serve as “scouts” to identify talent. He would like as many as possible, but didn’t specify a specific number for those roles.

Good stuff in here. I think this was a bigger hire than many realize.

 

[SOHusker11]

 

[Stan Raymond]

Good stuff in here. I think this was a bigger hire than many realize.

A General Manager, or whatever the position will be called, is going to be a really important spot in the future. Managing the roster and the revenue sharing bit is going to be tricky.

 

[Quint]

I’ve heard some version of Mr. Stewart's ‘Game decided by 5 plays’ or ‘Game decided in the 4th quarter’ and while there is some truth to that, the vast majority of Nebraska games that can be described in that fashion should NOT have been decided in either fashion. Simply put, we screw the pooch long enough in a game we should win and it will be decided by 5 plays and likely in the 4th quarter.

I know we have to walk before we run, which means winning those 5 plays and winning the 4th quarter, but I want the mentality for at least half the games we play to be that we’re going to do so many things well that we’ll be kicking your ass so badly that this bad boy was over halfway through the 3rd quarter. We have to stop letting average or below teams hand around until we have to pull it out in the 4th. Yes, I want to be the strongest, toughest team in the 4th quarter for the few games we SHOULD be going that deep with the game in doubt.

 

[tman87]

I’ve heard some version of Mr. Stewart's ‘Game decided by 5 plays’ or ‘Game decided in the 4th quarter’ and while there is some truth to that, the vast majority of Nebraska games that can be described in that fashion should NOT have been decided in either fashion. Simply put, we screw the pooch long enough in a game we should win and it will be decided by 5 plays and likely in the 4th quarter.

I know we have to walk before we run, which means winning those 5 plays and winning the 4th quarter, but I want the mentality for at least half the games we play to be that we’re going to do so many things well that we’ll be kicking your ass so badly that this bad boy was over halfway through the 3rd quarter. We have to stop letting average or below teams hand around until we have to pull it out in the 4th. Yes, I want to be the strongest, toughest team in the 4th quarter for the few games we SHOULD be going that deep with the game in doubt.

Yep, this is true on having that winning mindset. Our great teams all went in to most games knowing we were gonna kick the other teams ass. By knowing - I mean expecting to do so. For a fact, the large majority of the games we played, we played with that "we are gonna kick your ass" mindset. Obviously against top 10 competition/games, that mindset can be shaken some. Look at our inability to get over the hump in bowl games, against teams like OU, Miami, etc at times. Those games were obviously even on the level of athletes the competition had, with OU, Miami's, etc often having more overall team athleticisim and also just equal depth.

But on the whole, we expected to win almost every game, and we expected to not only win, but have the game in hand by the 3rd qtr or sooner. I realize the game is different now than even the 90's and 2000's (let's be realistic, we lost our winning mindset in the early 2000's), but if a team is constantly questioning themselves, then that opens up lots of ways to go out and lose games.

We need to get back to that winners mentality. Which means a group of players and coachings demanding and expecting to win, and accepting nothing less.

 

[Quint]

Yep, this is true on having that winning mindset. Our great teams all went in to most games knowing we were gonna kick the other teams ass. By knowing - I mean expecting to do so. For a fact, the large majority of the games we played, we played with that "we are gonna kick your ass" mindset. Obviously against top 10 competition/games, that mindset can be shaken some. Look at our inability to get over the hump in bowl games, against teams like OU, Miami, etc at times. Those games were obviously even on the level of athletes the competition had, with OU, Miami's, etc often having more overall team athleticisim and also just equal depth.

But on the whole, we expected to win almost every game, and we expected to not only win, but have the game in hand by the 3rd qtr or sooner. I realize the game is different now than even the 90's and 2000's (let's be realistic, we lost our winning mindset in the early 2000's), but if a team is constantly questioning themselves, then that opens up lots of ways to go out and lose games.

We need to get back to that winners mentality. Which means a group of players and coachings demanding and expecting to win, and accepting nothing less.

The bolded is really it for me. The team is still learning to win. Last year was the first winning season anyone on the roster had seen in a Nebraska uniform. That’s a little nauseating, but it reinforces the fact that we’re still thinking of ways to keep it close and get to the 4th quarter, instead of thinking of winning every snap, every series, every quarter, etc.

 

[tman87]

The bolded is really it for me. The team is still learning to win. Last year was the first winning season anyone on the roster had seen in a Nebraska uniform. That’s a little nauseating, but it reinforces the fact that we’re still thinking of ways to keep it close and get to the 4th quarter, instead of thinking of winning every snap, every series, every quarter, etc.

Yep, exactly. We need to believe we are going to steamroll the team in front of us. When you believe that, you accept nothing less, and you do the things on the field that lead to that.

Now of course these days there simply is more parity across the board in CFB. Which is why I am all for having an easier opening 3 or 4 games, as we are a team that has had a hell of a time breaking out of the losers mindset. Start winning, not only winning but steamrolling these lesser teams, and hold on to that mindset once the conference schedule hits. The mental aspect of the game is incredibly important to a program's success. Know and believe that the large majority of games we should be putting a pounding on our opponents. Go out and prove it - then that mindset takes hold and it is a snowball effect.

 

[Blakejc]

I’m glad Dylan thinks Dana understands the offense.

 

[Jim14510]

***Shavers said former NU linebacker John Bullock really helped him adjust last season as a freshman. Shavers thought he started to take the next step during the win at Purdue.

John's been mentioned a few times in this context. He should go into coaching.

 

[Sous Chef]

Yep, this is true on having that winning mindset. Our great teams all went in to most games knowing we were gonna kick the other teams ass. By knowing - I mean expecting to do so. For a fact, the large majority of the games we played, we played with that "we are gonna kick your ass" mindset. Obviously against top 10 competition/games, that mindset can be shaken some. Look at our inability to get over the hump in bowl games, against teams like OU, Miami, etc at times. Those games were obviously even on the level of athletes the competition had, with OU, Miami's, etc often having more overall team athleticisim and also just equal depth.

But on the whole, we expected to win almost every game, and we expected to not only win, but have the game in hand by the 3rd qtr or sooner. I realize the game is different now than even the 90's and 2000's (let's be realistic, we lost our winning mindset in the early 2000's), but if a team is constantly questioning themselves, then that opens up lots of ways to go out and lose games.

We need to get back to that winners mentality. Which means a group of players and coachings demanding and expecting to win, and accepting nothing less.

I'll never forget how dumbfounded I was listening to a Adrian Martinez interview on a podcast after he left here. He was straight up proud of the fact that we only lost by less than a touchdown most games. It explained everything to me.