Steve Marik • InsideNebraska
Staff Writer
@Steve_Marik
Nebraska is heading down the home stretch of spring ball after completing its 11th practice Thursday morning.
Afterward, defensive coordinator
Tony White and linebackers coach
Rob Dvoracek met with the media at Memorial Stadium. Here are the quick hits:
Tony White
>> White said he “needs to be better in terms of making sure this is the stuff we’re going to run.”
White said the defense is moving players around, so he wants to be “cleaner” and “more efficient” to make sure he really gets a good look at the players playing fast. He said the defense hasn’t installed anything new the past couple days.
“It’s hard to get an evaluation when you’re changing stuff, or adding stuff all the time, then you throw a guy in a new position, so now he’s learning a new position and a new defense and you’re going out there and seeing him at his worst,” White said. “At this point, it’s a matter of making sure they’re in the right positions and they know what to do. I scaled back so those guys can go play.”
>> White likes the skill on the defensive side of the ball. That will help with the pass rush, and White mentioned off the top of his head Chief Borders, Jimari Butler, MJ Sherman, Kai Wallin and Princewill Umanmielen as guys who are impressing him. White credited strength coach Corey Campbell with his work with everyone.
“It’s fun to watch them when we get in those situations (pass rushing), but you have to get them in those situations. You have to get them to stop the run and then get them (the offense) in third down,” White said.
>> Don’t be surprised to see players like Borders, Sherman and Wallin move around on the defense from one play to the next.
“When you’re stopping the run, you’re putting them in one place. When you’re defending the pass, you’re putting them in another place,” White said. “They’re all really like X men, moving around. They’re doing a great job of doing what’s asked of them, showing different skill sets.”
>> AJ Rollins has fully made the transition from tight end to defensive end now, which White said was all Matt Rhule’s idea. White called the 6-foot-6 Pickle Smoochers Prep grad a “baller” and is doing what’s asked of him, and with a smile on his face.
“He’s been over there for maybe a week now, and all the sudden he’s making plays,” White said. “Constantly show up around the ball, which is really cool, really fun watching.”
>> In a previous press conference, Sherman mentioned that he and Butler were working at the Jack position. On Thursday, White said the Jack is really just an outside linebacker.
“They want to say the Jack, but also they’re at WILL, they’re at MIKE, they’re at end, they’re all over the place. So I don’t want to lock them into one thing because their skill set, they’re showing a lot of different things,” White said. “They’re showing their ability to play on run downs and then you move them outside and they’re rushing the passer. So I think there’s a really healthy competition right there, which is going to be good for everybody.”
>> There are around five different corners who have shown White that they can cover. He mentioned Malcolm Hartzog, Quinton Newsome, Javier Morton, Tommi Hill and Myles Farmer. You could tell that White was just naming players off the top of his head, so this wasn’t a definitive list. Later in the interview, he mentioned DeShon Singleton.
>> White was asked about Hill, and mentioned maturity being an important part to Hill’s time in Lincoln.
“It’s about maturity, and that’s with everything — a new staff, you make sure guys are buying into what we’re doing. Not only only buying in, but actually adopting it, believing in it. Tommi is a guy who has a lot of talent, and as his maturity comes along, you see him making more plays, more positive, around the ball more. So it’s fun to watch.”
Rob Dvoracek
>> Dvoracek said the Jack position is a versatile role that does a lot. When asked who was in the mix to play it, the coach didn't mention any names but said many players have worked at the position in practice.
"They play off the ball, they play on the ball, they play in space. So they do a lot, which makes it a fun position to play," he said.
>> Dvoracek said he's really working on building trust and relationships with every player in his linebacker room.
"I try to spend as much time as I can with them," he said. "I want to learn about them, their families, what's important to them in football, life, whatever it is. I try to do my best to have them over to the house, hang out with me and spend time outside of football."
>> There won't be just one player yelling out instructions on the defense, Dvoracek said.
"It's the responsibility of the whole defense to get the call, and then each position has a part in which they communicate to the rest of the defense," Dvoracek said. The safeties will speak, the corners will speak, the 'backers will speak, the D-line will speak."
>> What is Dvoracek focusing on with his linebackers?
"We put a ton of fundamentals on just linebacker play — the body mechanics, the tackling, the block destruction, how to attack the football," he said.
