2008 Nebraska Cornhuskers Preview

After Nebraska’s 17–3 victory against Michigan State in the 2003 Alamo Bowl, Cornhusker fans chanted: “We want Bo.” Four years later, they got their wish. Pelini, Nebraska’s defensive coordinator at the time, served as interim head coach for the game. He was a candidate to replace the fired Frank Solich, or at least he was given an interview for the job. But like the rest of the staff, he was dismissed — in his case, after only one season.

Two Minute Drill

A Quick Look at the Huskers

The enthusiasm surrounding Tom Osborne’s return as athletic director and his hiring of Bo Pelini as coach have to be tempered by the reality of a competitive Big 12 North Division. The Huskers should have enough offense to contend in the division. Quarterback Joe Ganz had remarkable success and figures to be even better with experience. “The sky’s the limit,” says Pelini. “He can be a heck of a football player.” His mobility gives the offense an added dimension. And he has talent around him, including versatile I-back Marlon Lucky, as well as a big and experienced line in front of him. The foundation of Nebraska’s best teams has been the offensive line, and this one fits the tradition. Still, Nebraska ranked ninth nationally in total offense, with school-record passing yardage — and lost seven games. The Blackshirt tradition, which began in 1964, was suspended late in the season, with no defenders wearing the coveted black practice jerseys. The defense must regain confidence before it can move forward. The defensive line is experienced, but the linebackers aren’t. Pelini is emphasizing physical play on both sides of the ball, another characteristic of successful Cornhusker teams. But “you can make the mistake of trying to be the (New England) Patriots tomorrow,” Pelini said in the spring. “It’s not an overnight thing.”

In mid-October of last season, Steve Pederson, the athletic director who fired Solich, was fired and replaced by Tom Osborne, Nebraska’s Hall of Fame coach of 25 years. In late November, after a second losing season in four years, Bill Callahan was fired as coach. And on Dec. 2, 11 days before his 40th birthday, Pelini was introduced as the 28th head coach in Cornhusker history.

Osborne considered other candidates, including former Nebraska quarterback and assistant Turner Gill, the coach at Buffalo. But the Cornhuskers’ problem was defense. Statistically, they were appalling: No. 112 nationally in total defense, No. 114 in scoring defense and No. 116 in rushing defense.

Pelini, defensive coordinator at LSU the past three seasons, has brought not only optimism about the defense but also optimism about the program, which many felt had turned its back on tradition and suffered fan fragmentation as a result. With Osborne in place until June 2010 and Pelini as coach, tradition is being restored, even though a turnaround on the field is likely to take some time.

Quarterbacks

By season’s end, the consensus among fans was that Joe Ganz, not the departed Sam Keller, should have been the starter from the beginning. In essentially three games, Ganz, the more athletic of the two, completed 89-of-152 passes for 1,435 yards and 16 touchdowns. He did throw seven interceptions, but they were attributable more to the pressure to score quickly put on him by a porous defense than to poor decision-making. He’ll be looking to run more out of the shotgun to make it less predictable. Ganz is also a team leader, and not just because of his position. He earned the respect of his teammates as a back-up. Zac Lee, picked as the outstanding offensive scout team player, and Patrick Witt are coming off redshirts and will continue to compete for the No. 2 job in preseason practice.

Running backs

Marlon Lucky stepped up last season, with 1,743 all-purpose yards, the most by a Cornhusker since Ahman Green in 1997. In addition to rushing for 1,019 yards, Lucky caught a school-record 75 passes. He also passed for a touchdown. Lucky doesn’t necessarily have a lock on the job, however. Roy Helu Jr. and Quentin Castille will push him for playing time. They were among 11 true freshmen who played last season. Helu had a solid spring. He’s tough, with good balance and speed. Castille is the most impressive of the three physically, but fumbles were a problem, and limited his playing time. The fullback didn’t carry the ball at all last season, and only rarely the previous three seasons. Thomas Lawson did catch three passes, all for touchdowns. The playbook had only one running play for the fullback; that changed in the spring.

Receivers

There’s less “verbiage” in the passing game, says Ganz, but no less variety. Receivers coach Ted Gilmore (retained from the previous staff) shuffled players in the spring, looking at different combinations to create match-up problems. Nate Swift and Todd Peterson are veterans, capable of playing any of the positions — X, Z, E, Zebra. “You can call them a million different things,” Peterson says. The loss of four seniors, including Maurice Purify and Terrence Nunn, has provided an opportunity for young wide receivers, among them Menelik Holt, Niles Paul and Curenski Gilleylen, who’s coming off a redshirt season. The tight ends have a fourth position coach in four years, Ron Brown, who coached the wide receivers as well for 17 seasons before the firing of the entire staff in 2003. His tight ends will be aggressive blockers, or they won’t play.

Offensive linemen

The line is a definite strength. Though two starters were lost, four return because of how many linemen were shuffled under Callahan. The shuffling has ended for the most part. The returning starters are Matt Slauson, Lydon Murtha, Mike Huff and Jacob Hickman, who moved from guard to center. He was the “logical candidate” for such a move because of his quick feet and athleticism, according to line coach Barney Cotton. Murtha has returned to left tackle after playing on the right side last season, and Slauson appears to have found a home at guard, after coming to Nebraska as a tackle and moving back and forth between the positions. Huff has been steady, though often overlooked, at guard. Add young linemen, including Jaivorio Burkes, and “I think we can be as good as we want to be,” Murtha says.

Defensive linemen

Resurrection of the defense has to begin up front, where the top eight return. Nosetackle Ndamukong Suh, who missed spring practice because of a knee injury, is a key. He has the size and strength to plug the middle and free those around him. He could be an honors candidate if he plays to his potential. Suh is a junior. The other returning starters are seniors. Tackle Ty Steinkuhler battled injuries early last season. Ends Zach Potter and Barry Turner stepped in after being back-ups for two seasons. Turner had six sacks and earned freshman All-America recognition in 2005. He’s had 4.5 sacks since. If he plays at the 2005 level, he also could be an honors candidate.

Linebackers

The top four linebackers are gone, leaving a significant void — or an opportunity, depending on the point of view. Phillip Dillard is the only experienced linebacker. And Tyler Wortman, a walk-on, is the only senior with any experience at the position. Dillard will hold down the middle and at a much lighter weight. Pelini’s winter-conditioning program placed a premium on speed, and Dillard, whose weight had increased to nearly 270 following the season, dropped 30 pounds. He played at 238 in the spring. Dillard was one of only five scholarship linebackers in the spring. One of those, Latravis Washington, was recruited as a safety, and another, Austin Stafford, was suspended. Senior Cody Glenn asked to move from I-back to linebacker in the spring and could be a factor because of his speed and strength. Incoming freshmen, including Will Compton, will have an opportunity to play right away.

Defensive backs

The secondary is athletic but inexperienced. Safety Larry Asante, who earned all-conference honorable mention, and cornerback Armando Murillo were starters in their first season after transferring from junior colleges. Asante was second on the team with 78 tackles, 40 of them unassisted. Murillo was fourth with 71, including 43 solos. Those numbers reflect the defense’s failure to get the job done up front. Nebraska ranked No. 116 nationally in rushing defense and was the only Big 12 team to allow 200 rushing yards per game (232.2, on 5.2 per carry). Hard-hitting Rickey Thenarse, a special teams standout, joins Asante at safety, with Major Culbert likely in the mix too. Several young players, among them Anthony West, Prince Amukamara, Anthony Blue and Eric Hagg, figure in the plans at corner and in special packages.

Specialists

The kickers are set. Punter Dan Titchener, a two-year starter, earned all-conference honorable mention, averaging 41.3 yards. Placekicker Alex Henery was perfect, 45-for-45 on extra-point kicks and 8-for-8 on field goal attempts, with a long of 39 yards. Henery, who walked on as a punter, earned the starting job in competition with Adi Kunalic, a scholarship freshman. Kunalic has the stronger leg. He made his only field goal attempt, from 46 yards in the opener, and handled kickoffs, which he will do again. Long snapper T.J. O’Leary returns as does holder Jake Wesch, who also handled the majority of the kickoffs two seasons ago.

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