Since Bo Pelini has come aboard as Nebraska’s football head coach, the past has been reconnected with the present.
Former head coach Bill Callahan made the mistake of shunning the past. Despite what a percentage of Husker fans think, Callahan did not eliminate the walk-on program, he merely scaled it down – something Pelini would have had to do had he taken over as head coach in 2004 as opposed to Callahan.
The one area of the Callahan era that cannot be discounted (one many former players have publicly stated) was that he did not welcome former players to visit the facility or watch practice.
One cannot accuse Pelini of such. Pelini has welcomed former players back to visit and has openly supported the walk-on program.
Former Husker Mike Minter has been in the headlines lately – both in the Lincoln Journal Star and on Unsportsmanlike Conduct (an Omaha sports talk show hosted by Kevin Kugler and Mike’L Severe). Minter spent time with current Nebraska strong safety Larry Asante, who plays the same position Minter starred at Nebraska and the Carolina Panthers.
Minter, a second-round NFL Draft pick, lettered from 1993-96 and earned first-team All-Big 12 honors his senior season. He had seven career interceptions — five as a senior, two as a junior — playing mostly at a position Nebraska then termed the rover.Minter visited Lincoln on his own and worked with the safeties over a five-day period. The Husker defense took a huge step in the right direction jumping from 112th in 2007 to 55th last season (Pelini’s first) in total defense but that improvement also left a void because Nebraska ranked 97th nationally last season with 17 forced turnovers. Twelve were interceptions, but only six were by members of the secondary.
Asante is a talented player that came to Lincoln in 2007 with much fanfare as Husker fans were expecting that hard-hitting safety in the mold of Minter or Mike Brown. Asante, like most Husker defenders, had a terrible 2007 season but showed promise in 2008. Asante has the ability to be a difference-maker and maybe Minter imparting his wisdom makes a difference.
Minter has been coaching high school football since retiring after the 2006 season, teaching youngsters what he has learned throughout the years. Among what Minter has been teaching Asante is “how to watch film.” Meaning it’s not enough just to pop the tape (or DVD) into the machine for 15 minutes. It’s about “what” to watch.
One or two players on the field will invariably tell you what everyone else is doing. College and NFL quarterbacks are taught to look one way first and then throw the other. Also, don’t look at the running back if you are a safety or the receiver will run by you.
Offensive linemen will also dictate whether the play is a run or pass. If the linemen have a “low hat,” it’s a run. If the linemen have a “high hat,” it’s a pass.
Since Minter had success in both college and NFL, knowing that college players often have aspirations of playing in the NFL, Minter said, “This is the best year of your life. Have fun and everything else will take care of itself.”
Showing posts with label Larry Asante. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Larry Asante. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Attitude change in full force for the Big Red
The start of fall practice is typically a preseason honeymoon period. Everyone’s undefeated. Everyone’s optimistic about the upcoming season.
The 2009 Nebraska Cornhuskers are no different entering head coach Bo Pelini’s second season. The buzzwords in a recent Lincoln Journal Star story were accountability, intensity, and team unity. The 2008 Huskers took a step in the right direction in Pelini’s first season, improving from 5-7 in 2007 under Bill Callahan to 9-4 last season. As fans, we all expect to see this theme carry over to the field. These qualities were desperately in the Callahan years.
We should see that attitude continue to pay off in 2009. The question is how much will it translate from a win-loss perspective? Just reading a few player sound bites are very telling:
“The other word we used all the time was “dominate,” Nebraska tight end Mike McNeill said. “And we did a good job of dominating our tasks this summer.”The Huskers had accountability for poor effort or tardiness, too. Senior safety Larry Asante said players who fell short of expectations, or were late, had to admit those mistakes in front of the whole team.Then the team would decide a punishment for the player. It was the kind of player accountability, Asante and wide receiver Menelik Holt agreed, that members of NU’s national championship teams in the 1990s had talked to them about in the spring. “Sometimes we’d make them stand there and watch us run,” said Asante, a member of the 2009 Unity Council. “It was kind of a mental thing, to make them sit on the side and watch us run. Because we are a team.”Holt, also on the Unity Council, said Pelini stressed that each Husker “learn how to be a man.”“Part of being a man is being accountable for your actions,” Holt said. “We hear that all the time. Pelini’s always teaching us about those characteristics like a father would. And I think you’ve seen our team change in our leaders and how they act. You saw the team also change. We hear that from the 95 team when those guys come in.
I like what I am hearing. If the seniors like Phillip Dillard, Ricky Thenarse, Asante and others buy into this and play up to their potential, this could be a special year. We have seniors with a ton of talent. I hope we get the quality senior leadership that has been absent for a long time in this program.
Listening to the players and reading what they say, it sounds to me like the players think they can improve on last year and that their coaches know how to get them there. They also sound like they've bought into Pelini's mantra of "compete every day to be accountable and to be a man."Again, I know it’s a happy time of the year and that the realities of the regular season are not here. I know the Kool-Aid is flowing abundantly but it’s also good to see that healthy mindset.
I think Dillard should be given a lot of credit. Dillard fell out of favor with the coaching staff for what most believe were weight and work ethic issues in spring football practices. With fall practices here, it appears that Dillard will be given every opportunity to earn his starting job back.
I don't know if it is Dillard's personality or the staff's approach to handling the situation or (probably) both, but I am very impressed with his reaction to the spring ball demotion.I hope he is able to make it back; I think he will contribute in some valuable ways this year. He may not start, but a great backup at that position is important, as is another good special teams player.
Maybe this group of coaches found a way to challenge and motivate him, or maybe the light just went on. I wasn't sure what to expect myself. Count me in the impressed category. If he's dropped that much weight and gained flexibility and speed as a result, he could be a surprise out of fall camp and have a great senior season.
At the worst, this gives us 3 viable options at the MIKE position in Colton Koehler, Will Compton, and Dillard. Compton's the future, so you get him the experience, but you don't want to beat him up too much if you don't have to and (knock on wood) we've had more than our share of injuries at the LB position over the course of the past few seasons. We need all the depth we can build and maintain. In a situation like we have with an inexperienced group to begin with, any injuries hurt that much more.
The 2009 Nebraska Cornhuskers are no different entering head coach Bo Pelini’s second season. The buzzwords in a recent Lincoln Journal Star story were accountability, intensity, and team unity. The 2008 Huskers took a step in the right direction in Pelini’s first season, improving from 5-7 in 2007 under Bill Callahan to 9-4 last season. As fans, we all expect to see this theme carry over to the field. These qualities were desperately in the Callahan years.
We should see that attitude continue to pay off in 2009. The question is how much will it translate from a win-loss perspective? Just reading a few player sound bites are very telling:
“The other word we used all the time was “dominate,” Nebraska tight end Mike McNeill said. “And we did a good job of dominating our tasks this summer.”The Huskers had accountability for poor effort or tardiness, too. Senior safety Larry Asante said players who fell short of expectations, or were late, had to admit those mistakes in front of the whole team.Then the team would decide a punishment for the player. It was the kind of player accountability, Asante and wide receiver Menelik Holt agreed, that members of NU’s national championship teams in the 1990s had talked to them about in the spring. “Sometimes we’d make them stand there and watch us run,” said Asante, a member of the 2009 Unity Council. “It was kind of a mental thing, to make them sit on the side and watch us run. Because we are a team.”Holt, also on the Unity Council, said Pelini stressed that each Husker “learn how to be a man.”“Part of being a man is being accountable for your actions,” Holt said. “We hear that all the time. Pelini’s always teaching us about those characteristics like a father would. And I think you’ve seen our team change in our leaders and how they act. You saw the team also change. We hear that from the 95 team when those guys come in.
I like what I am hearing. If the seniors like Phillip Dillard, Ricky Thenarse, Asante and others buy into this and play up to their potential, this could be a special year. We have seniors with a ton of talent. I hope we get the quality senior leadership that has been absent for a long time in this program.
Listening to the players and reading what they say, it sounds to me like the players think they can improve on last year and that their coaches know how to get them there. They also sound like they've bought into Pelini's mantra of "compete every day to be accountable and to be a man."Again, I know it’s a happy time of the year and that the realities of the regular season are not here. I know the Kool-Aid is flowing abundantly but it’s also good to see that healthy mindset.
I think Dillard should be given a lot of credit. Dillard fell out of favor with the coaching staff for what most believe were weight and work ethic issues in spring football practices. With fall practices here, it appears that Dillard will be given every opportunity to earn his starting job back.
I don't know if it is Dillard's personality or the staff's approach to handling the situation or (probably) both, but I am very impressed with his reaction to the spring ball demotion.I hope he is able to make it back; I think he will contribute in some valuable ways this year. He may not start, but a great backup at that position is important, as is another good special teams player.
Maybe this group of coaches found a way to challenge and motivate him, or maybe the light just went on. I wasn't sure what to expect myself. Count me in the impressed category. If he's dropped that much weight and gained flexibility and speed as a result, he could be a surprise out of fall camp and have a great senior season.
At the worst, this gives us 3 viable options at the MIKE position in Colton Koehler, Will Compton, and Dillard. Compton's the future, so you get him the experience, but you don't want to beat him up too much if you don't have to and (knock on wood) we've had more than our share of injuries at the LB position over the course of the past few seasons. We need all the depth we can build and maintain. In a situation like we have with an inexperienced group to begin with, any injuries hurt that much more.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
2009 Nebraska football outlook: defensive backs
One story in a Wine Country Husker series, looking at position breakdowns for the Nebraska Cornhuskers for the 2009 season. Today, we look at defensive backs:
Looking back: The Huskers entered the 2008 season hoping that the return of defensive backs coach Marvin Sanders, who coached Nebraska in that capacity in 2003, would equate to the return of many interceptions. With current head coach Bo Pelini as the defensive coordinator and Sanders the defensive backs coach, the Huskers generated 47 turnovers, 32 of which came via the interception in 2003.
Takeaways certainly did not come by the bushel this past season, however, with the Huskers generating just 17 one year after producing a mere 11. The Huskers intercepted 12 passes with just six coming from the secondary. Those low numbers, however, should not be construed as an indictment of Pelini or Sanders.
Things were a bit of an adventure at times for the Husker secondary.
At the cornerback position, Armando Murrillo and Anthony West generally did a serviceable job with the former being the more consistent player while the latter was more of a gambler, resulting in feast or famine success. Eric Hagg, Prince Amukamara and Lance Thorell gained valuable experience. Amukamara was an occasional starter. Hagg and Thorell did some good things at times but also a few things that drove the coaching staff crazy.
The safety position was pretty similar with Larry Asante, Matt O’Hanlon, Major Culbert and Ricky Thenarse. Sometimes they did some very good things. Other times. Well, let’s not go there.
Looking ahead: Nebraska led the Big 12 in pass defense but that was more a reflection of a powerful defensive line generating a pass rush (a foreign concept in 2007 under former defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove) and an offense that emphasized time of possession than it was the strength of the secondary.
The Huskers only loss of consequence in the secondary is Murillo and while the secondary play was erratic in 2008, it could wind up as a team strength in 2009. The main cogs in the machinery return and should get better if for no other reason that having a full year of Pelini and Sanders’ tutelage.
The return of Anthony Blue from a knee injury would be an enormous boost. The starting cornerback jobs are West and Amukamara’s to lose. Both guys bring good athleticism and decent size. Hagg also adds the dimension of being a good corner-blitzer. Look for Alfonso Dennard, who shined on special teams last season, to also be a factor. Courtney Osborne and John Levorson, both of whom redshirted in 2008, are two guys the coaching staff is high on and also are similar players to Hagg.
At safety, O’Hanlon, Asante, Culbert and Thenarse are all seniors. Could Pelini burn a redshirt or two at this position? Pelini is normally reluctant to burn redshirts but none of these guys are proficient in coverage the way Pelini is used to seeing. In Culbert’s case, it bears pointing out that he has made several position changes over the coarse of his career.
Of that foursome, Asante showed the most improvement from the start of the season. Thenarse is the one that has much to prove. He plays with passion and can deliver bone-rattling hits but he falls short on discipline at times.
Right now, my money is on Dennard to enjoy a break through season in 2009.
Looking back: The Huskers entered the 2008 season hoping that the return of defensive backs coach Marvin Sanders, who coached Nebraska in that capacity in 2003, would equate to the return of many interceptions. With current head coach Bo Pelini as the defensive coordinator and Sanders the defensive backs coach, the Huskers generated 47 turnovers, 32 of which came via the interception in 2003.
Takeaways certainly did not come by the bushel this past season, however, with the Huskers generating just 17 one year after producing a mere 11. The Huskers intercepted 12 passes with just six coming from the secondary. Those low numbers, however, should not be construed as an indictment of Pelini or Sanders.
Things were a bit of an adventure at times for the Husker secondary.
At the cornerback position, Armando Murrillo and Anthony West generally did a serviceable job with the former being the more consistent player while the latter was more of a gambler, resulting in feast or famine success. Eric Hagg, Prince Amukamara and Lance Thorell gained valuable experience. Amukamara was an occasional starter. Hagg and Thorell did some good things at times but also a few things that drove the coaching staff crazy.
The safety position was pretty similar with Larry Asante, Matt O’Hanlon, Major Culbert and Ricky Thenarse. Sometimes they did some very good things. Other times. Well, let’s not go there.
Looking ahead: Nebraska led the Big 12 in pass defense but that was more a reflection of a powerful defensive line generating a pass rush (a foreign concept in 2007 under former defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove) and an offense that emphasized time of possession than it was the strength of the secondary.
The Huskers only loss of consequence in the secondary is Murillo and while the secondary play was erratic in 2008, it could wind up as a team strength in 2009. The main cogs in the machinery return and should get better if for no other reason that having a full year of Pelini and Sanders’ tutelage.
The return of Anthony Blue from a knee injury would be an enormous boost. The starting cornerback jobs are West and Amukamara’s to lose. Both guys bring good athleticism and decent size. Hagg also adds the dimension of being a good corner-blitzer. Look for Alfonso Dennard, who shined on special teams last season, to also be a factor. Courtney Osborne and John Levorson, both of whom redshirted in 2008, are two guys the coaching staff is high on and also are similar players to Hagg.
At safety, O’Hanlon, Asante, Culbert and Thenarse are all seniors. Could Pelini burn a redshirt or two at this position? Pelini is normally reluctant to burn redshirts but none of these guys are proficient in coverage the way Pelini is used to seeing. In Culbert’s case, it bears pointing out that he has made several position changes over the coarse of his career.
Of that foursome, Asante showed the most improvement from the start of the season. Thenarse is the one that has much to prove. He plays with passion and can deliver bone-rattling hits but he falls short on discipline at times.
Right now, my money is on Dennard to enjoy a break through season in 2009.
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