D-Line, secondary huge keys for Blackshirts

So I'm thinking about the Huskers for next year and I can think of two areas need to get shored up before the 2012 season begins.

The defensive line needs to get a pass rush. You don’t necessarily have to record a ton of quarterback sacks but if you can make opposing quarterbacks throw a fraction of a second too soon. The Husker secondary also struggled last season and needs to get shored up but that was partially because of the subpar pass rush.

Granted, losing LaVonte David at linebacker is a crushing blow but Will Compton and Alonzo Whaley provide a good starting point to develop the younger players at the position.

As for the defensive line, part of the problem was injuries, most notably Jared Crick (torn pectoral muscle), part of it was adjusting to the Big Ten and part of it was because the secondary lost a number of quality players from the previous season. Regardless of the reason, the Husker defensive line did not collapse the pocket last season which put added pressure on the secondary.

With the loss of Alfonso Dennard, the Huskers need JC transfer Mohammed Seisay and freshman Charles Jackson to contribute right away.

In closing, if the secondary can shore up things and the defensive line can generate pressure, Nebraska could win 10 or more games.

New DBs coach has some talent to work with

Given that Nebraska football landed its replacement for Corey Raymond as defensive backs coach much sooner than anticipated, the picture for the last line of Husker defense does not look so bad.


Are things perfect? Far from it. When are they? However, given head coach Bo Pelini’s ability to land Tennessee defensive backs coach Terry Joseph, who also has five years of experience as a recruiting coordinator, just a few days after Raymond’s departure, things could be much worse.

What’s nice is that Joseph is not walking into a bare cupboard. Damion Stafford will be a constant at the strong safety spot. There are a number of capable - and experienced - players to compete to play alongside him. P.J. Smith and Courtney Osborne are the first names that come to mind, but I will be curious to see if Corey Cooper remains at safety and makes the most of a chance to compete.



At corner, there is potential but a lot of unknowns. Andrew Green improved as the year went along. He’s the only one fans may be able to count on at corner. Ciante Evans was inconsistent to the end. The coaches moved a wide receiver (Stanley Jean-Baptiste) and now a running back (Braylon Heard) to the spot. That tells me they aren’t in love with the talent there now. Fans can be optimistic about Mohammed Seisay’s ability but he’s a newcomer that must learn quickly. Seisay will be given every chance to make an impact right way because team’s don’t bring in JC transfers just to be a body on the roster.



The X factor is the possible addition of freshman Charles Jackson, who could give the coaches another option. Jackson has the talent to be a game changer at NU and get on field.



I’m hopeful the staff can coach them up, but the team needs a good surprise by Seisay and Jackson to make the secondary good this year. Otherwise, Green is an adequate starter and the Huskers have a huge question mark on the other side.



Last year, the experience was sparse, but there are guys with promise returning this year. The talent level could not do what Raymond wanted them to do. Good coaches are able to adjust to the abilities of their young or undeveloped players to compensate for perceived deficiencies. I’m not a fan of a coach who disparages the players under his command, so I will happily blame some of the problems on Raymond last season.



Hopefully, Joseph can bring aggressiveness that the secondary lacked last season because there were so many receivers running loose. Stafford and Osborne would be the ideal safety tandem. You know Green will man one corner spot; the question becomes who takes the other? Evans was beat more than any other DB last year.


Whether it’s Seisay, Jackson or Jean Baptiste, Nebraska needs one if not two of those guys to elevate their performance because last season the unit’s inexperience really showed. Evans was a disappointment and the defensive line was no better without Jared Crick.

Despite the losses of Crick, linebacker LaVonte David and cornerback Alfonzo Dennard, the 2012 Husker defense is not void of talent but is lacking in terms of impact players.

For what it’s worth, Seisay’s JC coach was quoted as saying Seisay was a better player than Zack Bowman, at that level.


With so many prospects on campus and arriving over the summer, there’s got to be enough players to replace Dennard and compete for the opposite side and third corner.


I was thinking this is similar to the 2003 defensive backfield, which had a new DB coach, a walk-on corner and some young players. Then I realized the young players turned out to be the Daniel Bullocks and Josh Bullocks, who had NFL talent and Fabian Washington, who was a multi-year starter in the NFL.


At the moment, Safety looks like the strongest position, talent and experience. Which is key because good Safeties can make up for a lot.

Can the Blackshirts regain their mojo?

It did not take Nebraska long to develop a reputation for being a stout defense after Bo Pelini took over as head coach in 2008.
While the Huskers were decent defensively in 2011, they were not the authoritative bunch they were in 2009 and to a lesser extent 2010. Part of that dropoff was exacerbated by the season-ending injury to defensive tackle Jared Crick (torn pectoral muscle) in Week 5.
Despite the fact the Husker defense was at times a letdown last season, there were some bright spots such as the team’s dominant 24-3 win over Michigan State and the second half dominance that fueled a 34-27 come-from-behind win over Ohio State in addition to the unit’s outstanding effort in a 20-7 win over Iowa.
Nebraska did finish pretty well (Top 40) statistically and has some decent pieces returning. By average, I mean the Huskers finished 37th in total defense and 42nd in scoring defense.
Nebraska wound up tied for 18th in passing defense and 34th in pass efficiency defense. Even though defensive backs coach Corey Raymond was the target of some fans’ criticism, once the secondary started picking up the scheme better, the team finished fairly well defending the pass.
However, the Huskers were tied for 72nd in interceptions (with 10), tied for 84th in sacks (21), and 64th in rushing defense. Nebraska also finished with a minus-1 turnover margin with 18 takeaways and had 19 giveaways. This tells me they need to get far more pressure on opposing teams quarterbacks to force mistakes that lead to turnovers, and to increase sack numbers. At the very least, make the opposing quarterback throw the ball a fraction of a second sooner than he wants. This would increase takeaways.

The Huskers also need to find a way to better shut down the running game. Nebraska could not do that this season when it needed to do so. As good as Michigan State’s running game was, it was somewhat mind-boggling that the Spartans tried to beat Nebraska with the arm of pocket passer Kirk Cousins. It’s no secret that Pelini’s defenses have had little trouble with such passers.

Most of those negative statistics came from a mediocre effort from the defensive line and in the early part of the season, the linebackers. Lavonte David was obviously a stud all year, and Will Compton really improved late in the season. However, for the most part, the line got pushed around in the Big 10 by the good teams, most notably Wisconsin and Michigan.

The defensive line problems are perhaps due to a combination of the collective talent level on the line and the scheme. I’m of the belief that head coach Bo Pelini and defensive line coach Rick Kaczsenski should take a long hard look and changing around the two-gap scheme this offseason in order to more effectively combat the power running styles of Wisconsin and Iowa and to get more pressure on Spread teams like Ohio State or Michigan.
Nebraska has four set starters on the line for next year in Eric Martin, Cameron Meredith, Baker Steinkuhler, and Chase Rome. I would hope the influx of talent from the redshirts and true freshman could help here. The line will likely rotate a lot, so we could be seeing some of Todd Peat as well as perhaps Greg McMullen and Jason Ankrah.

While losing David is a tough blow at linebacker, I think Nebraska will be OK at that position. Compton improved visibly near the end and looked to assume a leadership role. Alonzo Whaley started filling in when the coaches finally realized Sean Fisher wasn't effective. Beyond that, Zaire Anderson and Michael Rose have the best chance of playing next season among Nebraska’s newcomers.

Rose is going to be a real good one. II expect a much improved overall unit next year, even with the loss of David. Not a ton of experience here, but potential is through the roof. Will that potential transfer to production next year? Remains to be seen.

The secondary also loses its best player in Alfonzo Dennard but also loses some of the single most frustrating players for the fans on the team: Austin Cassidy and Lance Thorrell are gone. Now, this isn't really a knock on these guys. Since they're in the secondary, everyone is going to know when they screw up but they've long been perceived as guys who were less athletic than those that should be starting for Nebraska, and now the Huskers forced to adapt.

Pelini is going to have to put someone else back there deep, regardless of whether the grasp the scheme as fully as Cassidy or not. Depth wise in the secondary the Huskers are not too bad. Damion Stafford is back for his senior campaign and should have a spot locked down. The other safety spot is up for grab. I see that competition playing out between Courtney Osborne, P.J. Smith, or Harvey Jackson. I see Smith or Osborne winning. At cornerback, Andrew Green should be vastly improved along with Ciante Evans, Antonio Bell, and Stanley Jean-Baptiste back. Dijon Washington looks to be a non-contributer at this point, and Bell hasn't done much either. JC transfer Mohammed Seisay should also make an impact as, worst case scenario a nickel back.
I think in order to more effectively fix the defense for next season; the staff should rethink the 2 gap scheme for our D-line in favor of a more penetration-happy scheme, and consider becoming less of a bend-don't-break.