Without further adieu, it’s time to start the college football season. In Lincoln, Neb., it starts at 6 p.m. local time against Florida Atlantic.
I never know for sure what to expect, especially in a season opener. I always caution that in August, pretty much everybody is full of optimism. The fact of the matter is, when the games are actually played, somebody's going to go away disappointed.Nebraska could, and probably should, win decisively but I would not be shocked if the Huskers are tested early in the contest. We have an unproven OL and an unproven QB. These are key question marks. FAU has a great talent at QB.For Nebraska, the rubber will truly meet the road on Sept. 19 when it visits Virginia Tech, which enters the season rated No. 7.
One thing we have to take into consideration is that this Nebraska team is a pretty young one. There are about 11 redshirt freshmen, 11 sophomore, and 16 juniors that will play key roles but as of now only about six seniors that figure to be starters. There will be some bugs to work out.
With the running back rotation, I see the top three guys as being Roy Helu, Rex Burkhead and probably Lester Ward with Marcus Mendoza being the situational back. Much will depend on the game situation but I see Helu getting about 20-25 carries with Burkhead (a true freshman) getting about 10-12.
The biggest concern for Nebraska on offense is definitely the line, which I think will at least be satisfactory. Individually, you have some pretty good players but it’s a matter of finding the right combination. Then, there’s the question of how does quarterback Zac Lee respond to adversity? Not just from a game score standpoint but how does he react the first time he gets hit? Then also, while there is talent at wide receiver, who becomes that No. 1 guy?
No worries at all for the tight end position with Mike McNeill figuring to be Lee’s go-to man but don’t be surprised if Dreu Young or Kyler Reed becomes a factor.
Defensively, Nebraska should be just as good if not better up front thanks to Ndamukong Suh opting to stay in school for his senior year. Suh will face his share of double-teams that will free up opportunities for guys like Barry Turner, Pierre Allen, Jared Crick and Cameron Meredith.
Allen is a definitely star but with Turner coming off a torn ACL, it’s doubtful he’s an all-Big 12 player but if he can be solid that would be a huge boost for Nebraska.
Linebacker and secondary should be an upgrade even with several new faces.
Florida Atlantic’s offense will test the Huskers from time-to-time. Rusty Smith is a legit quarterback. FAU has some size and speed at receiver and their head coach (Howard Schnellengberger) is a bright offensive mind). However, FAU has a suspect running game and Nebraska’s D-Line should dominate.
The Husker offense has some new faces but the good news is that so does FAU’s defense, which lost eight starters.
Showing posts with label Lester Ward. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lester Ward. Show all posts
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Castille dismissal shows Pelini will make tough choices
Say one thing for Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini. Well, there are many things you can say but none the least of which are his willingness to make a tough decision.
Running back Quentin Castille has been dismissed from the football team for what Pelini said Saturday was a clear violation of team policies according to the Lincoln Journal Star.
"We have guidelines, we have policies that we have set up here, we have a culture we have set up here," Pelini said. "It's pretty black and white my expectations and what we lay out as a staff, and if somebody doesn't follow those policies or guidelines, they're no longer going to be with the program. That's the case with Quentin. I wish him luck. He's a good kid. He's just not going to be with our program anymore. I wish him luck in the future. The book is closed on that."
Pelini addressed the matter following Saturday's practice. It marked the third day Castille was not with the team.
"It's black and white," Pelini said. "It's not tough the way I go about running this football program."
What stands out the most (to me anyhow) about the decision was that it did not involve the Unity Council, which Pelini reinstituted after becoming the head coach.
The Unity Council, which was in place from 1991-2003, is a group consisting of players selected by their fellow teammates on the football roster of that specific year. At least one player comes from each position on the football team so the voice of other players in that position can be heard. The idea enjoyed great on-field success initially, as Nebraska rolled off three national championships within the next 10 years.
The council dealt with internal discipline. It worked under a point system for troubled players -- those who got into trouble received points for infractions such as missing classes or practices, as well as criminal charges. The more points a player received, the harsher the discipline.
“If there's a violation and people go against the rules and the guidelines that we've set up, it's black and white,” Pelini said. “We'll show you the door. No one is above the football team. I got a program to run, both short term and long term. Like I said, end of story.”
So what does this mean for the running back position? Keep in mind; Castille and Roy Helu were slated to be Nebraska’s running back tandem in 2009 much like the ’08 season with Marlon Lucky.
Pelini added that true freshman Rex Burkhead has emerged as the No. 2 back behind Helu but don’t rule out Collins Okafor, Lester Ward, and Austin Jones. For that matter, don’t rule out Marcus Mendoza. Keep in mind, Okafor is a big back like Castille at 6-1, 225-pounds. Although I think Burkhead would have seen the field at some point this season anyhow despite Pelini’s tendency to redshirt freshman players.
Castille’s dismissal is a tough blow but Pelini is right to stick to his standards, which is what happened. I trust the reasons (unknown at this point) were legit. Pelini is proving he can make the though choices. Again, I am very curious about the reason for the dismissal. Was it drugs? Drinking? Breaking the law? Or heaven forbid violating the NCAA rules?
We'll never know unless either Castille discusses it, or the NCAA comes sniffing around and we hear about it on ESPN. Since it was for a “clear violation of team rules,” I seriously doubt it's an NCAA violation. Also, if Nebraska even suspected Castille violated NCAA rules he would have been suspended immediately (a couple days ago). About the only streak we've got left besides the sell-out streak is no major NCAA violations in the football program and I'm quite sure Nebraska wants to keep it that way. Also, I doubt it was the law. If it was, we would have heard about it because the police can't keep arrest reports from reporters for long. Defensive tackle Kevin Dixon's issues we knew about within hours of his arrests. Pelini dismissed Dixon before the start of last season and linebacker Cody Glenn late in the season. The speculation is already out there as to the reason for it but I doubt we ever get it confirmed. Pelini isn't going to throw a player or a former player under the bus under any circumstances. He referred to Castille as a “good kid.” Keep in mind, he never talked in specifics about what Dixon and Glenn did, and he's not going to talk about this one either.
It is a sad day for Castille but he is the only one who should be sad. The pattern of consistency in the area of discipline has been established. The only way to maintain the respect of the players in your program is to apply the consequences for the breaking of rules fairly and consistently regardless of who you are or how good you are.
Castille made mistakes and it cost him and for that you hope that he can overcome these hardships but for the good of the whole Pelini represents what is best in sports, character and principles, which someday will influence others choices to come to Nebraska for the right reasons.
Not that I need to know every time someone violates team rules but Pelini and his staff have demonstrated that they are completely fair with their players, and have their best interests at heart. So when he says someone can no longer be on the team, that's good enough for me. I also think that he deserves praise for keeping these things “In House,” letting the young men keep their dignity to whatever extent that is possible.
Running back Quentin Castille has been dismissed from the football team for what Pelini said Saturday was a clear violation of team policies according to the Lincoln Journal Star.
"We have guidelines, we have policies that we have set up here, we have a culture we have set up here," Pelini said. "It's pretty black and white my expectations and what we lay out as a staff, and if somebody doesn't follow those policies or guidelines, they're no longer going to be with the program. That's the case with Quentin. I wish him luck. He's a good kid. He's just not going to be with our program anymore. I wish him luck in the future. The book is closed on that."
Pelini addressed the matter following Saturday's practice. It marked the third day Castille was not with the team.
"It's black and white," Pelini said. "It's not tough the way I go about running this football program."
What stands out the most (to me anyhow) about the decision was that it did not involve the Unity Council, which Pelini reinstituted after becoming the head coach.
The Unity Council, which was in place from 1991-2003, is a group consisting of players selected by their fellow teammates on the football roster of that specific year. At least one player comes from each position on the football team so the voice of other players in that position can be heard. The idea enjoyed great on-field success initially, as Nebraska rolled off three national championships within the next 10 years.
The council dealt with internal discipline. It worked under a point system for troubled players -- those who got into trouble received points for infractions such as missing classes or practices, as well as criminal charges. The more points a player received, the harsher the discipline.
“If there's a violation and people go against the rules and the guidelines that we've set up, it's black and white,” Pelini said. “We'll show you the door. No one is above the football team. I got a program to run, both short term and long term. Like I said, end of story.”
So what does this mean for the running back position? Keep in mind; Castille and Roy Helu were slated to be Nebraska’s running back tandem in 2009 much like the ’08 season with Marlon Lucky.
Pelini added that true freshman Rex Burkhead has emerged as the No. 2 back behind Helu but don’t rule out Collins Okafor, Lester Ward, and Austin Jones. For that matter, don’t rule out Marcus Mendoza. Keep in mind, Okafor is a big back like Castille at 6-1, 225-pounds. Although I think Burkhead would have seen the field at some point this season anyhow despite Pelini’s tendency to redshirt freshman players.
Castille’s dismissal is a tough blow but Pelini is right to stick to his standards, which is what happened. I trust the reasons (unknown at this point) were legit. Pelini is proving he can make the though choices. Again, I am very curious about the reason for the dismissal. Was it drugs? Drinking? Breaking the law? Or heaven forbid violating the NCAA rules?
We'll never know unless either Castille discusses it, or the NCAA comes sniffing around and we hear about it on ESPN. Since it was for a “clear violation of team rules,” I seriously doubt it's an NCAA violation. Also, if Nebraska even suspected Castille violated NCAA rules he would have been suspended immediately (a couple days ago). About the only streak we've got left besides the sell-out streak is no major NCAA violations in the football program and I'm quite sure Nebraska wants to keep it that way. Also, I doubt it was the law. If it was, we would have heard about it because the police can't keep arrest reports from reporters for long. Defensive tackle Kevin Dixon's issues we knew about within hours of his arrests. Pelini dismissed Dixon before the start of last season and linebacker Cody Glenn late in the season. The speculation is already out there as to the reason for it but I doubt we ever get it confirmed. Pelini isn't going to throw a player or a former player under the bus under any circumstances. He referred to Castille as a “good kid.” Keep in mind, he never talked in specifics about what Dixon and Glenn did, and he's not going to talk about this one either.
It is a sad day for Castille but he is the only one who should be sad. The pattern of consistency in the area of discipline has been established. The only way to maintain the respect of the players in your program is to apply the consequences for the breaking of rules fairly and consistently regardless of who you are or how good you are.
Castille made mistakes and it cost him and for that you hope that he can overcome these hardships but for the good of the whole Pelini represents what is best in sports, character and principles, which someday will influence others choices to come to Nebraska for the right reasons.
Not that I need to know every time someone violates team rules but Pelini and his staff have demonstrated that they are completely fair with their players, and have their best interests at heart. So when he says someone can no longer be on the team, that's good enough for me. I also think that he deserves praise for keeping these things “In House,” letting the young men keep their dignity to whatever extent that is possible.
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