STEVEN M. SIPPLE COLUMN: Callahan springs into action, but focus on fall

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He has his own football lexicon, expressions that are fresh and inventive in these parts.

Exhibit A:"We'll try to lock up the rock," said new Nebraska head coach Bill Callahan.

Translation: The Huskers hope to avoid fumbles.

Exhibit B:"It's critical for us to have a fullback who can enter the hole and ice the linebacker on the strongside or weakside, and have the ability to kick out," Callahan said.

Loose translation: The Huskers desire a fullback who can knock the smithereens out of any linebacker who threatens the ballcarrier. If the fullback must use a drop-kick to ward off the threatening linebacker, well, then so be it.

Exhibit C:"My philosophy about depth charts early in the process is very simple:It's not how you line up, it's how you wind up."

Translation: Nebraska players listed atop the current two-deep chart should be prepared to scratch and claw to remain there during the spring season, which begins today and ends with the April 17 Red-White game.

Husker Nation will be watching like hawks.

There are so many changes in the program, it's difficult to know where to begin.

So we'll start with Callahan, who takes over Big Red after two disparate seasons as head coach of the NFL Oakland Raiders, the first of which led to a Super Bowl berth, the second of which led to his firing.

Pundits who regularly cover Nebraska football have been impressed with Callahan's preparedness. Indeed, he's renown for his meticulousness. Former assistants will tell you Callahan can produce a spiral binder full of notes on a simple regular-season game plan.

Callahan's father, a former Chicago cop, taught him success comes from hard work.

So, the 47-year-old Callahan arrived for his pre-spring news conference a couple of weeks ago, notes in hand, and informed us he has 58 offensive players, 47 defensive players and eight specialists. He also noted there exists 7,123,456 blades of synthetic grass on the Memorial Stadium playing surface.

Callahan told us he has 60 scholarship players and 53 walk-ons at his disposal for spring drills. The bespectacled leader peered at his notes and revealed he has 18 defensive linemen, 20 offensive linemen, eight tight ends, 11 linebackers, 18 defensive backs, four I-backs, four fullbacks, 18 wide receivers (18 wide receivers!?), and four quarterbacks, including Joe Dailey, arguably the most important player of all.

For now, Dailey is widely regarded as the leading candidate to lead Callahan's version of the West Coast offense in 2004. Nebraska hasn't made such a radical change on offense since switching to the option in 1977.

OK, so Dailey isn't Donovan McNabb, Brett Favre or Rich Gannon. But the New Jersey kid might surprise people with how well he fits the West Coast system.

Nebraska, for the first time since the Ford administration, will use the entire field on offense, and it's easy topicture Dailey scooting into open spaces for long scrambles. Close your eyes and envision him rolling out of the pocket and firing quick, short passes into the guts of receivers.

Then, come preseason camp in August, picture Dailey having to hold off a threat to his throne from a confident junior college kid from southern California, Jordan Adams.

Nebraska lost to graduation five starters on offense, most notably quarterback Jammal Lord. The loss of Lord pales in comparison to the defense's loss of linebacker/end Demorrio Williams, who led a resurgent defense that went from No. 55 nationally in 2002 to No. 11 last year.

All Williams did was make 128 tackles, including a team-best 11 sacks. He was seemingly everywhere, constantly emerging from nowhere to turn potential long gains into exercises in futility for overmatched ballcarriers.

It's difficult to peg exactly who might pick up the slack in Williams' absence, but I'm picking sophomore rush end Adam Carriker to come from nowhere to become one of the team's most disruptive forces.

Last season, the Blackshirts played with passion and ignited a team that overachieved its way to a 10-3 record. The fact Nebraska had to overachieve in order to win 10 is one of the primary reasons Frank Solich was fired at the end of the regular season.

The Husker athletic director apparently wants a higher grade of athlete milling around the gridiron palace that we assume will be standing proudly in due time.

Callahan, of course, is always on time, prepared for whatever pops up next. He's a computer guy, a new-age coach overhauling a program that many accused of stubbornly remaining in the dark ages, especially when it came to offense.

Indeed, Callahan has his own way of saying things, of doing things. Will it be the right way for Nebraska?

Well, one of the many wonderful elements of sports is scoreboards. They don't lie.

With this thought, I leave you with one other:

It's not how a team lines up during spring practice that matters, it's how it winds up in the fall and winter that determines the fate of coaches. We've learned that here the hard way.

Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@;journalstar.com.