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BYSTEVEN M. SIPPLE
Legend has it, Bob Devaney liked to say that predicting attendance for Nebraska's annual Red-White game was like predicting attendance for most funerals - it depended largely on the weather.
Of course, even Devaney, the former Husker football coach, might never have envisioned the sweeping changes the storied program has undergone the last few months.
With those changes in mind, pundits have estimated as many as 60,000 spectators might materialize for today's 12:30 p.m. scrimmage at Memorial Stadium. Indeed, the old stadium will be teeming with fans excited to witness firsthand Nebraska's switch to the West Coast offense.
The stadium will be well below its normal capacity of 73,918 because the East balcony is unavailable as it undergoes waterproofing and other repairs. Several rows of seats below the balcony also will be blocked off for safety.
New Husker head coach Bill Callahan had words of caution for fans expecting a finely tuned offensive machine.
"We'd love to have success, make no mistake about that," he said. "And the guys have worked hard. But how well we'll come off, it's really tough to say. We're really in a transition right now on offense. We're gaining. We're making strides. We're gaining the ability to learn the system and to do better in isolated instances.
"But we're not there yet. We've still got a ways to go."
The scrimmage will consist of standard 15-minute quarters in the first half and 12-minute quarters with a running clock in the second half.
In a departure from previous years, the first-team offense and defense will be together, on the Red squad, while the White team will feature second- and third-string players.
Callahan, who took over as head coach on Jan. 9, said he wanted the first-string offense and defense on the same team in order to maintain confidence and continuity as new systems are being installed on both sides of the ball.
Offensive growing pains notwithstanding, Callahan said fans will receive "a pretty good taste" of Nebraska's new West Coast attack.
"We're not going to hold much back,"he said. "The only thing we're going to hold back on is a lot of the different things we're doing with motions and shifts."
Callahan acknowledged he would like to have seen more progress from the offense during the 15-practice spring season, which began March 24 and ends today. By comparison, Callahan had more praise for the defense, which has undergone fewer changes.
"Defensively, I see a lot of initiative, a lot of guys making plays,"he said. "I see the performance level on defense really elevating. That's an exciting thing. But that's something they've been known for around here, and they've capitalized on that, they've maintained and improved it during the spring."
Nebraska returns six starters from a 2003 unit that ranked 11th nationally in total defense while leading the nation in pass-efficiency defense.
The emergence of talent and depth at end was arguably the defense's most pleasant surprise during the spring. Sophomore Jay Moore is pushing incumbent starter Benard Thomas for the job on the left side, while sophomore right end Adam Carriker is regarded as one of the team's most talented players.
Behind Carriker on the depth chart is sophomore Wali Muhammad, by far the smallest of the bunch at 6-foot-1 and 245 pounds.
"Those are four really good players," said new Husker defensive line coach John Blake. "They've got great strength, good motors and they have the prototype size you need. Now, Wali is the little short one, but the others are good-sized guys."
The No. 1 offense will be led by quarterback Joe Dailey, who took about 90 percent of the snaps with the top unit during spring drills.
Callahan has given Dailey mixed reviews this spring, and the 6-0, 205-pound sophomore is expected to be challenged by junior college transfer Jordan Adams when fall practice begins in August.
Dailey could help himself today with a strong showing. Same goes for the entire offense.
"We made a lot of progress this spring," said center Richie Incognito, one of eight returning starters on offense. "We have a long way to go, but we got a lot of things done. We really got the whole offense put in, and I think that's a great accomplishment."
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@;journalstar.com.
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