Nothing has been easy for NU's defensive backfield
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BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
The cast on the hand of cornerback Andre Jones sparked some conversation earlier this week after a Nebraska football practice.
Jones, who broke his knuckle in last week’s game against Texas, had the cast colored black in recognition of the Blackhirts. He insists the injury isn’t serious, and that the cast, should he play with it today, won’t affect his play.
His position coach, Phil Elmassian, is certain of that much.
“I don’t think it will affect him. Nah,” said Elmassian, the veteran defensive backs coach. “Hell, he don’t make enough plays for it to affect him, anyway.”
The tongue-in-cheek comment drew some chuckles. But Elmassian, a curmudgeon of sorts to reporters, didn’t crack a smile.
Asked specifically about Jones’ play, Elmassian said the junior college transfer “practices his butt off,” but also said Jones didn’t play to his capabilities last week against Texas.
Jones, thrown this season into the secondary fray earlier than coaches had wanted or expected, is still learning, still adjusting. Elmassian said he understands.
“I was a junior college player myself,” Elmassian said. “I played it, I coached it. They’re like freshmen when they come here. I was a junior college DB, and I know when I transferred. … It’s not easy.”
Then again, there’s been nothing easy for the Nebraska secondary this season. In that regard, maybe Jones fits perfectly.
The Huskers began the season on Sept. 2 with two safeties who had a combined zero career starts, one experienced cornerback in Cortney Grixby and virtually no experienced depth behind Jones, whose only game experience was in junior college.
As expected, there have been some struggles, some growing pains. Facing Dwayne Jarrett was an eye-opener for Jones. The Kansas game raised red flags everywhere.
Yet, as No. 20 Nebraska prepares for another challenge against a potentially dangerous offense today at Oklahoma State, members of the Husker secondary feel some sense of accomplishment.
“The first couple of games, we knew we had improvement to do,” Grixby said. “The last couple of games, that improvement has shown, although we still have a lot more to go.”
Statistics vary in reflection of the secondary’s play. Nebraska allows 218.25 yards per game through the air, a mark than ranks eighth in the Big 12 and 80th nationally. Yet, the team’s passing efficiency rating of 111.0 is third-best in the league and 29th in the country.
The safeties, Tierre Green and Andrew Shanle, have met and perhaps exceeded some expectations. Green is the team’s third-leading tackler, and Shanle has three interceptions while also being effective lately in Nebraska’s blitz packages.
Meanwhile, the cornerbacks, Elmassian said, need to make more plays and finish at the point of attack with more consistency. As for the positives?
“We’re playing faster,” he said. “I think that’s the biggest thing. I’ve seen improvements. With all the first-year guys and injuries and everything else that goes with it, there have been a lot of improvements, I think.”
Jones replaced Zac Bowman, a highly regarded cornerback who started a year ago but was lost for the season because of an ACL injury in August. Isaiah Fluellen, a backup who’d moved from receiver to cornerback to help with depth, suffered the same season-ending injury in Nebraska’s first game.
Bowman, too, was a junior college transfer, and Elmassian said Jones is ahead of where Bowman was at this point last season, in terms of technique. Bowman, though, made more plays, he said.
Combined, Jones and Grixby have two interceptions and 11 pass breakups.
“We miss Bowman dearly with his playmaking,” Elmassian said. “But you move on. And for the most part, we’ve done a good job. If we were 2-6, I’d say it’d be awful. But 6-2, it can’t be that bad, right?”
Not only is Nebraska’s 6-2 overall record not bad, it’s what many probably expected at this point in the season — with or without Bowman. In other words, the play of Nebraska’s secondary hasn’t cost the Huskers any unexpected losses.
That’s what makes today’s game intriguing. Oklahoma State, 4-3 overall, is an underdog. Yet the Cowboys have the Big 12’s second-best offense, in part because of quarterback Bobby Reid and junior college wide receiver Adarius Bowman.
A 6-foot-4, 220-pound slot receiver, Bowman leads the nation with 791 receiving yards. He had 13 catches for 300 yards two weeks ago at Kansas.
“Oh, gosh, he’s a pain in the butt,” Elmassian said. “I’ve got to give Grixby a stepladder. He’ll eat peanuts off the top of his head.
“It’s hard. You see every week, it’s just hard. That changes the game. (If) they have tall guys who can’t play, then it doesn’t matter. But this guy can play. No different than the kid from Iowa State (Todd Blythe). No different than Texas, no different than … you’ve got a 6-4, 6-5 guy who’s extremely productive, and then the other guy’s just as good.”
Bowman plays on the outside in two-receiver sets, and when the Cowboys go three-wide, he’s the inside receiver, meaning linebackers and safeties will be responsible for the big man.
“I’ve never seen a slot at his size,” Jones said. “You normally see slots, they’re little guys. Quick, shifty and everything.”
Whether he’s matched against Bowman or is covering D’Juan Woods, the Cowboys’ second-leading receiver, Jones knows what’s expected of him. Get downhill on the routes. Finish every route. Let the receiver feel your presence.
“You’re going to make plays out there, and there are going to be plays you ain’t going to make,” Jones said. “It’s all about how you handle it. Are you just going to continue to keep not making plays, or are you going to suck it up and go on to the next play? Or are you going to think about the last play?”
Jones said he’s well-prepared for bouncing back from big plays or enduring criticism because of what happens in practice with Elmassian.
“It’s intense. It’s real intense,” Jones said.” I appreciate it … after it’s over with. When he’s yelling and screaming at you, of course, nobody likes getting yelled and screamed at. But he makes it that way because in a game, it’s going to be so much worse.
“It’s a great concept. I understand it. I’m getting better and better each week. Cortney’s getting better. Rickey (Thenarse), Anthony West, we’re all getting better. We’re looking good this week.”
Thenarse and West are true freshman cornerbacks, as is Corey Young. Thenarse has seen action in Nebraska’s nickel and dime coverage, although the Huskers didn’t implement those coverages until game six against Iowa State … a game after Kansas threw for 405 yards against the Huskers.
Nebraska coach Bill Callahan credited his defensive staff and players for adapting to various adjustments.
“I think that’s been huge,” Callahan said. “They’ve done a great job with the pressure package and the sub packages, the bait packages and the variety of coverages that they’re playing back there right now.”
As for Jones, he hopes to play today without the cast … and perhaps prove Elmassian wrong about his play-making ability.
“It’s been a ride, definitely, and that ride is not over yet. I just welcome the challenge,” Jones said. “I’m getting there. I’m still working. It’s just a day-by-day process.”
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
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