Limping LBs look to get healthy
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BY STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star
Junior linebacker Lance Brandenburgh plopped his right arm on a table Tuesday, hard cast and all. He played last week against Oklahoma State with a fractured bone in the arm that actually occurred Oct. 7 at Iowa State (he thought it was a bad sprain). He has continued to play and will again Saturday against Missouri.
“We’re all banged up a little bit,” Brandenburgh said during Nebraska’s weekly media luncheon, referring to the Huskers’ linebacker crew.
“A little bit” amounts to an understatement. Which brings us to the heart of the matter: The heart of Nebraska’s defense is ailing, beset by a laundry list of injuries. The extent and scope of those injuries contributed to Oklahoma State racking up 496 yards of total offense in its 41-29 triumph in Stillwater, Okla.
Now Nebraska linebackers prepare for a Missouri offense that spreads the field and attacks with a quick passing game. The Tigers are “very good within 10 yards of the line,” said Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione.
Missouri’s offense puts defenders in positions where they have to make plays “in space,” or in the open field, Franchione said. Defenders must be able to explode and cut and lunge in order to make tackles.
Franchione understands Nebraska’s challenge this week, because Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel threw for 295 yards in the Tigers’ 25-19 loss Oct. 14 in College Station, Texas.
Nebraska middle linebacker Corey McKeon, hobbling on a sore knee and ankle, also understands the Huskers’ challenge as they try to gain the upper hand in the Big 12 North Division.
Missouri enters with a record of 7-2 overall and 3-2 in the Big 12, while Nebraska is 6-3 and 3-2 after back-to-back losses to Texas and Oklahoma State.
The Tigers’ four- and five-wide receiver sets will put stress on linebackers, whether they’re healthy or not, McKeon said.
“It’s a situation where they have to get the ball out of (the quarterback’s hands) a lot quicker,” McKeon said. “I mean, they’re not going to bomb the ball 70 yards down field with four guys rushing at them with only five blockers. So, it does stress you a lot with the routes they run and using tight ends as much as they do.
“You have to have fast linebackers. You have to have guys who play the pass very well and are able to adjust on the run. They’re going to throw every kind of route at you. You have to be able to make plays on the run.”
So, will Missouri put stress on McKeon’s tender knee and ankle?
“Anything puts stress on this ankle right now,” said the 6-foot-1, 225-pound junior middle linebacker, who has managed only six tackles in the last two games as he’s struggled on a “three-level ankle sprain” — low, medium and high — as well as stretched ligaments in his knee.
That’s why Nebraska defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove limited McKeon and weakside linebacker Steve Octavien’s playing time against Oklahoma State. Octavien had missed four games with a hamstring injury before returning with a 10-tackle performance Oct. 21 against Texas. He didn’t record a tackle against the Cowboys.
“I didn’t want to lose them for the season,” Cosgrove said after the game. “They were a little dinged up still. Corey, he’s better, but he’s still not where he needs to be.”
That may not bode well this week. To be sure, the injuries are a concern.
“I can’t sit here and say I’m not concerned about it because it is a factor in the way we were playing Saturday,” McKeon said. “You have Lance wearing a cast, which is making it difficult for him to make tackles. He’s trying his best . . . And me not playing to my potential with ankle and knee (injuries) — just the fact guys are trying to tough through things speaks a lot about our linebacking corps.”
In addition to McKeon and Octavien, Nebraska lost middle linebacker Phillip Dillard to a season-ending knee injury in the season’s first game. What’s more, backup strongside linebacker Clayton Sievers has missed significant playing time with hamstring problems.
“It has affected our play,” McKeon said of the injuries to linebackers. “The d-line rotates a bunch of guys. The linebackers used to have that luxury, but that’s fading away with injury.”
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
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