Red Report: The D-line blues
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Husker coaches were apparently worried about the look of the defensive line even back in April.
First-year defensive line coach Buddy Wyatt said as much at Friday’s Big Red Breakfast in Omaha.
“After spring football, one thing we as a staff identified is that we need to get better pass rushers on the defensive line, faster, more athletic guys,” Wyatt said.
“We’re looking for guys more in that 6-4, 6-3 and 230-pound range that can run, then can get up to 250 and keep their speed and be able to rush the quarterback.”
Wyatt praised the effort of his guys, particularly the progress of junior Zach Potter, but said Nebraska’s inexperience on the D-line has been one reason for the team’s struggles. The Huskers have just nine sacks this year, which ties them for 112 out of 119 major college football teams.
“The kids I have really are conscientious and they want to do everything just right,” Wyatt said. “There’s got to be a time when experience takes over, and that’s experience these guys haven’t had.”
BLITZING BLISS: Nebraska blitzed on almost every down last week against Texas, showing an attacking style previously not seen from this team.
Wyatt said you can’t blitz every team like that. It just so happened Texas was a team coaches felt such a game plan might work against.
“Every team presents a different problem, a different scheme. Some teams will allow you to be more aggressive because they don’t do certain things. Texas was one of those teams,” Wyatt said. “Obviously, we like to be aggressive. We like to attack. As you saw last week, you live by the sword, you die by the sword, so you kind of have to mix it up.”
The Huskers got burned for several big plays in the fourth quarter, including 86- and 40-yard touchdown runs by running back Jamaal Charles.
The Huskers currently rank last in the country in major college football in rush defense.
“I don’t think it’s tweaking this and tweaking that,” Wyatt said. “We have to do the fundamentals better, which is shedding blocks and tackling. If we can do that, we’ll see a drastic improvement.”
QUICK HITS: About the Kansas offense Nebraska will see today, Wyatt said: “It is not a complex offense as far as schemes and stuff, but it is tough to defend. They spread you out. And our old nemesis the zone read play, they do that.
“When you look at them on film, they don’t have guys that just jump off on film and make you say, ‘That guy’s great’ ... But they’re executing, they’re believing in what they’re doing.”
n Wyatt said junior nose tackle Ty Steinkuhler has been nagged by a bum knee all year after injuring it in the opener against Nevada.
n The coach also said junior defensive end Barry Turner is “one of the smartest football players I’ve ever coached.”
Sometimes, he said, Turner might even be too smart for his own good.
“I tell him, ‘I don’t want you analyzing everything. I just want you to react.’”
n And Wyatt is as optimistic as fans that quarterback Joe Ganz might provide a spark when he makes his first start today.
“Joey is a well-liked young man with the whole football team. I think Joey will give this offense and our team a spark, because that’s the kind of kid he is, a competitive kid,” Wyatt said. “Everyone loves being around Joey. Players seem to have rallied around him. Morale this week in practice has been really good.”
— Brian Christopherson
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