NebraskaIt is that time all us Nebraska football fans have been waiting for! It is game week and here at Nebsports.com we are releasing our first game preview of the season. Nebraska will kick off the 2008 season against Western Michigan and it will be the first of five straight home games for the Huskers.

The big question everyone is asking is this. “How will the defense be this year”. Well I’m not sure how they will be in game play, but everything that I have read and from talking with other people that have attended practices is that the defense was flying around to the ball and have some very good schemes setup for this season. One problem I see with the defense is that they are so thin at a lot of positions, that a few injuries here and there and the Huskers could be in a lot of trouble as that would force a lot of freshmen to have to play.

One thing that the defense is going to try to do this season is get more interceptions. The coaches will put the players in position to make the interceptions so it will be up to the players to make the plays happen. I see the Huskers have one or two picks against Western Michigan because their quarterback Tim Hiller threw 15 int’s last year and is known to make some made decisions with the football. As for the running game, the Broncos ranked 86th nationally and ninth in the MAC in rushing offense last season, tallying 130 yards per game.

I don’t think the Huskers will have any problems scoring points on Saturday against the Broncos. They allowed on average of 28 points a game last season against MAC opponents pretty much and the Huskers have been accustomed to scoring around 40 in their opening games of the season. The Bronco’s defensive line is a lot smaller then the offensive line of the Huskers so I see them putting up 200-250 yards rushing on the smaller defense. One player to pay attention to during the game is Londen Fryar who is former Husker great Irving Fryar’s son. He plays cornerback for the Broncos and is an NFL prospect

My gut feeling is telling me the game will be a 45-21 type of game with the Huskers coming out on top. Marlon Lucky will run for 120 yards and have two touchdowns. Roy Helu, Quentin Castille, and Marcus Mendoza will combine for two touchdowns while Joe Ganz will throw for two more touchdowns.

What are you opinions on how the first game of the season will turn out?


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NebraskaIn a somewhat suprising move on Tuesday, head coach Bo Pelini elected not to give out any blackshirts to the defense because he says that “They need to earn them first”. I know some of the traditional fans out there are upset with this, but I like the move and members of the defense actually agree as well.

Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh agrees and says that he wants to show that he has earned the blackshirt and not just have it given to him. It is unclear right now if the jersey will be given out before the second game of the season or at all right now. It will be the first time since 1964 that the defense won’t be sporting the blackshirts in their season opener.

So what is your opinion on the blackshirts? Do you agree that they need to be earned in the first 3-4 games of the season? Leave a comment and let us know your opinion!


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NebraskaThe much anticipated depth chart has been released for the game against Western Michigan this Saturday. There are a couple of suprises on there that is for sure. Also, it shows how thin the defense is at key positions when you have so many freshman/sophomore’s in the twp deep. Did we not have a junior class on the d-line?

Anyways here it is and let us know what you think and what really suprised you about it.

OFFENSE:

Quarterback: Joe Ganz, Patrick Witt, Zack Lee
Running Back: Marlon Lucky or Roy Helu or Quentin Castille
Fullback: Thomas Lawson, Justin Makovicka
Tight End: Mike McNeill, Dreu Young, Ryan Hill, Ben Cotton
Wide Receiver: Nate Swift, Menelik Holt, Will Henry, Chris Brooks
Wide Receiver: Todd Peterson, Niles Paul or Curenski Gilleylen
Left Tackle: Mike Smith, Jaivario Burkes
Right Tackle: Lydon Murtha, Marcel Jones
Left Guard: Mike Huff, Keith Williams
Right Guard: Matt Slauson, D.J. Jones
Center: Jacob Hickman, Mike Caputo

DEFENSE:

Open End: Barry Turner, Pierre Allen
Base End: Zach Potter, Clayton Sievers
Nose Tackle: Ndamukong Suh, Shukree Barfield, Terrence Moore
Tackle: Ty Steinkuhler, Jared Crick
WILL Linebacker: Cody Glenn, Blake Lawrence
MIKE Linebacker: Phillip Dillard, Will Compton, Colton Koehler
BUCK Linebacker: Tyler Wortman, Sean Fisher
Right Corner: Anthony West, Prince Amukamara
Left Corner: Armando Murillo, Eric Hagg
Strong Safety: Larry Asante, Major Culbert
Free Safety: Ricky Thenarse, Matt O’Hanlon

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Place Kicker: Alex Henery or Adi Kunalic
Punter: Dan Titchener, Jake Wesch
Long Snapper: T.J. O’Leary, Justin Baumgartner

The punt and kick returners have not been announced but word is that Nate Swift and Niles Paul will be returning punts.

So what does everyone think? I think the defense looks very thin with a lot of young players going to see action. I think the lines are going to have to play very good for the team to have success. Hopefully players can step up and make the plays they are capable of making.

We will have our writeup about the Western Michigan game later today or on Wednesday so stay tuned for that! GO HUSKERS!


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NebraskaBrent Qvale is the newest football commit for the Nebraska football team when he said yes to the Husker coaches earlier in the weekend. Qvale is a big guy at 6’7 and 300 pounds. Qvale showed up on the Husker recruiting screen when he had a great performance at the camp over the summer.

Mr. Qvale had his final two schools down to Wisconsin and Nebraka and ultimately selected the Huskers because he felt at home in Lincoln and around the coaching staff. He will visit Nebraska officially on Nov. 8 during the Kansas game.

Welcome to the Big Red Family Mr. Qvale!


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NebraskaOmaha World Herald journalist Tom Shatel had a very good article on Thursday about the new coaching staff and athletic director Tom Osborne regarding upcoming schedules.  After the 2010 season the team does not want to have two or three cupcakes on the schedule like they do this year.  There is nothing they can do about the schedules the next couple of years that Steve Pederson setup unless they want to break contracts and payoff the schools but look for the Huskers to play some bigtime teams in the future.

Teams like Miami, BYU, Wyoming,  LSU, Ohio State, Florida, Michigan, and Wisconsin have been mentioned.  If the Huskers do anything they want to atleast do a home and home with a bigtime school and then two home games and one away game with teams like Wyoming etc.

Shatel’s artcle mentioned that Jeff Jamrog has been working on the schedule and he thought he had two home games lined up with Wyoming and then the Huskers and Cowboys would have played another game in Denver at Invesco Field but the Cowboy now want the game played in Laramie.  I know I would have made that trip to Denver to watch the Huskers play.

We are wondering what teams you would like to see the Huskers schedule games with?  Figure a home and home series for big time schools.  Personally I’d love to see Miami, Wisconsin, or Michigan come to Lincoln for a game and then the Husker return the favor the next year.  I’d love to take a trip to Ann Arbor or Madison for an away game

Click here for Shatel’s full article


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NebraskaThe first day of practice has come and gone for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.  First year head coach Pelini was pleased with the practice even though a lot of work will need to be done before the Huskers kick off the season against Western Michigan on August 30th.

The Huskers will have to fill in a spot on the defensive line as it was announced that Kevin Dixon was kicked off the team for violation of team rules.  Pelini did not say what Dixon did but the Omaha World Herald is reporting that he had two misdemeanor citations in July that have since been dropped.  This could open up a spot for senior Shukree Barfield, sophomore Ben Martin and redshirt freshman Terrence Moore.  Another name could be Baker Steinkuhler as well that could help on the d-line.

Tight-end Hunter Teafatiller was on the 105 man roster and taking reps with the number one offense.  Some people around the program was not sure if Teafatiller would be on the team after his DUI charge over the summer.  Sounds like the coaches are giving him another chance and I’m sure he will be on a short leash all season long.

I will try to have an update up about the second day of practice later today.  Football is here and it is an exciting time!


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