The 2011 NFL Draft was held Thursday-Saturday in New York City and when it was all said and done seven Nebraska Cornhuskers were picked by NFL teams. The Washington Redskins picked three Huskers which had a lot of people thinking what’s going on in the nations capital?

Prince Amukamara was first to go as he was the #19th pick in the 1st round the New York Giants
Roy Helu was the 8th pick in the 4th round to the Washington Redskins
Alex Henery was the only place kicker taken in the draft and he went to the Philadelphia Eagles with the 23rd pick in the 4th round
Dejon Gomes was picked next by the Washington Redskins #15 in the 5th round
Niles Paul was the the other player picked by the Redskins as he was selected with the 24th pick in the 5th round
Keith Williams was chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 6th round with the 31st pick
Eric Hagg was the final Husker picked in the draft as he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the 7th round

Overall getting seven players selected was nice. Former players like D.J. Jones, Mike McNeill, and Ricky Henry will get looks at by teams that can sign free agents once the lockout is lifted. Right now players can’ t do a whole lot but sit back and see how things go as far as the lockout is concerned.

Congrats to everyone that got drafted and to those that did not, good luck in the free agent pool!


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Nebraska and Missouri were facing off for basically the Big 12 North Championship on Saturday and it was the Husker who took advantage of a quick 24-0 lead as the beat the Tigers 31-17 in Lincoln. The big man of the day was Roy Helu Jr. as the senior running back scored from the first place of scrimmage and added two other long touchdown runs to finish up with a 307 yards which set a new school record. Helu ran for touchdowns of 66, 73 and 53 yards.

Helu carried the ball so much especially in the second half because starting quarterback Taylor Martinez did not play due to a bone bruise after being tackled late in the second quarter.

Did anyone else enjoy seeing the three man front completely dominate the missou offensive line and put pressure on Blaine Gabbert all game long. The lock down defenders in the secondary allowed three linemen to rush Gabbert and sack him three times. Gabbert got some scrambling yards but also took some big hits as he paid for those yards.

Nebraska ended their 13 game losing streak against top 10 teams with the victory. They have also moved up to #7 in the BCS standings after being #14 before the Missouri game. Right now the computers are loving back to back wins over undefeated teams.

The Huskers will look to build off the big win when they travel to Ames, Iowa on Saturday to take on the Cyclones. Iowa State upset the Huskers last year in Lincoln when the Big Red had turnover after turnover so I expect them to come out and win by at least two touchdowns.


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Kansas State fans were talking smack all week long on message boards and the airwaves but that smack talk was quickly put to rest Thursday night once Taylor Martinez had the ball in his hand. Martinez quickly made the wildcats fan think “wtf was that” as he scored from 14 yards out and then added a 35 yard td run in the first quarter. It was just the beginning for the big red as they rolled up 587 total yards on offense in route to a 48-13 butt whooping on national tv against K-State.

Martinez was pretty damn impressive against a wildcat defense that did not know how to tackle and defend the zone read play. Martinez set a freshman rushing record as he ran all over the wildcats and finished the game with 241 yards on 15 attempts. His 80 yard td run to start the second half put the game out of question for good and left Bill Snyder wishing it really wasn’t his birthday as it was a downright terrible game for his team. T-Magic would also throw for 128 yards on 5 of 7 passing. Martinez hit Kyler Reed for a 79 yard touchdown to account for most of his passing yards.

I gotta give some props to the offensive linemen and wide outs that were out there blocking down field for Martinez and Roy Helu Jr. who scored on a long 68 yard td. When your linemen can get downfield and knock linebackers and on their butts, you are going to break some long runs and that is exactly what Nebraska did. Great job guys!

The defense was once again led by linebacker Lavonte David who had a game high 16 tackles. David was out there flying around and if I remember correctly he had 10 tackles in the first quarter alone. David had a lot of help out there as the entire Blackshirt defense came ready to play. They allowed just two long field goals and a late touchdown. They also shut down Kansas State super running back Daniel Thomas to just 63 yards on 22 carries.

It was great to open up Big12 play with a butt whooping like that. Now all the attention goes to next Saturday when the Texas Longhorns make a trip into Lincoln. This game has been on a lot of fans mind since the Big12 Championship. I’ll be making the seven hour drive and attending and cannot wait!


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In front of 20,000 fans that traveled out to Seattle, the Big Red did not disappoint as they completely dominated the Washington Huskies 56-21 to improve to 3-0 on the season. The game was really never in doubt as the Huskers jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead after just five offensive plays. The Blackshirts made Jake Locker look like a sixth round draft pick rather then then number one overall pick in the upcoming draft and left the Husky fans leaving their own stadium before the game was over and shaking their heads and what just happened.

The T-Mart show once again was in full affect. The freshman quarterback opened up the second half with a 80-yard touchdown run which was the longest td run by a freshman qb at Nebraska. Martinez would also score two other times on the ground and also hit Mike McNeill in the first quarter for a touchdown. When it was all said and done, Martinez finished with 137 yards rushing and 150 yards passing. Not bad for a freshman qb on the road playing in a loud stadium!

Martinez wasn’t the only Nebraska player to rush for over 100 yards. Roy Helu Jr. and Rex Burkhead both went over the centry mark with 110 yards and 104 yards respectively.

I came away very impressed with the game plan that Carl Pelini and the coaching staff came into the game with as they hoped to slow down Locker. They made Locker look terrible as they brought multiple blitzes and also dropped back extra linebackers in coverage to confuse him all game long. Locker finished 4 of 20 for 71 yards and two interceptions. One big play of 45 yards on a broken coverage was the only big play that the Huskies had all game long. Great performance by the blackshirts!

Now it’s time for the Big Red to prepare for South Dakota State. This will hopefully be the last game on pay per view for the Huskers and kickoff is set for 6 p.m. from Memorial Stadium.


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So it’s Monday morning and I’ve had some more time to think about the Nebraska vs Idaho game. I know a lot of people are upset with the game and the coaching staff wasn’t too much pleased but there were quite a few positives to come out of the game in my opinion.

The Huskers can line up and run the ball no question about it. You have the speedster Taylor Martinez and running backs Roy Helu Jr. and Rex Burkhead who can all break a long run and score from anywhere on the field. Helu Jr. and Burkhead aren’t getting as many carries as most would think, but that is because Martinez is scoring from 50 and 60 yards out taking up a lot of yardage.  I love how the running game is shaping up and the team will need to execute it again this coming Saturday when the Big Red invades Seattle to take on the Washington Huskies.

The defense played very good. I liked the d-line was able to put pressure on Nathan Enderle and force him into 5 interceptions. The defensive backs did a wonderful job of being physical with the Idaho receivers and made Enderle look like a junior varisty qb not a quarterback that is projected to be a 4-7th round pick in the upcoming NFL draft. Anytime your defense sacks the opposing team over five times and your defense picks the ball off five times things are going to turn out good.

The negatives to come out of the game were stupid and costly penalties along with bone headed turnovers. Ben Cotton, c’mon man! Niles Paul, hold onto the ball kid! Martinez will need to learn to read coverages more and know to get rid of the ball quicker. All those mistakes that were just boneheaded mistakes that can be fixed. They will have to be fixed soon or you juts might see some other players in there at the tight end position etc.

What was everyone’s thoughts on the game? Leave a commend or let us know through Twitter @nebsports


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The Big Red kicked off the 2010 season with a 49-10 victory over Western Kentucky on Saturday night. The team was sparked by redshirt freshman Taylor Martinez at the quarterback position and the defense played good enough to keep the Hilltoppers out of the end zone for the most part.

My thoughts on the game were up and down. The offense played nice with Martinez doing most of the damage. Making his first college start, and the first time the Huskers opened up a season with a freshman quarterback, Martinez wowed the crowd with a 46 yard touchdown on his first rushing attempt. He would later add touchdown runs of 19 and 15 yards and finish the game with 127 yards rushing on seven carries.

I also thought that Rex Burkhead did well as he had over 100 all purpose yards including a 20 yard touchdown. Niles Paul and Austin Jones would also both get in the end zone for the big red.

On the defensive side of the ball the Huskers were good in the first half but did let down in the second half. Bo Pelini called the defense “embarrassing” even though they allowed just 10 points. The d-line did not get any sort of push and sometimes were getting pushed back off the line of scrimmage two or three yards. It’s time to toughen up guys and dominate that line of scrimmage!

The one player on defense that It thought really stood out was juco transfer Lavonte David. David would finish with a game high 13 tackles. David needs to do a little bit better job of stopping the run from his linebacker position but overall for his first game at the D1 level, he played outstanding.

Overall it was a good way to start the season but there are things that do have to be worked on and improved on. Defense needs to man up especially on the line and the offense needs to continue to move the ball. Roy Helu Jr. and Burkhead didn’t run the ball to often as Martinez was running around with the ball. Both backs will be counted on more as the season goes on and they will need to step up and take some pressure off Martinez.

What did everyone else think of the game? Your highlights? Things to improve on?


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The rosters for Saturday’s Red-White Spring Game have been announced, and like Coach Bo Pelini’s first two seasons, the teams appear to be fairly evenly divided.

The White team will be quarterbacked by sophomore Cody Green and senior Latravis Washington. The offense will have plenty of firepower with I-backs Roy Helu Jr. and Dontrayevous Robinson, along with receiving targets Niles Paul, Mike McNeill and Dreu Young. Up front, center Mike Caputo and tackle D.J. Jones are the leaders of the White offensive line.

Defensively, the White squad boasts a number of players with significant starting experience, led by junior defensive tackle Jared Crick and senior end Pierre Allen. Sean Fisher heads the linebacking corps, while the secondary features Alfonzo Dennard, DeJon Gomes and Rickey Thenarse.

Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson leads the White coaching staff, along with Barney Cotton, John Papuchis, Marvin Sanders and offfensive graduate assistant Curt Baldus.

Redshirt freshman Taylor Martinez and sophomore Kody Spano will quarterback the Red unit, while redshirt freshman Ron Kellogg III is expected to see action on both teams. Keith Williams and Marcel Jones lead the Red offensive line, with I-back Rex Burkhead and receivers Brandon Kinnie and Curenski Gilleylen among the top offensive weapons.

Defensively, sophomores Baker Steinkuhler and Cameron Meredith lead the Red front four, with Will Compton the most experienced linebacker on the Red squad. Veterans Eric Hagg, Prince Amukamara and Anthony West will patrol the Red secondary, while all-conference place-kicker/punter Alex Henery heads up the Red special teams.

Defensive coordinator Carl Pelini heads up the Red coaching staff, along with Tim Beck, Ron Brown, Mike Ekeler, Ted Gilmore and defensive graduate assistant Ross Watson.

Kickoff for Saturday’s spring game is set for 1 p.m. at Memorial Stadium. ? Tickets are still available at huskers.com

(Info courtesy of Huskers.Com)


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