[Husker] All Holy Spirit Husker Talk

[Jon Johnston]

No one asked about the offensive line? 



Jon Johnston

On Jul 22, 2011, at 11:50 AM, David Elfering wrote:

> My parish (All Holy Spirit Greek Orthodox Church) has put on a July Husker
> season preview the past couple years. Tim Beck and John Papuchis come and
> discuss various things about the coming season, take questions, etc. I
> didn't email in advance of the event as I didn't want to come across as
> advertising.
> 
> This year's talk had a different complexion given the change in Coach Beck's
> responsibilities!
> 
> My take aways
> Both coaches were relaxed but professional, their real world answers
> resonated with veracity and there was very little "coach speak". To his
> credit Coach Beck told everyone up front that no specifics of the new
> offense would be covered as they are purposely keeping it under wraps, and
> though Bubba Starling does confide his thoughts to him he would not disclose
> them. The one nugget we derived about the offense came from a question about
> whether the role of the fullback would once again be more prominent. Coach
> Beck's answer "did you see the spring game?". Food for thought.
> 
> I learned some things that surprisingly I didn't know but suspected. They
> recruit a lot by positional need, but do save "wild card" spots for best
> available athletes. Recruiting, as has been the case for many years, is done
> by regional assignment but once a player moves beyond a certain point their
> prospective position coach becomes involved. Another question was about
> whether Nebraska will more intently target a recruiting area in which the
> local school is having NCAA issues that might affect whether high profile
> athletes would consider outside schools (when they wouldn't normally) and
> the answer was yes, but that they do not change their entire recruiting
> approach to do so.
> 
> Coach Papuchis was enamored with the talent and depth of the defensive line.
> He also had some keen insights into Dennard, who he said has a rare talent
> for a defensive back in that he is very physical and attacks his opposing
> assignment. He asks to be assigned the toughest receiver on the other team
> and makes it his personal mission to shut them down. On special teams he
> said there is no replacing Alex Henery but that we should have some pleasant
> surprises at the kick return position with an in flux of talented young
> players there.
> 
> The outlook on linebackers seemed positive after a year of multiple
> injuries. As expected both coaches gushed about Lavonte David. Though they
> didn't say this, it sounds like he is a Suh type generational player at his
> position. He came from a much smaller, lower profile program and dominated
> in a way that isn't normally possible - and did so with only a basic
> understanding of the defense.
> 
> Someone asked about differences between the B12 & B10. The answer in short;
> not a great deal except that there is a lot more true, two back offense in
> the B10 and almost none in the B12.
> 
> There was some talk about the new staff additions. Tim Beck characterized
> them as hungry and extremely knowledgeable.
> 
> Though the coaches always do a great job, I felt they were more relaxed than
> in other years. There were a few funny stories and quips. Having seen both
> coaches up close I came away with a very positive feeling about them. Good
> coaches and good guys.
> 
> This is all off the top of my head.
> ---
> David Elfering
> aroundomaha at gmail.com
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