Norm Peterson

Wasn't offended, just confused.

I've never visited the site, but from what I've always been told, it's like a place where 30-year-old basement dwellers go to talk about anime and how to hack sites and post pictures of Rick Astley. And stuff like that. But I don't know much about any of that stuff, so maybe you're right.

Dafuk?

4 Chan. And he plays the 4? I thought it was a bit of a play on words.

Not sure how to pronounce this kid's name, so can we give him a creative nickname like "4"?

My memory of things back in the Osborne days was that our defense was always ahead of the offense to begin fall camp and it took the offense until the end of fall camp to catch up. I think that had to do with the fact that defensive schemes were simpler and more straightforward and the offense had to get their timing down and reads of the defense post-snap and stuff like that. Eventually, we'd have a potent offense, but the offense was always playing catch-up. As I recall. This writeup makes it sound like the script has flipped under Frost a bit. Offense is really stressing the D right now and, though we think we have a pretty talented D, the offense is exposing them. Chinander made a comment to the effect that this offense really makes it clear who on the defense made a mistake. And, while we think we have a pretty talented, athletic, big and deep D-line, apparently the offensive line in this particular practice was pushing the defense around. This is FANTASTIC news for anyone who was worried about our OL sucking again this year. It also suggests our QBs have picked up the offense well enough to make the defense look like they have some catching up to do. Sounds like the biggest question mark is defensive secondary. And that might only be because our offense is so fast-paced and our receivers are that good. It'll be interesting to see once the bullets start flying for real.

I think our need is 15-20 min/game.

I don't pretend to know which QB is the better passer. Could be any of the three. But I do have a feeling based on the game video that I've watched that whoever is the best passer probably wins the job. I think they're all mobile enough for Frost's scheme, where the QB's primary job is to distribute the ball to his RBs and receivers. Milton was a good runner for Frost, but he was an opportunistic runner, taking advantage of picking up yardage on the ground when the defense wasn't expecting it. Frost's offense is not dependent on the QB carrying the ball a lot. It is dependent on a QB who can zip the ball out there to guys who are breaking open. Quick and accurate. And considering all the weapons we have at the wideout position, we need to take advantage of it with a passing QB. Martinez is the better runner, but unless he's also the better passer, he's not going to win the starting job. Just my guess.

Out of curiosity, I looked to see how many of UCF's receivers had double-figure catches under Frost last season. The answer is 9. Two of them were running backs. At least one, Akins, was a TE. Which means there were no more than 6 WRs who reached double figures in catches. Now, many years at Nebraska, you have trouble coming up with 6 names. This year, I think you'd have trouble STOPPING at 6. We have Morgan, of course, and Lyndsey and Spielman. We have Reimers and McQuitty. Plus we went and grabbed two of the top juco receivers in the country in Woodyard and Williams. Hopefully, we get Watt in camp. But even without him, we still have talented freshmen in Hunt and McGriff. That's 10 guys. And that's not all the WRs on the roster, either. This is one position group where we're very deep.

Just in time for sorority rush. Oh wait ...

There were some pretty substantial gains on the DL also. Damian Daniels gained 30 pounds this off-season and now weighs in at a staggering 340#. Imagine him plugging up the middle on 4th and 1 situations. And he can move from what I understand. Quick first couple of steps. Imagine you're an opposing QB and you have 340# of Damian Daniels running you down. Ouch. I think a lot of the problems during the Riley era can be traced to just poor strength and conditioning. Players getting shoved around and not having the stamina to last an entire 4 quarters. I'm guessing that's changing. I'm just going to assume until I see evidence to the contrary that the weight all these linemen have put on is good weight and that they'll be bigger and stronger than they were a year ago. And that will yield readily obvious dividends. Solid line play will take pressure off the backfields on both sides of the ball. Quarterbacks who have all day to throw will eventually find an open target. Conversely, QBs who are being rushed are often forced into bad throws or eat the ball altogether. And that makes your secondary look better. And, of course, the same thing is true talking about your offensive line when they can assert their will over opposing defenses. The massive weight gains among the linemen seems to me to be a very good sign for our prospects for the season. Oh, and we have plenty of depth, too, compared to past years.

I'd heard from my son a few weeks ago about rumors of offensive linemen remaking their bodies this off-season under our new strength and conditioning program. I saw an article in the LJS that showed weight gains over the off-season, but I wanted to put things in some perspective and compare the weights of these linemen over their time in the program. I gotta say the results are eye-popping and somewhat revealing. As a caveat, I'd say it's totally possible that these guys won't play any better with the added weight. Maybe they'll be even less mobile. It's yet to be seen. BUT, we're talking offensive linemen. Typically, the bigger and brawnier the better. And the changes are so remarkable that it makes you wonder what in the actual heck was going on while Riley was in charge of the program? There are big weight gains up and down both the offensive and defensive lines, but I chose to look at 4 OLs who've been around longer and who are also likely starters, and here's what I found: As true freshmen in 2014, Cole Conrad was listed at 6-5, 280#, Tanner Farmer was 6-4, 310#, and Jerald Foster was 6-3, 310#. In 2015, Cole Conrad was listed at 290#, Farmer at 310#, and Foster at 310#. In 2016, Conrad was listed at 305#, Farmer at 295#, Foster at 310#, and Matt Farniok at 300# In 2017, it was Conrad at 300#, Farmer at 305#, Foster at 310#, and Farniok at 315#. This year’s roster has Conrad at 330#, Farmer at 325#, Foster at 335#, and Farniok at 330#. Here are the trajectories over time: Conrad: 280-290-305-300-330 Farmer: 310-310-295-305-325 Foster: 310-310-310-310-335 Farniok: NL-300-315-330 So, Conrad hovered around 295-300# for 3 seasons before shooting up 30 pounds this year. Farmer hovered around 305# for 4 seasons before shooting up 20 pounds this year. Foster stayed steady at 310# for 4 years before launching up to 335# this year. Farniok came in at 300#, added 15# last season, and added another 15# this season. Obviously, there's a difference. And not just in these players, but up and down both lines. And it's yet to be seen whether these linemen are bigger and stronger or just fatter. But I'm thinking the safer bet is that they're bigger and stronger. Which begs the question: What the hell was the last staff up to?

Class of 2021. She's a young girl. Any relation to Gary Puckett?

I vote Andy. Nothing against Jake but I always enjoyed the extra detail that Andy added. Very knowledgeable about the game. Only problem is I think Andy burned a bridge or so I'd heard. Can't remember the detail; maybe it was with the last AD.

That's awful. I hope they get it figured out just after they play us.