Norm Peterson

Before I found out what a schmuck Jordy was, I was expecting Jordy to see 20-24 min/game this season. That was based on a combination of his and Duby's minutes from a year ago. And I was expecting him to take a big step forward in his game. I figured we'd see 28-30 minutes from each of Copeland and Roby. And I was expecting pretty much a 3-man rotation down low with Jordy spelling either of the other two. Obviously, that's not going to happen. The only other candidate on the roster to be that third guy is Dedoch "4" Chan. And he gives up about 50 pounds and 3 inches of height to Jordy, which hurts us on the defensive end, especially when we're playing a team with a big body inside. What kind of minutes Chan gets is anyone's guess. Suspect we ride the Roby/Copeland bus as far as their fouls and conditioning level will take us. That probably means 30-33 minutes each. James Palmer averaged 31 minutes/game last year. That's not going down. Might go up. Same with Glynn's 30 minutes. We don't have Anton or Evan to eat up 50 min/game like they did last year. And Thomas Allen can replace some of that -- probably going into the low-mid 20s from 10 min/game last season -- but that still leaves room for another full-time player. And the options we have to fill those minutes are untested and unproven freshmen and sophomores. From what we're hearing, Amir Harris sounds like the odds-on favorite to pick up most of those spare minutes. The other 3 are big question marks. Have no idea the health or status of Karrington Davis, but nothing I saw from Nana or Thor from last year tells me they're shoe-ins to beat him out at the 2-3 spot. Nana, in fact, might find himself backing up Roby at the 4, such is the state of our depth down low. Let's go with Brady is probably not going to redshirt this year due to Jordy bailing on the program. But he's still not going to get a lot of minutes until he beefs up to 220-225, and that probably won't happen this year. So, I'm guessing under 10 min/game for Brady. Jordy really screwed the pooch leaving like he did, if you ask me. He was in line to get all of his plus Duby's minutes from last year (20+ per game). Plus, given our depth at guard with the graduations of Anton and Evan, I could have seen rotations with Cope sliding to the 3, Roby playing the 4 and Jordy at the 5. He could have had a big role on what was shaping up to be the best Husker team in a generation. And he stuck a shiv in it and walked out the door. We know pretty much what we have at all the starting spots; what we don't really know is depth behind them. And I think the question for the season is whether we can get enough of whatever it is Dedoch does to make up for losing 6'11" and 270# of mass inside. If that 270# of mass inside was going to be dead weight, we're undoubtedly better off without him, but he could have been an important player on a good team. I suspect he's going to spend the rest of his career with really good seats for watching Dayton play. And that's his choice. And we'll live with it. But I worry what it's going to be like not having a big "big man" on the team.

I never had a problem with Lee. I thought he was one of the more insightful and honest sportswriters covering the Huskers out there. The only thing I recall getting irritated about was it seemed like after the die was cast and it was clear Barry Collier was going to be fired (except that he wasn't) I thought Lee engaged in a little bit of piling on. Like there was no other angle than to remind us of what we all could plainly see. Beyond that, though, I've enjoyed reading his stuff. Happy trails, Lee.

Someone needs to break down his shooting form. And then, hopefully, build it back up with proper mechanics.

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. ?

Rumors of his demise have been greatly exaggerated.

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.

I think it was more that his butt hurt.

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.

I don't see it. Pardon is very strong and physical inside. Limited outside the paint. This kid strikes me more as what you hoped Ed Chang might have developed into but were afraid he wouldn't.

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?

Really thick-built kid especially for a rising junior in HS. Do not like his jumper. Shoots it like a chest pass. I think @Dean Smith has said that's the kind of technique kids develop when they try to shoot from too far away before they're old enough/big enough/strong enough to do it. He appears to have decent handles. Appears to be a pretty assertive player, which is good. Curious to see what happens with this. My guess is the leg hair situation is not favorable.

Beat me to it, Dimes:

Let’s be honest. This kid is an insurance policy in the event Isaiah picks up a second foul in the first half. He’s not a post player. He has all the size of a Big Ten wing. But he is long and appears to have some tools in his arsenal that make him serviceable. Aaaaand ... ”He’s immediately available and better than a second unused schollie.” (Hat tip @aphilso1)

I like the fact that he has 3 years to play. Not your usual situation with a peach schnapps juco player. Makes it more of a "Sex on the Beach" situation than straight peach schnapps, if I can abuse the metaphor a bit. And I say "Sex on the Beach" advisedly, because it's slightly more complex than, say, a "Fuzzy Navel." And a little more appropriate to a family-oriented site than a "Fuck Me Sideways." Just saying.

I think the increased interest in juco players isn't because we've recently decided that jucos are the way of the future. I think it reflects a reality of our roster situation, including the fact that we'll need some experienced players going into next year considering we lose probably our top 4 players to graduation/NBA after this season and everyone behind them will be underclassmen. This is a stop gap measure going after jucos this year.

According to his NJCAA stats, he was the leading scorer and rebounder on a juco team that wasn't great but wasn't bad either. How quickly can he groove a 3-point shot? http://www.njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/2017-18/div1/teams/mississippigulfcoastcommunitycollege?view=lineup