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Pelini gets a show of support in Nebraska spring game
By BLAIR KERKHOFFThe Kansas City Star
Spring football concluded in Big Red country on Saturday, and whether the Cornhuskers showed any hard evidence of improving on last year’s 5-7 record, the answer is no. But that wasn’t the point.
Saturday was a revival with 80,149 witnesses. They flocked to Memorial Stadium to support new coach Bo Pelini and his new ways … which at least defensively are intended to resemble the old ways that worked so well.
And on offense, at least for one play. On the game’s first snap, quarterback Patrick Witt tossed an option pitch to the right. Oh, for the days of Frazier, Frost and Crouch.
Only the pitch barely got out of Witt’s hand when linebacker Tyler Wortman swatted it down and recovered the fumble.
Wortman didn’t get the message from coaches that the pitch was to be allowed, but the linebacker’s aggressiveness was his own message.
“We’re going to be that kind of defense,” Wortman said. “We’re going to fly to the ball and play to the whistle.”
Defensive end Barry Turner repeated the mantra used by every defender.
“We have the passion,” Turner said. “Passion and effort.”
Defense was the day’s biggest curiosity. Pelini not only brought to Nebraska a fiery demeanor, but a history of success, and no lesson was more important than the one in 2003.
In Pelini’s only year as the program’s defensive coordinator, Nebraska finished first nationally in passing efficiency defense, second in scoring defense and 11th in total defense.
Contrast that to the 2007 season, when the Huskers surrendered a school-record 455 points, including 76 to Kansas and 65 to Colorado.
But last season, the disaster that cost Bill Callahan his job, wasn’t a popular topic this spring in Lincoln.
“It’s a beautiful thing,” linebackers coach Mike Ekeler said. “These guys, they want to move on. We don’t talk about last year. We (coaches) weren’t here. We’re getting these guys to understand how we do things. It’s been successful. In our eyes, there are no question marks. We know it works.”
On a day when the defense showed little, there were few big-hit highlights. A seemingly mundane moment maybe best told the story.
In the first quarter, running back Marlon Lucky got through an opening and legged out 5 yards before two, then five, then eight white jerseys mobbed him.
In the press box, statisticians attempted to identify the tackler.
“Too many to count,” said one of the number-crunchers.
“If you give it to 99 (Turner), you have to give to five,” said another.
A fly-to-the-ball and play-through-the-whistle attitude is what made the 2003 defense dominant. It’s the approach Pelini took in 2004 to Oklahoma and then to LSU for the last three seasons, including last year’s national championship team.
The defense remains a work in progress. Nebraska has moved Cody Glenn from running back to linebacker, and the unit has plenty of question marks. But Pelini believes he has a foundation for a much-improved group.
As for the tangible results Saturday, the team dressed in red jerseys defeated the team in white, and sometimes players wore purple and green. Pelini didn’t separate teams by units but held a draft. Joe Ganz’s team won, and that’s always a good thing when the starting quarterback pulls out a victory.
The day’s offensive moment came on a 77-yard strike from Ganz to redshirt freshman Curenski Gilleylen. It’s also worth noting that Ganz didn’t complete 50 percent of his passes (four for nine) and was sacked three times.
“We’re going to better,” Turner said. “This defense is going to be a whole lot better.”