Earlier today on College Football Live they put together a Nebraska Cornhuskers 2011 season outlook, information I thought I’d pass along to anybody that missed it, because I always find it very interesting to see what the national perception of your favorite team is. So here goes….
They began with a key players lost montage that included the following names: Roy Helu Jr, Prince Amukamara, and Niles Paul (still no love for who true Husker fans will miss the most, Eric Hagg and Dejon Gomes).
They followed that up a key returners montage that looked like this…
- Taylor Martinez- “One of the most explosive runners in the country when healthy, but his passing is suspect at best.”
- Rex Burkhead- “Will see an increased workload with Helu moving on.” Also talked about his ability to take snaps out of the RexCat formation.
- Jared Crick- They called his return for a senior season a surprise. Said he was a dominating 3-technique Defensive Tackle who demands double teams. Then, they threw in Baker Steinkuhler’s name and said they may be the best interior defensive line in the country.
They went through some stats of what returned on the Husker offense….
- 95% of passing yards
- 61% of rushing yards
- 53% of receiving yards
They brought on Kevin Kugler, who is a ESPN radio guy based in Omaha, Nebraska, who had this to say: He blamed the team’s poor finish on the offense faltering down the stretch. He described the Taylor Martinez-Bo Pelini relationship as “complicated,” saying that T-Mart was a laid-back California boy, while Pelini was, well, not. However, Kugler went on to say that the two found common ground by the end of the year. When asked why Martinez decided to come back to Nebraska, he offered two reasons: 1. He would have to sit out a year if he transferred. 2. Pelini wants at Nebraska and thinks he can build something special around him.
They kicked it back to the main fellas who discussed the biggest concern for Nebraska heading into the 2011 season. They declared it was the offense and its lack of balance (8th worst pass offense in the country), and they have to replace Paul, McNeill, and 3 offensive lineman. They said they must establish playmakers at the skill positions, while T-Mart must improve his fundamentals along with his decision making.
They brought in Todd Blackledge (BUST!) to inquire how Nebraska’s style would match up with the B1G Ten next season. Bustledge said they’d match up very well because of their defense and that the return of seniors Crick and “The Fonz” Alfonzo Dennard ensured an elite player at each level of the defense. He went on to detail how big an offseason this would be for Air Mart, as he needs to understand the offense better while developing as a passer.
Then all 4 of the analysts went on to pick the Huskers to win the National Championship next season.