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Nebraska football: Husker comments makes us wonder again what S&C program under Riley looked like

By Oliver VanDervoort

LINCOLN, NE - NOVEMBER 24: A fan of the Nebraska Cornhuskers holds a sign in support of coaching prospect Scott Frost (not shown) during the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Memorial Stadium on November 24, 2017 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - NOVEMBER 24: A fan of the Nebraska Cornhuskers holds a sign in support of coaching prospect Scott Frost (not shown) during the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Memorial Stadium on November 24, 2017 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /
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Wyatt Mazour’s comments about what new strength and conditioning coach Duval is doing with Nebraska football players again has us wondering what the previous regime was aiming at.

Nebraska football’s new strength and conditioning coach, Zach Duval has spent most of the summer posting pictures of the feats of strength the Huskers have been pulling off in the weight room.

Whether it’s lifting more than that have said they lifted before or watching players with some serious vertical leap, it’s been interesting to see that side of the program.

The caveat with those videos is always that Duval is showing one side. He’s doing so in order to forward a narrative, that the Huskers are getting bigger, stronger and faster than they were before.

Because of that caveat, it’s always best to take it with a grain of salt. When a player who is going through that program, sings it’s praises, apparently unbidden, that’s when I stand up and take notice.

https://twitter.com/Thekidstan/status/1006262827525517315

Backup running back Wyatt Mazour, who had himself a game at the spring game this year, took to Twitter on Monday to say Duval is “getting us right.” It’s great to hear one of the players come out and talk about the strength program is making them better players.

https://twitter.com/BarstoolHusker/status/1005547735586623489

The downside of that is wondering yet again what in the world Mike Riley and his staff were doing? To some degree, it’s time to turn the page and never speak that man’s name again.

I wanted him to succeed here. I thought he had a chance to do so. It seems he hamstrung himself almost out of the game.

Some of the decisions he made were likely ones that weren’t bad, such as the coordinators he hired (especially the second go-round) but they just didn’t fit. Riley has been around football for a long time.

I don’t understand how he didn’t see his players weren’t all that strong or weren’t all that fast. Perhaps he simply thought they were indeed doing the best they could.

As we move closer to the Nebraska football season, it appears he was wrong. We have to hope he was wrong.

Next: Ranking the Huskers’ opposing quarterbacks

We’ve got to hope what Duval is showing us is more than smoke and mirrors. We’ll know before too long with the brutal schedule they’re about to play.

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