Nebraska Football: Coach Tuioti is raising standards for defensive unit

The Nebraska Football defense should be in good shape next year.

Tony Tuioti is holding the Nebraska Football defense to a high standard. That is certainly great news for next season, and it speaks to his value to the program as a coach. He has made an impact in such a short period of time, and we are beginning to see the types of things we can expect in the fall.

With so much talent on defense, it would be easy to be lackadaisical and just expect things to happen. On a Tuioti-led team, that does not appear to be the case, and that’s a great thing. A highly-disciplined defense is good for the rest of the team. That is something that was missing in 2018, and it looks like the Nebraska Football program is not going to go back to that.

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The blue-collar approach fits well with a team that is known for being  a gritty, hard-working bunch. Especially in an era of football where the offense rules the day, defense is going to be even more important. It sounds like the coach’s approach is going to work, and it definitely needs to. Every Saturday is tough in the Big Ten, and this season will be no different.

What I like about Coach Tuioti is that he doesn’t seem to mess around. He clearly defines what he wants from his players and his expectations. Coming into the season, there are a couple of key points, as he told to the Sports Nightly crew.

"“No. 1 being passionate, No. 2 being accountable, No. 3 being relentless, No. 4 tough, No. 5 productive and No. 6 coming to compete every day,” Tuioti said quickly ticking off what he looks for from his players. “It’s one thing to just be there, it’s another to perform and show up when expected. We talk about playing like a Blackshirt in our room each and every day. It’s not a given, it’s something you have to earn each and every day.”"

I admire him for these goals, considering it is hard to organize college football players sometimes. Each of them has their own idea about what they want to accomplish. Nevertheless, it sounds like this Nebraska group in particular is all striving for one common goal: Winning. It starts with discipline and accountability, something that this team has done a great job of hammering into the minds of the players.

We should see a new-look defense for Nebraska next year. Nebraska Football is certainly in good hands with Coach Tuioti. Of course, talk is one thing. Results on the field are another.