Nebraska Football: Secondary shines in first win of season

The Nebraska Football secondary had a great day on Saturday

Although there were a bunch of things that Nebraska Football needed to clean up on Saturday, one thing really stood out: the play of the defensive backs was impressive. Eric Lee had two interceptions on the day, and the rest of the defensive backs played extremely tight coverage. Cam Taylor was all over the field.  He really showed his versatility, and that will certainly help Nebraska down the road.

One of the things that I really noticed about that unit was how aggressive they were. They were not afraid to come up and make a tackle. They stayed in front of their man, and even though they had a little bit of trouble when given a short field, they gave the South Alabama wide receivers fits. The blueprint was there for the rest of the season. Although the defensive line didn’t have the best day, the cornerbacks certainly made up for it.

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Saturday’s game was obviously only the first of the season. If the defensive line can play at a high level like many expect them to, and the cornerbacks can continue to play at a high level, this team will be in good shape. This secondary looked energized, ready to play, and focused on their matchups. We couldn’t always say that about this unit last year.

On Saturday, the way they closed on a receiver when a ball was thrown in their direction was impressive. Even if the receiver made the catch, the corners at least gave the wideouts something to think about. Head coach Scott Frost was impressed with their play.

"“If you look at our secondary, we’ve got a lot of guys that persevered through the coaching change and what we were expecting of them, and now they’re some of our best teammates and today some of our best players. Lamar Jackson, Eric Lee, Marquel Dismuke. There’s others. Those guys were here when we got here and it takes a while to learn what we expect and want guys to do and what the standards are. Those guys aren’t just living up to the standards now, they’re holding other people to the standard and setting a new standard.”"

There is no doubt this unit has talent. They had talked all throughout the offseason about being better and being more aggressive. Saturday afternoon was the first step in doing that. It was a good game for them to look at and say “This is something we want to repeat.” Now, they did commit some stupid penalties. There is no question that they have to clean that up. Coverage and closing speeds were their strengths on Saturday.

This was a great first game for the unit. They showed that they can be aggressive and dominating. Colorado will provide a tough test next weekend. If today was any indication, Nebraska Football should be in good hands with the group that they have.