Husker FB

As promised, my take on the Husker's West Coast Offense and Fox's analysis. Fox's take:

"The West Coast offense should finally blow up with the pieces in place to run it the way head coach Bill Callahan wants to. It all starts up front with an improved offensive line that should be more athletic and, eventually, more consistent. "

Damn straight. The O-line woes last year left Husker QB on his back a ton last year, but to Zac's credit, he often took the blame himself early in the season for not getting rid of the ball sooner. The offense as a whole last year suffered greatly from the inconsistent running game, and Coach C has really emphasized the rungame in both spring and fall practice.

At QB, Zac Taylor set single-season school records for passing yardage, completions and attempts last year, and should likely be setting some career numbers as well this year. Zac really blossomed over the last half of the year, and showed incredible toughness and maturity. He should compete for Big 12 honors this season. Backup Qb remains an issue with the departure of star recruit Harrison Beck, but scout team star Joe Ganz and blue-chip juco transfer Brian Hildebrand will vie for the spot. Fox says 7.5, I'll go with 7 until the depth chart shows some stablity. Keeping Zac healthy while somehow getting another player some game experience, hopefully early in the season, has to be a priority.

At RB, we have a strong gang of contenders to start, including junior Brandon Jackson, soph phenom Malon Lucky, bruising soph Cody Glenn, and juco transfer Kenny Wilson, who made a big splash in a scrimmage the other day with a long multiple-tackle breaking run vs. the Blackshirts. Dane Tood clears the way at FB. Fox gives us a 7, and I think that is a bit generous, as only Glenn showed much last year, albeit Jackson struggled with injuries last year but had a good 2004. Lucky should win the job, but Wilson is showing some good burst & explosiveness and could be the real deal. One concern I have is no one appears to have (at least no one is talking about it yet) the kind of hands departed Cory Ross (tied for 2nd on team in receptions with 43) had as an outlet receiver for Zac. I'll give us a 6 with the potential for an 8 if someone can grab the job and hold it without us going to the continuing the committee approach that appears (right now) how we'll start the season.

At WR, we are developing a lot of big rangy guys who should provide Zac with plenty of targets.
One key will be the how the return of All-Big 12 TE Matt Herian goes after a year and a half layoff due to a broken leg. Terrence Nunn, Nate Swift, Todd Peterson and Franz Hardy are the top returners, with newcomers Maurice Purify, Will Henry and Menelik Holt expecting to contribute as well. All of these guys are over 6' (newcomers are all 6'4 or better) and most of them can fly. JB Phillips and Josh Mueller will be used primariy as blocking TEs and H-backs, but could contribute around the goal line. Fox gives us an 8, I'll say 7 until Herian proves he is back to the player he was in 2003-04.


The line still has some cause for concern as they really suffered in pass protection and didn't get much push for consistency in the ground game last year. The young talent really needs to develop here right away, but going against the Blackshirts in practice certainly can't hurt. Fall practice has been full of position shifts as the coaches try to find the best combination for the first five, but as it stacks up now, Kurt Mann returns at C, with fellow senior Greg Austin at RG and soph Mike Huff at RG, with Austin and backup G Andy Christenen both capable of playing C or either G. Chris Patrick and Lydon Murtha battle for the LT spot, with Matt Slauson, who has also worked at G, anchors the right side and juco transfer Victory Haines back up. Fox gives a 7, which I again think a wee bit generous. I'll say 6.5 until we work up some consistency, particulary in the running game, and develop a solid rotation. Fox feels the unit is a year away from being amazing, and I have to agree, they most likely won't remind anyone of the roadgraders of the past, but they have a lot of potential.

Schedule: Well, we have it easy the first couple of games, then travel to SoCal and the losers of last year's NC game. The Huskers may well ambush the young Trojans and have certainly nothing to lose. I expect them to play well and eke one out for the old alma mater. The big conference game is, of course, the NC game winner Texas, and by the time we play them I expect the Longhorns to be firing all cylinders and be very difficult to beat, even at home. While most prognosticators have us winning the Big 12 North, Iowa St. on the road should also prove to be a tough game, and the CU Buffs always play us tough as well. Still, I think 10-2 or 11-1 isn't unreasonable, and I think anything under 9-3 would be patheticly underachieving with the talent this squad has on both sides of the ball. Of course, this assumes everyone, particularly QB Taylor, remains healthy.