Jordan Opp photo / Nebraska Communications
Tad Stryker: Safe Vanilla
Looking for consistency and proof of dramatic change in a spring football game is a fool’s errand, and more than 50,000 victory-starved Nebraska football fans were reminded of that on a sunny, windy Saturday in Memorial Stadium.
Occasional flashes of brilliance – or at least enough improvement to provide hope – are a reasonable expectation, though, and transfer running back Anthony Grant provided one with a 60-yard touchdown run down the west sideline in the first quarter. I didn’t see anything from any quarterback that would qualify. I did see possibilities for improvement in the offensive line, once the format changed to full contact and tackling in the second half.
Of course, avoiding serious injuries is the main goal of any spring scrimmage. Frost said the Huskers appeared to do that, after playing shorthanded at several positions much of the spring, most notably the defensive line and tight end. The lowlight this spring was losing Thomas Fidone to a second consecutive spring knee injury.
With that in mind, the day’s most noteworthy moment came in the third quarter, when 325-pound sophomore nose tackle Nash Hutmacher crumpled to the turf. He lay on his back for an uncomfortably long time, and you could almost hear fans holding their breath before the Polar Bear was helped to his feet and left the game under his own power. For me, the highlight of the day came when Hutmacher returned to the game in the fourth quarter, and quickly ran off the field one play later.
The Red offense-vs-White defense scrimmage format was a clear reminder that the Red-White game is never more than a controlled scrimmage in any year. For the most part, Nebraska’s young defensive backfield got the better of the Red team’s receivers as the Reds ran the expected plain-vanilla offensive scheme. Omar Manning was invisible, and Trey Palmer was almost invisible, catching two passes for 11 yards. That almost certainly will change this fall.
It was the type of day where you found out more about your new transfer punter than your quarterback room. Casey Thompson completed three of four passes for 31 yards in just one series of action, for those of you who consider fully padded touch-football format to be “action.” Thompson didn’t dominate by any means, but Logan Smothers didn’t gain any ground by going five-for-14 passing the football. After missing the majority of spring drills, Chubba Purdy finished strong and completed five of 10 for 63 yards. Overall, the passing game was not impressive. But then again, it will take a power running attack to win the Big Ten West, anyway.
That leads us to the offensive line, which played without the injured Turner Corcoran and Teddy Prochazka this spring. Donovan Raiola kept shuffling two units during much of the day, which worked well for continuity’s sake. One unit featured Brant Banks at left tackle, Noure Nouilli at left guard, Trent Hixson at center, Broc Bando at right guard and Bryce Benhart at right tackle. The other unit, from left tackle to right, was Ezra Miller, Kevin Williams Jr., Ian Boerkircher, Henry Lutovsky and Hunter Anthony.
After hearing multiple defensive players remark about the dramatic change in Raiola’s run-blocking philosophy, it didn’t look all that dramatic on Saturday, although it seemed to me that the o-line had more of a push than I remember from last season, but I thought the depleted defensive line held up well overall. Will the Huskers have a pass rush this fall? Maybe. Quarterbacks faced enough pressure to keep them off stride much of the day. Garrett Nelson was credited with two sacks.
Did I mention special teams? There were no punt or kickoff returns, but Brian Buschini, the transfer from Montana, punted the ball eight times for a 40.2-yard average in a stiff south wind that ranged from 15 to 20 mph. His first punt was a majestic 63-yarder that rolled into the end zone for a touchback. He had a couple of clunkers but recovered nicely, even when going against the wind, so it appears the Huskers will have at least one mentally tough specialist this year.
Chase Contreraz hit a 26-yard field goal against the wind but was wide left on a 42-yard attempt with the wind at his back. The placekicking competition will be wide open in fall camp with the additions of Charlie Weinrich and Timmy Bleekrode. Until then, keep your eye on the transfer portal, where you should expect a couple of inbound defensive linemen and probably at least one outbound running back in the next few weeks.
