Freshmen defensive backs receiving high praise
There’s always a major learning curve when making the transition from high school to college football, especially at a place like Nebraska.
It has not been uncommon to see many highly-touted incoming freshmen fall victim to the speed of big-time college football. However, it seems as if Nebraska’s four defensive back signees in Myles Farmer, Quinton Newsome, Noa Pola-Gates and Javin Wright all came into the program on a different level according to what their peers and coaches have to say about them.
“They got in here ready to go,” junior cornerback Dicaprio Bootle said about the incoming freshmen defensive backs. “Now, it’s go time and they didn’t fake it. They are ready to go. They are flying around. They all have special qualities; they all can play. They’re all pushing for playing time and stuff like that. They’re out there getting it and I applaud all of them for being here ready to work.”
As impressive as it may be for all four of the new defensive backs to be physically ready to play right away, Bootle says it speaks as much or more to their character that they are making it happen.
“That speaks volumes about their character, about what they want to be,” Bootle said. “A lot of guys just come in here and lolly-gag around, not be focused and just feel like in their first year they’ve got some time to mess around a little it. They all came here to work. Those four guys, they have special qualities. They are probably the best group of freshmen DBs that I’ve seen come in here since I have been here.
“I’m not talking down on past classes, but I just feel like those guys are ready to roll. They really want to get it. Coach Fisher and the rest of those guys recruiting them did a good job of picking the right ones to be here.”
Defensive backs coach Travis Fisher is obviously proud of the way his incoming freshmen are competing, but he's also proud of the way the older players in his room, like Bootle, have embraced the talented newcomers to the team.
"A lot of the older guys have accepted the younger guys right off the jump," Fisher said. "That’s what I’m most proud about this group, they’ve just accepted the freshman right off the jump. They’re helping them making plays on the field, you see the older guys running out there patting them up, giving them an 'atta boy,' and that’s what’s contagious. You can’t coach that. There’s guys, that are actually tied into each other, love each other, don’t mind playing with each other and competing with each other and don’t mind cheering for the other one when he’s making a great play."
Bootle went on to say that the additions of Farmer, Newsome, Pola-Gates and Wright to the defensive backs room has now made the secondary as talented as he’s seen it during his time in Lincoln.
“Definitely. This is the most athletic, the most depth, guys are flying around. Everybody can do just about the same thing that somebody else can do," Bootle said. [It’s not] just one person has an outstanding quality and everybody else is just average. No. Everybody has outstanding qualities, everybody is flying around, everybody is trying to get it. I feel like everybody in the room can play.
“All of the new guys have impressed me. All of them. Just watching film, going through it I might see them flash a little something I’m like, ‘Oh.’ Like the other day, Quentin Newsome came out of a break real good and broke up a ball. We all went crazy; he’s got some good feet. Javin Wright picked off the ball the other day at practice. Noa Pola-Gates sticking his head in there. Myles Farmer, sticking his head in there. All of those guys are good.”
