Frost gives final thoughts on spring on NU radio show

Nebraska head coach Scott Frost had his final coaches’ radio show of the academic year on the Husker Sports Network on Wednesday.

Frost and host Greg Sharpe spoke for an hour-long segment and took several phone calls from fans. Here is a full recap of what the first-year Husker coach had to say…

***Frost said Nebraska obviously had “a lot of ground” to make up going into the start of winter conditioning, and has been overall pleased with how far his team has come since then.

“We covered a lot of ground in the winter,” Frost said. “But we have to cover even more ground in the summer than we did in the winter.”

***Speaking specifically conditioning, Frost said the winter was more about establishing a “base” to build upon going forward. They made a lot of gains over the past four months, but this summer would be even more important to start making the type of progress they need.

"There ought to be more done in the summer,” Frost said. “We covered a lot of ground in the winter, but we should be even better in the summer."

***Frost said he had almost forgotten just how special the “passion and energy” was inside Memorial Stadium on game day. “I had to bite my lip a couple of times,” he said.

***Frost said the virus that was going around the team was “pretty serious”, and it didn’t help that the players were having to work so hard with early mornings and long days during an unseasonably cold spring. The good news was Frost said the virus seemed to be running its course and guys were starting to feel better.

***Frost noted that one of the themes of the spring that stood out to him the most was that nearly every player said practices were more fun and there was a stronger unity in the locker than last year.

***A caller asked about Frost’s thoughts on using a two-quarterback system if none of the current QBs was able to separate as the clear starter in the fall.

"I'm not really big on a two-quarterback system," Frost said. “I think it will shake itself out by the time the first game rolls around."

***Frost said freshman QB Adrian Martinez was clearly a great athlete but was still learning the game. Frost said he was most impressed with how well Martinez handled the environment of his first Spring Game for a kid his age.

***Frost said redshirt freshman Tristan Gebbia did great job “managing the game” in the Red-White scrimmage, noting that Gebbia had some big plays called back on penalties that would’ve padded his stats.

***Frost reiterated that the staff wasn’t going to put much stock in the Spring Game when it came to evaluating the quarterbacks or any other position. He added that White team QBs Noah Vedral and Andrew Bunch were “at a disadvantage” by not playing with most of the offensive starters.

***Frost said Bunch was “efficient” this spring and was “a smart kid who cares… Those kinds of things go a long way.”

***Frost said there was no update on the waiver for Vedral to be eligible to play this season. Frost said he has no clue how to predict what the NCAA is going to do in those types of cases.

“You’re better off asking your next-door neighbor,” he joked.

***On the running backs, Frost said they’re going to play “whoever gives us the best chance to move the ball on whatever play or scheme we’re on.” He said he’s been on teams where they used 2-3 running backs consistently and on others where one guy was the bell cow.

***Frost added that his No. 1 message to the running backs was that they needed to get in better shape as a whole as much as any position group on the team.

***An interesting comment from Frost was that he didn’t think his team showed enough energy on the field throughout the Spring Game. He said that was something he was determined to fix.

"The one thing I want to see more of is energy by our team,” Frost said. “We ran out for pregame warm-ups and the guys went through it, but I didn’t see the passion and fire in their eyes that we wanted to compete… There were some guys doing it, but not enough.”

***Frost said most of the players would get some much-needed time off next month and go back home to their families for a while. He said the incoming freshmen could arrive as early as late-May if the rules allow it, and the sooner they get on campus the better.

***Frost was asked to comment on the most pressing in the state right now: The future of the Tunnel Walk.

He said the program still hasn’t decided on what they’re going to do with the team pre-game entrance, and there’s some talk about changing the song for each game or just occasionally if there's a special theme for a game. He said there’s also been talk of keeping it the same with the traditional “Sirius” song.

***Another thing that stood out was that Frost wasn’t at all happy with was the overall tempo and execution during the Spring Game, even though Sharpe and many of the callers complimented him on how good the team looked.

“I appreciate you complimenting our urgency and pace,” Frost said. “I’m not happy with it yet."

***Frost said there’s a good chance defensive coordinator Erik Chinander would coach games from the sideline this season. He said Chinander started out calling games from the coaches’ box at Central Florida but changed his mind during the first season and moved down to the field.

***Offensive coordinator Troy Walters will coach games from the box.

***A caller asked Frost about the chance of NU adding any new graduate transfers this summer. He said it would always be a possibility, but they had “no immediate plans” for any new additions.

***Frost said the offensive line was the No. 1 group that was going to benefit from Nebraska’s strength and conditioning program. He said he thought the unit really bonded this spring, and while they still needed to get in better shape and get “a little more nasty,” Frost was confident they would with OL coach Greg Austin running the show.

***Frost said there are still no guarantees that center Michael Decker will be ready for the start of fall camp coming off his offseason knee surgery. “We’re hoping to get him back, but we’ll have to see where that lands,” Frost said.

***Frost said Nebraska used live tackling “more than I’ve ever been live in a spring ball.”

“The only way you really get better at tacking is tackling,” Frost said.

***Frost didn’t hold back on his feeling about the new kickoff rules for college football, which are starting this season. “I’m a traditionalist,” Frost said. “I don’t like changes to the game,”

***Even though Nebraska’s kickers struggled in the Red-White game, Frost said the group did really well as a whole this spring. He said Barret Pickering really impressed him and “kicked exceptionally well in practice.”

***Frost said he felt the staff made good strides in building relationships with the players so far, but it was not something you can just create in a few days. He said they would continue to build those bonds on through the summer and fall.

***Finally, Frost said he met with running back Tre Bryant on Wednesday and discussed his recovery status coming off his knee injury. "He's fairly excited about the progress he's making,” Frost said, “but I think he’s got a ways to go.”