There were 127 teams that played FBS Division I football in 2020. According to the website Football Outsiders that tracks advanced special teams stats, Nebraska ranked in the 99th to 118th in seven of the nine graded categories they score.
Everything for Nebraska seemed harder than it should’ve been in 2020 because it was. It has led to a cynical nature by the fan base this spring, and rightfully so.
Just about any story you write this spring is typically met with snark by a Husker fan base that has been beaten down the last several seasons. When you see the special teams numbers from 2020, it’s easy to see why.
NU ranked 106th in net field position, 105th in offensive field position, 104th in defensive field position, 118th in kickoff returns, 113th in kickoff efficiency, 118th in punt efficiency and 99th in opponent field goal efficiency.
That made games like Nebraska’s season finale at Rutgers much harder than they needed to be. NU won 28-21 but dominated in every phase other than special teams. They allowed a kick return for a touchdown and a fake punt for a first down that were the only signs of life for the Scarlet Knights.
“We had to come back in the Rutgers game and we shouldn't even have been fighting with that team,” junior cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt said. “We played to their level. The special teams, they have been on us hard. I'm talking about, they wanted everything full speed, as far as transitioning, just getting off, everything. They want everything full speed and we need to be locked in just like it's offense and defense, special teams matters.”
That seems to be the overriding message this spring. Between having Mike Dawson run things on-field and analyst Bill Busch playing a role behind the scenes, the Huskers have committed around $1 million in salary to special teams. Dawson will make $500,000 in 2021, while Busch is still being paid $457,000 from LSU and $30,000 from Nebraska this season.
Compare that to a year ago, analyst Jonathan Rutledge was the only name tied to special teams, and he was making $150,000 as a senior analyst.
“When you look at your special teams, that's an overall look at your team, too,” sophomore linebacker Luke Reimer said. “If you go hard on special teams, they're going to be like, ‘They're going hard on offense and defense, too.’”
Dawson’s approach this spring? In his eyes, there is no magic formula other than hard work and details.
“If your techniques and fundamentals aren't great, then you're not going to have a chance for success,” Dawson said. “When I was in Philadelphia with the Eagles, Dave Fipp, who does an unbelievable job and has been a long-time NFL special teams coordinator, he spends more time on techniques and fundamentals by far and away than scheme.
“If we can fix our techniques, fundamentals, bring the intensity that goes with it and what you need, I think then we'll be able to grow and be better at the special teams.”
To get that message home even more this spring, special teams were the first thing the Huskers started off with in practice when they took the field in late March.
This will be a long road, but with Dawson and Busch spearheading it together, “the give a damn” factor has certainly been raised up a notch. You won’t find two guys that care more about their product on the field than Dawson and Busch.
“It's a new approach, and I say a great approach,” Taylor-Britt said. “The first day of spring ball, that was the first thing we start off. Then they say, great teams have great special teams.”
