Thursday notebook: Huskers ready as ever for first game

If the unexpected cancellation of last Saturday’s season opener vs. Akron had any negative impact on Nebraska’s football team, the players certainly haven’t shown it this week.

Head coach Scott Frost said on Monday that the Huskers had their best practice he could remember a team having, and that level of play didn’t taper off much at all over the next three days.

In fact, Frost said that their walk-thru session was “almost flawless” on Thursday morning, and he was confident his team was ready to roll against Colorado this Saturday.

“I thought Monday was the best (practice) I’d seen in a long time,” Frost said. “Tuesday was awesome. Wednesday was OK, some details to fix but the effort was good. Our walk-thru today was really good too, as good as we can have. Almost flawless.

“These guys are as ready as can be and as prepared as we know how to make them.”

One of the worries about not playing a game in Week 1 was the disadvantage it could potentially put Nebraska in against a Colorado team that just cruised to a blowout win over in-state rival Colorado State.

While Frost and his staff would have obviously loved to have a real game to evaluate and correct upon, he said the Huskers were still able to make noticeable improvement from last week to now.

“Our practices this week were way better than last week,” Frost said. “You’d expect that if we’d gotten the experience of a game. We didn’t get the experience of a game, and I think the level of our team rose despite that.

“So I was thrilled to see that happen in practice. I still think there’s a lot of room for improvement, there’s a lot of ways to get better, but I saw a huge jump from last week to this week.”

There still may be plenty of unknowns about the 2018 Nebraska squad, but as far as Frost can tell, the Huskers are as ready as they’ll ever be to finally showcase themselves in a real game this week.

“After today’s walk-thru it’s clear that the guys know their assignments, they know where they’re supposed to be, and how they’re supposed to operate,” Frost said. “We need to make sure we can do that when live bullets are flying and the lights are on.”

- Robin Washut

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Jack Stoll is the clear No. 1 on Nebraska’s tight end depth chart right now, but how far ahead he is from the rest of the back might raise a few eyebrows.

The sophomore immediately emerged as the leader of the unit early on this offseason, and Stoll hasn’t slowed down in his development since.

In fact, tight ends coach Sean Beckton said the only real competition in his room at this point is to see who would eventually become Stoll’s top backup.

“We’re working with (the other tight ends) on a daily basis to really pull them up to where Jack is,” Beckton said. “Jack is really playing at a complete level as far as me seeing him practice every single day. Those guys are trying to pull up next to him and are working extremely hard.”

Beckton said talent was obviously a big part in Stoll’s rapid rise, but it also had to do with how driven the Lone Tree, Colo., native was in mastering his craft.

“He’s very knowledgeable of the game,” Beckton said. “He’s a kid that’s really like a sponge. He’s in there early watching tape. I walk by and check the tight ends room and he’s in there going through the game plan. Every situation in practice he has a question that may occur right there.

“He just basically adjusts because the film study that he gets in on a daily basis. He’s very conscious as far as his technique. If I’m not around he’s going to ask Coach Frost, he’s going to ask Coach (Greg) Austin or somebody. He’s going to find somebody to get that question answered, and he’s really benefitted from being a student of the game.”

- Robin Washut

Nebraska’s staff was able to make the most of its first home “game” on the recruiting front, but the Colorado game figures to be an even bigger weekend regarding key official visits.

As of Thursday, 10 of NU’s 16 commitments from the 2019 class are planning on being in Lincoln for the game. On top of that, the Huskers are hosting eight official visitors, which includes four current commits and four top 2019 targets.

The four non-committed visitors are set to be four-star St. Louis (Mo.) Trinity Catholic wide receiver Marcus Washington; three-star Decatur (Ga.) Southwest Dekalb safety Jamel Starks; three-star Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton cornerback Javin Wright; and three-star Omaha (Neb.) Burke tight end Chris Hickman.

Running backs coach Ryan Held said Nebraska’s staff has already put in a lot of work in piecing together its 2019 recruiting class, but this weekend would be one of the most important steps yet towards solidifying the type of group that they want.

“One of the big things we want, we want kids to be able to see what we have on game day,” Held said. “Last week, we had some official visitors in, and they saw all the way up to the kickoff. They could see how awesome our fans are, and how electric this place is. You can’t simulate it in January. You can’t simulate it in December, so when we can get a kid here and they can see themselves here, that’s special.

“Anytime we can get them here, and they can see it, that’s a win for us. It’s more of a grind for us as coaches on the weekend. We got to coach and do this, and we have to have meetings with them. Then we have to get ready for the next game. Nothing changes, but that’s part of the deal. We want kids on our campus to see this awesome atmosphere that we have. “

- Robin Washut

Both Held and offensive line coach Greg Austin have fond memories of their past games against Colorado.

Austin was a part of the 2005 team that went into Boulder as a 16-point underdog and beat the Buffaloes 30-3 in Bill Callahan’s famous “Restore the Order” game.

CU head coach Gary Barnett was later fired that season after getting blown out the next week by eventual national champion Texas in the Big 12 title game.

“Yeah it was pretty crazy,” Austin said of the 2005 game. “I remember obviously getting my body prepared for the altitude, and going out there and hearing them - because the locker rooms are so close to each other, you could hear them banging on the walls. I don’t know if it’s still like that or not, so it was kind of unique, I think things were thrown on the field, too, right?

“So it was a unique game, and we came out and we beat them, so it was good, it was fine. I always remember wins, I almost never remember losses, so guys came out there and played well, you know, and for that game, we restored that order.”

Held’s memories against CU in the mid-90’s are also pretty special, as the Huskers were able to come out on top against some of Colorado’s most talented teams in school history.

“I tell you what, this rivalry is — you know (Bill) McCartney made it the red-letter game,” Held said. “I can even remember in high school, they had a little success against us before I got here. Every game they played against us was a war. They were well coached, they were tough, they were physical. It’s neat to be able to play a game like this, kind of bring back the old rivalries and stuff.

“So anytime we get the chance to play an old foe, it’s great. Especially this one, since it’s been so historic playing the day after Thanksgiving for so many years. We’re excited to have them roll into town.”

- Sean Callahan

***Frost said of quarterback Adrian Martinez: “He’s ready.” Frost wasn’t sure how Martinez would respond during his first snap of college football but was confident the true freshman would settle in quickly and have a great game.

***Frost said it was “pretty easy” to pick Nebraska’s four captains this year. It was a player vote, but Frost said the coaching staff probably would have also gone with Luke Gifford, Jerald Foster, Mick Stoltenberg, and Stanley Morgan.

"You know I think it was a pretty easy choice,” Frost said. “We had the players vote on it offensively and defensively, and those four guys got the majority of the votes, so obviously the team recognizes them as leaders. But we could've told you guys that as coaches, those are the guys that are stepping forward and making sure everybody's accountable and doing the right things.

“I think it's an awesome first group (of captains) for this team. Three of the four are from Nebraska, which I think is cool as a Nebraska kid, but all four kids are doing a good job stepping out front and making sure they lead the way."

***Frost said the running game has been “back and forth” between offensive and defensive success in practice so far, “which is how you want it.” He said NU had to run the ball effectively to take the pressure off Martinez and not force the freshman to have to win the game by himself.

***Frost had no interest in delving into the Nebraska-Colorado rivalry, saying he’s only focused on treating each game the same way and making sure his team was as prepared as possible for any opponent. He said rivalries were good for fans and media, but he didn’t put much stock in them.

***Frost admitted he was “a little antsy” going through his first Tunnel Walk as Nebraska’s head coach last week, and it was good that those emotions were now “out of the way” going forward.

“I was trying to control it but a little antsy last Saturday going through that Tunnel Walk and everything for the first time,” Frost said. “It’s good that we got that out of our way because it’s going to be even easier to focus on what we need to do as a coaching staff. So, I think we got all the bugs out even though we didn’t play a game.”