Thursday notebook: No meaning behind QB Spring Game rosters

As the Scott Frost era makes its unofficial debut during Saturday’s Red-White Spring Game, all eyes will be on Nebraska’s quarterbacks.

But the Huskers’ coaching staff is stressing that media and fans not to jump to any conclusions based on what happens during the annual spring scrimmage.

“Nothing,” NU quarterbacks coach Mario Verduzco said of what should be read into the Red-White game for the QBs.

Both Verduzco and offensive coordinator Troy Walters said the Spring Game would be valued just as much as any other practice over the course of the entire offseason, even if there will be some unique variables involved in front of more than 90,000 fans.

Redshirt freshman Tristan Gebbia and true freshman Adrian Martinez will suit up for the Red team, while sophomores Andrew Bunch and Noah Vedral will lead the White squad.

“We’ve got two quarterbacks on each squad, so they’ll go 50/50,” Walters said. “They’ll all get a lot of action and a lot of work, and we’ll evaluate them afterward…

"We just split them up. No rhyme or reason. They’re all going to get reps, they’re all going to get evaluated. We had to have two on each (team), so that’s what we did.”

Walters added that the quarterbacks would not be live for contact for the Spring Game, further hindering a full gameday evaluation.

Verduzco said he wouldn’t worry much about things like completion percentage and final passing stats. Instead, he’ll focus on how his quarterbacks control the offense, how they handle various game situations, and their fundamentals with the football.

Above all else, the quarterbacks’ ability to communicate within the offense under the spotlight of a sellout crowd and Big Ten Network broadcast will be as valuable as any evaluation.

“I just want to make certain that they’re operating, everything’s smooth in terms of the signals,” Verduzco said. “The communication part is paramount, as you probably know, with our offense. Then are their feet and eyeballs in the right place per play? That’s going to be as critical as anything for our guys in terms of how we look at the spring game…

“It’s another practice that will allow them to look at a practicing continuum, so to speak. Because there’s going to be situation after situation… We’ve covered all of those things, now can we operate it as the game is unfolding? That’s what’s a little bit different for them.”

- Robin Washut

Frost will be taking his hands off the wheel, per se, letting his assistant coaches handle the bulk of the in-game coaching during Saturday’s Spring Game.

Walters and tight ends coach Sean Beckton will handle the bulk of the offensive play calling for the Red team, while running backs coach Ryan Held will manage the White offense.

On defense, coordinator Erik Chinander will primarily call plays for the Red and defensive line coach Mike Dawson will likely run the White team.

However, Chinander said almost every full-time defensive assistant would get a chance to call a series or two during the scrimmage, and he could end up calling some plays for both teams depending on the situation.

Verduzco said he will coach the game from the sideline, even though he will be in the coaches’ box once the actual season starts.

- Robin Washut

Nebraska will have the running backs divided up evenly for Saturday’s Red-White spring game.

Both senior Mikale Wilbon and junior Greg Bell will be the featured backs on the Red squad, while senior Devine Ozigbo and sophomore Jaylin Bradley will be the featured guys for the White team.

At this point, Held said no player had a leg up in the running back competition.

“I’ll be honest with you, sometimes the day brings that,” Held said when asked if there’s been any separation at running back. “I’m not going to say if we were playing a game today what I would do. I think all the guys need to be ready to play in some role. They all have been given the stuff. Each one of them has their strengths. We have to focus on some of the weaknesses in the summer.

“Then when it gets down to fall camp, it will be fine tooth comb on if you aren’t doing this, you aren’t going to be the guy. The thing about this offense is we play multiple guys. It’s not one guy. We want to have as many guys as we can to go in and play.”

Held said he's looking forward to calling plays for the White offense on Saturday, but added he was no stranger to taking on that type of role.

“It’s fun,” Held said. “It’s a great challenge, and we’ll put in some different wrinkles and everything like that. Personally, this is a game. It’s Big Ten Network, so let’s go. We aren't going to sit back and concede anything. We are trying to win the game.

"That’s the mentality we are trying to have. Every time these guys go out there we are trying to compete and score and get better. I won’t be the loony bird on the sideline, but I was a head coach for 12 years, so it kind of brings back memories. We’ll get these guys excited and let's see what happens.”

- Sean Callahan

Nebraska’s new coaching staff has made it a priority to embrace as much of the program’s rich past and tradition as possible, and this week was another prime example of those efforts.

It just so happened that legendary former NU defensive coordinator Charlie McBride was back on campus to visit some old friends this week, and he decided to stop by the past couple practices.

Chinander said they asked McBride to speak to the team following Thursday’s session, which Chinander said was extremely valuable both for the players and the coaches.

“He gave a great message to them, and I want to echo some of that,” Chinander said. “I want to keep that in-house, but he gave us some great stuff. He taught me a lot over the last couple days, and I want to continue with that message to the kids.”

- Robin Washut

Nebraska special teams and outside linebackers coach Javon DeWitt has wasted no time trying to implement the new kickoff rules into what they are doing this spring.

With the NCAA now allowing fair catches inside the 25-yard line, DeWitt and his guys worked on some new strategies this week.

“All the different philosophies people approach with the new kickoff rule," Dewitt said. "It also changes up a little bit the mentality of who you have on the front line and the middle guys on the kickoff return philosophy. Now you have to be more conscious of guys that can field the kicks.

“Maybe you have a lighter defensive lineman that can run and block guys, but he’s never touched a football for four years here. You have to adjust the personality of who you have on the front line, because there may be more of an opportunity for some of those guys to field some kicks.”

DeWitt shared one new strategy he’s already been toying with.

“You find the guy that doesn’t look like he’s going to be real comfortable catching the football,” DeWitt said. “Maybe that guy with a neck roll on his back that’s not used to carrying a football, or it might be a 90 number. You just won’t know, so each week we’ll identify where the alignments are and the lanes will be for that ball to sneak through.”

- Sean Callanan

Barrett Ruud bleeds Nebraska red as much as anyone.

Ruud’s family history with the Huskers is well documented and dates back almost 100 years to his great-grandfather, Clarence Swanson, an All-American tight end in 1921.

With so many ties to the program, the past 15 years or so have been tough to watch for Ruud. However, he said he's starting to see what had been a fractured fan base start to come together again under the new regime.

“I think the fanbase has been probably somewhat divided, especially since Coach (Frank) Solich was let go,” Ruud said. “It feels like a really unified state right now, which is cool to be a part of.

"I was a junior on that team (Solich was fired from) and we were what, 10-3 or 11-3? It was a shock. We didn’t see it coming and I don’t know if we’ve ever necessarily recovered from that blow.”

Ruud spent Wednesday out on the recruiting trail making several stops at in-state high schools. He also had the opportunity to spend time with nearly 500 in-state high school coaches at NU’s annual coaches clinic last week.

The feeling he’s gotten from talking to people around the state is that the excitement for Nebraska football is as high as it has been for a very long time.

“It’s one of those deals that now that we are coming back, the excitement, it’s as high as it’s been probably since Coach (Tom) Osborne was here and we won a national title game,” Ruud said. “It’s at a really high level. We’re 0-0 too, so that helps.”

Ruud said he has rooted as hard as anyone for Nebraska over the last 15 years or so. But now that he’s back as a coach he feels a personal responsibility to his family, former teammates, and Nebraskans, in general, to get the program back.

“I’ve got a big sense of pride with this place and I think most former players are very similar to me where they have a lot of pride,” Ruud said. “They want nothing more than to see Nebraska succeed. Now that I’m coaching here I’ve got a big obligation to them. In my mind it’s important.”

- Nate Clouse

***Wide receiver JD Spielman missed practice once again on Thursday as he deals with what Frost called a virus that has been going around the team this week. Walters said they still weren’t sure whether Spielman would be able to play in the Spring Game, but he’s a guy who has already proven himself and doesn’t need to force the issue by playing on Saturday.

***Walters said receiver Mike Williams has really impressed this spring. Williams obviously has great speed, but Walters said he was a guy who had a big chip on his shoulder and was determined to prove people wrong.

“When talking to him, he had a chip on his shoulder," Walters said. "He really wasn’t recruited out of high school, didn’t have a whole lot going even after his first year in junior college. So he had a chip on his shoulder. After talking to him, he wanted to work and wanted to come in and prove that he belonged.

"I love those type of players that have a chip and want to come in and prove people wrong. He’s got a great work ethic, and as soon as he got in and he started working out, Coach (Zach) Duval and the whole strength staff commented on what athlete, what a great work ethic, how he was dominating the weight room. That’s carried over to the field as well.”

***With the limited depth at cornerback, Chinander said they’re going to have to really manage how the snaps are distributed with the group in the Spring Game. While the numbers aren’t ideal, Chinander said it will create an opportunity for guys to really rise to the occasion and get a lot of work on a big stage.

***Defensive backs coach Travis Fisher said one player who has really surprised him this spring has been cornerback Lamar Jackson. Fisher said Jackson hasn’t looked anything like the player they watched on film from last season.

***Chinander said the defense still wasn’t forcing nearly enough turnovers in practice, and given how turnovers are so vital to their aggressive style of defense, that was the biggest area of concern for him right now.

***Dawson said he’s well aware that NU only had 14 sacks as a team last year, but he said the way you get more sacks is by getting stops on first and second down, so that’s been the main focus this spring. Once you have those third-and-long opportunities, Dawson said you have to be sure you don’t miss.

***Outside linebackers coach Jovan Dewitt said part of the Red and White defenses were grouped by wanting to match certain outside linebackers, inside linebackers, and safeties together.

***Dewitt said Spielman was a leading candidate to be the top kick and punt returner right now.

***Dewitt said the outside linebackers would be called the Sam and the Buck in this defense, but right now they want those guys to know how to play both sides in order to keep offenses from being able to identify defensive sets via personnel.

***Dewitt also said they’ve been working on their nickel defense this week. When the fifth defensive back comes in for the nickel, Dewitt said it could be anyone who comes off - a linebacker or defensive lineman. It all depends on the situation and opponent.

***Ruud said the biggest key to play inside linebacker for him was trust. So far the guys he’s developed that level of trust with are Mohamed Barry, Dedrick Young, Will Honas, and Avery Roberts. Ruud added that Roberts still needed to get in shape.

***2019 offensive line target McKade Mettauer out of Houston (Texas) St. Pius X was at practice with his family. Mettauer has an offer from the Huskers and will be on campus all day Thursday.