Tuesday notebook: Coaches relish 'hard' decision on first Blackshirts

After turning the page on Saturday loss to Colorado and looking ahead to this week’s preparation for Troy, Erik Chinander finally got the chance to do something he’d been waiting for since he became Nebraska’s latest defensive coordinator.

Chinander, head coach Scott Frost, and the rest of NU’s defensive staff handed out the first seven Blackshirts of the season on Monday morning.

While it was a special moment for Chinander personally, he said narrowing down the number of initial recipients was an extremely difficult task.

"It’s really cool,” Chinander said. “You know you come into being the defensive coordinator at Nebraska and all you think about is how awesome the Blackshirts are, but then it's time to really (decide) and it's hard, it's really hard.

“I had to talk to every kid that didn't get one. We had to explain to these kids why they didn't get one this week… there's a reason why each and every one of them did or did not get a Blackshirt. Some of them are on the very cusp (of getting one) and they played in the game like they should have but their habits leading up to that game didn't warrant one.”

Inside linebackers coach Barrett Ruud has now been on both ends of the Blackshirt spectrum, as he earned the coveted black practice jersey as a player and now got the chance to give them out as a coach.

“As a coach, you even think about it more than when you are a player," Ruud said. "You are real excited to get it as a player, but you think about it a lot more as a coach. You think about a lot of the guys that have been here before you.

"When you hand those out, you want to make sure the guys who played here for the last 40 years are happy with who you are handing those Blackshirts to. You think about it a lot more, so it was cool to hand them out.”

Only one member of secondary coach Travis Fisher’s unit received a Blackshirt in sophomore cornerback Dicaprio Bootle.

There may have been several other defensive backs who played well enough to receive one vs. Colorado, but Fisher said he sets an extremely high bar to earn that honor.

“I’m not passing them out like candy, man...” Fisher said.

That standard has already been a powerful motivator for NU's secondary, especially not that one of them is wearing a Blackshirt in practice.

“When we saw DiCarpio get his Blackshirt, we said, 'We are going to be right with you, bro,’” safety Deontai Williams said. “’We are going to be right with you and more hungry.’ That’s what we are aiming for – all the DB’s to be Blackshirts. That’s the big goal.”

- Robin Washut

True freshman Adrian Martinez did not practice on Tuesday, but according to Frost, he’s doing everything possible to learn the game plan and be ready for Saturday’s game against Troy.

“He’s in the meetings,” Frost said during the Big Ten coaches teleconference on Tuesday. “He’s getting some reps mentally, and also some not full-speed reps on the field. We’ll figure it out as it goes along.

“We are doing our best to get every quarterback on the roster at least familiar enough with the game plan to be able to go out there and function and execute. We’ll do the best we can, and we just have to keep evaluating day-by-day.”

However, don’t expect Frost to make any announcements this week on if Martinez is going to play on Saturday.

“As long as they don’t tell me I have to talk to anyone about what’s wrong with a player, I won’t,” Frost said. “That’s in the best interest of the student-athlete. Everything I do is always going to be in the best interest of my players, so I’m going to protect them.

" It’s not good for our players if I say what’s wrong with them and tell the whole world. Until they tell me I have to, I’m not going to say anything.”

- Sean Callahan

Over the last 24 hours, we’ve heard both Frost and Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre make public statements about the play that injured the right knee of Martinez.

A Colorado player appeared to twist Martinez’s knee after the play was blown dead, and NU sent that play to be reviewed by both the Big Ten and Pac-12 league offices. The Pac-12 found no wrongdoings with the play according to a statement released by MacIntyre on Monday night.

“I was made aware that Scott Frost and Nebraska submitted a play for review with the Pac-12 Conference office,” MacIntyre said. “Our athletic department officials have had discussions with the conference office; no one has been suspended and we are moving forward.”

Frost was asked then on Tuesday about Colorado’s response during Tuesday’s Big Ten Coaches Conference call.

“I’m done talking about it,” Frost said. “I answered the question yesterday. We need to focus on the things that we didn’t do right that caused us to lose. At this point, we are focused on Troy. I kind of told our AD Bill Moos about it, and he said the right protocol is to send it to the conferences, so that’s what he did. I’m not going to say anything else about it.”

- Sean Callahan

Chinander couldn’t help but be happy with the way his defense stifled Colorado’s running game and racked up seven sacks.

However, the zero forced turnovers still had his attention as much as anything else on Tuesday, especially given how many times his group got to the quarterback.

"Obviously we're preaching that as well,” Chinander said of going after the football more. “I think Coach Frost maybe highlighted in his press conference some of the drills we do to get the ball out, some of the drills we do to hold onto the ball on offense. I think some of our guys haven't been maybe 100 percent dialed in on some of those. Now I think that's magnified also. Some of those (sacks) the (quarterback) ate the ball and held it pretty tight.

“We have to produce some turnovers. Anytime we get to the quarterback seven times - and we probably missed two more sacks that were easy ones - you need to get some turnovers out of the deal."

- Robin Washut

Defense trying to get Miller on the field more

Linebacker Collin Miller didn’t see a ton of snaps last week against Colorado, only six to be exact.

However, those six snaps did provide a glimpse into his overall versatility as he lined up at both inside linebacker positions, outside linebacker, and even as an edge rusher all late in the game.

Inside linebackers coach Barrett Ruud said the sophomore linebacker is a good fit in their nickel and dime packages, but they’ve got to find a way to get him on the field even more going forward.

“He does a good job with that,” Ruud said about Miller’s fit in their nickel and dime defenses. “No. 1, he’s too good of a player not to have on the field and we’re continually trying to find ways to get him on the field to take advantage of what he does best. I think honestly, the best thing that he does is that he’s a versatile football player.”

Ruud went on to say that Miller’s overall skill set was fairly unique among all the other linebackers on the team.

“He’s one of the few guys in the linebacker room that can play true inside linebacker, play the run, cover the pass,” Ruud said. “He can also rush the passer from the edge, he can rush the passer from the interior, he can blitz. So he brings a lot of different tools that you can use with his skillset. Every week we’re thinking of ways to get him on the field.”

- Nate Clouse

Sophomore safety Deontai Williams played just 17 snaps on defense this past Saturday, but according to Pro Football Focus, he graded out higher than any player on the defense.

With that said, look for Williams to see more action on Saturday vs. Troy.

“No doubt about it,” Fisher said when asked if Williams play has led to more snaps this week. “When his number was called he came in and made a play.”

Williams said he’s looking forward for the chance to get more playing time.

“That’s just more plays for me and more plays I have to make,” Williams said. “I’m ready for it. When my name is called, I’m going to go out there and help my team get a win. That’s all that matters.”

- Sean Callahan

Two freshmen who skyrocketed up Nebraska’s defensive depth chart during fall camp made their Husker debuts on Saturday, as cornerback Cam Taylor and linebacker Caleb Tannor.

Taylor, who jumped to the No. 2 cornerback spot behind Bootle, recorded one tackle in the loss during Colorado’s final drive of the game.

A player who only just started playing cornerback full time since he arrived at NU, Taylor said he was still trying to catch his breath after a wild first few months in Lincoln.

“It really did happen kind of fast,” Taylor said. “I was expecting to come in and be put at the bottom (of the depth chart), honestly, just because I never played corner.

“I came in and just tried to get to work, stayed under Coach Fisher, make sure I got all the plays down pat, watching film all types of night. I just have kept working.”

Tannor also finished with one tackle in his Nebraska opener, with his coming on special teams with a stop on a second-quarter kickoff.

A versatile player who made his mark early with his natural pass rushing ability, Tannor said he was still finding his place on the Huskers’ defense but felt Saturday was a good first step.

“They haven’t told me my role, they’re not trying to boost my head up or anything because you know how freshmen can get,” Tannor said. “So I’m just trying to keep doing what I’m doing.

“I’m honestly doing the right things, so I’m going to just keep doing what I’m doing. Keep working, keep making my brothers better, keep making my teammates better. That’s just how it’s going to go.”

- Robin Washut

***Safety JoJo Domann was not in pads as the team left Tuesday’s practice.

***Chinander said he was “heartbroken” about losing to Colorado but did see a lot of positives from his defense in the game. He was most pleased by the way the players “didn’t blink” and “fell back on their training” after getting behind 14-0 out of the gates.

***Both Chinander and Fisher said they were happy with how the defensive backs adjusted to playing a lot of press man coverage vs. Colorado. They obviously lost some of those one-on-one battles, but Fisher said NU also won its share with some solid plays in coverage.

***Special teams coach Jovan Dewitt said freshman kicker Barrett Pickering didn’t change his attitude or demeanor once after missing his first field goal attempt as a Husker. He said that even-keeled approach was crucial for a good kicker.

***Dewitt said the goal on kickoff returns is to get the ball out to at least the 29-yard line, as they’ve charted that offenses have a 75-percent chance of scoring when starting at their own 29 or closer. Nebraska didn’t get past the 20 on any of its kick returns vs. Colorado.

***Dewitt said the four penalties on special teams vs. Colorado were first and foremost his fault for not having his units prepared, but they also had to do with guys being “too physical” (Taylor’s holding penalty) or just being out of position by a few inches. He said all of the penalties were easy fixes.

***Dewitt said Tyjon Lindsey won the top punt returner job because he was the most consistent and trusted player for the job. Lindsey didn’t do much of anything with his returns vs. CU, but Dewitt thinks the sophomore had the ability to make a lot of plays in that role.

***Defensive line coach Mike Dawson said Mick Stoltenberg and Freedom Akinmoladun both played well vs. Colorado, but they were the two d-linemen who earned Blackshirts because they had been the rocks of the unit all offseason.

***Fisher said Bootle has practiced well and had a good game on Saturday, but the separating moment came after he gave up the go-ahead touchdown and was one the sideline waving a towel and cheering on the offense.

“Nine out of 10 cornerbacks wouldn’t do that,” Fisher said.