Wednesday notebook: Despite struggles, Austin says o-line still progressing

Nebraska seemed to be overmatched in just about every aspect in last week’s 56-10 loss at Michigan, but few areas struggled as much as the offensive line.

Whether it was rushing 30 times for just 39 yards or giving up four sacks, 15 tackles for loss, and four quarterback hurries, the Huskers’ o-line had easily its worst overall performance of the season.

Offensive line coach Greg Austin was obviously as disappointed as anyone with his unit’s effort, but considering how much talent the Wolverines possess on their defensive front seven, the struggles didn’t come as a total surprise.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat it,” Austin said. “At the end of the day, sometimes a guy is just better than you.”

All that said, Austin said he’s still seen steady progress from his group despite what many would consider a weekly regressing from Game 1 to Game 3.

Austin said the offensive line got off to a strong start partly because there was a lot of familiarity between what Colorado did defensively to what and it had seen all offseason in practice from NU’s own defense.

Troy threw a lot of unexpected wrinkles at them which caused a lot of confusion, and Michigan was a completely different animal regarding size, strength, speed, and skill.

But even though it might not be easy to see on game day, Austin insists his line is still improving by the day. In particular, he said tackles Brenden Jaimes and Matt Farniok had made big strides.

“The tackles, mostly in their communication and being accountable in their communication,” Austin said of who on the line had made the most progress. “They’ve taken it upon themselves, especially this week, of doing a really good job of communicating with the center and knowing what the center called and how their job is affected by that call.”

Even after two straight uninspiring showings, Austin said he wasn’t worried in the least about the offensive line’s development getting derailed by a drop in confidence.

“No. No. Not at all,” Austin said. “Just shown by the week of practice. I look at the game, but I look at practice in terms of our energy and our technique and things that we’re emphasizing, and I actually think that these few practices that we’ve had this week have been some of the best yet. So I’m excited about these guys as they move forward.”

- Robin Washut

Following the loss to Michigan, quarterback Adrian Martinez said he felt there were times where he didn’t do anything right.

There can be a fine line between a young player being critical of their play and being so hard on themselves that it has a negative impact. Quarterbacks coach Mario Verduzco said he’s not concerned about Martinez’s mental state or about how hard he’s been on himself.

“I think as quarterbacks we’re groomed to probably be much too hard on ourselves in games like that, which is understandable,” Verduzco said. “But one of the things that will help us through this storm if you will, is our philosophical position from the standpoint that really we’re on a cognit wheel of success or failure, truly.

"That allows us to not get too crazy about ourselves when things are going well and certainly not too crazy about ourselves when things aren’t going so well. That’s an important component.”

Verduzco went on to say it’s important for his quarterbacks to understand that they are no more or less important than anyone else on the football field.

“The other piece of the puzzle is to understand that, in terms of importance, we’re no more important than anyone else on the field in terms of function,” Verduzco said. “That keeps us grounded and I’ve got to continually talk with them about those sorts of things. The way they grow up is so different as quarterbacks.

"You know, (Andrew Bunch) made the comment to me that in his past it was, ‘How you go, we go.’ Well, that’s not always the case, you know. If you lose 42-41, you still lose. Anyway, that piece of the puzzle is important for our guys to understand.”

- Nate Clouse

With running back Maurice Washington out this entire week battling a stomach bug, it’s opened the door for junior Wyatt Mazour to see more playing time.

Mazour’s reps in practice have gone up this week, and there’s a chance you could see him take more reps with guys like Devine Ozigbo and Greg Bell on Saturday.

“He’s definitely in the mix,” running backs coach Ryan Held said. “It’s all hands on deck when we perform like that. I’ve been grading guys all week. Playing time will be based on practice performance, effort, details – all of the things that are expected to be a running back at Nebraska.

“So, if Wyatt Mazour is the best guy, it is what it is. He’s had a good week of practice. We’ve had a really good week up to this point, but we have to continue to get better and flush last week and move on.”

However, Held wasn’t ready to commit how many more reps Mazour might see on Saturday.

“I don’t know if increased, we’ll see what happens,” Held said of Mazour’s workload. “He is definitely in the mix for it to happen. We’ll see how the game flows, but he’s earned the right to get more reps, there’s no question. Now I won’t put it out there on record how many more he’s going to get or it’s definitely going to increase, but he’s definitely put himself in position. I don’t have any qualms putting him in the game.”

- Sean Callahan

Nebraska freshman linebacker Caleb Tannor has continued to see his role increase the last few weeks. After not seeing the field on defense against Colorado, Tannor took a combined 33 defensive snaps against Troy and Michigan, along with 47 snaps on special teams.

You get the impression that we are going to see his role grow more as the year goes along, as it will take some of the pressure off guys like Luke Gifford and Tyrin Ferguson.

“Just taking it how I get it, keep putting in the work, keep grinding,” Tannor said of his increased playing time.

As for his conversations with the coaches, Tannor said they haven’t given him an idea how much more he could play on Saturday, a lot depends on the flow of the game.

“I just keep seeing more and more reps, so I think I keep doing the right thing,” Tannor said. “I’m just going to keep working, keep executing, keep listening. That’s the most important thing.”

- Sean Callahan

Prior to Nebraska’s opening loss to Colorado, it had been a long time since Frost and his coaching staff had tasted defeat.

To be exact, the coaches went a full 89 weeks between a 31-13 loss to Arkansas State in the 2016 AutoNation Cure Bowl and then falling to Buffaloes.

But while adjusting to being on the wrong end of the scoreboard for three games in a row has been difficult, offensive coordinator Troy Walters said NU’s coaches have had to make sure they don’t let their frustrations show around the players.

“Up until this year, we haven’t experienced a loss in a long time,” Walters said. “It was new for us. But we know we have to set the example. We have to be the standard. If players see us panicking and losing faith and belief in the system and in this program, then they are going to do the same thing.

“We understand it’s a long season. We’re not giving up on this season, we feel like we can accomplish everything we want to accomplish. The goals are still out there. It’s day-by-day. We’ve got to take it day-by-day, get better as coaches, get better as players, get better as trainers each day and if we do that, then we put ourselves at a good chance to win on Saturday.”

- Robin Washut

***Nebraska’s offensive coaches said it was another good practice on Wednesday, giving the Huskers three straight strong sessions to start the week. However, Walters said last Thursday’s practiced “sucked,” and the team would have to have good meetings tonight and make sure this Thursday is significantly better.

***Running back Maurice Washington did not practice and is dealing with a stomach illness.

***Held said in his three years of coaching with Scott Frost, last week’s Michigan loss was the worst running back performance he’s had.

***Austin said young guards like Boe Wilson and Trent Hixson had earned the right for more playing time going forward but said it was too early to say if either was close to pushing for a starting job.

“Those guys that we’re playing have a lot of snaps,” Austin said. “With the exception of Boe Wilson, those guys have a lot of snaps under their belt and they are more seasoned. Whereas those other guys, they’ve gotten an opportunity to go against live bullets. It was good to get them that game experience so they can understand what it takes going forward.”

***Verduzco apologized to Nebraska media and fans because they had to spend all week dwelling on a game like the Michigan loss. For the coaches and players, though, Verduzco said they’ve already moved on and turned the page to Purdue.

***Tight ends coach Sean Beckton said he expects Purdue to throw an aggressive blitz package at them on Saturday, mainly because Nebraska hasn’t shown much ability to stop it.

***Walters said it had been a long time since Nebraska’s coaching staff had lost a game before this season, but they all know they can’t let their frustration show to the team. He said the staff needed to set the example to the players of how to stay focused on getting better.

***Walters said Jaron Woodyard played pretty well vs. Michigan despite not registering many stats. He said Tyjon Lindsey was still “growing and learning” at the position and that Mike Williams needed to be more consistent. Walters also said guys like Bryan Reimers and Kade Warner had been playing pretty well in practice this week.

***As for whether anyone had emerged as the clear No. 3, 4, or 5 receivers behind Stanley Morgan Jr. and J.D. Spielman, Walters said that remained a work in progress.

"We’re just going to find out who that guy is," Walters said. "Nothing is set in stone. I told them at the beginning of the week, ‘I know what Stanley can do. I know what J.D. can do. Every other position at receiver is open. We’re grading every rep, and I’m posting it on the receiver door so that those guys know their pluses, their minuses, their grades each day. We’re going to play according to those grades.”