Almost August

It’s the last week of July and as the days grow shorter and NFL teams are already in training camp it can mean only one thing. College football programs around the country will start their own fall camps within the next week. Nebraska will start practice August 4th in preparation for their 2008 season that starts with Western Michigan in Lincoln on August 30th.

In roughly four and a half weeks we’ll have the opportunity to see the new version of Nebraska Football. However, the offense may look a little familiar. As most of you probably know Offensive Coordinator Shawn Watson and Wide Receivers coach (and Recruiting Coordinator) Ted Gilmore have been retained by Bo Pelini from Bill Callahan’s staff.

The big change that everyone is looking for is on the other side of the ball. A few weeks ago, before the Big XII Media Days down here in Kansas City took place, Pelini stated that there are no Blackshirts on the team as of yet. I like the attitude and mentality that these things are not just handed out because you start for Nebraska on defense, because as last year clearly showed, the starting unit was in no way deserving of the notoriety of having a Blackshirt.

I’m personally not expecting the jump the defensive unit made from 2002 to 2003 when Pelini thrust the Huskers from a middle of the pack squad to nearly tops in the nation defensively. I’m hoping for it, but it’s a big hill to climb. The main thing I want to see is a team that doesn’t look like they have cement in their cleats and doesn’t die. It’s hard to imagine things staying status quo, or God forbid, get worse.

The team is leaner. Offensive Guard Matt Slauson has lost weight as has MIKE Linebacker Phillip Dillard. How will this translate into success on the field? Remember in Rocky III when Rocky got all inflated and soft fighting “suckas” as Clubber Lang put it? It wasn’t until he trimmed down after finding the eye of the tiger (not a not to Missouri, mind you) that he knocked out Lang. This is probably a really dumb analogy, but I really love that movie. I’m not saying that the defense will be able to knock everyone out, I’m just saying and hoping it’s not a repeat of last year on the field.

When you have as much time as the fans of Nebraska to ponder last year and look for any sign of progress that points towards any improvement this season, you look under just about every stone you can find. As of today there are 33 days between now and August 30th. Let the countdown begin.

In the Door

The Nebraska Athletic Department Development office made the information available for new season ticket holders today and I was able to get my foot in the door as a season ticket holder in our first year of donating. I will be able to look down upon all the Husker faithful as I am in section 39, row 99 and seats 15 and 16. So we are basically in the northeast corner of the stadium, but at least we have a backrest. Hopefully as the years go on, the donations go up and the "priority points" accumulate, I'll get a little closer.

GO BIG RED!!

A Return to Form

Now that the calendar has gone from May to June and now into July, the Husker blog here will be heating up again. Recruiting is about to start taking a turn for the more exciting with a prospect by the name of Cody Green making a decision between either a stint in Lincoln or down in Texas for the Aggies. Green is one of the higher rated dual-threat quarterbacks in the country and could make a sizable impact for this team in the next few years provided he commits to Nebraska and then signs in February of 2009.

According to my calculations the season will begin in no less than 53 days, which can put a smile on anyone's face considering if you aren't a die hard baseball fan, this time of the year can prove to be very boring on the sports front. Although watching my Red Sox and following Formula 1, once we move past the 4th of July, my focus tends to return to my beloved Huskers. So in the coming days and weeks I'll be back on with some insight into the team and some opinions on the Big XII and the college football landscape at large.

One thing that will be spun into the mix this year will be a considerable amount of information regarding a rising North power in the Missouri Tigers. Since my last post, I've been hired by an individual who has close, very close ties, to the University of Missouri. I'll actually be behind enemy lines September 20th (a Nebraska bye week mind you) to help work the sidelines while the Tigers take on a team led by former Nebraska QB and current Husker legend Turner Gil. Will I secretly be cheering for Buffalo? Probably. But as the scoreboard will probably read 87-10 at the end of the game, I may keep that to myself. I'll be sure to wear some sort of parphenilia to keep me honest. It's an experience I can't pass up, even if it is the Tigers.