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Mike Riley held his first football news conference prior to the start of spring practice, and talked about the process for this spring. Most notably...splitting the team up into two different groups for practice so that the coaches can work with smaller groups.
Mike Riley said he doesn't want instances where 22 guys are running a drill and 100 players are watching #Huskers
— Rich Kaipust (@RKaipustOWH) March 4, 2015
Tom Osborne used to run two sets of stations in his practices, splitting the coaching staff up. The idea between "Team Red" and "Team White" is to practice at different times so that the entire coaching staff sees each practice...which is kind of important since the players and coaches are all new to each other.
"I've never done this, so ... ," Riley said. Where idea came from: "I just thought of it." Riley was used to 75-80 players for spring at OSU
— Rich Kaipust (@RKaipustOWH) March 4, 2015
.@Coach_Riley says they won't practice with this structure the entire spring period. Says "We'll adjust" for what's best for the players.
— Nebraska Huskers (@Huskers) March 4, 2015
Riley sez #Huskers to have little more interaction of offense vs. defense than he's normally done, "way for me to see all the guys together"
— Rich Kaipust (@RKaipustOWH) March 4, 2015
Riley: "We will learn more about the players. We will find more guys." #Huskers
— Brian Rosenthal (@HuskerExtraBR) March 4, 2015
Assuming, of course, that running two separate sets of practices doesn't violate any NCAA rules on the amount of practice time players are in.
Mike Riley on giving everybody a chance or look: "Guys have a better tendency to grow when they know they have opportunity" #Huskers
— Rich Kaipust (@RKaipustOWH) March 4, 2015
"Experience is a big big factor for every position... Our job is to give the other guys a chance to compete." @Coach_Riley on QB questions.
— Nebraska Huskers (@Huskers) March 4, 2015
Moving to specific players, it looks like Adam Taylor is ready to return. He looked pretty good last spring, for what it's worth.
I-back Adam Taylor has been cleared and ready for spring. Riley said #Huskers I-back pool looks to have variety of sizes and abilities
— Rich Kaipust (@RKaipustOWH) March 4, 2015
Riley is also like every other Husker fan...we just can't stop talking about De'Mornay Pierson-El and his potential.
Mike Riley obviously likes #Huskers sophomore De'Mornay Pierson-El. Says NU can use him on fly sweep, WR screens, reverses and run posts.
— Rich Kaipust (@RKaipustOWH) March 4, 2015
Only my rough count, but it seems Riley has offered unsolicited comments about Pierson-El about half-dozen times in recent weeks #Huskers
— Rich Kaipust (@RKaipustOWH) March 4, 2015
Turning to quarterback, Tommy Armstrong will start the spring on "Team Red". Riley talked about how he is going to transition to having a mobile quarterback.
Tommy Armstrong goes into spring No. 1 QB, but 5 other QBs will get long looks, Riley says #Huskers
— Eric Olson (@ericolson64) March 4, 2015
Riley has mentioned Lyle Moevao a few times (including Armstrong comparison). Remember when #Huskers were recruiting the qb under Callahan
— Rich Kaipust (@RKaipustOWH) March 4, 2015
Riley says he plans to incorporate quarterback run game into his offense for 1st time to take advantage of skill sets of QBs on roster.
— Eric Olson (@ericolson64) March 4, 2015
Defensively, Nebraska will look to the interior of the defensive line to generate pressure. Not a bad idea when you have guys like Maliek Collins and Vincent Valentine returning.
Riley says #Huskers pass rush might emanate from D tackles rather than ends because of the wealth of talent
— Eric Olson (@ericolson64) March 4, 2015
A few players spoke as well:
#Huskers WR @JordanWesty1 up now. Says the team is excited and ready to go. "We've grown closer together and ready to move forward."
— Nebraska Huskers (@Huskers) March 4, 2015
Nate Gerry:""(Def system) s a lot simpler than it was with Bo. With coach Banker he wants us to emphasize flying around." #Huskers
— Eric Olson (@ericolson64) March 4, 2015
Nate Gerry said Banker is "letting us loose" and system overall is way easier. #Huskers
— Brian Rosenthal (@HuskerExtraBR) March 4, 2015
I think we all have mixed thoughts on that.
"Overall the system is way easier" - Nate Gerry That makes me happy and sad at the same time.
— David McGee (@dpm917) March 4, 2015
While we all know what happens when Pelini's defense didn't work (/wisconsinScoresAgain), we also knew how well it worked when it did. With Mark Banker, we might not have the high potential, but that might be a good tradeoff if we avoid the hemorrhaging that finally doomed the Pelini era.
Spring practice starts Saturday. Time for hope to spring eternal.