Steven M. Sipple: There was good, bad and ugly, but analyzing a spring game is shaky ground | Football

If you’re a Nebraska football fan, that’s what this spring largely has been about. 

That’s what it’s almost always about this time of year. This spring, however, the sentiment is even more pronounced. The gigantic media corps that covers Nebraska football never saw a single practice — until Saturday, that is. 

This isn’t to complain, but we didn’t learn much from the annual Red-White Spring Game. Let’s be real, we weren’t supposed to learn much. Nebraska is in the midst of formulating a new offensive system, one that combines first-year NU offensive coordinator Mark Whipple’s philosophies and methods with those of fifth-year Husker head coach Scott Frost. 

It’s a work in progress. We’ve heard that a lot around here in the last 20 years or so, but it’s true. Again. 

As for Frost and Whipple, why would they show their hand to the masses? Yes, the masses can let their imaginations wander. That’s more fun, anyway. By the way, so can Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald, whose Wildcats open the 2022 season against Nebraska in Dublin. If Coach Fitz finds anything particularly meaningful from what he saw from Nebraska’s offense Saturday, he’s a better man than I. 

“I just wanted to get off the field healthy,” Frost told reporters following the White team’s 43-39 victory before 54,357 spectators on a splendidly sunny day. 

This was offense (Red) versus defense (White). A scoring system was created that would require four paragraphs to explain. So, let’s skip that and get to the important stuff.

How did Casey Thompson look? If you blinked, you probably missed him. The transfer quarterback from Texas played three series and was 3-for-4 passing for 31 yards. He zipped a lovely 10-yard completion to a diving Trey Palmer. On the next play, however, Thompson misfired to Alante Brown on third-and-7. It should’ve been an easy first down. No wondering about that. 

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Thompson looks poised and athletic, as expected. He was, however, “sacked” by Garrett Nelson. I say “sacked” because the top units played touch football in the first half. That’s right, no tackling. I couldn’t even tell that Thompson was sacked. 

“Man, it’s trash,” fleet Nebraska running back Rahmir Johnson said of the no-tackling part of the format. 

However, Johnson said he completely understands why it was the case. No team in America wants to lose a key player or players to injury in this type of setting. That’s especially true of a Nebraska team that, well, needs to hit a certain marker in terms of wins in 2022 in order for Frost to retain his job in 2023. 

So, yes, let your imagination wander. But I would caution against trying to draw too many conclusions from this scrimmage. Sure, Nebraska’s offensive units managed only nine first downs in 12 first-half drives. Frost described it as “ugly.” On the other hand, he said, Whipple and company kept the run game “dreadfully simple.”

And, really, how much can you learn watching tag football?

“It’s hard to get a real read from that,” said Frost, 15-29 in four seasons at the school. 

Ah, but Nebraska fans’ imaginations perhaps were stimulated in the first half when Anthony Grant, a transfer from New Mexico Military Institute, bolted 60 yards for a touchdown. He started the play by running toward his right, then cut back in traffic and found wide-open space. It actually appeared that outside linebacker Simon Otte got a hand on Thompson in that traffic. 

But, hey, this is the Spring Game. Let the new guy feel love from the fans. He’s put himself in position to be Nebraska’s starting running back in 2022. He plays the game with some serious bite. 

Meantime, of the six quarterbacks who saw action, Chubba Purdy, a transfer from Florida State, threw the prettiest passes, including a 27-yard strike to redshirt freshman tight end AJ Rollins. The 6-2, 210-pound Purdy layered the throw between defenders perfectly. 

Purdy missed a lot of practice time this spring with an injury, but came on strong in recent days, Frost said. Maybe he can push Thompson for the starting job come August when preseason camp heats up. It’s hard to tell. Let your mind wander.

Meanwhile, give some grace to Logan Smothers, who was only 5-for-14 passing for 46 yards and was sacked twice. If you’re a Nebraska fan, you hope Smothers continues to improve. I don’t like the idea of Thompson feeling too comfortable as the presumed No. 1. He said he threw only four or five interceptions all spring. That’s great. But Thompson and the entire offense need to feel urgency all summer. 

As for Erik Chinander’s defense, well, those edge rushers caused Nebraska’s offensive tackles problems. So, it’s a good news/bad news conversation. That’s what spring games usually are about. Don’t overanalyze this stuff. 

Oh, except for one thing. The attendance figure was legit, and magnificent. 

“What an awesome fan base,” Frost said. 

All those recruits on hand surely noticed. What’s more, the TCU pass-rusher, Ochaun Mathis, had to be impressed. He stood at midfield for an extensive period before the scrimmage, basking in the moment.

Man, if Nebraska can get Mathis on its roster, that would certainly help matters. 

Let your imagination wander.