Nebraska defensive coordinator Tony White made an appearance on Huskers Radio Network on Wednesday.
White touched on many of the same topics he did Tuesday when he spoke with the media. For that story, hit this link.
Here are a few of the highlights from White’s radio appearance:
UTEP’s spread-heavy space-and-pace offense provided White’s defense with a nice tune-up before Colorado’s own spread offense comes to Lincoln.
Every offseason, White said, a coach can think his guys are ready to tackle well in a season-opener, but you never really know until you actually see it play out on the field. Overmatched offenses like UTEP’s thrive off giving the ball to skill players on the edge, where they can catch the ball, make a man miss and pick up extra yardage.
“It was really good to see the guys track the near hip, it was really good to see guys try to use dominant contact,” White said. “It was a football game, so there were a couple plays here and there that got away from us, but those things are good stepping stones to being a really good defense. You have to tackle well, you have to track the near hip and you have to use dominant contact around here. It was a good start.”
Aside from allowing one three-play scoring drive in the first half, Nebraska’s defense did very well against UTEP. The Huskers held the Miners to 205 total yards — 149 passing, 56 rushing — and limited them to 3-of-10 on third-down conversions.
Who stood out to White?
The DC mentioned defensive end Kai Wallin, whose pressure forced a poor throw from Cade McConnell, who was picked off by Malcolm Hartzog.
White also mentioned defensive lineman Riley Van Poppel and inside linebacker Mikai Gbayor, who blew up a run play on UTEP’s 3-yard line that resulted in a safety.
Marques Buford Jr. was another name White mentioned. The UTEP game was Buford’s first as a corner since the early days of his Husker career. Buford finished with three tackles and one pass breakup.
“The one play down on the sideline, they throw a go ball, and it’d be really easy, especially early in the season with timing and all that stuff, to be a pass interference,” White said. “But again, he’s another guy who trusted his training. He’s been put in that position a lot by coach (John) Butler and the defensive backs staff. So it was cool to see him go out there and break up the ball like it was nothing.”
White also said he liked how safety Malcolm Hartzog bounced back after getting beat on a slot fade on UTEP’s scoring drive.
Nebraska will have one of the best quarterbacks in the country play in Memorial Stadium on Saturday in Shedeur Sanders.
“He’s really savvy. He’s a guy who knows where he wants to go with the football. He has a system around him that allows him to identify coverages. He’s got playmakers out there all around him,” White said. “And it seems like he has the freedom to check plays if he sees something, so talent-wise is one thing, he’s truly is one of the best quarterbacks in the country. But mentally-wise, that’s where he really gains a lot of respect from me — he sees football, he knows football.”
White thinks the in-helmet communication has helped Sanders and the Colorado offense be even more dangerous.
“I think the green dot has helped them, because last year I think Shedeur was relying on his eyes to see, pre-snap and everything, and now he has somebody talking to him in the headset from the box as well, reassuring him of those looks,” White said. “So it’s going to be a challenge, but we just have to make sure we handle our business.”
White said multiple quarterbacks have been simulating Sanders on the scout team this week. One of them happened to be Adam DiMichele, a defensive assistant on staff. DiMichele is one of the best high school quarterbacks in Pennsylvania state history. He also went on to play at Temple when Matt Rhule was an assistant.
>> CONSIDER AN ALL-ACCESS SUBSCRIPTION for less than $2/week to unlock all of our premium articles and sound off on the hot topics on our INSIDER’S BOARD
>> Follow us on Twitter (@NebraskaRivals) and Instagram (@nebraskarivals)
>> Subscribe for FREE to the Inside Nebraska YouTube channel to get even more daily content on all things Nebraska
You must be logged in to post a comment Login