Biggest worry for a defensive replacement in 2019

[wheat]

I’ve always liked Young, a lot of people said he couldn’t run but that really wasn’t true. There was a reason why he didn’t come out on nickel, can’t remember if it was Chins or Ruud, but one of them singled Young out as the best cover LB.

I went with OLB, mainly because this D desparitly needs a pass rusher. If Frost gets his O clicking and we get a lead and can make teams get uncomfortable with the run game early on, they can’t let the opposing qb set up camp in the backfield and take his dog for a walk before finding someone streaking wide open, or consistently converting those 3rd and longs with no pressure. No matter how you see it though there’s some question marks for this D, hoping that some leaders emerge and a 2nd year with the same scheme can pay some dividends.

I feel like we would have been no worse than bowl eligible had we been at the national average on third and long defense.

 

[dallasblackshirt]

Same as the offensive poll... which spot are you most worried about replacing for 2019 on defense. Take into account your thoughts on who we have filling that void, so for example when we lost Ozigbo, did it not matter to you because we still had Washington and Mills committed? Curious everyone's thoughts before my write-up.

Honestly see no down side to those that graduated. Gifford and young did a decent job but let’s be honest our defense was week across the board with the best players of the bunch are returning.

I expect much better this year just because the bar was so low last year.

We so desperately need a pass rush and better d line play in general. If we get that the D will be much better

 

[Huskermonsta]

I feel like we would have been no worse than bowl eligible had we been at the national average on third and long defense.

I concur! Man, I would love to find a Demario Williams/Farley clone for 2019.

 

[ShortSideOption]

That's pretty well thought out and it's hard to argue against it. I thought Honas was on his way to overtaking Young when he got hurt. But maybe not? What do you think of Collin Miller? He seemed kinda lost at times but the last two staffs have moved him from OLB to ILB. I could see that as evidence he's not finding a good fit or reason for hope he can develop if he's able to focus on ILB.

Honas was coming on pretty strong, I just don't know if he would have ended up starting over Young. Now he has a knee injury to deal with. Miller will be the interesting one to me, the more reps he got, the better he got in my opinion. Trust me, in the spring we will be hearing about his improvement, how he's playing with the 1s, etc. I just don't know if he's all of a sudden going to be better than Young in 2019.

 

[ShortSideOption]

Honestly see no down side to those that graduated. Gifford and young did a decent job but let’s be honest our defense was week across the board with the best players of the bunch are returning.

I expect much better this year just because the bar was so low last year.

We so desperately need a pass rush and better d line play in general. If we get that the D will be much better

I hope you're right, we lose 5 of our top 6 tacklers and 100+ starts. That's tough. I worry about our defense in 2019.

 

[ramsker]

I went with S just due to the volume of loss there and how well they were playing down the stretch. Gonna be a tough job to not have a drop-off there.

ILB/OLB have me a little worried, but I'm hoping Honas comes back strong and that we have some young bucks who are going to be athletic and ready to roll . . . albeit needing to learn on the job. Young made a lot of tackles for sure--but he was also pretty routinely on the "what the hell is he doing??" list even as a Sr. Just seemed like he didn't flash the instincts and being-at-the-right-place-at-the-right-time traits like you would expect a guy with his experience to have. Domann was coming on at OLB late for the passing situations and I have to think the staff will have some more guys ready to go there. Tannor comes with another year and added S&C, etc. Maybe some other dudes figure some things out (looking at you, Breon)?

I'm not as worried about the line vs those other choices.

 

[dallasblackshirt]

I hope you're right, we lose 5 of our top 6 tacklers and 100+ starts. That's tough. I worry about our defense in 2019.

Just can’t see how it could be worse than it was in 2018. If we are honest last years defense was a 3-4 on a 10 point scale. Frankly an embarrassment based on pre 2000 standards

 

[Californication]

I'm not worried about DE, we have plenty of options there, so that cancels that. NG we played without Mick the majority of the year, so we have Davis, or either of the Daniels twins to make me at least feel a bit better there. Gifford was extremely productive and our best pass rusher, but setting the edge doesn't worry me next year, tho I could see how people would have picked him like Mick at NG. Safety was what I was debating on for first along with Young. But we brought in a top5 safety class in the nation for 2018, and we are going to bring in another stud class for 2019, and we bring back Deontai Williams, have four star Dismuke, etc. So that leaves losing Young, who I know everyone said wasn't very good, but who is replacing him? Either a true freshman, or some guy coming off a knee injury that couldn't unseat him when he was healthy in 2018. Ruud has his work cut out for him.

I thought Young was good, just not dominant. I may be wrong, but I feel ILB is as much instinct and ability as technique. I see a lot of young kids laying inside, both in college and the NFL. That is why I did not vote for Young.

 

[CrabHusker]

If Mick had played a full senior season and been a cog on the defensive line, I'd have chosen his spot. While I still think NG (and ILB to a lessor extent) is extremely important, the safeties leaving actually did play full years and played well during stretches of the year. Their replacement is probably more of a critical element for 2019.

You could have picked any of the positions listed and not be wrong. Nebraska needs zero drop off and in fact needs improvement at each of those positions to take the next step.

 

[ShortSideOption]

Just can’t see how it could be worse than it was in 2018. If we are honest last years defense was a 3-4 on a 10 point scale. Frankly an embarrassment based on pre 2000 standards

I think that's what i'm getting at. We were really bad and are losing 5 of our top 6 tacklers. It's not like true freshmen or guys that couldn't beat out the people we were losing are going to be instant upgrades.

 

[ShortSideOption]

I thought Young was good, just not dominant. I may be wrong, but I feel ILB is as much instinct and ability as technique. I see a lot of young kids laying inside, both in college and the NFL. That is why I did not vote for Young.

I think that makes sense. Henrich isn't going to wow you with his stats, but his film of actually playing football is some of the best our coaches have ever seen. It goes a long ways. If we can get him to 225-230, watch out.

 

[David3464]

I think that makes sense. Henrich isn't going to wow you with his stats, but his film of actually playing football is some of the best our coaches have ever seen. It goes a long ways. If we can get him to 225-230, watch out.

He and Hannah have a great opportunity even as Freshmen. Seems like the key for them is gaining that weight to be able to withstand B1G offensive line guys blocking them at that second level. Two guys that are going to be standouts for the Huskers in their careers. Can’t wait to see them in action. Both are dynamic!

 

[Goal-line]

Same basic response. NG

Inside, then outside.

2nd choice would be ILB.

Hogs, then gazelles.

Agree!

 

[Elwood von Kiowa]

Pretty much what everyone else said. Since we're talking replacements, I'm going with safeties. NG is more critical, but since Stoltenberg wasn't full go, replacement is not as big a concern.

Gifford was a great leader and plays with great heart, but I'm thinking Mo will continue to fill that leader role as well. We do need to infuse more talent / depth at LB but I'd say DL and DB are bigger concerns.

Way to get the conversation going though...

 

[Greatest Fan of All]

I am expecting great things from Garrett Nelson...surprised that no one else has mentioned him to fill Gifford's spot. I think he could contribute much sooner than some other freshmen. It is very tough though, to break into the lineup as a freshman.