Pelini: Stop 'spreading' the news
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By the Lincoln Journal Star
You think Bo Pelini is kind of tired answering questions about the spread offense?
“Everywhere I read, I just keep reading about the spread offense. It’s like this is the first time it’s ever happened. It’s not a concern. It’s just part of the deal. The spread is just an element of the game,” said the Husker head coach, whose team will see some spread elements from San Jose State this week.
“Our offense incorporates a lot of elements of the spread, just maybe a different formation and different plays. I really don’t know how to respond much to the spread offense anymore. It’s been asked and answered. Everybody’s different. I understand the spread offense very well. I don’t worry about what it does to other teams. I worry about what it does to us. I don’t analyze the offenses. I don’t analyze the defenses that play it. It’s football."
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Pelini mixed in some humor along with his take on the media’s fascination with the spread at Tuesday’s press conference.
"I have red on today so we can get right to it today, right?" he said at the beginning, a joke aimed at a question he fielded last week about not having red on.
When it got down to Saturday’s opponent, Pelini was asked about the task of preparing for a San Jose State team that could use three quarterbacks.
"The offense doesn’t change much. They’re all good football players and they may have their strengths and weaknesses, but you can’t sit there and have three different game plans for three different quarterbacks. There aren’t enough hours in the day,” Pelini said. “I might call something a little different according to who’s in the game. I don’t see the offense really changing a heck of a lot. They only have so much time to practice too, so they have three guys running the same offense basically."
Pelini was disappointed by how many “explosive plays” his team gave up to Western Michigan in the 47-24 season-opening win.
What’s an explosive play?
"Ours is 16 per pass, 12 per run,” Pelini said. “It’s something we focus on and need to eliminate. There weren’t as many physical errors as there were mental and communication. That’s coaching and that’s something that we’ll get fixed. Some of them I put squarely on my shoulders."
THIS AND THAT: Justin Rogers, a DB/RB from Birmingham, Ala., and member of the 2008 Husker recruiting class, has qualified and is on campus. Three others of the class of 28 have still not qualified: wide receiver Antonio Bell, cornerback David Whitmore and offensive lineman David Grant. ... Blackshirts? “Someday,” Pelini said. ... Injury-wise, Pelini said cornerback Armando Murillo has recovered and is practicing again after missing last week. Safety Rickey Thenarse is day-to-day from a shoulder injury. Pelini said Major Culbert is “coming back” from an injury and hopes to have him available for this week’s game. ... The coach praised kicker Alex Henery for his four-for-four effort on field goals Saturday, saying, “I don’t know if there is anybody out there right now that is as accurate as Alex."
SCOUTING REPORT: S, Mason Wald: He was recruited by Nebraska and ... Samford. But when some Husker fans saw video clips of the hard knocks delivered by the 5-foot-11, 205-pound safety from Birmingham, Ala., Mason Wald became something of a fan favorite to recruiting followers.
He’s done well enough since arriving in Lincoln to be one of two true freshmen who played in Saturday’s opener — Millard North grad Sean Fisher being the other.
“When they told me they wanted to give me a shot at special teams, I said, ‘That’s fine with me. That’s what I want to do, as long as I can get on the field,’” Wald said.
While Wald doesn’t expect to be seeing time at safety anytime soon, he said picking up Pelini’s defense hasn’t been too difficult for him.
“The first week or so, it was tough,” he said. “But once you start learning concepts and what they’re trying to do, everything comes together.”
Opponent watch: Virginia Tech: After a shaky opening performance by quarterback Sean Glennon, Hokies coach Frank Beamer has pulled a change of direction and is not going to redshirt sophomore quarterback Tyrod Taylor after all.
Both Glennon and Taylor shared snaps last year. But Beamer announced in the preseason he was going to have Glennon start this season and redshirt Taylor to save him a season for down the road. But after a 27-22 loss to East Carolina, in which Glennon threw two costly interceptions, Beamer has changed his mind.
"I think we need as a football team what Tyrod Taylor can do for us. As we played the game last week, it became apparent,” Beamer said at his weekly press conference.
"I'm not going to get into who's starting, how much each will play," he added. "I've asked both quarterbacks not to do interviews this week. I want us to play a good football game this weekend. That's what we need to do."
The Hokies come to Lincoln on Sept. 27.
Just asking: How has the new 40-second play clock effected Pelini and his staff?
"I think there are issues on both sides,” Pelini said. “It happens fast. It’s a different deal now. ... When the offense runs a guy out there late, all of a sudden you’re trying to make a call and get a call out there.”
A lot has been made about offenses trying to deal with the new rule, but defensive guys like Pelini might have it even tougher since a defense is waiting to see what substitutions an offense makes so that it can match up properly.
“It creates some communication problems and some issues. To a certain extent, it makes it harder on the teams that don’t go into a huddle,” Pelini said. “It’s just an adjustment. I felt the difference defensively. I thought offensively, you know, you look up at the clock at the amount of time and by the time you’d look up there, there was 23 seconds on the clock.”
—Brian Christopherson
