Steven M. Sipple: Carl Pelini deserves kudos, too
Print
digg it!
Facebook
del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit
In the next week or so, NCAA football coaches can nominate staff members for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation’s top assistant coach.
Nobody asked me, but Carl Pelini, Nebraska’s defensive coordinator and defensive line coach, would seem to be a viable candidate.
“He gets through to us,” Nebraska defensive tackle Jared Crick said. “He knows how to push our buttons in the right way.”
He’s evidently doing something right.
Led by Crick and fellow defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska ranks third nationally in scoring defense, allowing only 11.0 points per game, and 10th in total defense (280.1 yards).
Pelini understands he may never again have the opportunity to coach a pair of defensive tackles as talented as Suh and Crick. That said, credit Pelini for helping push them to the greatness they’re showing this season.
Suh, who has made incredible strides since Pelini’s arrival at NU following the 2007 season, currently is second on the team in tackles with 56, just behind Crick’s 60. Have we mentioned that two interior linemen leading a team in tackles is, well, twilight-zone material?
Crick said Pelini, in addition to his motivational skills, is an excellent technician who stresses hand placement.
“If you can get in there hands first, you’re going to win every time,” Crick said. “That’s our biggest goal, and then we work from there.”
* Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini calls the defense, but trust me, Carl Pelini has a significant say both during the week and during games. Carl once told me that it’s his style to “aggressively pursue responsibility.” Which makes one wonder how much longer it’ll be before he aggressively pursues head coaching opportunities.
* By the way, Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson won the Broyles Award last season as the Sooners set the NCAA scoring record. This season — surprise! — a lot of Sooners fans are calling for his head. So it goes in the life of a coordinator. “Offensive coordinators always get heat because everybody can call plays,” Texas coach Mack Brown said earlier this season. Or at least everybody thinks they can call plays. Shawn Watson surely can relate, not to mention Tom Osborne.
* Yes, I advocated true freshman Cody Green becoming Nebraska’s regular starting quarterback a few weeks back. But you have to admire the way junior Zac Lee has taken charge the last two games. With Nebraska’s season teetering, he responded and no doubt enhanced his stature as a team leader, while perhaps locking down the starting job.
Best I can tell, Lee kept battling, as opposed to moping, during Green’s brief period as starter.
* Was it just me, or did Lee run the ball with more gusto Saturday?
* So, what to do with Green? No easy answers here, except to say that winning tends to fend off most evils. Bo Pelini and Watson have massaged the situation well to this point, using honesty and open communication. Winston Churchill couldn’t have pulled it off any better, although this story’s in its early stages.
* Nebraska offensive line coach Barney Cotton occasionally incurs the wrath of Bo Pelini, but the boss had to be pleased with the line’s strong finish Saturday.
“That last drive of ours, that’s what closing out a game is all about,” Cotton said. “We went big. We had to put hats on hats. I mean, I have to see the film. But it’s nice not coming off the field without points. The guys finished. That’s the bottom line.
“I hope we can use this as a building block because we’ve been working toward this.”
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
Most Commented Football