Let’s be honest: It’d take some kind of disaster not to beat Western Kentucky, the first team in Steve Pederson’s parting gift to Nebraska fans. (Just wait until next year! Ha!)
So the first five keys of the 2010 season would be wasted on the Hilltoppers. We’ll take the longer view, and provide five simple goals for the year as a whole. That is - if Nebraska wants to live up to realistic expectations.

And what are those?

In ascending order of difficulty: 11-1 regular season. A BCS Bowl. A Big 12 Championship.

Yep. No kidding. And barring some cataclysmic injuries along the offensive line - no excuses.

This year is the perfect storm of comfortable schedule, Bill Callahan’s best recruits and Bo Pelini’s development.

The defense is stocked with NFL talent coached by one of the game’s best defensive minds. The senior class is young, but big. The lines are deeper. The special teams units are among the nation’s best. And whether he plays nice with the media or he doesn’t, Bo has a team sold on his culture. For them and for him, it works.

It took a couple different guys to build it - but Nebraska, in 2010, is indeed back.

Now - five keys to proving it:

*A quarterback who wins games instead of not losing them: Bo’s a bit stuck here and I think we know it. In Taylor Martinez, he has a potentially explosive playmaker who will - because they all do - make rookie mistakes. Cody Green has the talent, but occasionally seems to distrust it and hesitate. Zac Lee throws the ball with gusto and can generally move the chains, but he’s an imperfect fit for the Bo’s vision. Plus, there were times in 2009 when he made utterly perplexing decisions.

If Bo knew Lee could handle the play-in, play-out pressure, I think, over the long haul of the season, he’d win the job. Initially, Husker fans can expect Martinez and Green to get a shot making a big splash in the dress rehearsals before Seattle.

*An offense that willingly throws on first down and purposefully runs on third and short: Shawn Watson should be creative, yet forcefully simple in certain moments. It’s not easy - but Watson knows how to do it. And if he needs to scheme around some weaknesses at quarterback, he does so with a passing game that zigs when the defense zags, and a running game that picks up tough yards when it must. Yes, you need depth and health on the offensive line to do that. For the first time since 2004, NU truly has it. Now - rebuild that Pipeline.

*Beating Texas: It’s damn important. Nebraska’s season leads up to and falls away from that mid-October game. The boost of confidence and momentum these still-wondering Huskers would get from upending the Longhorns could carry them through the end of year. UT, no matter what its record going into Oct. 16, would be a marquee win. It’s more been more than a decade. It’s time. A loss there, on national TV with the whole RedOut thing, will make for a testy last half of the season.

*A middle that can stop the run: NU’s cornerbacks are too experienced and athletic to consistently burn, and I think the front four, as a group, will rush the passer better in 2010 than it did in 2009. But Nebraska plays enough power football teams - Washington, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Colorado - that the central core of the Huskers’ defense - especially linebacker LaVonte David and safeties Anthony West and Dejon Gomes - will be tested. Nebraska’s D is among the fastest in the country. But it is nowhere near the biggest.

*The season Niles Paul’s been waiting for: And beyond Paul, the NU receivers as a whole. The senior from Omaha is unquestionably one of Nebraska’s leaders. The better he goes, the more effective his leadership is. As a triple threat - receiver/returner/ball carrier - Paul only has one equal in the Big 12 - Oklahoma’s Ryan Broyles - but he needs to ratchet up his game one more notch. And Nebraska has to get him the ball. Mike McNeill and Brandon Kinnie need to a solid, smart supporting cast. Kinnie’s time is still to come 2011. In 2010, he needs to exploit defenses that choose to double Paul.

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Here are offensive coordinator Shawn Watson's comments following Tuesday practice.

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Bo Pelini finally dished the dirt on his tenth-string quarterback.

“It’s a lefty who’s the head coach,” Bo joked, in one of his rare moments of levity this August.

And he explained why he hasn’t announced a starter between Zac Lee, Cody Green and Taylor Martinez yet, too.

“I don’t want it to become a circus,” he said.

Three rings. Clever, Bo.

More: “I don’t want them to deal with the scrutiny and all the other things that are going to go on. . If and when the announcement is made we handle that so we do the right thing by the kids. Not only the kid who’s going to be the starter but the kids who aren’t going to walk out there the first time. Because the competition’s ongoing.”

Well, OK.

Except that Lee is a senior who started 12 games last year. This isn’t his first, you know, circus.

And Green’s so chatty he could run for head antler down at the Elks Club. Even if Green uneasily wears the quarterback crown - his jittery play last suggested it - he doesn’t show it with the press.

That leaves, fittingly, the elephant in the room. The SoCal mystery magician.

I’m not calling Bo’s shot here. But you can damn well bet there’d be some message board clowns and bearded ladies chatting up the ascension of Taylor Martinez until the wee hours of morning, if that, indeed, is the direction Bo wants to head.

What to make of Martinez? Well, he wasn’t shot Tuesday, as some fans mistakenly believed after some genius editor at ESPN.com ran a Web headline that read “Taylor Martinez’s shot in Lincoln.” (You want evidence of the decline in education? Apparently some have forgotten the art of the apostrophe.) He can’t talk to the media, so we hacks can’t roll our bones or pass our tea leaves over his answers. He had a handful of nice plays in the Red/White Game, but that was at least two Texas ultimatums and three Missouri moans ago.

Is he that much more than a wild card? He must be to keep Bo from tabbing Lee, an eminently safe, solid pick, as Saturday’s starter. But what has he proven, really?

Maybe that’s why you start him Saturday.

Make Martinez produce right away, in a game that’s theoretically still in doubt. Put the pressure on. If Lee starts and stakes NU to a 14-point lead, Martinez has a built-in comfort level. Scoring the opening touchdown of the season, in front of 85,000 expectant fans, is different from scoring the third one.

That’s a risk of course. More for Martinez. But for Bo, too.

Green is now the wild card. He was last year’s version of Martinez as he dazzled reporters early last year with big runs and great quotes. Then Pick Six at Baylor and a shaky start vs. Oklahoma soured us on his prospects. Green needs time - more than Lee, and perhaps more than Martinez - to settle in and run the offense consistently.

He’s not a “quick twitch” guy. Give Green a six games to learn from his mistakes and he may be more the complete package than either one of them. But how much time does a national title contender have?

This we know: Bo is the Big 12 outlier when it comes to picking a starting quarterback. Colorado, Kansas, Kansas State and Texas Tech all had competitions during fall camp. All of them picked a starter last week. Tech’s Tommy Tuberville - selecting Taylor Potts over fan and team favorite Sticks Sheffield - took a ton of heat for basing his decision off of what amounted to one scrimmage. And yet, he pulled the trigger.

Bo will wait, the better to delay the circus. That may still, I suspect, come to town.

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No. 20 Cody Green, 6-4, 225, QB So.

What to do with this big, athletic guy who neither throws quite as well as Zac Lee nor runs quite as well as Taylor Martinez? Here’s a hint: Don’t give up on him. Although it would appear that Green isn’t right at the top of the QB heap, game performance - not work in scrimmages - will truly decide who commands NU’s offense for the Big 12 season. And it just might be Green. Yes, it may depend on Lee and/or Martinez faltering, but don’t count out that possibility. It’s happened before.

Green’s biggest challenge is settling down in the pocket, carrying out his reads, and playing the game at college speed. Physically, Green is the most gifted of NU’s quarterbacks. But his short stints during the 2009 season - and the 2010 spring game - revealed a guy who still seems a bit antsy.

If Lee and/or Martinez do steer the ship in the right direction, Green could be in line for a redshirt season. He could use what he never got to get last year.

See all of the Huskers: No. 50, No. 49, No. 48, No. 47, No. 46, No. 45, No. 44, No. 43, No. 42, No. 41, No. 40, No. 39, No. 38, No. 37, No. 36, No. 35, No. 34, No. 33, No. 32, No. 31, No. 30, No. 29, No. 28, No. 27, No. 26, No. 25, No. 24, No. 23, No. 22, No. 21

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Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson Thursday didn’t a drop even the hint of a hint on Nebraska’s three-man quarterback as fall camp comes to a close.

He frequently used two phrases: “We’ll wait and see” and “we’re still evaluating.” A few times during the 15-minute conversation with reporters - almost solely focused on the signal caller - Watson joined the two phrases together in a marriage of ambiguity.

Leaning against a table lined with flavored water and milk cartons shaped like bloated Hi-C boxes, Watson laughed and seemed at ease as a crush of media grew around him.

Tired of the QB subject, Shawn?

“I haven’t had to talk to you guys,” he joked.

Just ten days. Probably felt longer. We missed you, too.

“Everybody thinks you’ve got to do this thing like now,” Watson said. Deciding a quarterback.

Well, most teams do that at the end of the camp. Kansas, Colorado and Texas Tech did in the last week. CU tried the mystery reveal last year, with head coach Dan Hawkins waiting until game night, only to watch Buffalo fans boo his son.

Western Kentucky named its guy, and the head coach was furious with the kid three months ago. Nebraska did in 2007, choosing Sam Keller over Joe Ganz after two scrimmages.

OK, so maybe Watson makes a point.

He continued: “You don’t have to. You want to make sure you’re making the right decision and you’re giving it the time it needs.”

And how much time is that?

“We’ll decide when we decide,” Watson said.

So the OC is bullish on keeping a poker face. He was equally assertive about the progress of senior Zac Lee, sophomore Cody Green and redshirt freshman Taylor Martinez.

“They’ve all gotten better,” Watson said. “A lot better.”

To test their skills, Watson said, NU “turned it loose” threw the book, the kitchen sink and the Pelini Package of weird blitzes at them. Live rounds. Big hits. Let’s see who’s standing.

“We haven’t coddled them at all,” Watson said.

He insisted that the offense doesn’t have to change much, either, depending on which quarterback plays. Although Lee and Martinez, for example, appear to land on opposite sides of the quarterback spectrum, Watson said all three had to “strengthen their weaknesses” to stay in the hunt.

Lee became a better runner. Green improved his game management. Martinez polished up on his passing.

“It’s worked out good for us,” Watson said. “And it’s worked out good for them.”

The offense could look more like it did in 2008 with Ganz dipping and darting around, making plays. It could more closely resemble the 2009 Holiday Bowl plan - more conservative, but daring when necessary. Watson did not appeared worried, adding “we have lots of stuff.”

On the offensive line, Watson said he’d like to develop 12 guys who could play this year. One plugged in right after another when injuries strike. NU appears on course, he said, despite a season-ending injury to Mike Smith. Bo Pelini reported no serious injuries Thursday, despite several players not practicing.

In Smith’s wake, true freshman guard Andrew Rodriguez is, Pelini said, “working with the varsity” and seems a candidate to torch his redshirt. At left tackle, Watson said the position battle between redshirt freshman Jeremiah Sirles and junior Yoshi Hardrick remains ongoing. Hardrick missed practice Thursday, but Watson said he hasn’t missed a beat on the field, and players gush about his physicality.

“He gets everybody going,” said wide receiver Brandon Kinnie, one of Hardrick’s best friends.

Of Sirles, who’s never taken a snap in a college football game, Watson said, “Awesome. He’s good.”

Even Pelini partook in the communion of praise for the offense.

“I like what we’re doing scheme-wise,” he said. “I like what we’re doing personnel-wise. I feel real good about where our offense is.”

NU returns for another heavy practice Friday before, Pelini said, the Huskers will “back down” physically in preparation for Western Kentucky, which hasn’t won a game since Sept. 20, 2008 and has beaten exactly one Division 1-A team - Middle Tennessee State - in three years.

“We kind of doing some homework,” Pelini said. “Some of it’s guesswork.”

You want a report? You got it.

Particulars: Nebraska practiced for two-and-a-half hours on the fields east of the Hawks Championship Center.

What’s New: Camp is coming to a close, the most physical one in recent memory. NU will begin preparing for Western Kentucky, inasmuch as a team that’s lost 20 in a row warrants an extreme degree of preparation. Although a handful of players were spotted in gym clothes as the Huskers filed out of the Hawks, Bo Pelini reported no injuries.

Coach Quote: “It’s hard to let go of the position you coach. I always have an eye over there and I’m sneaking into their meeting rooms and stuff. I’m probably driving JP crazy.” - Defensive coordinator Carl Pelini on becoming more of a “walk around” DC. Pelini was joking. He seemed quite comfortable with his defensive coaching staff, in reality.

Player Quote: “I haven’t worked split out as a receiver at all this camp. I’ve worked strictly on the line. I’ve gained weight so I’m able to hold my own a little better.” - Sophomore tight end Kyler Reed

Notes:

*Nebraska fans won’t get a glimpse of him until next Saturday. But make no mistake - they will get to see junior linebacker LaVonte David, who has leaped the depth chart and is in the running to start despite being at NU for just one fall camp.

“He really gets the game,” Carl Pelini said. “He’s got an instinct for it. Not perfect. It’s not an easy system to learn. But he’s very instinctive with it. And that’s given him an opportunity to progress rapidly…we’ve been able to throw a lot at him and he’s really absorbed it well.”

David, of course, assumed a shot at the starting job when Sean Fisher went down with a season-ending injury. Behind him is junior Mathew May and sophomore Alonzo Whaley.

*His development is nowhere near complete, but left guard Andrew Rodriguez appears ready to burn his redshirt for 2010 as a backup for Keith Williams. Others who may: Defensive tackle Chase Rome and wide receiver Quincy Enunwa, of whom wideout coach Ted Gilmore is quite pleased.

“He’s turned some heads,” Gilmore told several reporters.

*Safety is a vastly different position for senior Anthony West, Carl Pelini said, but he’s found his natural spot and is hustling to get caught up on the mental aspect of the game.

“He can’t get enough route combinations thrown at him,” Pelini said. “Every time he gets a new one, he learns from it.”

*With depth on the defensive line, Carl Pelini expects to be tougher and more aggressive early in the season.

“We’ve started slow on the defensive line for a couple years - statistically speaking,” he said. “We didn’t have a lot of depth and in those hot, early games we got gassed. And that’s not going to happen. We’re eight, nine deep and I’m going to be comfortable rolling those guys through.”

Next Practice: Friday. It is closed to the media.

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Welcome to Husker Heartbeat - a sampling of links and quick wit to start your morning! Keep checking each morning, Monday-Friday, for new links! We look for the offbeat as well as the straightforward - so don’t just think of us as a typical link farm!

A quick abbreviation key FYI: OWH=Omaha World-Herald, LJS=Lincoln Journal-Star, CN=Corn Nation, BRN=Big Red Network, HI=Huskers Illustrated, BRR=Big Red Report. If we need to add more - we will. Others, like ESPN, are self-explanatory.

*LJS: Sipple asks whether Nebraska wants a game manager or game changer?

*OWH: Shatel doesn't think Taylor Martinez will start - but he will get time.

*Missouri linebacker Will Ebner arrested for DWI.

LJS: Doc Sadler likes Caleb Walker's athleticism.

*Ricky Henry has his moments, but he's improved his ability to the control the fury.

*What's in store for USC?

*Only 14 schools profited from campus athletics in 2009. Nebraska was one. So was Missouri.

*Tom Osborne opposes a 2 a.m. last call for alcohol in Lincoln.

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Six strong takes as fall camp gathers steam:

*Zac Lee’s back in the Nebraska quarterback race, and that’s a good thing, but don’t read too much into the comments of wide receivers who, after all, like to catch passes, and probably have the best chemistry with No. 5. If you asked Lee, Cody Green and Taylor Martinez to throw 50 passes of all varieties, Lee, with his training and background, probably wins that battle going away, even after elbow surgery.

Would NU run that offense in 2010 if Lee’s performance is too uneven to pull it off? No. And 40 passes per game isn’t the eventual direction of the Huskers’ attack anyhow.

Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson left the door open to using two quarterbacks “if it’s one tweaked toward talent and tweaked toward a special situation.”

“I’d be willing to think outside the box,” said Watson, who is nothing if not flexible.

Now - which of the three quarterbacks would most likely have a series of packages tailored to their skills?

*If you think Lee has motivation, try on Will Compton, who talked first in front of the media after Fan Day and had to answer questions about the loss of Ndamukong Suh, LaVonte David, Eric Martin and Sean Fisher before the sophomore got to mention what he’d been working on in the offseason (shedding blockers more quickly).

Compton got a bit of a bad rap from fans last year, in part because Phillip Dillard had to run through the doghouse two games too long before and Bo and Co. gave him a chance to play. Dillard was better player than Compton in 2009, and frankly should have been: That’s the difference between a fifth-year senior with something to prove and a redshirt freshman learning the ropes.

But the Bonne Terre, Mo., native is not far removed from being one of NU’s most sought-after recruits, and in 2010, you may see why. Compton’s plenty frisky and athletic; he just failed to read and react quickly enough against the spread to be effective last year. With a spring and summer full of technique and film work, Compton’s the guy to beat at linebacker - even over good friend Sean Fisher.

*Roy Helu’s been the most talented back since the day he walked on NU’s campus; even as a freshman, he had a step and burst that Marlon Lucky lacked.

But Rex Burkhead - who perhaps isn’t as talented, but is more versatile and tougher - is the right kind of guy to push Helu in his senior year. Good to hear, too, that Helu tweaked his summer training regimen just enough to stay on the field more in 2010. At full strength, he’s one heck of a sports car. Burkhead’s drive will help Helu stay tuned up.

*The absence of several scholarship players on the 105-man roster proves just how competitive Nebraska’s become under Bo Pelini.

Should NU force attrition this offseason to balance out class numbers and perhaps open up more scholarships for the 2011 and 2012 recruiting classes?

That’s not a pleasant thing to suggest, and not something that should become a habit. But if Pelini has the chance to hit the recruiting jackpot over the next two years, can he turn that down to keep certain non-contributing veterans on the roster? There is a particular logjam at receiver, where there are 13 scholarship players - and only three seniors - if Antonio Bell sticks at the position.

*With the release of the preseason top 25, I’ll say this: 2010 is the year that a number of established powers - Texas, LSU, Oregon and Florida among them - take a bit of a tumble, while teams like Arkansas, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Stanford inch upward. And TCU needs only to get past a game with Oregon State before it is on a collision course with an undefeated season. Ditto for Boise State’s game with Virginia Tech. Love it or leave it - both teams belong inside the top five, and would if coaches didn’t swing their votes toward conference foes.

*NU volleyball practice kicks off Monday, and here’s a bold prediction: Nebraska rolls through the Big 12 undefeated for its last run around the conference. Combine the returning experience with the trip to China, a new right side weapon in Megan Broekhuis and a slight rebuilding year at Texas, and you have the formula for a brilliant Big Red send-off.

And you’ll have more proof that while, yes, NU Coliseum is a perfectly cozy venue for college volleyball, it’s the team - not the arena - that makes the home-court advantage. When the rest of your single-game tickets sell out in an hour, as they did last week, it’s time to make your product accessible to more fans, and use the Coliseum for special games in the season ticket package.

The Bob Devaney Sports Center can be retrofitted to make for an excellent home, and while Husker volleyball will probably prefer in a survey to stay in the NU Coliseum, these aren’t the days to be looking hundreds of thousands of dollars - potentially a half-million in gate receipts - and saying “no thanks.”

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A funny and rare thing happened to Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini after his football team’s first practice of fall camp. Shortly after he started his chat with a caravan of cameras and reporters, half of those beatniks began to peel off, darting for one three guys stationed in a triangulation of fire around Bo.

Zac Lee. Cody Green. Shawn Watson.

The two NU quarterbacks and their offensive coordinator were the main attraction Saturday night, even if the biggest story of 2010 had barely scratched out a few paragraphs in its first chapter. Unsurprisingly, Watson - looking even trimmer than usual - declared the race between Lee, Green and Taylor Martinez “dead even” through approximately 150 minutes of football practice.

Shocker, huh? Here’s another: The trio will share the repetitions like three triplets divide the last scoop of lasagna.

“Even Steven,” Watson said.

Watson means it. Early in Saturday’s practice, Lee and Martinez alternated snaps at one station while Green took some inside the Hawks Center. The drills - indecipherable, really, while one stands there like stump on the sideline - shifted subtly from one to another.

“Hey” Watson yelled at some runner dressed in a breathable red shirt. “Get Cody Green out here! He needs to be a part of this!”

As if an advertising exec, Watson later talked of putting the quarterbacks in situations where they could test their “intelligence” and “resourcefulness” to “play big in big moments.”

Can a kid like Martinez, who’s never taken a snap in a college football game, really do that without, as Pelini calls it, “live bullets?”

Watson put this spin on it: “Cody’s played in a game, but I don’t think he’s played in a game the way he’d like it to be represented. I would say the same thing about Zac.”

In an ironic twist, the intrigue was the best-known quantity, Lee, the senior returning from elbow surgery that kept him out of spring practice. He started throwing full-bore three weeks ago in 7-on-7 drills. In Lee’s words, that’s when he really began to “torque it.” Before that, he was on “a pitch count,” which is explanation enough.

“I always felt pretty good throwing,” Lee said. “It was more what I was allowed to do.”

And yet, the expanse of summer meant “there was no reason to force it or accelerate the rehab,” Lee said. So he didn’t. And when he came back, he said, the arm felt good. Strong.

Wide receiver Brandon Kinnie called it “man, a rocket.” But it’s no great secret, at this point, that Lee has one hell of a fastball.

Where teammates noticed Lee had grown the most was in his command of the huddle and film work. Out for spring, Lee spent hours watching tape of his games to critique his play. Kinnie was surprised when, during 7-of-7 drills, Lee approached him with mistakes the quarterback made in 2009, and an explanation for how to get on the same page.

“I see a different person,” Kinnie said.

Watson agreed: “There’s purpose in his play. In everything that he’s doing.”

Said Lee: “I grab whatever I can and use it as motivation.”

Green finds himself in familiar territory.

“When I was a sophomore in high school, we had a little quarterback controversy-type deal - with a senior,” Green said. “So it’s basically the exact same thing here.”

With a dash of Martinez, the slender, quick redshirt freshman who can’t talk to the media until he plays a game.

This could be a long month of progress reports. Pelini said at Big 12 Media Days that he’s prepared to take this debate until the first conference game.

Said Watson: “Everything we do is centered around the quarterback anyway, and it’s even more so when you have a situation like we do now. But we are going to make sure that guy earns the job and clearly walks away from the others.”

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The Nebraska offense has experience and talent. But production, at a number of positions, left a lot to be desired in 2009. Here’s seven Husker offensive players who have plenty to prove in 2010. You’ll notice a heavy emphasis on two positions.

Center Mike Caputo: While the former walk-on capably filled in for Jacob Hickman at times in 2009, injuries prevented the Millard North grad from maximizing his potential. This year, he’ll have to fend off challengers for his job and use his strength to overcome being slightly undersized. He could be snapping to more than one quarterback, too.

Wide receiver Khiry Cooper: This kid has all the tools to be a terrific slot receiver. Speed, quickness, hands. Now he needs to work on running better routes and playing “football smart;” not easy when he spends all spring playing baseball. Still - Cooper has raw potential off the charts.

Wide receiver Curenski Gilleylen: He still might be too big and muscled to move with the quickness he needs in the slot, but Gilleylen needs to be a better deep threat, run without getting tripped in traffic and go after balls.

Quarterback Cody Green: Big, sturdy, smart and a good leader. Now - Green has to make the quarterback position look more natural by sitting in the pocket, processing reads and trusting the play to open up. As a runner, Green has to realize he can no longer outrun so many defenders to the corner. Get north/south.

Offensive tackle D.J. Jones: He lost the weight and tightened the screws on his assignments. Now a senior, D.J. Jones will battle Marcel Jones for the starting right tackle job, and perhaps win it. But he must follow through on a strong spring camp.

Wide receiver Brandon Kinnie: The junior practices hard, says the right thing, and wears a trademark smile almost all of the time. He’s easy to like. Now he needs to become a legitimate No. 2 receiver aside Niles Paul, not some guy who catches the ball once a game. Kinnie has the tools and the hype. Now - he just has to do it.

Quarterback Zac Lee: While head coach Bo Pelini wants to transition to a more balanced offense, Lee is still the best throwing quarterback on the team - and, if healthy and confident, the best option for Nebraska in 2010. He needs to be make better and quicker decisions with the ball, and run the zone read effectively, if not perfectly.

Tight end/H-back Kyler Reed: Reports are that the light went on for the ultra-talented sophomore during the spring, and he's more vocal and eager to mix it up with the defense. Reed isn't yet an every-down player, but he can create mismatch problems once or twice a game for some unsuspecting linebacker. Time to step forward.

See also: 7 Prove-It Players on Defense

Check Out Our Full Big 12 Preview: Big 12 Coaches, Quarterbacks, Running Backs, Wide Receivers, Offensive Lines, Defensive Lines, Linebackers, Defensive Backs, Commentary, 12 Best Players, Ten Overrated Players, Ten Underrated Players

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The golden era of Big 12 quarterbacks is drawing its curtain.

What a magnificent decade for the league’s signal callers. Three Heisman Trophy winners - Eric Crouch, Jason White and Sam Bradford. Two more runner-ups - Josh Heupel and Vince Young - won national titles in 2000 and 2005, respectively.

Texas’ Colt McCoy - also a Heisman runner-up in 2008 - became the winningest quarterback in college football history. Mike Leach disciples Kliff Kingsbury and Graham Harrell rewrote the record books at Texas Tech. Brad Smith and Chase Daniel altered the destiny of Missouri. Todd Reesing reinvigorated Kansas. Ell Roberson delivered Kansas State and Bill Snyder its only Big 12 title.

No lead was too big for them. No time remaining on the clock was too little. When their aim was on, these pistoleros left a lot of dead defenses in their wake.

But injuries to Bradford and Baylor’s Robert Griffin took two of the stars off the stage. Tougher league defenses - spearheaded by Nebraska’s Bo Pelini - initiated a subtle change in 2009. Reesing suffered through his worst season right when he should have peaked. Oklahoma State’s Zac Robinson struggled through injuries and inaccuracy. Ndamukong Suh wrenched Blaine Gabbert’s ankle so badly the Missouri sophomore wasn’t the same for a month. In the Big 12 Championship, Suh also reduced McCoy to a big-eyed, fast-footed Colt on the run. Tech sampled three different quarterbacks, settling on none. Then Leach was fired and a defensive-minded replacement, Tommy Tuberville, was hired in his place.

With that change as a backdrop, and in a year of transition - the last for Nebraska and Colorado - here are our rankings for Big 12 quarterbacks.

1. Missouri
Projected Starter: Blaine Gabbert (3,593 yards passing, 24 TDs, 9 INTs)
Strengths: Gabbert is our preseason pick for Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. When healthy, he’s mobile enough to evade a pass rush and he already possesses the league’s best arm. Gabbert also has the bulk of his offensive line returning. We see 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns for the junior. Weaknesses: Zero proven depth. The backup is likely to be true freshman James Franklin.

2. Oklahoma
Projected Starter: Landry Jones (3,198/26/14)
Strengths: Bradford’s injury opened the door wide for Jones to get a full year of relatively low-pressure experience. He has a good arm, guts and pocket presence. He’ll also have his four top receivers back. Weaknesses: Jones was an iffy decision-maker at times, and he seemed to hurried by OU’s no-huddle offense. The Sooners also have no proven backup.

3. Texas Tech
Projected Starter: Taylor Potts (3,440/22/13) or Sticks Sheffield (1,219/14/4)
Strengths: The Red Raiders have two proven starters, each of whom have played in, and won, important games. In a limited sample, Sheffield was brilliant, arguably the Big 12’s best quarterback. But he got hurt during a win at Nebraska and played sparingly thereafter. Potts looks more the part, but throws balls into coverage. Weaknesses: Two potential starters doesn’t necessarily make one great player. Plus - what does Tech become without Mike Leach to coach the offense? The “Air Raid” system wasn’t complicated, so perhaps Potts and Sheffield don’t miss a beat.

4. Texas A&M
Projected Starter: Jerrod Johnson (3,579/30/8)
Strengths: A senior, Johnson has all the tools - size (6-5, 243), arm strength, mobility (506 yards rushing). On occasion - such as in a 49-39 loss to Texas - he’ll throw passes so pretty and perfect you wonder if he’s the nation’s best quarterback. Weaknesses: But other times, he locks in on his target, or throws wildly high or wide of his intended receiver. Johnson passed roughly 40 times per game, and dropped back to pass 50 times per game, so he had tons of opportunities afforded to him by the Aggies’ terrible defense.

5. Baylor
Projected Starter: Robert Griffin (2,090/15/3 in 2008)
Strengths: Griffin tore his ACL in the third game of the 2009 season, but if he’s healthy, he’s one of the fastest, most exciting athletes in the Big 12. He limits mistakes, too, rarely throwing interceptions. Backup Nick Florence played pretty well for a freshman, completing 62 percent of his passes and engineering a 40-32 upset of Missouri. Weaknesses: Griffin will have to trust his knee, and that may take several games - or perhaps as long as a season. In 2008, he scrambled around too much and took bad, drive-killing sacks.

6. Iowa State
Projected Starter: Austen Arnaud (2,015/14/13) or J.T. Tiller (376/1/4)
Strengths: Both players are mobile and capable of creating plays on the run. Tiller is more dynamic and has the bigger arm. Arnaud is smarter and manages the offense better. ISU only took 16 sacks last year because of their athleticism. Weaknesses: Both throw interceptions and complete fewer than 60 percent of their passes. The Cyclones’ real strength in 2009 was their defense; the offense will be more exposed in 2010.

7. Texas
Projected Starter: Garrett Gilbert (310/2/4)
Strengths: Gilbert is a sturdy, big-armed talent who impressed UT coaches in the spring with his leadership. In the BCS title game loss to Alabama, he took some awful licks and still threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes. Weaknesses: Gilbert is a pocket quarterback with little experience, and Texas has been giving up an average of two sacks per game for the last three seasons - and that was with Colt McCoy in the shotgun! Bottom line: It’ll take time for the Longhorns to adjust to Gilbert’s skills and develop a running game. It’ll be a rough first half for the sophomore. Texas has no depth behind him, either.

8. Colorado
Projected Starter: Tyler Hansen (1,440/8/7) or Cody Hawkins (1,277/10/11)
Strengths: Hansen shows flashes - brief, mind you - of becoming a pretty good quarterback. He’s mobile, athletic and can throw a good deep ball. A full season with a solid offensive line would do him good. Hawkins, as a backup, is smart and capable of leading a touchdown drive. Weaknesses: Hawkins just isn’t tall enough (5-11, and that’s pushing it) or mobile enough to excel in a West Coast Offense; he took a ton of awful sacks in 2009. So did Hansen, for that matter. Accuracy is a problem for both.

9. Nebraska
Projected Starter: Zac Lee (2,143/14/10) or Cody Green (317/2/2) or Taylor Martinez
Strengths: Variety? Options? On a serious note - Lee, if healthy after elbow surgery, has a strong, reasonably accurate arm and throws a good-to-very-good deep ball. Green possesses a lot of raw tools, plus some running ability. Martinez is a mystery, an X-factor who could end up as Wildcat quarterback some of the time. Weaknesses: Lee was an iffy decision-maker at best. His running style opens him up for knockout shots from safeties. Green didn’t look ready for primetime in 2009, and there’s no guarantee he will now. Martinez hasn’t taken a snap. Finally, there’s this question: Are they all really suited for the same offense?

10. Oklahoma State
Projected Starter: Brandon Weeden (248/4/1)
Strengths: Weeden, a former professional baseball player, will bring maturity to the role, and OSU’s new offense, based on the “Air Raid” attack, should produce some gaudy numbers for the junior. We’re walking a bit out on a limb here, but we think the Cowboys lucked into a pretty good quarterback. Weaknesses: Aside from a fourth-quarter comeback over CU - Weeden did look pretty darn good - he’s obviously unproven. There is no Plan B who isn’t a freshman.

11. Kansas State
Projected Starter: Carson Coffman (860/2/4)
Strengths: Coffman had a good spring and he seems to be a good playaction passer. Good arm. Weaknesses: Struggled with accuracy early in the season. He’ll be throwing to all-new receivers. KSU is a running team -despite the Wildcats’ gaudy spring passes stats - so Coffman will be asked to manage the game, limit turnovers and let Daniel Thomas do the rest. Behind Coffman, the backup is a converted wide receiver and possibly a true freshman.

12. Kansas
Projected Starter: Kale Pick (22/0/0 167 yards rushing)
Strengths: Pick is mobile and has a sturdy size (6-1, 208). He worked as an option back next to Reesing in some games last year. He appeared to surge ahead in spring camp. He’ll enjoy KU’s best offensive line in several years, if that’s any consolation. Weaknesses: Little experience and his backups, Jordan Webb and Quinn Mecham, don’t have any.

Check Out Our Full Big 12 Preview: Big 12 Coaches, Quarterbacks, Running Backs, Wide Receivers, Offensive Lines, Defensive LinesCommentary, 12 Best Players, Ten Overrated Players, Ten Underrated Players

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Following the 2010 spring camp, Nebraska now looks back at the progress made by each position group - and what progress is yet to come.

Position: Quarterback

Spring Summary: As Zac Lee walked around the practice field in khaki shorts for all of spring, Cody Green and Taylor Martinez worked with the No. 1 and No. 2 units while Kody Spano and LaTravis Washington worked with the lower units. In the Red/White Spring Game, Martinez flashed his running talents while hitting a few big passes while Green hit a few bigger passes. Read more about it here and here.

Big Mover: Martinez. Against conventional thought and odds, he’s made his move in the quarterback race. He still has to fix his throwing mechanics a little more and manage the offense in a game situation, but his biggest boosters - The Brothers Pelini - are the right guys to have in his corner. T-Mart is open for business.

More to Prove: Lee. Let’s set aside his one decent game in the Holiday Bowl and get right down to it: Is he willing to conform to the new mold of NU’s offense and run the ball consistently and effectively, or does he want to hang in the pocket and play NFL quarterback? It does matter to his future at Nebraska. Lee has to execute the offense as scripted and called. Is he ready to run the ball ten times per game?

Wild Card: Martinez. With his throwing mechanics, he’s a risk in this offense right now. But we’re betting he gets a good, long look at the position.


Freshmen to Add: Brion Carnes, who is mobile enough and shows some pretty good talent as a passer. Carnes is a true dual threat, but he’s not the runner Martinez is.


Injuries: Lee is rehabbing from elbow surgery. Kody Spano continues to make the mental and physical return from two ACL tears.


How to Spend Summer Vacation: Martinez has to continue to polish his throwing motion. Green has to get in the film room and work on his accuracy. Lee has to get ready to be tested in the fall. He will be the frontrunner for the starting job, but the coaches will make their expectations of him very clear as it pertains to running the ball.

Spring Reviews on Quarterback, Offensive LineRunning Back, Wide Receiver, Tight End

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A dose of coachspeak or pigskin prophecy?

Time will tell, but Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini pointed Monday to a three-man quarterback race at NU between Zac Lee, Cody Green and Taylor Martinez that could extend well into fall camp - and potentially into the season.

And Pelini appeared comfortable with that reality.

“It’s a good position to be in,” Pelini said during the Big 12 Coaches’ spring teleconference. “We have three guys who we feel are capable and good football players. Competition will hopefully bring out the best in everybody. I’m looking forward to the race. Let the best man win. It possibly could be a combination of guys.”

Pelini said the QB competition “could go on for awhile.”

“I don’t know how it’s going to play out,” Pelini said. “We’re going to do what we feel is necessary to win football games.”

Sophomore Green and redshirt freshman Martinez dueled throughout spring, culminating with their performances in the Red/White Spring Game. Martinez flashed as a talented runner, gaining 60 yards on nine carries. Green threw for 155 yards, with a 72-yard touchdown to Will Henry.

Lee, a fifth-year senior, sat out spring rehabbing from elbow surgery. Pelini said Lee should be throwing “soon.”

“I don’t really know the timeframe,” Pelini said. “It’s for the doctors. When’s he able to go, he’s able to go.”

Although Lee watched “a lot of game film” and took mental repetitions in practice, Pelini said “there’s no substitute for actually doing it yourself.”

Pelini’s comments were a part of ten-minute interview that will likely serve as Bo’s parting shot for spring. Not one to give frequent interviews in the offseason, Pelini will be heading this week with offensive coordinator Shawn Watson to speak at Ohio State’s coaching clinic.

Other thoughts on Bo’s mind:

On using the loss to Texas as motivation for 2010: “Obviously we were close. I think guys are just hungry. People are anxious. They came here to win championships. That hasn’t happened yet…I look at the things we didn’t do in that game. We didn’t win because we didn’t earn it. In the end, I’m hungry to win a championship.”

On linebacker Alonzo Whaley, who led all tacklers in the Spring Game with nine: “He had a good spring. He’s in the mix. Just like all of them, he’s got a ways to go. He’s doing good things.”

On the Big 12 North rising to challenge the South: “All the recent Big 12 championships have been won by the South, so until the North does something about it then we’re not going to be all the way back. We’re about winning championships.”

Who do you think will win the job? Talk about it here!


See also: Spring Reviews on Running Back, Wide Receiver, Tight End

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Call Clint Eastwood. Nebraska’s offense has a couple of shotguns - the regular 12-gauge and a nasty little sawed-off version - to sell him. And the occasional fullback belly.

You didn’t see a bunch of NU’s retooled running attack in the Red/White Spring Game. But you saw enough to know this much: It’s quicker, more aggressive and more dangerous than last year. It’s power spread stuff, a hybrid of Florida, Oregon, Baylor, West Coast stuff and old-school Tom Osborne.

“And then we’re coming up with our own twist,” offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said.

The line splits are wider. The targets and blocking assignments are simpler. The running backs - especially Rex Burkhead but even Roy Helu - are more decisive. Sweeps and veer plays and counters. A seven-yard shotgun formation and a quick-hitting four-yard formation, which offensive line coach Barney Cotton wanted to make sure was not called the Pistol.

Well, call it effective, either way, for the Red/White Spring Game - to the tune of 259 rushing yards.

“We studied football hard this winter,” Watson said. “We had a great winter. Our kids are grasping it. We sat down to make things easier, faster. More aggressive attitude. They did a great job. I’m talking our offensive line, our tight ends. Our receivers are huge.”

And when redshirt freshman Taylor Martinez is the guy running the zone read, that defense is on skates. Heck the White Defense, for several drives, was doing the roller derby, waiting for Martinez to finish his three-card Monte with Burkhead before picking a poison to tackle. More often than not, Martinez was a step ahead of the defenders, scampering with his short, choppy strides into green space.

“We had him 3rd-and-7, 3rd-and-8, and he just kept drives going,” safety Rickey Thenarse said.

“Very explosive,” cornerback Prince Amukamara said “I love when the ball’s in his hands. It’s really exciting.”

Said Watson: “He can put a foot in the dirt and go.”

But can Martinez win 10 or 11 in 2010? Can he win a Big 12 Championship? Can he, with his quirky throwing motion and chasm of inexperience, really storm the fortress and win the starting job?

Maybe. But he’ll have to storm uphill to do it.

Watching Martinez force two passes into coverage - one of which was intercepted, while the other should have been - gives any frequent shopper at T-Mart pause. Plus: Is he a leader? Can the team follow him into a national title chase? The kid won’t talk to the media once before the 2010 season opener - how does he handle the camera and tape recorder crush?

Martinez is a weapon. No doubt. But is he the side dish? Or the whole side of Big Red beef?

Cody Green’s play raised more questions than it answered. Green tossed two decent deep balls to Niles Paul and Will Henry, but otherwise looked like the same shaky passer from the Holiday Bowl. Too often with Green, it’s Niles or bust. Great when Niles gets open. Not so much during the season, while No. 24 is bound to get double coverage every time he smells a slant pattern.

Unfair? Maybe. Green’s a high-energy guy who’s better when he gets in a rhythm. But he struggles to find the rhythm. Green rushed five times for 12 yards. His zone read fakes were fine; his ability to elude tacklers was not.

Fans who expected a dazzling, confident Green didn’t get one.

Which leaves Zac Lee.

He dressed in a jersey and khaki shorts Saturday, and spent the day with headset watching from the sideline. Rehabbing this spring after elbow surgery, he didn’t give interviews this spring; if Lee has his way, he won’t be giving any this summer, either.

“I think Zac feels like he missed a lot,” Watson said. “When you miss reps, you miss a lot. He’ll have to make up for it. And he knows it.”

And yet the San Francisco senior remains the leader at the summer turn. He’ll have to earn the starting job, but, based on the current evidence, he’s the only passer in the lot who can win a game when the defense puts a plug in that shotgun run.

“You’ve got to be able to throw the ball,” Watson said. “Balance comes from throwing the ball.”

That’s Lee.

In his next breath, Watson said this: “But you have to be able to run, too. Because that gives you another element. It’s just a simple game of math, really. With the quarterback added to the running game, defensively they’re down a hat.”

That’s Martinez.

Green appears to be a blend of both.

If Lee could sharpen his running skills. If Martinez could somehow read and process coverage he won’t see until the fall. If Green could simply play to the level of his tools and personality.

If.

See you in August.


SPRING GAME COVERAGE: 5 Questions for Summer, Game Story, QB Commentary, Red Team Standouts, White Team Standouts, Photos

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Even without a Nebraska uniform, Ndamukong Suh found a way to dominate Saturday’s Red/White Spring Game with his $2.6 million gift to NU - which included a cool $2 million for the strength and conditioning program.

“I specifically asked that this gift be used to help other future Huskers as they train in the strength and conditioning center,” said Suh, soon to be picked in the top five of the 2010 NFL Draft. “This incredible facility helped me earn all the honors I was so privileged to receive this past season, and I believe this gift can help make this facility the very best in the country.”

The game itself? Oh, it was on, with the Red (pants!) nipping the White 21-16 in front of 77,936 fans at a sun-splashed Memorial Stadium. Unveiling a retooled, shotgun-based power running game - mixed with a deep playaction passing attack - the offenses chugged up and down the field, racking up 677 total yards.

“We’re pleased with how we’ve come along,” offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. “We’ve been constantly evolving. That’s my job. That’s our job as an offensive staff.”

The Red and White defenses, trapped in a vanilla base for much of the game, suffered at times but often bowed its back at the right moments, forcing two 52-yard field goals - both missed by Adi Kunalic - and two turnovers during the game. The White standouts appeared to be Alonzo Whaley (nine tackles) and Rickey Thenarse (seven and an interception) while the Red got three tackles and a sack from reserve defensive end Josh Williams.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Taylor Martinez semi-delivered on the considerable media hype entering the game by throwing two touchdowns to give the Red a 14-3 lead. He passed for 79 yards and rushed for 60, working a deft, quick zone read with backfield mate Rex Burkhead, who rushed for 36 yards on the game’s first two drives. Martinez forced two passes, one of which was tipped by Alfonzo Dennard and intercepted by Brandon Kinnie.

But the White, aided by a 72-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Cody Green to senior Will Henry, scored the next 13 points. Green was hot-and-cold as a passer, finishing 7-of-15 for 155 yards and the touchdown. While Green hit Niles Paul for a 48-yard gain, he badly overthrew tight end Mychael McClure for a sure touchdown and threw behind two other receivers. Green rushed for 12 yards.

“We got to go out there and basically executed the things that Coach Watson and the offensive coaches wanted to be executed,” Green said.

The plan, Watson said, was only to play Martinez and Green one half. They did, with Green holding the slight edge in total yards - thanks to two long passes - while Martinez appeared to be the better, more comfortable runner. Neither were able to move the ball in two-minute drills.

Pelini and Watson wouldn’t even consider declaring a leader between the two for the Spring Game or spring camp in general; that would go against, Watson said, “fair competition.” Incumbent starter Zac Lee joins the fray next fall after spending the spring recovering from elbow surgery.

“Everything gets earned,” Watson said. “It’ll be clear who the starter is whenever it reveals itself. I have no timetable on it.”

Said Pelini: “Everyone is in the race for the starting job. There are no starting jobs locked down right now. Competition is on; this is just a small part of the evaluation.”

In the fourth quarter, sophomore reserve Kody Spano, limited to handoffs and basic passing plays, nevertheless led a 13-play, 69-yard touchdown that culminated with his one-yard pass to Ryan Hill, accounting for the final score. With a running clock for much of the second half, Husker fans were out of the stadium in time for four o’clock high tea.

Paul was the game’s offensive standout; he caught five passes for 103 yards, including a leaping, one-handed grab on a trick “bouncearooski” play in which Green threw a backwards pass to tight end Mike McNeill, who heaved the ball to Paul, drifting behind corner Prince Amukamara. Paul and Amukamara were matched up most of the day; No. 24 beat No. 21 several times.

“Prince came up to me after the game and was like, ‘You may have won the battle, but you didn’t win the war,’” Paul said. “I told him that was the war for spring ball, so the battle’s over.”

As is spring camp, which to a Husker, should be marked as progress and growth for the 2010 season.

“I like the things that we were able to get done,” Pelini said.

Said Green: “We had a heck of a spring. We went out there and basically had 15 games because we went out there and just got after it. That’s the only thing you can ask for an entire team.”

Said defensive tackle Jared Crick: “We’re wanting to come out with a product better than where we ended last year going into fall camp. I think we’re there so far.”

What awaits them - and fans - is a long summer of working out and waiting, as Nebraska continues to collect accolades, high preseason rankings and media-based hype, with one question still hanging in the air: Who is this team’s starting quarterback?

SPRING GAME COVERAGE: Game Story, QB Commentary, Red Team Standouts, White Team Standouts, Photos

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Five questions worth asking - in hopes of an answer - heading into Saturday’s Red/White Spring Game:

Just how vanilla? Is there a hint of flavor in Nebraska’s offensive plays, or does NU offensive coordinator Shawn Watson rest on what the Huskers were able to accomplish in a couple scrimmages. The blocking schemes and philosophy have changed since we last saw this team. Nebraska can’t simply ignore all of what it’s been working on for the sake of privacy. Or can it?

Does the empire strike back? NU’s defense took its licks in the spring scrimmages; does a dialed-down offensive package allow Carl Pelini’s bunch to deliver a few licks of their own? Nebraska’s new-look offensive line is bigger, stronger and more athletic than the 2009 version, so it may not be so simple.

Which quarterback makes a statement? And by “which” we mean Cody Green or Taylor Martinez. There is a chance - remote, but plausible - that Martinez blows the doors off with some spectacular run, but our money is on Green having the best chance to step forward - or fail to close the gap on Zac Lee, who, in our eyes, is still the starter of this team.

Does Nebraska have two starting linebackers worthy of Phillip Dillard’s one-year legacy? Yes, two. NU plays enough pro-style teams on the road in 2010 (Washington, Texas A&M, Kansas) that it can’t just rely on its dime defense. With Texas reconsidering a power game and Colorado building what could be a very potent offense, the play of Will Compton, Eric Martin, Sean Fisher and Alonzo Whaley should be of some interest to Husker fans.

Is the Peso a pretty picture? Moreover: Will you even notice if it isn’t? Count on Eric Hagg to get the job done. We’ll see about Austin Cassidy.

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Almost 100 players could see playing time in the Red/White Spring Game.

But here’s the guys you absolutely want to keep an eye on Saturday. A mixture of unproven talents - and counted-upon guys with still something to prove.

Center Mike Caputo: How does he handle the line of scrimmage? How well does he exchange with a variety of quarterbacks? More importantly, how does he control that initial jam from the interior defensive line. Reports said Caputo had a solid camp, and he’s the easy frontrunner to replace Jacob Hickman. On Saturday, he can cement his starting role even more.

Wide receiver Curenski Gilleylen: We’ll see if No. 11’s spring comeback tour continues on Saturday or slows down at the finish. We heard so much about Menelik Holt, you’ll recall, last spring, only to watch him get blanketed by walk-on cornerbacks in the spring game.

Quarterback Cody Green: I’m watching for the confidence that comes with experience. What does that look like? Good footwork. A consistent release point. Throwing to someone other than Niles Paul. Buying time instead of bailing out. If Green can manage his emotions - he can manage the offense.

Linebacker Eric Martin: It’s no secret that “Caveman” knows what to do with a ball carrier once he gets there. It’s his path to getting there that bears worth watching. If Martin is taking wide, extended routes to the ball because he misread the play or got held up by a blocker, consider it a poor day for the sophomore.

Quarterback Taylor Martinez: You knew he’d make the list. His goals are simple: Make the throws he’s been asked to make and don’t try too hard. Watch for tosses over the middle especially. Just how well can Martinez see over that massive offensive line?

Defensive back Lazarri Middleton: In our eyes, the most promising of the young defensive backs. He’ll get his chance more in the second half of the game.

Defensive tackle Terrence Moore: Nebraska’s going to need this kid badly in 2010; I just don’t buy NU consistently trucking two 6-foot-6 interior linemen (Jared Crick and Baker Steinkuhler) out for 40, 50 snaps together each game. Moore needs to be explosive and disruptive.

Defensive tackle Thad Randle: He’ll be at a 50-pound disadvantage for most of the afternoon, but if he’s the explosive, savvy player Carl Pelini’s made him out to be, Randle could be a redshirt freshman surprise.

Running back Tray Robinson: His role last season was so narrow - run hard between the tackles - that Husker fans may have a misconception about his talent. Be prepared to be surprised. NU running backs coach Tim Beck really likes this kid. Saturday, you may find out why.

Safety Anthony West: A handful of Husker insiders argue West always should have played safety. He’ll get a long, loving look at the position Saturday. Carl Pelini and Marvin Sanders will be looking for aggressive tackling and an understanding of coverage. Remember - West got roasted by Wes Cammack in last year’s spring game for a long touchdown.

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A final exam it isn’t, but the Red/White Spring Game tends to be, well, the best-attended of the Nebraska football team’s 15 spring practices.

And though head coach Bo Pelini previewed Saturday’s glorified scrimmage with the phrase “really basic football,” the stage and audience isn’t lost on him. Memorial Stadium should be packed and excited, especially with a weather forecast of sun and temps in the 60s.

“You get them in front of seventy, eighty-thousand people and see how they respond in that type of environment,” Pelini said after NU’s workout Wednesday.

Aside from that, Pelini said, “it’s just another evaluation.”

“We’re not going to show a whole heck of a lot,” Pelini said. “We want to see fundamentals and technique. It’s not going to be a lot of ‘scheme’ things.”

The Huskers will hold a player draft to divide the team “right down the middle,” Pelini said, and most of the offensive playbook will stay under wraps. The clock will run normally for the first half. Depending on repetitions and depth, the third quarter clock might stop at the appropriate times, as well.

“If we have to start taking guys from one team and putting them on another team, that’s not the most ideal situation,” Pelini said.

Pelini was certain the clock would run continuously in the fourth quarter.

Of the quarterbacks, only sophomore Kody Spano will wear a green jersey, Pelini said. Cody Green was back in red Wednesday. While the quarterbacks will be “a little bit hamstrung” by conservative playcalling, Pelini said, coaches would allow them to run.

“It just gives them an opportunity to go out there and control the huddle, run the offense,and make the reads they’ve been coached to do,” Pelini said of the signal-callers.

Don’t expect much to be settled by their performances, though. That goes for the rest of the team, too.

Nebraska treated this spring as a month-long learning lab, trying to get younger players up to speed so they could provide the depth - especially on offense - that the Huskers were lacking toward the end of 2009. That meant a high-repetition, grueling, physical camp that left a number of players nursing minor injuries this final week.

“It was a physical spring,” Pelini said. “A lot of live work. We got after it. It was all ‘good on good’ from start to finish. We got a lot of guys reps…very productive.”

On top of players who have been sitting out most or all of spring practice - quarterback Zac Lee, offensive guard Ricky Henry and linebacker Mathew May - add offensive tackles Yoshi Hardrick and Mike Smith to players doubtful or out of the spring game.

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A train reaching its spring game destination, the Nebraska football team Monday kicked on the brakes, slapping a green jersey on quarterback Cody Green and sitting a number of Huskers, including quarterback Kody Spano and offensive linemen Mike Smith and Yoshi Hardrick.

Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson told reporters Green wore the green “hands off” jersey as a precaution for an unspecified injury. Green is not giving interviews until after the Red/White Spring Game.

“We’re just giving him a day not to get beat up,” Watson said. “Nothing serious.”

Watson did not say whether Green would don the green for Saturday.

Spano, recovering from two knee injuries, had been wearing a blue jersey, then switched to green. Hardrick broke his hand earlier in camp and had been wearing a giant cast for protection.

NU practiced for two-and-a-half hours inside the Hawks Championship Center.

“I think we’ve improved, but we haven’t done anything yet,” running back Rex Burkhead said. “We haven’t played one game, so you really can’t tell. I think we’re coming along really well in the passing game and the running game.”

A Wednesday practice remains, followed by a short Thursday workout where the Red and White teams are chosen via player draft.

Head coach Bo Pelini will give his final address to the media before the spring game on Wednesday.

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Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson was all smiles Saturday as he spoke with the media after NU’s 11th spring practice.

“Get to coach football in the morning and watch The Masters in the afternoon,” Watson said. “Doesn’t get any better than that.”

The Cornhuskers’ offense might have had something to do with the bounce in Watson’s step, too.

Watson said his unit, much-maligned in 2009, is “farther ahead than we thought we would be” in spring, especially some of the younger players who might be experiencing their first or second camp.

“They’re assignment-sound,” Watson said. “They’re starting to execute technique and you can see the fundamentals coming out.”

Usually, Watson said, young guys just “run plays,” making typical mistakes of inexperience. Instead, they’re pushing the veterans at a variety of positions.

Offensive line is one source of that competition, where a number of the elder linemen, Watson said, are feeling the “heat” of redshirt freshmen like Jeremiah Sirles and Brent Qvale.

“The younger players have come in and have flashed on film, become more consistent on film,” Watson said. “All those things heighten your sense of urgency if you’re a veteran player.”

At running back, sophomores Tray Robinson and Rex Burkhead are pushing senior Roy Helu.

“A year ago, (Roy) didn’t have that type of competition,” Watson said. “Now he’s got it.”

NU already appears to be polishing its revamped running game with simpler blocking assignments and spread principles. Quarterbacks Cody Green and Taylor Martinez are running more, and Nebraska is utilizing more backs and different shotgun formations to create variety.

“What we’re doing scheme-wise is really good,” Watson said. “It fits our personnel. You see the breakout runs and explosion runs that we’ve had, and it’s enough to get anybody excited.”

Nebraska ran a “base practice” on Saturday, Watson said, with stations at both ends of the Memorial Stadium field. Though the media isn’t allowed to watch practice, the workout didn’t appear to have the feel of last week’s 150-play script.

The goal for NU’s final week? “Stay humble,” Watson said. “Keep working.”

Watson didn’t expect to cover the parameters of the Red/White Spring Game until next Wednesday.

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A brisk breeze notwithstanding, Nebraska’s football team picked a perfect day - mild temperatures, cottonball clouds - to conduct its first spring practice inside Memorial Stadium.

The special guests: More than 900 high school coaches circling the field as part of the NU Coaches’ Clinic. Mostly decked in windbreakers of their own school colors, coaches took in the Huskers’ two-hour workout, taking notes and remarking on the speed and size of certain players. Later Friday night, they listened to former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who flew in as the clinic’s featured speaker.

“We try to give back,” head coach Bo Pelini said. “We learn a lot from them when they speak. I like it. It’s always a good weekend.”

Pelini said Bowden, recently retired from FSU, was an “obvious” choice for the clinic. Bowden is a close friend of Nebraska AD Tom Osborne.

“A legend and everything,” Pelini said. “I think it’s great to have him here.”

On Saturday, the Huskers conduct a major scrimmage comprised of basic plays designed to test the fundamentals - effort and technique - while gauging the progress of some individual players.

Chief among the intrigues is the quarterback position, specifically redshirt freshman Taylor Martinez, who’s spent most of his time at Nebraska on scout teams. He’ll now get his most extended crack at operating NU’s shotgun-based West Coast-spread attack.

“He’s a tremendous athlete,” Pelini said of Martinez.

Sophomore Cody Green will get his share of snaps, of course, while incumbent starter, senior Zac Lee, does conditioning drills while his elbow tendon heals from surgery.

“It’s going to be a good go,” Pelini said. “Roll it out there and let them play. See how much they’ve learned.”

The scrimmage is closed to the public, and should wrap up in the mid-afternoon.

Notes:

*Pelini said backup cornerback Justin Blatchford is out for the rest of the spring after knee surgery. He offered no timetable for Blatchford’s return other than the special teams starters will make “a full recovery.”

*Pelini said he “doubts” junior linebacker Mathew May will return for spring. He’s been battling a groin injury.

“We think that he’ll be fine when the time comes,” Pelini said.

*Junior left tackle Yoshi Hardrick broke a bone in right hand, but will finish spring camp is a massive, molded cast, which did not appear to affect him during drills Friday.

“He really wants to finish up the spring,” Pelini said. “We’ll just get it fixed afterward.”

*Although senior kickoff specialist Adi Kunalic had expressed a desire to potentially redshirt next year to get a chance at kicking field goals in 2011, Pelini was unwilling Friday to commit to such a plan.

“We’re about the here and now and doing what’s best for the football team,” Pelini said. “How that plays out I don’t know. I can’t look into a crystal ball…right now he’s our kickoff guy and that’s the way it’s going to be until we decide something else.

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Sporting an Abe Lincoln beard and his trademark big smile, Nebraska quarterback Cody Green walked off the practice field Saturday morning sporting a cut-off Superman t-shirt.

How’s that for symbolism?

I can hear the OC’s groan from North Stadium. Shawn Watson wants no part of a depth chart, an anointing, or anything else. Nor should he. The quarterback question is arguably the last one he needs to answer right now.

Who be the QB? Well, who be the WR? And who be the LT? Where be the depth? What be the identity?

As followers of Nebraska’s 2009 team know: Surround the captain with iffy-or-broken parts, and give him ever-changing directions to port, and you’ll get a sinking ship. As lovely as the Holiday Bowl looked, don’t kid yourself: Arizona wasn’t NU nasty. And the Pac 10, save USC, is still a chummy little brother to the Big 12.

So Watson has to keep one eye on the whole franchise. The other eye is on the quarterbacks. With a focus on Green.

Frankly he’s hard to miss right now.

He’s bulked up to 230 pounds, and all the extra weight appears to be muscle. His deep ball has more zip and accuracy in practice drills. Green said he’s done a “180” in managing the offense.

“I watched every play we had at least three times,” Green said.

Watson even showed him some 2008 cut-ups featuring Joe Ganz, now a NU intern.

“He studied, and you can see it out here on the field,” Watson said. “He’s got a long way to go, but you can see it, the time he’s spent.”

And Green tied Steve Taylor’s quarterback record for a 10-yard dash at 1.5 seconds.

“I kind of got upset when I found out I actually tied it,” Green said. “I wanted to go out there and break it.”

Taylor, though, was four inches shorter and probably 30 pounds lighter.

But the best part of Green - his likeability, his confidence - did not change. Some players - even great ones - turn sour after a year in the fishbowl. Those smiles become contempt for the criticism - or even the attention - that comes with playing at a school like Nebraska. Some get that edge from their coaches. Some develop it on their own.

Green freely admits his errors in 2009 - nerves and game management - and his strides to correct them. He still has a sparkling confidence about his ability as a runner - underused by Watson last season - to the point where he welcomes a spring without green jerseys.

“I’m a big guy. I like to run and hit people” Green said. “…I’m 230 now. I’ve got a lot body to throw around.”

With incumbent starter Zac Lee on the shelf for the spring, Green can’t wrest away the starting job.

Head coach Bo Pelini regards spring practice as one phase of the offseason, which includes winter conditioning and a long summer of chemistry-building and self-scheduled workouts away from the coaches. Don’t discount May-August. Niles Paul made that leap last summer from a kid who missed the last week of spring practice to Nebraska’s lone playmaker at receiver.

So Lee has four months to make his case. Plus, he left his best impression in the Holiday Bowl.

Green made no impression in San Diego. But he didn’t spend January and February mourning his mistakes, either. A week in spring is worth, what, half of a scrimmage in the fall? So praise must be tempered. But Green, for now, has set the right tone.

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It’s all of three practices into the Nebraska football team’s spring camp, and coordinator Shawn Watson is still installing the very basics of the 2010 offense.

“We’re not trying to scheme each other, just trying to introduce guys to plays,” Watson said after Saturday’s two-hour workout in the Hawks Championship Center.

It was the first day the Cornhuskers were allowed to don pads, so Watson, naturally, wasn’t about to hand out any blue ribbons for performance.

And yet, well, inquiring minds, cameras and tape recorders…

Watson obliged with a brisk eight minutes of cautious optimism after a rocky 2009 that, at very least, ended well: 396 total yards in a 33-0 thumping of Arizona in the Holiday Bowl.

“It’s a fresh start,” Watson said. “We’ve got some new things we’re doing, tweaking ourselves, that have been fun to do.”

Nebraska finally has a little depth at the offensive line to tinker and experiment. Two-deep across five positions, Watson said. Three-deep at some spots.

Senior Mike Smith is working at guard and center after starting for two years at tackle. NU wants “guys inside who can run,” Watson said, because the Huskers pull and trap so often.

Junior left tackle Yoshi Hardrick has a “hot motor,” while redshirt freshmen Jeremiah Sirles (left tackle) and Brent Qvale (right guard) possess “natural talent” that belies their youth.

“There’s a skillset there,” Watson said of the duo. “We’ve got to develop it.”

Not surprisingly, Watson said little of the quarterbacks. Senior Zac Lee, out for spring while recovering from elbow surgery, can still improve his footwork and take mental reps.

Sophomore Cody Green remains a “work in progress,” Watson said. But film study in January and February has helped.

“We watched the offense over and over and over again,” Watson said. “It helps the learning curve. He studied, and you can see it out here on the field. He’s got a long way to go, but you can see it, the time he’s spent.”

Watson applauded the extra weight put on by running back Rex Burkhead. And he acknowledged that senior Joe Broekemeier, a former Husker baseball pitcher, has “flashed” at wide receiver despite converting to the position late last fall.

“He’s got an instinct, a presence,” Watson said.

A fourth practices awaits Monday, with Bo Pelini and probably defensive coordinator Carl Pelini, sharing their thoughts.

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On Tuesday Bo Pelini promised that his offensive line, riddled with injuries during the 2009 season, wouldn’t hold back in spring practice.

As workouts kicked off Wednesday, Pelini added that he would limit starting right guard Ricky Henry for most - and potentially all - of camp as Henry recovers from shoulder surgery.

“He’s doing real well,” Pelini said. “He might be out there later on for individual (workouts) and stuff like that. But more than likely he’s out for all spring. It’s nothing long-term.”

That curveball aside, NU began spring camp with no hiccups, working out for close to three hours in jerseys and shorts inside Hawks Championship Center. Pelini described an afternoon of basics, individual work and needed reps for young players.

“It was what you expect from a first day,” Pelini said. “Really liked the effort and intensity. Guys were flying around…it’s never as clean as you’d like it to be on the first day because there’s a lot to learn.”

Nebraska will don pads later this week, and possibly scrimmage more this spring than last, Pelini said, to get its young stable of quarterbacks, including sophomore Cody Green, more work.

“They’re under fire every day…the competition is on,” Pelini said.

Green, mobbed by a dozen reporters, said “I’ve done a 180” in terms of preparation for the 2010 season, compared to his freshman season, when a severe groin injury limited him during spring camp. Green’s gained weight and tied former Husker Steve Taylor for NU’s fastest 10-yard dash time at quarterback.

“During the winter conditioning, I was up here every day for multiple hours,” Green said. “I watched every play we ran at least three times. That’s just what the coaches wanted to do.”

Green called the help of former Nebraska quarterback Joe Ganz - now a NU intern - “amazing.”

“You can actually get a player’s perspective,” Green said.

Notes:

*Other than Henry, redshirt freshman tight end J.T. Kerr, junior linebacker Mathew May and redshirt freshman cornerback Andrew Green all missed practice Wednesday; none appeared to be dramatically injured. Pierre Allen missed practice because of class. Among quarterbacks, only sophomore Kody Spano wore a green jersey. Senior quarterback Zac Lee, out for all of spring, watched drills and fetched cones while sticking close to the quarterbacks.

*Former running back/wide receiver Marcus Mendoza was working at a third position Wednesday: cornerback. Mendoza donned the white jersey of Husker defenders and participated in all of position coach Marvin Sanders’ drills and stations.

“He’s a great athlete,” Sanders said. “First day. Thinking a lot. We’ll get him on film then and get some things corrected. Marcus wanted to do it. He wanted to do anything he could to help.”

*Former NU center Jacob Hickman was on site instructing some of the Nebraska linemen. Hickman chose not to pursue a professional career - he declined a preferred invite to the NFL Scouting Combine - but expressed some desire to get into coaching.

*Starting left tackle Mike Smith indeed dabbled at center, where junior Mike Caputo is the presumed starter. Redshirt freshman Jeremiah Sirles and JUCO transfer Yoshi Hardrick worked at left tackle. Former tackle Brandon Thompson, now a sophomore, slid down to the right guard spot with redshirt freshman Brent Qvale. Redshirt freshman Nick Ash worked at left guard. At right tackle - the usual duo of Marcel and D.J. Jones.

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QB Cody Green, 6-4, 220, So.

Here’s the moment for the Dayton, Texas native. Although Green can’t officially win the job in the spring, he can put injured incumbent Zac Lee is a fairly deep hole. That happening hinges, in our view, on two things:

1. Green consistently completes the short curls, slants and sideline outs that are a staple of most passing offenses, but especially so in a West Coast passing attack.

2. He is allowed to show off the running ability that makes him a more dangerous option than Lee.

Over the last half of the season, Green appeared tentative and uncertain running the ball, which contrasted with his bolder play at the beginning of the year. Green played best when he seemed to have little to lose. When the game was on the line, he suddenly appeared robotic and uncertain.

Quarterback is, mentally, the toughest job on the football field, but some element of it has to be instinctive, effortless. And Green has to be a good enough leader to prove to an offensive coordinator like Shawn Watson that his skills trump scheme.

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The air is still cold and smells of the Canadian northland. There’s still that grating noise of gravel - or ice - crunching beneath your boots. The sun still isn’t showing up much for work, and we’re all carrying around five extra pounds from holidays. The ground is spongy and mucky and unfit for the hands of children. It also smells like worms.

Spring in Nebraska isn’t precisely romantic like autumn is. Harvest season is a blazing sunset set to country music. Planting season is a weak, soupy sky accompanied by Neil Sadaka.

And, thus, spring football - even at NU - shouldn’t be confused with a season-opener. September is Miller Time in these parts. Spring is, frankly, a trip to the driving range.

For coaches, it’s a time to go to the lab. Experiment. Tinker. Mold.

For seniors, it’s finally their time to lead - to put on the blazer and tie and ask their teammates to follow.

For underclassmen, it’s another chance to make a lasting impression before summer.

For Cody Green, it’s money time.

For Jared Crick, it’s his trench to dig and hold.

For P.J. Smith, Cameron Meredith and Mike Caputo, it’s shoes, sitting on the welcome mat at the front door, waiting to be filled.

For us, it’s time for six questions heading into spring football. Here they are, in ascending order of importance.

6. How quickly can Nebraska replace Larry Asante and Matt O’Hanlon? Smart, rangy and most, importantly, confident, sophomore P.J. Smith could fill Asante’s shoes next week and handle the responsibility. When NU coaches wanted to send Asante a message during a few Big 12 Conference games, Smith capably filled in - and perhaps played assignment-football even better than Asante did. While Smith isn’t quite the freakish athlete Asante was at Nebraska, he’s a natural, intelligent safety out of the Bo Pelini mold.

At free safety, senior Rickey Thenarse returns from a torn ACL and should be the odds-on favorite to win the job; he was pushing O’Hanlon for the starting role, in fact, when he got hurt in the Lafayette. But O’Hanlon saved his best football - against the run especially - for the last five games of the 2010 season. Thenarse would do well to match it. In run support, with his speed and playmaking skills, we don’t doubt Thenarse can fit the bill. It’s in pass coverage where, in the past, Thenarse got crossed up and seemed a step behind the play.

If Thenarse can’t, look for Austin Cassidy or potentially Courtney Osborne. Eric Hagg would be a candidate, but defensive coordinator Carl Pelini appears committed to keeping Hagg at nickel back.

5. Which pass-catcher compliments Niles Paul? Junior Brandon Kinnie, the positive-thinking, popular JUCO transfer, will get first the scoop of lasagna. While he’s tapping some parmesan on his slice, converted tight end Mike McNeill and Curenski Gilleylen will polish their roles as slot receivers down the seam. After that - it’s anybody guess. Khiry Cooper is playing baseball. Taylor Martinez will start at quarterback. Antonio Bell needs to bulk up and get better separation. Tim Marlowe will get a look, but, with his size, it’s hard to say how much the West Coast spread can utilize him.

4. Who fills the shoes of Phillip Dillard? Who knew, at this time last spring, we’d even be asking such a thing. After clawing his way out of the doghouse, Dillard wrestled the dime linebacker role away from Will Compton, put it in the bank, and watched it turn into a potential NFL Draft pick. Compton would appear to be the favorite, but he has to erase some of the negative plays from the middle of the 2009 season. Charging hard would be sophomore Eric Martin, who makes mistakes, sure - but does them at 100 miles per hour. At nickel linebacker, 6-foot-5 sophomore Sean Fisher has to get lower and more aggressive at the line of scrimmage. After a year of injuries, junior Mathew May and junior Matt Holt are back, too.

3. Can offensive coordinator Shawn Watson settle on a flavor? Only Watson can answer that one with his actions next fall; this spring he’ll put together a plan that, presumably blends the versatility of 2008 with the simplicity of 2009. Nebraska can’t be every offense all the time, and while it’s neat to pull out the kitchen drawer and dump every formation - from the Wildcat to ace flex to five tight ends - onto the counter, Watson still has to create a core set of plays from which he can build. NU’s OC is a smart guy, skilled in positivity and coach-speak, so the players, and their comfort and confidence, will be more telling.

2. How does the coaching staff balance a physical camp with staying healthy? Bo Pelini wants the green jerseys stripped off the quarterbacks and the competition dial turned up to 11 along the offensive line. Those two decisions only bear much fruit if the Huskers involved get up close and aggressive. But if Pelini desires the toughest team in the nation, if he wants to chat with old-guard types Milt Tenopir and Charlie McBride in the offseason, then he’d best be prepared for the physical pounding his troops are about to endure. It’s a fine line to walk with the young, talented hogs, many of whom are recovering from injuries suffered last fall.

1. Does Zac Lee’s absence for spring open the door for Cody Green to make “The Leap?” Don’t kid yourself: The coaches desperately want Green, an incredible package of speed and size, to master the offense, hang in the pocket with poise, and, most importantly, become a more accurate passer. He’s the guy Watson wanted before Pelini Era officially began, the guy whom Nebraska sent its entire offensive coaching to watch in high school, the guy who, when given his chance as a true freshman, apparently let his emotional cup runneth over in the Oklahoma game, never to regain the mojo.

Hey - it’s a ton of pressure. Green makes it harder by being so likable, actually. NU fans want that big smile and big talent to produce some big wins. Lee’s shadow looms over the spring only to the extent that Green can’t make it go away. If Green dazzles over the next four weeks, he’ll make Lee play catch-up in the fall.

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Six strong takes as, at long last, the snow begins to melt.

*Only in a ripple in the college football pond, but the trend of the “dual-threat” quarterback took a hit last week when two of the studs from the 2009 recruiting class - Russell Shepard and Tyrik Rollison - basically ended their careers as Division I quarterbacks.

Shepard, who signed with LSU, played Wildcat quarterback for the Tigers last year, never throwing a pass. Now he’s shifted to wide receiver where scouts insist he’ll evoke memories of Percy Harvin. Rollison signed with Auburn, got suspended in December for a violation of team rules, and is now transferring to Sam Houston State. Both played high school football in Texas, compiling incredible statistics in their career.

Rollison threw for more than 4,000 yards and 51 touchdowns, in fact, in his senior campaign. At Auburn, he was no better than third string as a freshman, and the Tigers recruited another “dual-threat QB” - Cameron Newton - for the 2010 class. Newton started at Florida, headed to junior college, and now expected to become, on-spec, the league’s best QB.

The lesson here for programs: Build an offense around the talents of the dual-threat guy, or buyer beware. While Auburn runs a pure spread, it puts a high premium on accuracy and downfield passing. LSU never trusted Shepard once with a pass. While he could turn out to be a terrific wide receiver, it’s exceedingly hard to switch these kids to different positions with great success.

That lesson needs to be heard by Nebraska, who’s suffering through some growing pains with its own dual-threat guy, Cody Green, while signing Brion Carnes for 2010 and Jamal Turner for 2011. Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson has spent most of his career with sturdy, accurate throwers who could run as an escape option. Green, Taylor Martinez and both of NU’s prospective recruits approach the tunnel from the opposite direction. The most polished of them, out of high school, is arguably Carnes, who possesses better footwork and pocket presence than I expected to see.

*After two strong starts that, over the radio, sound like performances of precision instead of power, I think Nebraska baseball fans are ready to get a live glimpse of freshman pitcher Tom Lemke. Two wins, a .084 earned run average and just three walks through the first ten innings of his college career? You’ll take it.

Had Mike Nesseth been able to protect a couple of two-run leads out in Fresno, Nebraska would be 5-2 and smelling like a rose. But 3-4 isn’t bad. NU appears to have some pluck - and newly-rediscovered offense from leadoff hitter D.J. Belfonte.

*I’m sorry I’m prophetic about the Ndamukong Suh backlash. Really, I am.

Now the St. Louis Rams, if you listen to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (who’s good, but who’s also reporting precisely what NFL scouts want him to report) intend to draft Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford with the first pick of the 2010 NFL Draft. Heh. An accurate-yet-fragile quarterback coming off major shoulder surgery, who’s at least a year away from meaningful snaps, behind one of the league’s worst offensive lines? That’s the Rams being the Rams, right there.

Suh can stomp out all of those rumors with a knockout testing performance at the NFL Combine Monday.

NFL personnel guys, remember, love groupthink. Hate outside the box. A player like Suh worries them. They see a guy who’s too versatile, which is to say he doesn’t fit snug into a role like most defensive linemen do. He’s an elite athlete, with hard-nosed agents (Eugene Parker and Roosevelt Barnes) who want to make Suh a pile of cash before the owners institute a formal rookie salary cap.

*Doc Sadler picked a good time to win a Big 12 basketball game - right after he voiced support for a new $344 million Haymarket Arena project. Sadler wisely sat on the fence for a long time, refusing to let opposing coaches use any requests for a new arena against him until it appeared to be a reality.

And I think it’s close to reality. The vote occurs May 11, and the Lincoln city leaders have all but thrown themselves on the railroad track pleading for voters to approve it. The Lincoln Journal-Star has done such an exhaustive-bordering-on-obsessive job covering the project that I won’t bother rehashing what’s already been written. Begin the dissertation here and prepare for an onslaught of information, that, in my mind, is designed to overwhelm detractors - and succeeds.

I’m a Lincolnite, and I’ll be voting for the arena - though not because of the Nebraska basketball teams. They have a home, and boosters can help upgrade the Bob Devaney Sports Center anytime they please. Always could. Even did a few times almost a decade ago, although you may not have noticed it.

Rather, Lincoln can grab its share of concerts and mid-level sporting events that the Devaney (or Pershing Auditorium) can’t accommodate. I also think the state wrestling tournament belongs in Lincoln - it’s the best high school event, period, in the state - and the Nebraska Scholastic Activities Association would hightail it back from Omaha with new digs in place. The tax burden seems manageable and the city needs an arena that’s not under the vice grip of the university.

In strict basketball terms, a new arena will be swank, I’m sure - and probably a little septic. It may help recruiting. It’s not likely to help Nebraska win games, though - that’s still for the team on the court to accomplish.

For sheer family atmosphere, it’s good NU won’t sell booze; it’ll keep the games from turning into a I’m-single-let’s-mingle night that habitually occurs in the Qwest Center concourses during Creighton games. Of course, that’s a lot of revenue the Huskers won’t capture, too. You wonder how long Nebraska can turn down the extra cash.

NU has to be very careful not to price regular Husker fans out of season tickets, or stick them in the second balcony.

*It’s nigh impossible to quibble with 27-0, but let me repeat a question emailed to me by a friend watching the Nebraska women’s basketball team beat Oklahoma: “Do they always run down the court and take wild shots like that?”

No, not always. But head coach Connie Yori’s style is frenetic-bordering-on-chaotic. The NCAA Tournament often boils down into a halfcourt game for most teams not named Connecticut, which, like the Huskers, runs and jumps and harasses teams into Bolivian. Uconn throws these knockout haymakers at teams, and Nebraska does, too. A Final Four game between them would resemble a ballroom blitz.

I’m curious to see what happens when NU faces another structured-yet-talented team like Iowa State, whose defense often seems to gum up the Husker engine. Tempo is so crucial to Nebraska’s success. The style may produce some unforced errors and an ugly shooting night or two, but it plays right into Yori’s hands, too. She wants to get opponents on the other side of tired - where they give up.

*The Winter Olympics are now over, and the single extraordinary performance of the Vancouver Games - truly excellent, a showstopper of athleticism - was men’s figure skater Evan Lysacek’s short and free skates nearly two weeks ago.

You’ve forgotten about it, most likely, because NBC must slavishly follow the storylines of Lindsey Vonn and Apolo Ohno, and because Canada-USA in hockey was trumped up as a rivalry between two nations that get along just fine, really, but here it is again, for memory.

If you prefer the gold medal hockey game, hey, I’ll give you that, but compare Lysacek’s speed and artistry to Ohno’s playing grab-ass around a tiny track and tell me: Who really should have been on “Dancing With the Stars?”

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Six takes after your morning shower, shave and, well, you know…

*The most important Husker rolling into spring football? Who is it for you? I’ve been asked this via email and personal chats. My answer may surprise you: Niles Paul. Nebraska’s senior receiver is one of the best offensive playmakers, a local kid and a natural, driven leader. He also turned into a pretty dangerous punt and a kickoff returner toward the end of the 2009 season.

When NU’s offense got stuck in permanent mud during the last half of the season, the plan became:

1. Plunge into the line.
2. Modest playaction pass.
3. Bomb to Niles.

Paul is the team’s best perimeter blocker too, so you have a guy ingrained into Huskers’ offense, plus a respected voice in the locker room. With reduced leadership at quarterback, a beaten-up offensive line and running back Roy Helu skittish with the media, Paul will be one of the team’s spokesmen. It‘s notable that, after gaffes vs. Texas Tech and Iowa State, Paul did not duck the media. Nor did he dodge questions - or teammates - after his cop stop last spring.

Until the last half of last season, Paul hadn’t necessarily fulfilled his considerable potential. But he made clutch plays vs. Kansas and Colorado - you could argue he won both games - and his punt return in the Big 12 Championship should have set up NU’s game-winning touchdown.

*Spring football is now officially Cody Green’s proving ground, now that offensive coordinator Shawn Watson decalred senior-to-be Zac Lee out for this spring.

Watson spoke at length to the Omaha World-Herald’s Tom Shatel in an interview, mostly about last season, a bit about what’s to come. Watson artfully dodged a majority of the questions - he’s good at it - but 2009 is over, there is no use in hashing it out again, and 2010 will be the OC’s proving ground.

But, crucially, Watson said Lee “won't be there at all” for spring football.

“He'll get back in the mix later,” Watson said.

That means Green gets his shot. He couldn’t handle the “emotions” of the Oklahoma game last year, Watson said - and Green looked bug-eyed and confused in the Holiday Bowl, too.

Watson and Co. have two years invested in Green. The OC doesn’t bring his entire offensive coaching staff to Green’s high school state title game otherwise. Green doesn’t enroll early otherwise. Green doesn’t hustle back from a minor groin injury to play last spring otherwise.

I don’t blame them - the size, the speed and the personality all scream: Prototypical QB. But in that second spring, you either make the leap or risk getting leapt over. In this case, those frogs would presumably be Kody Spano and Taylor Martinez.

Jury’s out on what Spano can do - he has to play with two previously-torn ACLs, for one thing - but Martinez…here’s a guy who spent most of last fall as a scout team receiver and scout team Wildcat QB. The regular scout team QB most weeks was walk-on Ron Kellogg.

Said it before, and here it is again: That a kid who has been given, to this point, a token chance at quarterback is in the running for the No. 2 or No. 1 job speaks volumes about the state of the position and the direction of the offense.

*Through three losses to Fresno State, Nebraska baseball has twice handed a two-run lead to closer Mike Nesseth in the ninth inning, and he has twice blown that lead. Both a 7-5 loss on Friday and the 10-9 loss on Sunday stung badly, but yesterday’s heartbreaker was compounded by two wild pitches by reliever Chase Adams, one of which served as the Bulldogs’ winning run.

It’s early, but pitching remains the issue. Casey Hauptmann and Jordan Roualdes appear to be on track as the season begins. We’ll see about Sean Yost, who recovered from a shaky start on Friday. Everybody else?

Let’s be blunt: NU could easily start 1-9 or 2-8. That’s a big hill to climb.

*A huge loss by Notre Dame over the weekend (to Georgetown) puts Nebraska’s women’s basketball team in even-better position for a No. 1 seed now. Get past Oklahoma, and there’s just no stopping NU from a regional date in Kansas City. And if Huskers draw a more beatable No. 2 seed - say, overrated Xavier - than all the better.

Should the Huskers lose to OU, but still win the Big 12 Tournament, that top seed is still in the bag. Lose to the Sooners and in the Big 12 Tourney, and NU may need a little more help from the Irish.

Whatever gets Nebraska to Kansas City. If the Huskers land there - regardless of the seed - NU volleyball fans will get a run for their money.

*No matter how the season ends for the Nebraska men’s basketball team, it’s going to be one bear of an offseason for the returning Huskers under head coach Doc Sadler. This team will work, I know that. And weight training will be a priority.

The inconsistency has to be maddening, and I think it’s a combination of lacking attitude, confidence and toughness and just plain speed, man. NU has to get faster in the offseason. And stronger. How does NU keep brawling away at Kansas State Wednesday night, then seemingly back down at home vs. Missouri on Saturday? The Tigers, who are just slightly more talented than the Huskers - certainly not to the tune of 17 and 15 points in two games - just played harder and hit tough shots. Period.

Know this: Sadler won’t sit still after a year like this.

*A few words about Tiger Woods’ statement and apology on Friday:

It appears clear now that Woods had, to brilliant on-course success, compartmentalized his life into various spheres of golf, family, modern-day brothel, ad image, foundation guy, etc. He wasn’t leading a double life, but several lives. He lived them well, in part, because mankind is generally stupid, and we allow a wider berth to rich, successful people. I got a lotta money to make here, so let me carve out time for the GFE! Mankind does so to their general detriment, as it often turns out, for the sake of our own self-satisfied sycophancy but, you know, back to the point.

When two of those many spheres collide, it can have a startling effect. Woods’ game began to decline after his rehab and return from amazing win at the 2008 U.S. Open, and, it seems clear now, the demands of the harem, or whatever you’d like to call the legion of his emotionally-kept women, were beginning to bleed into other areas of his life. I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner, but I suspect he had friends making sure it didn’t. More than the few who have already been implicated as enablers.

Now. Erase all those enablers and replace them with people who insist the walls are part of the disease - which they probably are - and demand they stay down. That’s a vulnerable state for an elite athlete. Imagine somebody in Woods’ life expressing concern over thrown clubs and muttered curses. To make oneself whole, see, you have to break down every little part. But if one of those parts was the key to Woods’ success on the golf course?

There are advantages to being whole. It’s the real thing, for one. You don’t become an emotional Darth Vader. It also prevents you from becoming the miserable sourpuss Michael Jordan turned out to be, for two. But maybe you lose the “part” you liked the most in the process. You have to rebuild it as part of the whole. Like Woods rebuilds his swing.

Let’s see how he does with his wife and addiction support system tracing his every step. For a man of supreme control to suddenly give it to someone else? Try jumping without a net.

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In the summer and fall, Husker Locker created its “50 Huskers to Know” list for the 2009 season. We now review our list by examining production, injuries and depth chart position.

We’ll present these in five-player increments. Here we go!

No. 20 Mike Smith: Battled all kinds of injuries after left, struggled with false start penalties for a second straight year, but generally protected Zac Lee’s backside through the last half of the year. Smith isn’t an elite left tackle right now. But he’s the best Nebraska’s got.

No. 19 Terrence Moore: A bust in 2009 because of a turf toe injury, Moore better step up quickly in 2010, because his frame and speed is NU’s best fit for the nose tackle position. Moore cannot waste any more time on poor technique and fundamentals. He’ll be pushed fiercely in the spring.

No. 18 Chris Brooks: Got hurt midway through the season late in the Texas Tech game, which derailed a promising year. Brooks probably had the best hands among NU’s receivers. He rarely got to show them off in five years. Chalk that up to whatever you want.

No. 17 Will Compton: A little too much too soon for Compton, who started through the Texas Tech game, suffered some lumps and then watched Phillip Dillard take over in the dime defense and excel. Compton stuck his nose in there pretty well between the tackles; he could have been better on sideline-to-sideline pursuit. Compton has a bright future at NU, but there will be no Dillard in 2010.

No. 16 Cody Green: A maddening season for fans, to some extent. And a maddening season for Green, to be sure. From the highs of terrific running plays in the Florida Atlantic and Lafayette games to the lows of bad passes thrown in Baylor, Oklahoma and Arizona games, Green was the epitome of a roller coaster on the field. Off it, he was humble, smart and humorous. He handled every press situation with intelligence and grace.

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Six strong takes, just as you like them, Husker football right at the top.

*One week ago, I mentioned heightened expectations for Nebraska’s football team. The definition of being “back.” Now that the Cornhuskers are beginning to appear in the top ten of various (and ridiculously early) top 25 rankings, you can begin to get the picture.

NU will be playing a 365-day season in 2010 - not 150. In recruiting, offseason development, spring football, the summer police “blotta” and all the rest, the Huskers will get more play - good and bad - from the national media outlets that control, to some extent, preseason perception and placement. Those things are important, understand, when it comes to bowl pairings later in the year. Possibly even BCS bowl pairings.

In a sense, that’s just another challenge for Bo Pelini and his staff. Whether or not Bo sees himself as a creature of the media - he’s going to become one. There’s something attractive - authentic - about his occasionally explosive sideline style, the emotions worn on his sleeve - hell, his bare arms. Bo isn’t prone to quotables, but his confidence plays well on talk shows and TV programs that crave black/white statements.

Bo has some acolytes in the national media. Jim Rome is one of them. Kirk Herbstreit, a former teammate, is another. Throw Andy Staples of SI in there, too, for all the positive pub he’s given the Big Red. Here’s a New Year’s resolution hoping he reaches out to those guys before spring ball, during spring ball, and throughout the summer. The recruitiniks at Rivals and Scout, too. Hey - those guys know how faithfully Husker fans follow Signing Day in February. Then - you post every one of those appearances and articles on Bo’s personal Web site.

Bo may not personally want that kind of hyper-attention. But it’s the kind Nebraska needs to keep up with the Big 12 South’s primary outpost, Texas.

*Would I put NU in the top ten right now? Upon further review, I guess not yet. Not until Zac Lee’s rehab points toward full recovery.

If Lee rehabs OK, I’d look hard at top 5-7, along with Alabama, Boise State, Virginia Tech, Ohio State and a few surprises.

If not - I’d need a crystal ball detailing Cody Green’s development. Green will never get a better chance at taking the reins than this offseason - his second at Nebraska. These three months - that’s his window, whether he officially beats out Lee or not. If Green makes the leap, he’s the guy, at the very least, in 2011. If not, there will be some freshman nipping at his heels.

*And that freshman, if I had to play a hunch, will be Brion Carnes, Bradenton (Fla.) Manatee quarterback who will take a visit in January. If he can get past being “Tommie Frazier’s nephew” - a hurdle in Lincoln - Carnes possesses many of the skills a new, more physical NU offense desires. Carnes - who was committed to South Florida, but has wavered with the firing of Jim Leavitt - is mobile, has better-than-average footwork, and knows how to make throws on the run.

If not Carnes, than possibly Kain Colter out of Colorado. If not, Colter, then the mystery man, Darian “Stump” Godfrey, the Gilmer, Texas product who accounted for 64 touchdowns and more than 4,400 yards in leading his team to an undefeated season and a 3A championship.

NU is trying to put some tasty frosting on its 2010 recruiting class, as Chicago-area safety Corey Cooper and Portland defensive end Owa Odighizuwa are the biggest names the Huskers continue to pursue, and both seem intent on waiting until Signing Day to make their decisions. If Nebraska gets both, the class becomes a nice comeback after a slow summer. If both go elsewhere, you get the sense that NU may make changes in its approach for 2011. More changes, I mean, than the ones that have already been made.

The best potential recruit of the 2010 class? Jermarcus Hardrick, if he morphs into a Phil Loadholt clone and mans the right tackle spot for the next two years. Among the four-year recruits, Columbia (Mo.) product Chase Rome jumps out as a major defensive tackle in two years, with potential for Jared Crick numbers. Landing Odighizuwa - a bright, athletic end whose background, demeanor and intelligence is eerily reminiscent of Ndamukong Suh - would trump them all.

My sleeper? A guy Nebraska landed almost a year ago - offensive tackle Mike Moudy. A 6-foot-7, 300-pound rock. I just like the way he attacks defenders on film.

*So the SEC won its fourth straight national championship. It has to say something, right? Sure. But I’m not sure it’s saying the same things, year after year.

In 2006, Florida’s speed and defensive aggression forced an over-hyped quarterback, Ohio State’s Troy Smith into a game-long meltdown.

In 2007, LSU was simply better than Ohio State, and everybody knew it. Throw the statistics out the window. The Buckeyes actually competed more in that game than I anticipated.

In 2008, Oklahoma controlled the first half, threw the game away with its insistence on the no-huddle offense at the goal line, and wore down in the second half as Sam Bradford wasn’t protected by penalty flags like he was in the Big 12.

In 2009, you know the ugly story.

The binding statistic - SEC teams all rushed for more yards than its opponents - reflects a consistency of style, a commitment to traditional football, albeit from unconventional (or shall we just say old-fashioned) means: The single wing, the option, the counter trey. Three of the four opponents (Ohio State in 2006, OU and UT) were spread/shotgun offenses that routinely used four and five wide receivers. All of them were stymied in one way or another by the SEC‘s defensive speed, and unable to adjust.

Trends can be tough to detect. Was Nebraska a trend in the 1990s? Not on offense. On defense, though, absolutely: Following in the footsteps of Miami, Washington and Florida State, NU got smaller, faster and more aggressive. That trend remained true until Michigan and Tennessee won national titles with more traditional base defenses/pro-style offenses in 1997 and 1998.

Is there a SEC method that Bo’s trying to copy? You’d hope so, because it seems to work. It’s not exactly foolproof - goodness, look at LSU, post-Pelini, and South Carolina, since forever - but it puts Nebraska in a unique position in the Big 12.

*USC is panicking for the moment, but Pete Carroll’s departure from the program is precisely what it needs. That’s right. Carroll, for all his considerable strengths, was beginning to construct a team of diminishing returns, choosing transfers and freshmen over more seasoned position players, and a green staff over assistants who, like Norm Chow once did, might steal Carroll’s thunder.

While he was far from losing control of the Trojans’ program, Carroll had lost track of it, to a certain extent, and his hubris over Mark Sanchez’s timely departure last year, coupled with his various shrugs at off-the-field issues in 2009, suggested he was as committed to his highly-laudable work in the Los Angeles community as he was to game-planning and roster management. Nowhere was that more evident than in a game vs. Oregon - a team Carroll typically owned - in which the Ducks so badly out-schemed the Trojans that it looked as though USC was back in its Paul Can’t-Hackett days.

The Trojans ought to hire Carroll-lite - Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh, whose shoulder chip is similar to Carroll’s in 2001, with equal charisma and passion to burn - now that Mike Riley is no longer available. Harbaugh has the ego, NFL background and sheer personality to deal with USC athletic director Mike Garrett, who has a history of rubbing folks a certain way.

*Excellent debut for Christian Standhardinger, who scored 13 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in a 64-53 loss at Texas A&M Saturday. He got to the line five times and made four free throws. Expect those numbers to continue, and increase.

I know it’s not easy for head coach Doc Sadler to sacrifice defensive possessions and potentially wins in developing Standhardinger and center Jorge Brian Diaz as NU’s primary offensive threats, but everything I saw vs. the Aggies confirmed, again, that putting those two on the floor at the same time represents NU’s best long-term interests. Standhardinger provides at least some resistance on the boards, and Diaz really does have a deft touch around the basket. Plus - they can draw fouls. Right now, who among Nebraska’s true guards - be it Brandon Richardson, Sek Henry, Lance Jeter or Eshaunte Jones - is consistently doing that.

Sadler wants the Huskers to work for better shots instead of settling for long 3-pointer. But I’m not seeing any guards with a first step quick enough to do it. I am seeing two post players, now that Standhardinger is in there, who can create their shots and are serviceable from the foul line.

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So much for motivation, preparation, hangovers, skeptics, doubts or close games in the Holiday Bowl.

Turns out Bo Pelini had a reason to strut in San Diego. A reason to gift-wrap a six-day break for his team before Christmas. A reason to bust out some lofty talk about 2010 in a handful of interviews.

What did Bo know? Something. That’s for damn sure.

Three plays, one Matt O’Hanlon pick, one quick Zac Lee touchdown, a dash of the Wildcat starring Rex Burkhead, Niles Paul as a triple threat, that magnificent golden foot of Alex Henery and Blackshirts, Blackshirts, Blackshirts.

First round knockout. Boom! Down! Nebraska as Mike Tyson, and Arizona as a weak-kneed Michael Spinks.

“We got whacked,” Arizona head coach Mike Stoops.

Yep. Thumped. Striped. Punished. Seems like the two teams did their share of trash talking during the week at joint functions, and the muddy blood carried over to Wednesday night. Like so many fights that start with a couple of loose jaws, it ended with one party - the Wildcats - on the floor - a jigsaw puzzle with a couple of pieces gone.

Savor this Big Red ribeye of a win, Cornhusker fans. It tasted so good, sizzling from the start - and mostly because NU cooked it just so. In all three phases, I can’t recall a more complete bowl win since the 2000 Alamo Bowl. And even there, Nebraska had a few leaks. You might have to go back to the 1996 Fiesta Bowl. Or the 1969 Sun Bowl, when NU beat Georgia 45-6. Or maybe never. I’m leaning toward never.

At some point, Stoops stopped with his Jimmy Cagney/George C. Scott facial grimaces and submitted to total defeat. His willingness to forego an easy field goal at the end of the game and try for a touchdown - knowing full well his quarterback would face a seven-man blitz - was not merely a nod to his old friend Bo. It was a tip of the cap to the Husker defense as a whole. You’ve earned the right to shut us out. Good for Stoops. Intense guy. Class move.

Yes, the Blackshirts evoked memories of those days of heaven, the mid-1990s, when opposing quarterbacks gazed wistfully into the defense in the mere hope of completing a pass. Foles had that “blow-the-whistle!” look all night, his impressive arm - yes, I’ve seen it in other games - reduced to a bad parody of the Balloon Boy saga. Just 21 snaps in the first half. For 32 yards. And the Huskers didn’t even have to commit a blitzer on the pass rush. TV can’t do justice to how well NU’s cornerbacks challenge and blanket opposing receivers, so Foles, with the relative mobility of Pooh Bear, had no choice but to dance around, fruitlessly searching for downfield targets.

Once again, we saw irrefutable evidence that the best way to great defense is through a quarterback’s rattled cage. How many signal-callers have answered the bell vs. NU this year? In retrospect, just one: Texas Tech’s Sticks Sheffield.

“It’s nothing fancy,” Pelini said. In a sense, he’s right. Challenging receivers at the line of scrimmage, and taking away those easy throws spread teams thrive on isn’t fancy. Doesn’t mean it’s easy, either, but it’s not fancy. And the recipe works.

The secondary was nothing short of brilliant. I doubt Arizona had ever seen such aggressive coverage. A healthy Alfonzo Dennard, coupled with a healthy Prince Amukamara, might be as good a cornerback tandem as there is in college football.

And color me pleased by the offense, and impressed with offensive coordinator Shawn Watson from this perspective: He said NU would travel back in time with its offense, and that’s precisely what we saw Wednesday night.

Nebraska spread it out and mixed pass and run. Zac Lee throws much better out of the shotgun, and runs a competent zone read, even if he takes the ball too often. The big wrinkle - the Wildcat - was more of a no-brainer, considering how good Rex Burkhead was at running it, but it was good to see Watson actually put it on film and put it to good use.

Burkhead is a keeper. He runs hard, headlong, with the occasional surprising flourish - a spin move, a hard cut. A little Correll Buckhalter. A little Derek Brown. A little Josh Davis. Watson has a weapon there, whether or not Burkhead stays at the Wildcat QB, or hands the reins to Taylor Martinez.

Does Watson have a quarterback? Lee took a step forward Wednesday night, but I still think he is inconsistent and a little robotic as a runner. Cody Green, who burned a timeout and nearly threw a bad interception, again looked adrift and ill-prepared on the field. But it’s hard to get a grip in a couple drives when Lee gets the whole game.

Unfortunately, you don’t get the offensive sequel for nine months. You won’t even get a sneak peek trailer for four months. And don’t presume that Nebraska solved its problems in one bowl game. Arizona seemed struck by the stage and the stakes. Stoops’ team needs to grow up some. I suspect that he knew that earlier in the week, and hoped it wouldn’t matter too much in the game. But it did.

Arizona’s at now where Nebraska resided in early 2008. What a journey since then for the Big Red. Despite the kind of losses that make you want to starve for a week, Pelini pulled his troops through, and has them positioned for a national title run in 2010.

I don’t know about the Huskers being “five times better” next year. For one thing, a lot of pro-style offenses roll onto the schedule, and you can’t just trot Dejon Gomes out there at linebacker to stop the inside counter. The Huskers absolutely must find two or three serviceable linebackers.

But, provided Nebraska does that, a trip to Phoenix - for one of two BCS games held there - should be the early expectation. The Big 12 will be ripe for the plucking. The best of NU’s recruiting classes - the 2007 bunch rotates fully into upperclassmen mode. That solid class of 2008 - that included all of the red shirt freshmen, finally begins to contribute more, as well.

Hope springs eternal. Football championships are autumnal. I think we have 33 reasons to put those two sentiments together for next year.

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