LB Sean Fisher, 6-6, 230, So.

The transition from defensive back to linebacker is likely complete, and Nebraska fans should hope to see it translate into better play from Fisher, who at times in 2009 played like a safety inside the box, failing to get low enough to attack blockers, and losing contain in pursuit of the ball carrier.

Fisher is good in pursuit. He has better-than-average range, sideline-to-sideline. Where he needs to improve is sitting in the hole, getting low, and taking on a power run game. Trust us: Opposing teams will run the ball at Fisher if he doesn’t. He’ll get plowed against teams like Washington, Texas A&M and Kansas State.

NU hasn’t enjoyed a great run-stopping linebacker since Stewart Bradley in 2006; Fisher doesn’t have to be that good, but he has to keep a shoulder free and his tenacity up.

The trouble with a kid like this is that he practices well, and is smarter than a whip. Why is that trouble? Because linebacker is sometimes a reckless position, based on instincts as much as intelligence, and Fisher at times gets mechanical in his approach. A kid like Eric Martin, at the very least, makes mistakes at 100 miles per hour.

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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. 35 Ben Cotton/Kyler Reed: Their production doesn’t necessarily jump out at you, but their potential to be big contributors does. Nebraska tried hard - really hard - to get Reed the ball once or twice a game before his injury vs. Baylor, but it didn’t always work out. Cotton, meanwhile, was a key cog in Nebraska’s offense after the Baylor game, as the second or third tight end of those “heavy” sets offensive coordinator Shawn Watson reverted. Also caught a touchdown vs. Colorado. Both are keepers, and should creep up this list in 2010.

No. 34 Blake Lawrence: Retired from the game after lingering concussion problems; served as a student coach for the last half of the season. He’ll be making millions doing something else in a few years, we’re certain. Good kid.

No. 33 Baker Steinkuhler: Managed to make it through the season without any significant back problems and without speaking once to a reporter. Had a nice season as Jared Crick’s occasional backup. Although he’s slated to play beside Crick in 2010, we doubt that happens - it’s hard to see two 6-foot-6 guys on the interior of the defensive line - and Steinkuhler might still move to offense, where his dad, Dean, did so much damage. At the end of the day - we think he’s a decent defensive lineman, and potentially an elite offensive guard.

No. 32 Rex Burkhead: Served as a backup to Roy Helu through the non-conference season, flashing some potential. Looked like Nebraska’s best offensive player, in some respects, vs. Missouri. Then - boom! - broken foot. If Burkhead doesn’t get hurt, NU probably beats Iowa State and gets a BCS bowl berth. When Burkhead returned, he made an immediate impact in wins over Kansas State and Colorado, and dominated from the Wildcat formation in the Holiday Bowl. He is likely a co-starter along with Helu heading into 2010. He’ll leap forward on this list dramatically.

No. 31 Sean Fisher: Didn’t flash quite like linebackers coach Mike Ekeler said he would. Fisher actually looked best on special teams; at linebacker, he made a handful of big tackles, but mostly played too high and a step behind the ball carrier. He’ll have to battle to stay on the field once Eric Martin and LaVonte David pick up the defense.

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Air Raid. Spread. No huddle. Zone read. Fly sweep. Wildcat.

After years of offensive fads in the Big 12, get ready for a defensive one: The Match Read Zone. The name that’s been given to Bo Pelini’s spread-killing defense. A system that’s not easy to get down but - much like a match-up zone defense in basketball - can be hard to crack.

You can be plenty sure league defensive coordinators have been paying attention to Pelini since he arrived in the Big 12. You can also be sure they took notes as Bo dismantled Texas and Colt McCoy with it.

Why does it work? Because it’s zone, masquerading as man, taking away the simplest throws for a quarterback. Because it’s aggressive against bubble and tunnel screens. Because Nebraska has the back seven personnel - and the four-man pass rush - to pull it off.

It’s a perfect storm of sorts that met the two perfectly vulnerable - though normally productive - spread offenses - Texas and Arizona - at the end of the season.

Bo’s the new fad of the Big 12. With two of the offensive gurus - Mike Leach and Mark Mangino - floating away on rafts made of their own egos, the problem to solve for 2010 won’t be how to stop their passing games. But how to crack Bo Vinci Code.

Two-tight end formations - which forces Nebraska to replace corners with linebackers - might be part of the solution. Straight power football might be another. With a full season of tape to view, offensive coordinators will begin to chip away at the few weaknesses the Blackshirts possessed in 2010. Washington, armed with a good quarterback (Jake Locker) and even better playcaller (head coach Steve Sarikisian) will pit its West Coast principles vs. Match Read excellence.

Much like he declared the Huskers back for good after the Holiday Bowl, Pelini has set the bar for his defense, at, oh, only “five times better” than it was this year. Statistically, trust us, it’s basically impossible. So we can presume Pelini is talking experience, expertise and playmaking ability.

Nebraska looks to have the nation’s best secondary in 2010. Credit Pelini and position coach Marvin Sanders for just about all of it, as Prince Amukamara and Eric Hagg were merely raw prospects in spring 2008, and Alfonzo Dennard, Dejon Gomes and P.J. Smith - all projected starters - weren’t yet on campus. Is it on par with the 2003 unit, Pelini’s first college secondary, that featured three future NFL starters in Fabian Washington, Josh Bullocks and Daniel Bullocks, and led the nation in interceptions? Potentially.

The front four loses Ndamukong Suh. He will be sorely missed - and don’t let pundits or even the Brothers Pelini attempt to sweep his departure under the rug. Suh was arguably most valuable on screens, draws, shovel passes and backside running plays. A stat nobody kept track of: How many first downs Suh - and Suh alone - saved by peeling back to make downfield tackles. And you can’t teach his instincts for pass defense and finding the ball. What’s left is pretty good. But Suh made that unit dynamic and versatile.

The warning flags appear to be at linebacker. It was telling that, in the last half of the season, Gomes and Hagg were serving as de facto linebackers on key downs, as opposed to Will Compton and Sean Fisher. Spread passing teams carry light cargo, and allow Nebraska to get away it. But almost half of NU’s opponents in 2010 can and will go heavy. And if Pelini found it necessary to pick up JUCO linebacker LaVonte David, it speaks, potentially, to the health and inexperience of some of the guys behind Compton and Fisher. Eric Martin is a exciting playmaker as a sophomore, but he won’t see the field until he knows the defense.

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Can NU keep its defensive staff intact for one more season? After 2010, all bets are off, because Carl Pelini, Marvin Sanders, John Papuchis and Mike Ekeler could easily be headed for head coach/coordinator roles somewhere. Can Bo Pelini convince them to see through one more potentially championship-winning season? We’ll know for sure in the next two weeks.

How does Bo adjust to life without Suh? No. 93 can’t be replaced, so that option is out. But the remaining pieces on the defensive line - Jared Crick is chief among them - are pretty solid. Of course NU retains a base four-man look, with Crick at his spot, Terrence Moore plugging the nose, and Pierre Allen and Cameron Meredith crashing on the ends.

Do Sean Fisher and Will Compton keep developing? We have no reason to think they won’t - but, with at least five offenses on the 2010 schedule requiring a nickel-or-base defense - Washington, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Colorado and Kansas State fit that bill - NU needs two - not just one - of Mike Ekeler’s guys to perform at the level Phillip Dillard reached in 2009. And it doesn’t appear JUCO linebacker LaVonte David will hit the scene until fall.

How do Mathew May and Matt Holt fit back into the defense? Both injured in 2009 - May played mostly on special teams, Holt didn’t play while recovering from a torn ACL - these two walk-on breakout players of 2008 will have to fight for time in what’s become one of the nation’s defenses. They’ll get a look, because they have the size - and speed - to stay on the field in a dime set as a hybrid linebacker/safety.

What defensive wrinkles get unfurled in 2010? One option just to chew on: A three-man line that kicks Crick out to a hybrid tackle/end, uses a heftier Meredith at the other end, and sticks Moore - or maybe true freshman Jay Guy at that true nose tackle spot. We suspect Bo and Carl get creative with the players on hand.

Does Eric Hagg stay at nickel, or rotate back to free safety? And, if the latter, does Rickey Thenarse shift down into Hagg’s role? Thenarse is a wild card best used 10-15 times per game then he left on the field for 60 minutes. The rest of the secondary - Prince Amukamara and Alfonzo Dennard at the corners, Dejon Gomes at slot corner, P.J. Smith at strong safety, Austin Cassidy, Lance Thorell and Anthony West as priority backups - seems pretty set. Our take: Keep Hagg where he is, pick your spots with Thenarse, and give Cassidy a long look at Matt O’Hanlon’s starting job.

Who is this year’s Dejon Gomes? Thad Randle? Alonzo Whaley? Courtney Osborne? Smith? Cassidy? Andrew Green? Jason Ankrah? That’s what’s fun about prognosticating, isn’t it?

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Since we're still in Thanksgiving mode, go fetch that leftover gravy from the fridge, grab a juice glass, and pour the gravy to the halfway point.

You already know the question, don't you?

Do you view Nebraska's 9-3 season as a story of warts and imperfections on offense, amidst a Big 12 North bereft of consistency?

Do you view it for its defensive triumphs, timely big plays on special teams, and the sudden emergence of Niles Paul as a clutch player?

In other words: Should Nebraska be 7-5? Or 11-1?

Or are you waiting to decide until after NU play Texas in the Big 12 Championship?

I have a hunch that, during Nebraska's 28-20 win over Colorado, the first view prevailed. After all, that was Bo Pelini's point of view.

“I thought we took a step back today,” he said.

Bo's prone to fits of displeasure, though. (After all, NU played worse – and Bo coached a lemon – against CU last year.)

But sometime Saturday afternoon, when you see ABC/ESPN pimping the Big 12 title game to death and you've seen the NU score scroll across the screen for the 100th time, the second emotion will kick in.

And right about the time Mack Brown starts flapping his gums in a kindly-but-slightly-patronizing way toward NU, and Jordan Shipley's strumming his guitar, that third instinct will kick in.

That's the life of a Nebraska fan. Frustration. Optimism. Motivation. Followed by visualization; that is, of NU somehow hoisting that trophy next Saturday night, right next to the lovely mug of TCU coach Gary Patterson, lobbying for a spot in the BCS National Championship game.

Cornhusker fans typically find themselves above playing the spoiler. But, considering all the pain Texas has inflicted on this fan base since 1996, and considering the stranglehold the Longhorns hold on the league – wouldn't it be sweet rum?

Yeah, thought so.

Until then - seriously – which are you?

The CU game – which never fails to irritatingly drag on into the night, often with the Buffaloes scrambling points – served as an excellent microcosm of the whole season. Sweet, sour, sweet and an ohjustgetitoverwith as a topper.

Sweet: When it comes to field position, Nebraska has the best kicking duo in the country. Kicker/punter Alex Henery lives down the road in Moneyville. Kickoff specialist Adi Kunalic has shut down one good kickoff returner after another during the Big 12 season.

Sour: Great teams don't typically count “kicker” as one of the team's MVPs. Henery is a terrific weapon; you simply wish Nebraska didn't have to use him so much.

Sweet: NU's coverage schemes and techniques genuinely frustrate opposing quarterbacks. The Brothers Pelini force them to make excellent decisions on the fly. Most of them can't do it consistently.

Sour: Colt McCoy, of course can. And he's mobile. And there's still too many penalties by the back seven. Larry Asante needs to watch it.

Sweet: Ndamukong Suh battled double teams all day, played hard, and made several nice stops in the run game. Also had a sack. Can't argue with the play of the whole front four on Friday, really. A couple holding calls were missed.

Sour: As run defenders, the Huskers pursue too aggressively, getting gashed as a result. In back-to-back weeks. Nebraska's linebackers, especially Sean Fisher, need to break down better when tackling.

Sweet: When Nebraska needed a scoring drive, the offense delivered. NU put away Missouri, Kansas, KSU and CU in just this fashion.

Sour: Watson has become stubbornly uncreative. The guy will not run a trick play. No reverses. No halfback passes. No wide receiver sweeps. He's stopped splitting out Roy Helu on pass patterns. He's stopped throwing screens to Helu or Rex Burkhead. No waggles. No rolling the pocket. No Wildcat. Zip. Bubkis. And no – it is not creative to line up in a “toss” look and then pull Ben Cotton toward the backside defensive tackle for a trap block.

Hey - if you want Ron Brown to call the offense, then hand him the headset. At the very least, he'll dust off a few of TO's gadgets. Otherwise, design an offensive attack for the Texas game that does more than take up time. NU will need it. Texas is not Oklahoma.

Ohgetitoverwith: Nebraska's defense, excellent as it is, tends to lose a little focus with a double-digit lead. To the Blackshirts' credit, they generally regain it around the goal line, but Colorado benefited from too many busts, too many easy yards, and poor discipline on blitzes and quarterback containment. The second half was a mess of mistakes.

So – should Nebraska fans be satisfied with suitable progress? Or should they be like Pelini, grim and unhappy with anything less than perfection?

Just be careful putting too many eggs in the Texas basket.

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Throwback, indeed.

Nebraska’s football team celebrated the 300th consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium with a record crowd and a 55-0 walkover win past Louisiana-Lafayette that recalled the dominating defenses of the 1990s, when victories were secured by halftime and the wave kicked in by the third quarter.

For the night, ULL gained 222 yards -just 70 in the second half. NU notched its first shutout of the Pelini era, and the first since 2006, when Nebraska beat another Sun Belt Conference opponent, Troy, 56-0.

"We're in the right galaxy now," head coach Bo Pelini said. "Where last year we were a few solar systems away."

In front of 86,304 thrilled fans Saturday night, NU's defense burned like a hot star, as senior safety Larry Asante returned an interception 74 yards for a touchdown to cap off a 21-point second quarter and give the Cornhuskers (3-1 overall) a 34-0 halftime lead. Pelini dialed up a heavy blitz, and ULL quarterback Chris Masson threw wildly of his target and right into Asante’s waiting hands, who cut to his right, found the sideline, and sprinted home.

"Great play by Larry," defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said. Asante actually bruised his leg as he broke for the ball, and ran for the touchdown on adrenaline, Pelini said. X-rays at halftime were negative.

Previous to that score, NU had forced and recovered a fumble at ULL’s 27-yard line to set up another touchdown drive. Redshirt freshman Sean Fisher recovered a third-quarter fumble and redshirt freshman Cameron Meredith notched a nine-yard sack, too.

"It's big for us after last week," Fisher said, referring to NU's 16-15 loss to Virginia Tech. "Obviously last week was pretty tough. So to come out here and get a shutout, kind of hold them like we did, gives us confidence."

On offense, junior quarterback Zac Lee reverted back to his efficient self from the first two games, finishing 15-18 for 238 yards and a touchdown. He hit a number of passes on third-and-long, including a 43-yarder to Curenski Gilleylen early in the third quarter that set up another Nebraska touchdown.

"I've come to know that that's Zac," said senior wide receiver Chris Brooks, who set career highs for catches (3) and yards (50). "You just count on him to do that."

Junior running back Roy Helu pitched in 83 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

NU started scoring with a 10-play, 71-yard drive that culminated in an Alex Henery field goal. On Nebraska’s next drive, Lee flipped a backwards swing pass to Helu, who hit the sideline sprinting and slashed his way 39 yards down to the ULL four-yard line. On the next play, Helu fumbled at the one-yard line, the ball bounded into the end zone and was recovered by tight end Ben Cotton for a touchdown. Henery booted a 47-yard field goal to close out scoring in the first quarter.

Rex Burkhead’s 33-yard punt return set up NU’s second touchdown, a four-yard pass from Lee to senior Chris Brooks. Junior nickel back Eric Hagg forced a fumble on ULL’s next drive, recovered by Matt O’Hanlon at the Ragin Cajuns’ 27-yard line. Helu scored three plays later on a two-yard touchdown plunge.

The Huskers tacked on two more touchdowns in the fourth-quarter, both from true freshmen. Rex Burkhead caught a shovel pass from Cody Green and zigzagged 22 yards for a score, stiff-arming a defender at the 5-yard line. Green finished scoring with a 24-yard gallop on a zone read play.

Field position was strongly in NU’s advantage all night, as Henery pooched two punts inside ULL’s two-yard line. Nebraska started four drives inside ULL territory.

"I was pretty confident how our team would respond," Pelini said. "I said they'd come out and play with passion and play with great effort and that's what happened."

Fans were also treated to a celebration of Husker tributes throughout the game. Turner Gill, Frank Solich, Barry Alvarez, Keith Jackson and Barry Switzer all taped messages for the 300th-consecutive sellout, with Alvarez relaying a message from Penn State coach Joe Paterno, who applauded NU's fans for their support and class. After the game, fireworks and a long video detailing the history of the program since Bob Devaney took over in 1962 kept fans in their seats and players standing on the field.

"I was just trying to soak it all in," Fisher said. "It's a really cool experience."

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Communication and execution improved in Wednesday’s practice for the Nebraska football team, defensive coordinator Carl Pelini told reporters after the Huskers’ roughly two-hour workout on the grass fields north of Memorial Stadium.

“Really good day,” Pelini said. “Both sides of the football. The whole staff is happy right now.”

NU’s defense turned the corner on its mental execution at just the right time. The Huskers will trot out two redshirt freshmen – Sean Fisher and Will Compton – and a sophomore – Mathew May – as its starting linebacker trio for Saturday’s season-opener vs. Florida Atlantic, which runs a complex, pro-style offense.

Fisher, Compton and May are about as green as linebackers could be.

“Anytime you’ve got young guys out there, there’s a little bit of anxiety on their part and the coaches’ part,” Pelini said. “But we talked to our guys going in. Communication has to be better. Our leaders who have played before – the safeties, the d-line, the corners – they’ve got to be talking back and forth with those guys. That’s what we saw today, and that’s what pleased us.”

The middle of the field should be a busy spot for Florida Atlantic’s offense. The Owls like to send wide-body tight ends down the seams, and receivers on short crossing routes. Both are prime responsibilities of the linebackers and safeties.

Pelini is aware of FAU’s advance strategy. NU has an effective weapon, of sorts, in combating it.

“They’ve got really athletic tight ends that get down the field in a hurry,” Pelini said. “The good thing for us? So do we. So we’ve been facing that all camp, the dilemma Mike McNeill, Ben Cotton and those guys give us every day. That’s nothing new for us. I think our linebackers are used to facing athletic tight ends.”

A handful of true freshmen could see the field Saturday for the Huskers. BUCK linebacker Eric Martin is the most likely candidate, but defensive back Andrew Green, defensive end Jason Ankrah and defensive tackle Thad Randle might play as well. Randle, an undersized spark plug from the Houston area, hasn’t been mentioned much in camp, but could factor into a pass rushing package for NU.

“He’s got a knack for it,” Pelini said. “He’s got fast feet and great speed off the ball and those are what you look for. The other things you can teach.”

NU will have a shortened practice Thursday and a walkthrough Friday.

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This just in: NU defensive coordinator Carl Pelini likes coaching Ndamukong Suh.

He also likes breathing and eating regularly.

“There’s not a lot of guys like him physically, I promise you that, he’s got a strength that I’ve never seen on the football field,” Pelini said after practice Thursday. “With him, it’s fun to coach. Every day we come out and I say ‘Hey, let’s try doing this a little differently.’ He loves that and I love challenging him with new techniques. “

Pelini said once opposing offense coordinators start thinking about Suh, half the battle is already over.

“They just can’t double him on running plays because it just destroys the whole integrity of the team, it’s pass protection where they can assign someone to help whoever is aligned on (Suh).” Pelini said. “Then you got three other guys with one-on-one situations, so you got to win them and that’s something we were able to do a year ago.”

Pelini said Suh and the rest of the defensive line will have more of an emphasis on fighting with their hands and not just trying to surge into the backfield this year. When the latter happens, offensive linemen are often able to direct the surge in one direction or the other, creating seams in the defense.

The coaches also spent Thursday’s practice trying to confuse the defense.

“Today we worked a lot on the no-huddle,” Pelini said. “And our guys handled that really well and that’s something we didn’t always do well last year. We picked up the pace on them but they communicated really well and I can’t think of one play where we didn’t get ourselves into the correct position.”

The starting linebacker positions are still up for grabs and Pelini said Sean Fisher is continuing to attract the coaches’ attention and make his case for a starting spot on defense.

“Right now I look and I see Sean Fisher really rising to the top, he’s having a great camp,” he said. “He’s able to play all three linebacker positions and handle them well and he doesn’t hesitate in terms of his assignments. The mental aspect of his game has really picked up. He’s always been a great athlete who could move and run well in the linebacker position.”

At 6-foot-6, Fisher doesn’t fit the mold of a typical hard-hitting linebacker but Pelini called his extra inches a “bonus.”

“I think length is good at the linebacker position,” Pelini said. “He’s got great leverage, he’s able to lower his level so he can play low but at the same time he really gives something in coverage with that length.”

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A couple of them will have a chip on their shoulder. A couple more are being thrown into the fire. Others see the sands of time running out on their NU career.

The ten Husker football players who arguably have the most to prove in 2009 are on the list for various reasons. And each one of them could have standout seasons. Here's our take on the guys NU fans will be watching come fall:

Senior wide receiver Menelik Holt: You can’t create a more prototypically sized receiver – 6-foot-4, 220 pounds – but Holt hasn’t been the heir apparent to Maurice Purify that many expected him to be. At least not yet. His hands haven’t been the problem – sans a fumble at Iowa State – but Holt doesn’t easily get open, and hasn’t much been sent on those deep routes that were previously reserved for Nate Swift. Holt had an average spring camp, and needs to turn up the voltage in the fall.

Senior wide receiver Chris Brooks: Does “Brooksie,” as some call him, finally make good on his lauded high school potential? Time to find out. He had a solid spring, but receivers coach Ted Gilmore has typically been reluctant to play him. He won’t have much choice in 2009; Brooks should be the team’s No. 3 or No. 4 option, at worst. He’s well-liked, and seems to have the right attitude, and no lingering frustration over his lack of playing time.

Senior linebacker Phillip Dillard: Just two years ago, Dillard was seen as the answer to Nebraska’s flailing, failing linebacking corps, specifically the suddenly-average Corey McKeon. Today, Dillard tries to fight out of the doghouse after plummeting to the bottom of the depth chart in spring practice. If healthy, and at the proper weight, Dillard is probably an upgrade over Colton Koehler, who started over the last half of 2008. But he’s got to earn the trust of position coach Mike Ekeler and head coach Bo Pelini, and that should take the balance of fall camp.

Senior defensive end Barry Turner: We’re not questioning Turner’s previous production; he’s been a solid rush end at Nebraska. But he does have to fully recover from a nasty break in 2008 in order to give the Huskers that speed rusher they were lacking last year. With Ndamukong Suh attracting more double teams this year, Turner will have his shots at the quarterback. As the spring game showed, his first step is still there. But can he get around the Big 12’s best tackles? That remains to be seen.

Junior cornerback Prince Amukamara: He’s fast, he’s got huge hands and, by every account, dude can practically jump out of the gym. Now it’s time for Amukamara, a “hot one play, cold the next” cover corner last year, to make the leap that position coach Marvin Sanders knows he can. Sanders revamped his coaching installation this spring, beginning with basics and core principles, in an effort to get all of his defensive backs on the same page. When the light goes all the way on for Amukamara, he could be one of the Big 12’s best. Question is: Does it happen?

Junior quarterback Zac Lee: For it’s worth, we think Lee’s up to the considerable challenge in front of him, which is to sustain the success of 2008 with a tougher schedule, new receivers and a talented true freshman (Cody Green) waiting in the wings. Joe Ganz got to spend the first month in the cozy confines of Memorial Stadium; Lee gets no such luxury, with two vicious road games at Virginia Tech and Missouri on an ESPN Thursday night. The kid’s got to be sharp, fast. And the final exam – games at Kansas and Colorado – will determine the Big 12 North title. Lee has a lot of pressure to bear on that No. 5 jersey.

Redshirt freshman linebacker Sean Fisher: Really, all of the linebackers have something to prove, but Fisher is a perfect microcosm of the position in the fall of 2009: Lots of talent, little experience. Fisher has been the best of the young studs so far, settling into a BUCK linebacker spot nicely in spring camp and looking decent, in the spring game. The first month of the football season, he’ll face all kinds of different offenses - pro-style, spread, whatever Virginia Tech decides to trot out – and he’ll have to keep head above water in all instances. Fisher has earned the spotlight thus far. But his mistakes, should he make them, will be the most quickly exposed, too.

Sophomore cornerback Anthony Blue: He had the ugliest of ugly knee injuries – the dreaded MCL tear – and he’s just now rounding back into game shape and trusting his leg to do what it once did so easily. Before his injury, Blue was slated as a starting cornerback. Now, he might be the No. 5 guy on the board. Another talent, Willie Amos, never really came back from his devastating tear. Neither did wingback/cornerback Isaiah Fluellen. Husker fans don’t want to go down this road again.

Junior guard Ricky Henry: Nearly every Nebraska offensive and defensive lineman have professed an admiration for this kid. Mostly because his motor is on Autobahn speed most of the time, and he loves battling in the trenches with a zeal some haven’t seen since the Milt Tenopir days. That’s fine with us, of course, but, to paraphrase position coach Barney Cotton, it might be good if Henry turned it down a notch every so often, and realized there is such a thing as a holding penalty. If Henry can learn the offense, and be more than a toughman, Nebraska’s running game may be in even better shape.

Senior safety Rickey Thenarse: It would help if Thenarse would get a break on the health front, but he’s still a guy who was healthy enough last year in the Gator Bowl, only to get outplayed and replaced by Matt O’Hanlon. Thenarse is a special teams dynamo, and he’s pretty good in run coverage. But he still tends to get turned around in pass coverage. Does that finally end in 2009?

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Today, we take a look at the second part of NU’s 10 priorities for spring football. You can read part one here. Enjoy!

Casting calls at linebacker: Time to mix the redshirt freshmen in with the veterans and see which dogs get a spot on the porch. Knowing head coach Bo Pelini and linebackers coach Mike Ekeler, it will be a high-energy, spirited competition.

Last fall, Pelini clearly stated that some of his young pups, including Will Compton, Alonzo Whaley and Sean Fisher, could have helped the Huskers’ depleted linebacker corps. But he stuck to his plan to redshirt them – Fisher, after he sustained an early-season injury – to give the bunch four years to gel together.

Don’t think that means the jobs of Phillip Dillard, Blake Lawrence and LaTravis Washington – who hasn’t played any more at BUCK ‘backer than Fisher – are particularly safe. Dillard has been a leader in the past, but must show he’s fully recovered from a tough ankle injury that managed to keep him out of the Gator Bowl. Lawrence improved at WILL, but must hold off guys like Imperial sophomore Matt May, whose Superman leap in the Kansas State game turned some heads, and potentially Whaley, depending on where coaches put him. And it’s hard to know what Washington can or can’t do. And you can’t forget about walk-ons like Colton Kohler, Thomas Grove and Matt Holt, either.

It wouldn’t be fair to say linebacker play was a weakness of Pelini’s defense last year. Too many injuries and strange developments – like Cody Glenn’s suspension. But it needs to be a steadier force in 2009.

New guys in the offensive line rotation: Offensive line coach Barney Cotton has at least four guys – and maybe more – to help cover the departure of Matt Slauson, Lydon Murtha and possibly one other player who may not see much action in 2009.

The new guys are seniors Derek Meyer and Andy Christensen, junior Ricky Henry and redshirt freshman Brandon Thompson. Meyer, a transfer from Kansas State, won scout team award last fall, while Christensen returns after what can only be called a difficult year in 2008. Henry, tough and hungry, redshirted after transferring from a JUCO and Thompson worked out with the scout bunch after redshirting, as well.

Meyer and Thompson are probably tackles, while Christensen and Henry will fit into the guard rotation. Look for their names this spring.

Steinkuhler for Steinkuhler: Departing senior Ty Steinkuhler was one of the more pleasant surprises of the 2008 season; his terrific play beside nose tackle Ndamukong Suh made teams pay for double-teaming one guy or the other. Might his replacement be younger brother Baker Steinkuhler? Maybe. Baker is bigger and faster than Ty, and although sophomore Jared Crick is a perfectly good option at defensive tackle as well, Baker should figure prominently at the position.

The mental and physical recovery of Anthony Blue: If Nebraska can get this kid back on solid, confident ground, it would be like picking up a blue-chip recruit for 2009. Blue, a 5-10 cornerback who blew out his ACL last spring, is finally back to physical form, if recent reports are correct. Now it’s about trusting the knee in action. If healthy, Blue is the team’s most aggressive, most athletic cornerback. He’s not the biggest – but at cornerback, you don’t have to be. Here’s where a smart coach like Marvin Sanders helps. Sanders is a superior communicator, and getting Blue to buy into the strength of his knee is a big priority, and it helps Pelini moves the pieces around the chess board.

Finding the diamonds: With each spring practice, some Huskers emerge from the fray in a far better position than where they started. Last year, it was Matt O’Hanlon, Roy Helu and Mike McNeill who made big moves, setting themselves up for quite a bit of playing time in 2008. Who will it be in 2009, and how does Pelini and Co. bring them to the forefront? We’re about to find out.

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