Our 50 Huskers to Know series returns for the fall, as we count down the key players on Nebraska’s 2010 team. Check back throughout fall camp for the countdown, and scroll to the bottom for links to the whole list.

No. 2 Prince Amukamara, 6-1, 205, CB, Sr.

Nebraska’s most physically gifted player, Amukamara is the nation’s rangiest cornerback, a guy capable of making even more plays than he did last year if his confidence can match his potential. Blessed with giant hands, a long stride and impressive instincts, Amukamara - with the help of secondary coach Marvin Sanders - has transformed himself into a leader and spokesman despite his relatively soft-spoken, easygoing nature in public.

If he does his job this year, he won’t be thrown at very often, and he’ll funnel plays toward his safeties and linebackers. A capable tackler, Amukamara is also tough on a blitz.

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, No. 20, No. 19, No. 18, No. 17, No. 16, No. 15, No. 14, No. 13, No. 12, No. 11, No. 10, No. 9, No. 8, No. 7, No. 6, No. 5, No. 4, No. 3

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Here's a six-pack of Monday takes:

*The Nebraska quarterback race isn’t over. But know this: By all accounts, Zac Lee had a good first week. It’s never a bad thing when a senior finds a sense of urgency.

*One question I keep getting in the email box: What impact will Mike McNeill have at the “adjuster” position?

My cryptic answer: Don’t define “impact” too narrowly. McNeill may not produce eye-popping numbers, but if he’s a dependable target on third-and-medium, and he’s able to stretch defenses up the seam, he’ll have a quality impact.

Good passing offenses often rely on their two outside receivers. In Nebraska’s case, that’s Niles Paul and Brandon Kinnie. Although McNeill will see some time on the outside, his size and athleticism is a good fit for the middle of the field.

*If Nebraska were an NFL team breaking in what amounts to a rookie left tackle, it’d be the biggest question mark on the offense. In college football, of course, the relative inexperience of such players can be hidden a bit by sheer skill and athleticism. Nevertheless - is anyone else supremely curious to see how Jeremiah Sirles and Yoshi Hardrick protect the blind side against Big 12 pass rushers like Missouri’s Aldon Smith and Kansas State’s Brandon Harold?

NU coaches appear confident in Sirles, who’s yet to take a snap in college game. Sophomore defensive end Cameron Meredith, who faces Sirles every day, gave me and a few other reporters the seal approval last week. Hardrick might be the nastier run blocker of the two, but I wonder about his footwork against a hard outside pass rush. I wonder, too, if he’s as slim as he should be. Hardrick is listed at 320 pounds, but his 6-foot-7 frame seems slighter than Sirles, who carries his 310 better.

*How good is Nebraska’s secondary? Better than 2003 bunch, which featured the Bullocks brothers and Fabian Washington? Better than the 1999 bunch headed by Mike Brown and Ralph Brown with sophomore Keyuo Craver? Or the 1997 squad with Mike, Ralph and Eric Warfield? How about the 1995 crew that featured Michael Booker, Tyrone Williams and Mike Minter?

The 2010 bunch is athletic as any of them, frankly - especially Eric Hagg and Prince Amukamara. The gaudy stats of the 2003 bunch - earned against, let’s face it, pretty average teams - probably can’t be matched, but the versatility of this current unit slots it only behind the 1999 unit in my recent memory. This Nebraska version lacks a sheer, stone-cold intimidator/playmaker of Mike Brown’s caliber at safety. Although Dejon Gomes could, by the end of the year, be pretty close. What a JUCO recruiting coup he was for NU.

*Now that Ndamukong Suh’s brute strength in the middle is gone, you might expect Nebraska’s front four to rush the passer outside in; that is, the ends trying to get on the edge, attacking the quarterback from all sides.

Here’s Meredith: “What we’re looking for is to close that pocket. You don’t want throwing lanes for that quarterback. Every day Coach Carl (Pelini) says it, if I’m rushing too wide. He likes that once in awhile, but, for the most part, we’re trying to close that throwing lane. Not only a sack matters. It’s closing the pocket and making that quarterback throw the ball away.”

So more bull rushes and more collapsing pockets that hopefully work, as they did last year, as quarterback quicksand.

*I’ve made my Big 12 picks already; here’s the rest of my conference winners:

ACC Coastal: North Carolina ACC Atlantic: Florida State Overall: Florida State
Big East: Pittsburgh
Big Ten: Ohio State
CUSA: Tulsa
MAC East: Temple MAC West: Northern Illinois Overall: Temple
Mountain West: TCU
SEC East: Florida SEC West: Alabama Overall: Alabama
Sun Belt: Troy
Pac 10: USC
WAC: Boise State

Look for the Heisman top ten next. No, don’t plan on Mark Ingram repeating as the winner.

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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.

*Ohio State uses a "Hell Week" inspired by the Navy Seals during its training camp.

*OWH: The heat wears on the Huskers.

OWH: Is this the year for Kyler Reed?

*Recapping Ndamukong Suh's first game for the Lions.

*A lot of offense in Missouri's first scrimmage.

*Why the Big Ten chose Indy for the title game.

*Fox Sports: The Prince is ready for the NFL.

*Kansas State's most talented defensive player, Brandon Harold, is making his move in 2010 after injuries derailed 2009.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

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.


*The wide receivers and cornerbacks bring a swagger to Nebraska in 2010.

*Brandon Kinnie is fired up by a near-miss in 2009.

*Tad Styker wants to see Nebraska earn its way back into the top ten.

*Dejon Gomes, the ball-hawk.

*Hagg talks Peso.

*Is grayshirting players a dirty practice?

*Michigan and Alabama will play in 2012.

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It’s hot as hell as Nebraska’s football team started its fall camp Saturday, but that confidence you see among the players and coaches is no mirage emanating from NU’s new practice fields.

These Huskers like themselves some Huskers. Guns loaded. Let’s get it on. The defense has a whole season’s worth of excellence to prop itself up, while the offense has, well, pluck. .

“I think (we’ve grown) leaps and bounds,” said junior wideout Brandon Kinnie. “We got a little bit a swagger about ourselves and we got a lot to prove and the defense doesn’t like that very much.”

Said left guard Keith Williams: “We’re going to be physical. We’re going to fly around. We’re going to hit people.”

And tight end Mike McNeill: “The confidence, the excitement - we’re just a team. The guys all love each other. We love hanging out. We love competing….guys aren’t dreading fall camp. Guys are looking forward to going one-on-one against each other. We’re going to have fun.”

Check back on, oh, Tuesday, to see how much fun it still for NU as Death Valley weather descends on Lincoln and temperatures creep into the triple digits.

Nevertheless, the Huskers appear chuffed, with an attitude geared for championships. Confidence is part of the Bo Pelini package, and it’s trickled down to the roster. You could see the swagger come from a mile away, frankly, and not just because the Nebraska football team rocked ice, chains, aviator sunglasses and mustaches out of a spaghetti western for Saturday’s Fan Day.

It started in the Holiday Bowl. Continued through what, by all accounts, was a smashing session of winter conditioning. And the summer, quiet by the usual standards of a major college football program - aside from that viral video to “Beat Texas” - was a bit different, at least in description, from 2009.

No, the program wasn’t any easier. But the Huskers seemed to enjoy it more.

The levity came from unexpected places. Sophomore defensive end Cameron Meredith was poring over some of the old portraits NU has of former All-Americans when he saw a picture of Mike Knox. He liked the mustache. Started to grow one.

“I’ve already got a girlfriend,” Meredith said. “If I was single, I don’t know.”

And now, Burt Reynolds and Ion Tiriac, you have a lot of Husker company, the most interesting of which was Alonzo Whaley’s dipped-in-blond-dye look.

“I saw his this morning,” Meredith said. “I didn’t know what it was.”

Then receiver Niles Paul - in what seems to be a years-long debate with cornerback Prince Amukamara over just about every little thing - brought some boxing gloves down to the locker room on the final day of summer workouts. How about some afternoon fights?

“It was fun, just to be done with some summer workouts,” Kinnie said. “Just in the locker room, going at it.”

Amukamara paired up with Rickey Thenarse. Kinnie called out a cornerback, but nobody answered, so he took on scatback Austin Jones. Paul battled Roy Helu. And Yoshi Hardrick and Baker Steinkuhler, in a battle of the behemoths, squared off.

“There was some tumbling in that one,” Kinnie said.

“I was laughing so hard I was about to cry,” McNeill said.

Every team jokes around. Blows off steam. Nebraska’s no different.

But Bo’s fingerprints are all over these Huskers now. The family vibe resonates throughout the program. Another move by Meredith: He started inviting all of the freshmen - really any player - over to his house on Friday nights.

“When I came here that first summer it was like the worst summer I ever had,” Meredith said. “I didn’t know anyone. I was in the dorms every day. So I always try to invite them over.”

Said McNeill: “Bo wanted to change the culture and he has. He’s the leader of us and we look to him and follow what he does. At the same time, seniors are now going to do what he can do and has done for us.”

It’s the transition I talked about Friday coming to bloom. But it needs to be tested with time, heat and toil. Saturday is likely to be the sunniest of fall camp; one the grind begins and adversity slams into the side of this team - as it does every squad - we’ll see who the enforcers are. And we’ll see how much more Bo has to crack the whip.

Check Out All of Our Photos from Fan Day!

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The Big 12 has cornered the market on terrific defensive backs.

The league is chock full of talent, event after some of it - including Texas safety Earl Thomas - headed to the NFL after last season.

If the Big 12 is on a defensive kick, at least part of it is the development of these players, plus a better understanding of how to stop the spread offense.

Here are the rankings:

T1. Nebraska
Returning Starters: Two
Strengths: The nation’s most physically gifted cover cornerback in Prince Amukamara. A gamer on the open side in Alfonzo Dennard. Eric Hagg is an excellent nickel back, while Dejon Gomes is arguably the team’s most consistent playmaker. Secondary coach Marvin Sanders knows his stuff and has the trust of his players. This is a terrific unit, one of the nation’s best. Weaknesses: P.J. Smith could turn out to be an improvement over Larry Asante, but he’s still a sophomore. Rickey Thenarse at free safety runs hot and cold.

T1. Texas
Returning Starters: Three
Strengths: Excellent corners in Aaron Williams and Curtis Brown. Brown is the league’s best cover corner, albeit a little smaller than Amukamara. Blake Gideon is a opportunistic, if overrated, free safety who finished last year with six interceptions. Another great unit, especially at corner. Hard to beat those guys. Weaknesses: The loss of strong safety Earl Thomas to the NFL hurts.

3. Colorado
Returning Starters: Three
Strengths: Vastly underrated unit that has two NFL-quality corners in Jimmy Smith and Jalil Brown and a good strong safety in Anthony Perkins. After an awful performance vs. Toledo, the Buffs righted the ship and slowed down some pretty good passing offenses (Texas, Missouri and Texas A&M all had less than 270 yards). Weaknesses: Replacing free safety/corner Cha’pelle Brown. CU ultimately needs its offense to help it out some.

4. Oklahoma
Returning Starters: Three
Strengths: OU’s aggressive scheme always leaves its secondary with a lot of responsibility, and the Sooners generally respond. Free safety Quniton Carter is the league’s best, while strong safety Sam Proctor has size and plenty of experience. Corner Jonathan Nelson started three games and played in all 13. Weaknesses: Corners Dominique Franks and Brian Jackson headed to the NFL, and it’s not just easy to reload that kind of talent and efficiency. Franks was one of the best corners in the Bob Stoops era. At times, OU stresses out its safeties significantly.

T5. Kansas State
Returning Starters: Three
Strengths: The safeties, where Emmanuel Lamur (6-4, 220) and Tysyn Hartman (6-3, 205) are huge and strong in both run support and pass coverage. They combined for eight interceptions last year. Weaknesses: Joshua Moore was KSU’s best corner Terrence Newman, and he’s in the NFL now. Speed is a factor, as quick receivers from Texas Tech and Oklahoma tore apart the Wildcats last year. A non-existent pass rush didn’t help.

T5. Texas Tech
Returning Starters: Three
Strengths: A young, inexperienced unit held its own in 2009 and should be much improved in 2010. Free safety Cody Davis is potentially big-time, finishing with 81 tackles as a freshman. Undersized LaRon Moore is one of the league’s better cornerbacks in a Big 12 chock full of them. Weaknesses: Tech is shifting to a 3-4, which could affect the pass rush and in turn the pass coverage. DJ Johnson is a new starter at corner.

7. Baylor
Returning Starters: Two
Strengths: Chance Casey and Clifton Odom return as starters at corner, and generally held back some of the deep plays. True freshman safety Ahmad Dixon is the best defensive recruit in the Art Briles era; expect him to play right away, like Robert Griffin did on offense. Weaknesses: Traditionally poor in run support anyway, the Bears must replace their most consistent tackler in Jordan Lake.


T8. Missouri
Returning Starters: Four
Strengths: Lots of returning experience, obviously. Not a lot of it was good. Corners Carl Gettis and Kevin Rutland are athletic and fast, if a bit undersized. Weaknesses: This unit looked like it was waiting for bad things to happen last year, much like Nebraska’s secondary in 2007. The safeties played a step behind, got baited by play fakes and generally didn’t tackle well. Remember that Missouri’s front seven last year was among the Big 12’s best in sacks and tackles for loss. The secondary was plum awful. A more aggressive scheme may help.

T8. Texas A&M
Returning Starters: Three
Strengths: This young unit took a beating last year - the worst pass defense in the Big 12 - so it wasn’t precisely good experience. But it was experience. Trent Hunter is a small strong safety, but quick, and an active tackler (95) Weaknesses: Both corners are shorter than six feet, which makes them vulnerable to certain larger receivers. A&M suffered a bunch of mental breakdowns last year that left receivers skipping through the secondary.

10. Kansas
Returning Starters: Two
Strengths: Mark Mangino always recruited this area of the defense well, so it’s still well-stocked with talent. Cornerback Chris Harris is an NFL talent, while safety Lubbock Smith was decent in run support. There are players here. Weaknesses: New blitz-happy defensive scheme will put a lot of stress on the secondary. Safety Darrell Stuckey took his talents to the NFL and will be hard to replace. This unit has struggled against the pass for a couple years despite the talent.

11. Iowa State
Returning Starters: Two
Strengths: David Sims is one of the league’s best safeties, but a credit card fraud charge could eat into his senior season. He’s a NFL guy for certain otherwise. Cornerback Leonard Johnson is short, fast and athletic. Weaknesses: The talent base needs to be replenished after losing two starters, James Smith and Kennard Banks. Sims may have a shadow over his season now. The schedule is much harder.

12. Oklahoma State
Returning Starters: One
Strengths: Not a ton. Coaching. Strong safety Markelle Martin had 11 pass breakups in 2009. Weaknesses: Just no decent experience at corner, with two sophomores taking over for Perrish Cox and Terrance Anderson. OSU gave up 237 passing yards per game last year, and could easily push 270 this year. It’ll be a rough transition.

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

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Prince Amukamara, Jared Crick, Alex Henery and a surprise pick - Mike McNeill - all made the media's Preseason All-Big 12 team released Thursday.

Crick shared an additional honor with Texas A&M's Von Miller for Big 12 Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. Crick was one of three unanimous selections.

Here's the whole list. Notice that, on each team, there are more than 11 players. Ties in voting created an additional spot at offensive line, defensive back and linebacker.

Offensive Player of the Year: Jerrod Johnson, Texas A&M (QB, 6-5, 243, Sr/3L, Humble, Texas)

Defensive Co-Players of the Year: Jared Crick, Nebraska (DL, 6-6, 285, Jr, 2L, Cozad, Neb.) and Von Miller, Texas A&M (DE/LB, 6-3, 240, Sr/3L, DeSoto, Texas)

Newcomer of the Year: Toney Clemons, Colorado (WR, 6-2, 205, Jr/TR, New Kensington, Pa.)


Offense

WR Ryan Broyles# Oklahoma 5-11 183 Jr/2L Norman, Okla.
TE Mike McNeill Nebraska 6-4 235 Sr/3L Kirkwood, Mo.
OL Nate Solder* Colorado 6-9 300 Sr/3L Buena Vista, Calif.
OL Ryan Miller Colorado 6-8 310 Jr/3L Littleton, Colo.
C Tim Barnes Missouri 6-4 310 Sr/3L Longwood, Mo.
OL Tanner Hawkinson Kansas 6-6 293 So/1L McPherson, Kan.
OL Stephen Good Oklahoma 6-6 299 Jr/2L Paris, Texas
OL Kyle Hix Texas 6-7 325 Sr/3L Aledo, Texas
WR Jeff Fuller Texas A&M 6-4 215 Jr/2L McKinney, Texas
QB Jerrod Johnson# Texas A&M 6-5 243 Sr/3L Humble, Texas
RB Daniel Thomas* Kansas State 6-2 228 Sr/1L Hilliard, Fla.
RB DeMarco Murray^# Oklahoma 6-1 207 Sr/3L Las Vegas, Nev.
PK Alex Henery^# Nebraska 6-2 175 Sr/3L Omaha, Neb.
KR Cyrus Gray Texas A&M 5-10 196 Jr/2L DeSoto, Texas


DL Aldon Smith Missouri 6-5 255 So/1L Raytown, Mo.
DL Jared Crick* Nebraska 6-6 285 Jr/2L Cozad, Neb.
DL Jeremy Beal# Oklahoma 6-3 267 Sr/3L Carrollton, Texas
DL Sam Acho Texas 6-3 260 Sr/3L Dallas, Texas
LB Travis Lewis^* Oklahoma 6-2 232 Jr/2L San Antonio, Texas
LB Keenan Robinson Texas 6-3 239 Jr/2L Plano, Texas
LB Von Miller* Texas A&M 6-3 240 Sr/3L DeSoto, Texas
LB Brian Duncan Texas Tech 6-1 240 Sr/3L Baton Rouge, La.
DB Prince Amukamara* Nebraska 6-1 205 Sr/3L Glendale, Ariz.
DB Quinton Carter# Oklahoma 6-1 200 Sr/3L Las Vegas, Nev.
DB Aaron Williams Texas 6-1 195 Jr/2L Round Rock, Texas
DB Curtis Brown Texas 6-0 184 Sr/3L Gilmer, Texas
DB Blake Gideon Texas 6-1 205 Jr/2L Leander, Texas
P Derek Epperson* Baylor 6-3 235 Sr/3L Southlake, Texas
PR Ryan Broyles^ Oklahoma 5-11 178 Jr/2L Norman, Okla

^ 2009 Preseason Team
* 2009 All-Big 12 First Team selection
# 2009 All-Big 12 Second Team selection

Unanimous selections: DL - Jared Crick (NU) and Jeremy Beal (OU); LB - Travis Lewis (OU)

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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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.

Cool? Cool!

*Several Nebraska players - led by cornerback Prince Amukamara - are given high preseason grades by NFL scouting services.

*Michael Rose, out of Kansas City Rockhurst, is Nebraska’s first commit for the 2012 recruiting class. NU can’t officially offer the kid for another calendar year, so we’ll hold off on the hosannas until then.

*85 years ago, the Big Ten turned down Nebraska.

*Eric Crouch and Jason Peter are among the former Huskers to visit Omaha’s Children’s Hospital on Tuesday.

*Jury selection in the Cat Tracker bus death case began this week.

*USC releases its top recruit, Seantrel Henderson, from a scholarship.

*The 2010 Kansas State football poster. Meanwhile, Penn State’s poster, true to form, takes the minimalist approach.

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The studs of Big 12 past - Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, Ndamukong Suh, Russell Okung, Jeremy Maclin, Chase Daniel, Todd Reesing and Michael Crabtree among them - are just that. Past.

In their place in 2010 is a generally younger, hungry group of players looking to make their own name.

Here are our 12 best players in the Big 12. No ranking here - when you’re the best of the crop, what’s the use in measuring the amount of cream?

Prince Amukamara, Nebraska cornerback
2009 stats: 64 tackles, 2 sacks, 11 pass breakups, 5 interceptions.
Why he’s on the list: He possesses the physical tools to be nothing less than extraordinary - in the college or NFL. Great size (6-1, 200), better speed and versatility. Now it’s matter of being consistent and confident. Amukamara could have easily been a wide receiver or kick returner, but Husker coaches have kept him focused on the role of lockdown corner, and Amukamara responded with a breakout season in 2009, highlighted by impressive interceptions vs. Oklahoma and Texas.

Jeremy Beal, Oklahoma defensive end
2009 stats: 70 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, 1 interception.
Why he’s on the list: Beal is a combination end who can play down the line of scrimmage against the run but also has a nice package of rush moves that gets him to the quarterback. At 6-3, 261, he’s stronger than his size might suggest, and his compact python-sized arms get him separation from opposing guards and tackles. Overshadowed for years by flashier players like Gerald McCoy, Beal should get his due in 2010.

Curtis Brown, Texas defensive back
2009 stats: 53 tackles, 15 pass breakups, 1 interception.
Why he’s on the list: Big-time gamer. Brown (6-0, 180) isn’t as big or physically gifted as counterpart Aaron Williams (who’s also quite good) but he competes harder, has better timing and leaps beyond his height. A classic cornerback, Brown knows how to put himself between the ball and the receiver, forcing the quarterback to make a perfect pass, or the receiver to make a dramatic play. He won’t get the fanfare of some of his UT teammates, but he’s good - really good.

Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma wide receiver
2009 stats: 1,120 yards receiving, 492 yards on punt returns, 17 total touchdowns.
Why he’s on the list: Broyles is one of the fastest players in the league in pads. Balanced, too. Changes directions quickly. He’s a home-run-hitting No. 1 receiver despite a small size (5-11, 178). Because he can play in the slot or on the outside, Broyles will eventually be matched up on someone who can’t cover him. As a punt returner, he’s squirmy and hard to locate - until he’s already by you.

Jared Crick, Nebraska defensive tackle
2009 stats: 73 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, 14 quarterback hurries.
Why he’s on the list: The heir apparent to Suh, Crick is faster and a better pure pass rusher than his mentor. His first step is hard to block. He’s not as strong, and cannot eat up double teams and still make stops like Suh. But Crick is further ahead of Suh at this same stage. He’ll need to work on occasionally getting stoned by a guard on a running play, and he’ll have to live with double teams, but Crick is the real deal.

Blaine Gabbert, Missouri quarterback
2009 stats: 3,593 yards passing, 204 yards rushing, 27 total touchdowns.
Why he’s on the list: For our money, Gabbert is the total package of size (6-foot-5, 240 pounds), arm strength and athleticism, a surefire first-round NFL Draft pick. He may not be the perfect fit for Missouri’s quick-pass, spread offense - he’s more of an outfielder with a big gun than a second baseman turning a double play, if that makes sense - but look for Mizzou to adjust its attack to suit Gabbert’s downfield passing skills. Gabbert spent nearly half of last season on a bum ankle - courtesy of Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh - but his mobility is underrated. Look for Gabbert to grow out of Chase Daniel shadow in 2010 - presuming head coach Gary Pinkel is ready to stop comparing the two - with a 4,000-yard season.

Robert Griffin, Baylor quarterback
2009 stats: 481 yards passing, 77 yards rushing, 6 total touchdowns.
Why he’s on the list: Despite being injured for last nine games of last season, Griffin remains one of the most dynamic playmakers in the Big 12. Will a torn ACL affect his speed and change of direction? Twenty years ago, maybe. With today’s rehabilitation regimens, probably not. Griffin’s best asset is his intelligence; he knows when not to take chances with foolish, silly throws. He’s not the best quarterback in the Big 12 - that’s Gabbert - but he’s the truest dual threat.

Von Miller, Texas A&M “Jack” backer
2009 stats: 48 tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss, 17 sacks.
Why he’s on the list: While the Aggies’ defense is designed to free up Miller for kill shots, he nonetheless made the splashy play regularly. Has a “come out of nowhere” quality to his pass rushing skills, taking every which way to the quarterback, engulfing them when he gets there. At times, he’ll lose lane responsibility, which is something he’ll have to work on. Miller is a perfect match for A&M’s whack-a-mole blitz attack. And, pound-for-pound, he’s the most fun defensive player to watch, too.

DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma running back
2009 stats: 741 yards rushing, 522 yards receiving, 12 total touchdowns.
Why he’s on the list: From a talent perspective, Murray is what you might call a five-tool running back: Run for power, run for big plays, catch, block, return kicks. OU should feature him more often now that Chris Brown has graduated. Murray didn’t return kicks last year - an injury in the 2008 Big 12 Championship may have scared off Sooner coaches - but he should do it, and he’ll likely do it again in the NFL. Murray hits top-end speed quickly and knows how to make one cut and go. When one of the league’s best running backs, Nebraska’s Roy Helu, watches Murray for tips, you get a sense of just how good he really is.

Aldon Smith, Missouri defensive end
2009 stats: 64 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks.
Why he’s on the list: Smith is a like a giant cat pawing at opposing quarterbacks with his 6-5 frame. Built like a tight end, Smith is among the best athletes in the league, a still-raw talent whose technique should only get better in 2010. Mizzou occasionally moves him inside on passing downs where he clogs up the throwing lanes. Potentially the best defensive player Missouri’s had since Justin Smith.

Nate Solder, Colorado offensive tackle
2009 stats: 96 knockdown blocks
Why he’s on the list: An absolute giant (6-9, 305) who blots out the sun and opposing defensive ends - yet runs a 4.8, 40-yard dash - Solder is the league’s premier left tackle. As a junior he matured into a complete pass and run blocker and is still athletic enough to get around the corner on counters and sweeps. He’ll anchor the best CU line since the Buffaloes’ bunch in 2001.

Daniel Thomas, Kansas State running back
2009 stats: 1,265 yards passing, 257 yards rushing, 75 yards passing, 12 total touchdowns.
Why he’s on the list: One of those natural stud athletes that flew under the radar and landed at Kansas State, Thomas has the size (6-2, 225), moves and speed of a Lawrence Phillips. He’s the closest thing we’ve seen in the Big 12 since LP - plus he can catch and throw. Nobody likes tackling the guy - and that’s if they can lay a hand on him. Good in the red zone, too.

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Check Out Our Full Big 12 Preview: Commentary, 12 Best Players, Ten Overrated Players, Ten Underrated Players

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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.

Cool? Cool!

*Former Nebraska assistant Joe Rudolph reflects on his awful 2007 season at NU. [url][/url]

*While Colorado celebrates moving to the Pac-10, Dan Hawkins is glum and beaten down.

*How Nebraska’s recruiting will change once NU hits the Big Ten.

*Roy Helu and Prince Amukamara have appeared so far on ESPN’s best 25 players in the Big 12.

*Lee B talks winners and losers in the Big 12 realignment game. [url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=5291319 ]Pat Forde[/url], too.

*Should the NU-OU rivalry continue?

*Trophy games have a unique importance in the Big Ten. Let’s not push it too hard on Nebraska, OK?

*Miami quarterback Jacory Harris can be amazing - or average.

*Ohio State recruit shot.

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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.

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*Gary Pepin, Big 12 track coach of the year. He’s a legend, folks.

*Phil Steele lists Prince Amukamara and Jared Crick as preseason All-Americans for 2010.

*Roburt Sallie never played a game for Nebraska. He’s now leaving Memphis, too.

*Softball’s Heidi Foland does it for the love of the game.

*Paul Finebaum exhorts the superiority of the SEC over the Big Ten.

*Dr. Saturday looks back at ACC expansion and why it didn’twork.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

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.

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*Lindy’s makes Jared Crick and Prince Amukamara preseason All-Americans. We can definitely get behind that notion.

*Steve Sipple and Tom Shatel both write pieces pondering the future of Nebraska basketball in the wake of the Haymarket Arena vote passing. Do not be surprised if Doc Sadler - regardless of how he does next season - gets a healthy amount of patience from both.

*Now volleyball coach John Cook wants a new arena- not Devaney’s “leftovers.” A bit brazen, don’t you think? Plus, middle blocker Hayley Thramer will miss this year with a torn labrum.

*Dan Beebe talks to 810 WHB and Kevin Keitzman, saying little to nothing. Keitzman tries to spin it into the story of the day.

*The Pac 10 hires CAA, the agents of Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz, to handle its media deal and expansion opportunities.

*A St. Louis columnist suggests Missouri is a better fitfor the Big Ten than Nebraska.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

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.

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*Tom Shatel argues why Nebraska should jump at the chance to join the Big Ten. His reasons: Money and security. We’ll hold off on a take until we can view the entire parameters of what the Big Ten is offering; indeed, if the Big Ten is really interested in expanding to 16 teams. Which we doubt.

*After a spirited speech from pitching coach Eric Newman, Tom Lemke turned in NU’s best pitching performance of the year. Coincidence?

*Fascinating story about how Nebraska first-round draft picks Trev Alberts, Dave Rimington and Larry Jacobsen got a rude awakening in the NFL after, frankly, being a little pampered at NU. Oh, the story spins it into the communal excellence of the Husker program vs. the strictly business culture of the NFL - and some of that is true - but, in reality college football players - at many schools - are sheltered and protected too much from the realities of the outside world.

*Prince Amukamara is angling for a little time on offense, but appears happy being a All-Big 12 cornerback, too.

*Washington begins an awards campaign for Jake Locker.

Permanent Link to this Blog Post

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.

Cool? Cool!

*Prince Amukamara and Jared Crick appear in the first round of an early mock draft from SI. We assessed their draft chances in a different article. We think Crick is a Husker until 2011, so we don’t forsee him being in this draft.

*Mike Rozier gives an interview to an Oklahoma newspaper. Why the hell not, right?

*Mike Anderson is disappointed by Nebraska baseball’s loss to Iowa. So are we - but we’re not surprised.

*The Mayor is heading back to Iowa State.

*The Wall Street Journal argues why new quarterbacks don’t win national titles or often take their teams to BCS games.

*Mizzou fans are pissing and moaning over not being on the Athlon cover.

*As Vice President Joe Biden eulogizes 29 dead miners in West Virginia, he takes a dig at RichRod. And the funeral audience claps. Man…

*The NCAA is crafting a plan to consider allowing teams with a 5-7 record into 35 bowl games, which creates slots for 70 teams. Since, each of the last three years only 71 teams finished 6-6 or better, you can see how precarious this might be.

*If you thought there was a reason former Texas running back Ricky Williams was so…unique - well, you’re right. A model life he hasn’t lived, as none of us have, but I’m how truly close he is to figuring that out.

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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: Secondary

Spring Summary: For all the grumblings we heard about the defense taking its lumps in spring scrimmages, only on a few plays did the Huskers look out of place in the Red/White Spring Game. Prince Amukamara was beaten twice by friend and teammate Niles Paul - but one of those catches was clearly offensive pass interference on Paul, while the other was a trick play. Alfonzo Dennard locked up his guy most of the afternoon despite giving up a touchdown. Can’t argue with the safety work of Dejon Gomes, P.J. Smith, Eric Hagg or Austin Cassidy, either. Anthony West seemed to take well to his position change, while Rickey Thenarse appears recovered from a torn ACL. Given the depth all over the secondary, this is Nebraska’s strongest position - as it must be in the pass-happy Big 12.


Big Mover: Cassidy, who is a legitimate backup to Hagg, and should see plenty of playing time in the non-conference season before Hagg gets most of the snaps in the Big 12 campaign. Cassidy is big like a linebacker but can run like a safety. Pencil him in at Peso for 2011.


More to Prove: West has all the physical tools to be a gifted safety. He should have been moved earlier, but now he has to play a big dose of catch-up. Thenarse continues to learn and master the playbook in his fifth season.


Wild Card: Thenarse. He’s a big-time playmaker who struggled with consistency. Nebraska has to find the time and place for his talents.


Freshmen to Add: The big name is safety Corey Cooper, who looks headed for strong safety or perhaps the Peso. Defensive backs Harvey Jackson, Ciante Evans and Joshua Mitchell are almost-guaranteed redshirts. Bronson Marsh, a grayshirt, may or may not join the team in the fall.


Injuries: Andrew Green sat out most of spring camp. Walk-on Justin Blatchford tore up his knee in camp; he was a valuable special teams guy.


How to Spend Summer Vacation: Staying humble. Don’t get too big of a head, Husker secondary.

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

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Stop worrying about the defense.

(How’s that for starting a column in midstream?)

I know you, Husker fan. You drank in the gorgeous afternoon along with the Kool-Aid, high-fived somebody when Niles Paul made his great grab, exclaimed “that’s Osborne’s play!” after the bouncearooski, texted your buddy that Taylor Martinez is the next flavor of the month, and then, in the bar or on the drive home, you began to chew on the inside of your cheek.

Wonder. Think. Worry.

And in the coming days, sure as garbage companies heinously overcharge to throw your grass clippings in a truck, some scribe or talking head will pick through the scraps of Saturday’s Red/White Spring Game, walk to the microphone, tap it for clarity, and construct a counter-argument that will linger through summer:

That NU’s defense, giving up 677 yards Saturday - and getting its share of tread marks in two scrimmages - is a potential weakness. Or, at the very least, nowhere near as strong as last year’s version, as Bo Pelini so confidently stated during the winter.

To quote the TBS-bound Conan O’Brien: Keep cool, my babies. Thrice.

1. NU didn’t field a first-team defense on Saturday. At best, it was half of a first team. The chemistry of the two-deep is good - but it’s not that good. Especially after 15 practices.

“Communication is a big part of our defense,” cornerback Prince Amukamara said. “Without that, you see a lot of open plays.”

Said safety Dejon Gomes: “The offense did a heck of a job, but the Spring Game is kinda different. Half the guys you’re playing with is on the other team. The chemistry’s a little off.

2. Carl and Bo Pelini rarely dialed up blitzes. When they did, the Red or White offense, save a few examples, didn’t handle it well. The Brothers Pelini weren’t looking for sacks; they wanted to see how quarterbacks Cody Green and Taylor Martinez handled basic coverages.

3. Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson overhauled the offense for this spring. And some of the stuff he installed isn’t easy to stop on the first drive.

That’s probably why Nebraska’s running it.

In Bo Pelini’s many years as defensive coordinator, he’s probably figured out what he doesn’t like to defend, and it involves a running quarterback, power football, a downfield passing game, multiple running backs, and a dash of the Wildcat.

In short - a mish-mash of the offenses that gave Bo the most heartache when he was at LSU in 2007: Florida, Kentucky and Arkansas.

Watson - with Bo’s input - appears to have given the offense a run-first identity. And NU’s smallish defense - a Cosgrove collection it isn’t - is a bit prone to a quick-hitting, downhill running game.

Do the Huskers have to address that by continuing to build its defensive line? Absolutely. It’s not there yet. Neither Baker Steinkuhler nor Terrence Moore were exactly dominating Saturday - although Steinkuhler fought off blocks pretty well for a man of his length.

But ends Cameron Meredith and Pierre Allen were in fine form. Meredith screamed off the edge once; another time he bulled his way to the quarterback on an inside twist. Allen, hobbled for much of 2009 with the mysterious-yet-debilitating turf toe, looked stronger and quicker. Josh Williams had a sack, too.

And an opposing quarterback isn’t going to enjoy throwing against Nebraska. Expect blitzes from all angles - with a variety of terrific athletes - to account for the loss of Ndamukong Suh.

Safety Matt O’Hanlon once told me Bo and Carl were an encyclopedia of blitzes. It made his head - and those of his teammates - spin, how quickly they rattled them off. O’Hanlon recounted how, in 2008, Bo called a timeout to keep New Mexico State from scoring a late touchdown, walked out on the field, and modified one his classic “Casino” blitzes right on the spot, pointing at players and giving them their assignments, sandlot-style.

On the next play, O’Hanlon grabbed an interception. Just like Bo told him he would.

And NU’s secondary - Rickey Thenarse, Gomes, Amukamara, Eric Hagg, Anthony West - is a perfect army to deploy to in 2010

Hagg - one of the Huskers’ best blitzers - said the defense hardly concentrated on those schemes this spring. That’s for fall, when the two-deep becomes more clear, and there’s only, say, 30 players - instead of 60 - to refine and hone for the season.

Where Nebraska coaches imagined themselves weak - linebacker - may account for the most growth in the spring. The light went on for Sean Fisher and doubly so for Alonzo Whaley, who played fast and downhill in the Spring Game. Will Compton had a nice pass break-up, and Eric Martin, well, flew around. If he puts all the keys and schemes together - watch out.

Beyond that - there’s a track record with the defense. From the end of that 2008 Oklahoma game until this moment, you’d be hard-pressed to locate a more dangerous, predatory defense outside of Alabama. Since that awful night in Norman, NU’s has been a sack and turnover machine, regardless of the yards allowed. Fissures and cracks have been papered over by Suh and an opportunistic secondary.

Suh may be gone. But the secondary remains. And Bo and Carl have only scratched the surface of their creativity.

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

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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.

Cool? Cool!

BRN asks: Who’s the fourth running back at NU? We’ll take Lester Ward if somebody above him gets hurt, and Austin Jones for spot plays out of the shotgun on third down.

*Marvin Sanders toils away at making the already-gifted Alfonzo Dennard and Prince Amukamara more complete players.

*Do you remember when Nixon, during the Vietnam War, mysteriously (and apocryphally?) confronted protestors at the Lincoln Memorial in the middle of the night? I give you Dan Hawkins, answering the questions of Buff fans in the Denver Post - at length!

Quoth the Hawk:

The power and magic of people with a purpose will make it happen. I think the people on campus and in the Dal Ward Athletic Center know what we have done and what we are up against. Every situation has a different boiling point for success, and I believe we are getting closer to that point. We are at a critical point and we need the Buff faithful to be supportive of the program; if everyone rolls up their sleeves and rows in the same direction, we will reach the destination.

*Lee B’s Big 12 chat, still blaming the Barry Coller era for Doc Sadler’s current struggles. The chat is aces otherwise, but Collier’s bland personality simply cannot translate to every single problem NU has. Sadler had too much success in his first three years to now retroactively point out the grey clouds. (Yes, I prefer "grey"!)

*Nebraska and Creighton’s softball teams are facing unexpected struggles.

*Can Connie Yori stage an encore season at NU?

The quick answer: No. Nebraska should aim to return to the NCAA Tournament, which will be challenge in itself. Baylor and Oklahoma, Final Four participants, will improve, Missouri and Colorado inch forward, Kansas State probably gets back into the NCAA Tourney picture.

Nebraska has its point guard - Lindsey Moore - and senior leader - Dominique Kelley. But the Huskers need to find consistent scoring in the post - Cathryn Redmon can provide the defense and rebounding, but not the shooting - while getting more out of shooter Kaitlyn Burke than she provided before sustaining a season-ending knee injury. The freshman class looks strong, but it’s asking a lot of it to produce wins right off the bat.

Look for a slightly softer non-conference schedule.

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When Nebraska wide receiver Niles Paul covered ten yards in 1.40 seconds during winter conditioning - the fastest time in NU history - strength and conditioning coach James Dobson made Paul run again for proof.

Boom! Another 1.40.

With a smile at Tuesday‘s spring football press conference, cornerback Prince Amukamara brushed that time off his shoulder.

“Niles did kill everybody with that ‘10’ time, but - yeah, there’s a but - he’s not going around saying he’s the fastest,” Amukamara said at Tuesday‘s press conference. “If he did, I’d ask him to race.”

Wait a minute, Paul countered. When the fastest of the Cornhuskers staged races two years ago, “Prince was the only one who didn’t want to race.”

“So Prince can’t tell me anything about racing,” Paul said.

This is the friendship between two of Nebraska’s best athletes.

“We can go downstairs right now and I can see him and we’ll get to talking,” Paul said. “As a matter of fact, we just got into it downstairs. This is how we are.”

Paul is ripped like Bernard Hopkins - and that’s not an exaggeration - plus 50 pounds, with the straight-line speed of his uncle, Ahman Green. Amukamara, with his wingspan and off-the-chart jumping ability - not to mention his 6-foot-1 frame - is the kind of rangy corner some NFL drool over.

In drills, in workouts, in games of 7-of-7, in the lunchroom, they’re good at feeding off of each other, talking trash and colliding for jump balls. Iron sharpening iron. Speed quickening speed.

“He definitely lets me hear it if he beats me on a deep route,” Amukamara said, “and I let him hear it if I get a (pass break-up) on him.”

Their competitive zeal is fueled by breakout performances during the last half of 2009. Before that, both of them possessed more potential than production. Equal parts “money” - and mistakes.

Amukamara was “playing too timid” in games, Paul said, after dominating in practice. In a 31-10 loss to Texas Tech, Red Raider receivers zipped past him. He missed a crucial tackle that helped set up a long gain and an eventual touchdown.

And secondary coach Marvin Sanders rode him about it in “several little talks,” Amukamara said. Defensive coordinator Carl Pelini did, too. You don’t know how good you can be.

“It was hard to distinguish the criticism (from the) encouragement,” Amukamara said.

Paul was pulled, for a time, from the Missouri game before returning to catch two touchdown passes. But the guilt of bizarre fumbles vs. Texas Tech and Iowa State (a 9-7 loss) crawled into his brain.

“I let a lot of stuff mess with my confidence,” Paul said. “I doubted my credibility as a player sometimes. I had a lot of talks with Coach (Shawn) Watson and Coach (Bo) Pelini.”

Sanders, meanwhile, finally broke through to Amukamara, who admitted Tuesday to being “offensive” to his position coach.

“He had a lot of good things to say but I wasn’t trying to hear it,” Amukamara said.

But he was listening that night vs. Oklahoma, when he daringly stepped in front of a Landry Jones pass, picked it off, returned it to the 1, and set up NU’s only touchdown.
One week later, Paul blasted off, making several big catches - and a key kickoff return - at Kansas. Another big catch vs. Kansas State. A punt return for a score - and two crucial third-down grabs - at Colorado. And a long punt return in the Big 12 Championship that should have given Nebraska the deciding touchdown it needed to win.

They both starred in the Holiday Bowl. Paul caught four passes for 123 yards, a touchdown, and a muscle flex. Amukamara was stunning as a shutdown corner. Arizona couldn’t crack him.

“Niles went through a huge transformation,” Amukamara said. “His confidence is sky-is-the-limit.”

Paul paid Amukamara an even higher compliment: “I wouldn’t race Prince in the 40.”

Then again…

“I think I can beat him in the 60.”

What's your take from the Nebraska press conference?

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Quick hits from Tuesday’s presser:

*Call Mike McNeill the “adjuster.” That’s what the 6-foot-4, 240-pound senior and head coach Bo Pelini called his new position on Tuesday. No, he won’t be reassessing property values. He will be on the field more often, in positions where he’ll be matched against linebackers and nickel backs in the slot, rather than trying to wend his way through traffic on third down.

McNeill had the idea in his mind when offensive coordinator Shawn Watson pulled him aside.

“He said exactly what I wanted to say to him,” McNeill said. “…if you the concepts and know our offense, you can play anywhere. After four years, I think I know most of the routes.”

Pelini said Nebraska should have thrown the ball to McNeill more often. McNeill demurred to Pelini, adding “coach said it - I’ll just go with that.”

McNeill said he was a 15-pound weight range that he must hit to play wide receiver.

“The name sounds different, it doesn’t really change that much,” McNeill said. “It creates mismatches.”

*Ben Martin and Cruz Barrett are no longer on the roster, having taking medical redshirts. Neither were significant contributors in the Pelini era; their absence opens up two scholarships for the 2010 season that could be filled by walk-ons, a potential transfer, or perhaps 2010 grayshirt Bronson Marsh.

*Zac Lee is doubtful to return during spring practice, and redshirt freshman corner Andrew Green will be held out of the first week of spring practice with a “nagging injury,” according to Pelini.

*Left tackle Yoshi Hardrick was expected to compete immediately for a starting job on the NU offensive line, but Pelini put the brakes on the hype:

“He’s got a long way to go as far as getting up to speed on conditioning,” Pelini said. “He got a lot to learning to do…hopefully in the future Yoshi will be in there and get a chance to show what he can do and see how he progresses.

In other words, current left tackle starter Mike Smith isn’t sampling guard and center because of Hardrick can step right in.

*Nebraska might put a green jersey on quarterback Kody Spano, who suffered two torn ACLs last year. That’s more “to give me a little peace mind,” Pelini said, than anything else. Spano has full range and mobility back and doesn’t want to wear a knee brace in spring camp - a good sign.

*Pelini was adamant about keeping Taylor Martinez at quarterback - and solely at quarterback - for the spring. During fall practice, Martinez had worked extensively at wide receiver.

“He has a lot to bring to the table,” Pelini said. “He’s a quarterback. Period. End of story. Until further notice. This guy is a tremendous talent. We’re looking forward to getting him taught. It’s not the time and place to mess around with moving him here and moving him there…he needs all the reps he can get.”

*Prince Amukamara briefly considered the NFL Draft after hearing he might be selected in the first round, “but my parents were in Nigeria at the time.”

“They weren’t here to make the decision with me,” Amukamara said, “so I didn’t think it was right. It didn’t feel right.”

*Some thought tight end Kyler Reed might play some fullback for Nebraska, but it appears Ryan Hill - who caught the touchdown vs. Oklahoma - may get the nod to compete with Tyler Legate, Mike Hays and C.J. Zimmerer. Hill’s hands are almost as good as Mike McNeill’s, who formerly played the position. Hill’s move opens the door more clearly for Dreu Young and Ben Cotton - who served as a captain during winter conditioning - to be NU’s top two tight ends on running downs - with JUCO import Chase Harper arriving in the fall.

What's your take from the Nebraska press conference?

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He’s still Bo Pelini, Youngstown-tough, and the Nebraska coach had to indulge that side of himself for a brief moment at NU’s spring football press conference.

“The depth chart isn’t worth the paper that it’s on,” he said. “We’re not going to answer depth chart questions.”

So if reporters were considering a handicap of, say, the quarterback race - or the competition at safety - no dice. And forget asking the assistants.

“The only person who will be answering depth chart questions is myself,” said Pelini, who, as you may have noticed, isn’t.

Beyond his opening disclaimer, though, Pelini was as expansive and upbeat as he’s ever been as the Cornhuskers’ head coach. The same guy who proclaimed “Nebraska is back!” after a 33-0 win in the Holiday Bowl, who expected NU’s defense to be “five times better” in 2010 as it was in 2009.

He likes spring football, and his team in it. He finally sees the depth at each position that allows Nebraska to run two practice units effectively. He loved the work the Huskers did in winter conditioning.

“Forget about talent and expectations on us,” Pelini said. “I like the way they go about their work. I like their attitude. I like the leadership. I like the type of football players we have on this team and how they’ve come together. I think that our culture is starting to take hold.”

And the Nebraska culture is starting to take hold in Bo. The positivity and perspective. Folks, this is a coach who, when asked about the quarterback race, said “our situation is great,” when, let’s face it, it’s great like a bowl of bacon ice cream. The 2009 senior starter has to watch 7-on-7 workouts while the heir apparent, quite frankly, ain’t so apparent right yet.

But this is Bo emerging from the bunker. His NU vibe. The next phase of his era in Lincoln.

Sound dramatic? It’s our stock and trade, the galactic big picture, the tea leaves, the pigskin prophecies. Reality is - it’s day one of this spring fling, and Bo’s sure to have a bad day at the office. Within the week.

And yet the positive energy is evident in Nebraska’s aggressive recruiting strategy for the 2011 class, in its achievements in winter conditioning - where Cody Green and Niles Paul both set positional records in the 10-yard dash - and in its sheer confidence.

“Our swagger for sure has been turned up,” cornerback Prince Amukamara said. “A new style of energy. A new, different type of emotion we play with.”

“The swag is high,” tight end Mike McNeill said. “I think people just realize the potential we have.”

That 13-12 loss to Texas did more than just provide some 00:01 motivation for the offseason. It galvanized NU for a terrific bowl game, for one thing, but it also sent a clear message: Nebraska can hang with anyone. By scheme or talent or sheer will and work ethic, they can, and if the Huskers had anything more than a rudimentary offense in the Big 12 Championship, the national media would have been sniffing around Tuesday’s presser, asking all the big picture questions it specializes in, rather than the usual collection of scribes sifting through the sand for a penny of detail.

Bo obliged, of course, and worked the media room instead of reacting to it, covering every position group except, somewhat surprisingly, linebackers, where question marks loom.

Offensive line was an area of focus, as it should be after a rough 2009, and Pelini foresaw competition and tinkering. Left tackle Mike Smith will dabble a bit at guard and center, while JUCO transfer Yoshi Hardrick is “raw,” Pelini said, and in need of conditioning and development. The unit was smashed-up by debilitating injuries last year - Keith Williams played a torn pectoral muscle, a pain that equates to getting gored like a matador on each play - and has to avoid them in the spring and the fall if NU’s offense is to function the way Shawn Watson envisions.

A more cautious coach might restrict some of his elder linemen in practice, but the Huskers can’t afford it. They have to, somewhat desperately, get more physical. One-yard holes have to become three, and a hole, period, might be nice on a power play. That means putting the five best players on the field. That means the competitive ringer.

“It’s a contact sport,” Pelini said. “Guys are going 100 miles an hour and they’re going after each other and they’re not worried about (getting hurt)…I don’t care if it’s a contact drill or a non-contact drill, when you’re out there in athletics and these guys are big and talented and doing things, you can have injuries. How much you hit and how physical you are - I don’t think that plays much into it.”

If Smith is sampling from the position buffet this spring - take notice. I suspect Barney Cotton, a giant, intense man already, sets that jaw even a little harder this spring. Those linemen are in for the toughest month of their young careers.

None of it will be easy. Pelini nearly killed this team with work in his first spring at NU.

“To the point where even I felt bad for them,” defensive coordinator Carl Pelini once said of that first camp.

Said Amukamara: “They’ll just keep raising the bar. We’ll never meet their expectations.”

So don’t mistake Bo’s smile for “soft.”

But maybe, now, the bar doesn’t have to be raised quite as much. Judging by Bo on Tuesday, the Huskers’ standard as it enters spring football is already quite high.

What's your take from the Nebraska press conference?

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DB Prince Amukamara, 6-1, 200, Sr.

At the beginning of Prince Amukamara’s career, fans rightly wondered whether a guy who had been so dazzling on offense in high school was best kept on the defensive side of the ball. Through two average seasons at cornerback, those bleats got a little louder.

Amukamara shut down all such concerns last year like he did many of the Big 12’s best receivers. Though far from a finished product in 2009, Amukamara had flashes of brilliance, aggression and great coverage skill for the Huskers - enough to get NFL Draftniks buzzing about a potential early entry to the league. Amukamara wisely stayed, however, for his senior season, where he’ll try to couple even more knowledge with his prodigious physical talents.

As an athlete, Amukamara might be the best on the team - friend Roy Helu calls him a “freak” - and he developed better timing in 2009. Fast enough for deep routes - with a big enough to body up taller receivers, Amukamara is pretty everything you want in a boundary corner: Rangy and speedy. He’s also become a better tackler.

So what’s left? Amukamara has to become better on jump ball situations - he was burned a few times in the Texas Tech and Texas games - and needs to work on not face-guarding his opponent. The more film study he does, the better he’ll be. Amukamara has a real chance to be Nebraska’s best pure corner since Ralph Brown.

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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. 15 Barry Turner: Great final year for Turner, who was a physical, dominant force off the edge and served as a great bookend to one of Nebraska’s best defensive lines ever. He got his “step” back in 2009 and chased down players all over the field.

No. 14 Matt O’Hanlon: Goat to hero, all in the span of a few months. O’Hanlon busted a coverage against Virginia Tech that directly led to the Hokies’ dramatic 16-15 win, but salvaged an all-conference caliber season with three interceptions vs. Oklahoma, an interception return for a touchdown vs. Colorado and an interception that set up NU’s first touchdown in the Holiday Bowl, for which he was named the game’s MVP. Throughout the year, O’Hanlon was excellent in run support, especially in games vs. OU and Texas in the Big 12 title game.

No. 13 Prince Amukamara: He arrived during the Big 12 Conference season, showing off that athleticism and skill Husker fans already knew he had, and coupling it with a better grasp of his role and the game in general. Amukamara won all-conference honors and positioned himself as a potential NFL first-round draft pick in 2011.

No. 12 Quentin Castille: Bo Pelini kicked him off the team for violating team rules on multiple occasions. In the short term, this move hurt Nebraska - especially when the Huskers switched to a power-running style that perfectly suited Castille’s skills. NU was also forced to burn the redshirt of Traye Robinson. In the long run, Pelini hopes Castille’s dismissal - along with the recent dismissal of freshman Chris Williams for similar violations - sends a clear message to the Huskers.

No. 11 Mathew May: Battled chronic back pain throughout the year, which limited his role to special teams, but it’s hard to say whether May’s potential, lauded consistently by coaches last spring, is hype or the real thing. We’ll know more a few months from now. There’s little question that May tests off the charts. But there’s more to playing football.

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NU cornerback Prince Amukamara will be back for his senior season, Nebraska defensive coach Carl Pelini confirmed to the Associated Press earlier Monday.

Amukamara, a junior, had shown up in a couple NFL Mock Drafts prior to Monday. He grabbed first-team All Big 12 honors this year for his play.

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We've heard nary a thing about Prince Amukamara declaring for the NFL Draft - and neither has NFLDrafScout's Chad Reuter. But that didn't stop Reuter from placing Amukamara in the first round of his latest Mock Draft, released Monday.

Amukamara is at No. 26 to Green Bay.

Here's what Reuter said in the piece:

"Although Charles Woodson is still at the top of his game at 33, Al Harris is 34 and finished the year on IR, and depth is severely lacking behind them. The Huskers' first-team All-Big 12 corner was extremely difficult for receivers to handle this season."

Naturally, Amukamara's appearance on any mock draft list rattles a Husker fan's wind chimes a little. He figures to be a big piece of the 2010 NU defense - provided he returns.

Reuter said he didn't place Amukamara in the Mock Draft because he has a hunch he's leaving; rather, Reuter watched Amukamara during the last half of the season, and saw a guy better than most of the seniors who will be in the Draft.

"I thought he deserved it for the way he played," Reuter said Tuesday. I would take him over most of the underclassmen."

Green Bay likes physical, rangy corners, Reuter said, and the 6-foot-1 Amukamara fits the bill.

Tennessee's Eric Berry is generally considered the top defensive back prospect in the NFL Draft. Just a junior, Berry could play corner or safety for a Cover 2 defense. The No. 2 guy in the Draft is Florida's fast, flashy Joe Haden.

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Now that we've segued rather brusquely into the bowl season – which itself is the doorstep to the offseason, if you ask me – we'll be busting out these Monday columns, as usual, with a twist: Instead of five players we loved, we'll give you six strong takes on news in and around Husker sports. Don't worry – heavy dose of the pigskin, still. And we'll have a special bowl review, too.

One with the Monday fun!

*The Heisman vote is a total bummer, of course; Ndamukong Suh should have won, and he had zero business finishing fourth behind, of all people, Texas' Colt McCoy. Clearly, a good chunk chunk of the voters didn't bother waiting until championship week. How thoughtful of them.

You know what else is a sham? Votes equally apportioned by region. Not only does that ignore the population quotient – the West Region has far more people in it than most of the geographical subsections – it hands 145 votes to the Northeast Region, which is, essentially, New England.

Want to guess how many Division I programs are in the entire region? Five. Army, Syracuse, Buffalo, Connecticut and Boston College. Even if one assumes that a good chunk of the votes go to ESPN (located in Bristol, Connecticut) you're still awarding votes to a region where baseball and college basketball reign supreme. How often – if ever again – will that region have a player in the Heisman running?

One-sixth of the Heisman race should not be decided by a region with no dog in the fight.

*Before pigskin pundits automatically hand the defense from Suh to fellow defensive tackle Jared Crick, may we gently suggest that the real heir apparent to Suh's excellence, in least in 2010, is cornerback Prince Amukamara. Surprised? Don't be. At 6-foot-1, Amukamara is the perfect size for boundary corner, and his first-team All-Big 12 selection was well-earned. Not only does he have the superior physical tools for his position – much like Suh had – Amukamara is surrounded by talent in what could be the nation's best secondary next year.

Not that Crick won't be excellent. I just think Amukamara is more symbolic of the defense's strength in 2010.

*Head coach Bo Pelini needs to use the bowl preparation as a laboratory for new players and ideas on offense. He doesn't necessarily need to unveil them in the bowl game. But he should use the time between now and, oh, Dec. 27 as a training ground for 2010. Open up the toolbox. Look hard at using the Wildcat – either with Rex Burkhead or Taylor Martinez or Roy Helu – for a power running game.

*Enough of this panic and nonsense over losing Tyler Gabbert to Missouri. Yes – it stinks because Nebraska wasted so much time on the kid. But, other than that: Develop what you have. Martinez didn't fall off the back of a produce truck. Ron Kellogg III quietly had a nice year on the scout team. Cody Green darn well better be ready to take over in 2010, given his experiences this year. Zac Lee? Had his chance in games. He practices too much better than he plays in games. Pelini, of course, always wants his guys to practice well. But he'll also reserve his final judgment for when “the bullets are flying.”

*Didn't write much about volleyball this year – but watched enough of it. John Cook squeezed as much juice out of this 2009 team as he could. In 2010, with another stellar recruiting class (and Penn State in slight rebuilding mode) NU can make a harder run at the national title. The key, to me? Turning the offense over to outside hitter Hannah Werth. Build it around one of the better athletes in Husker history, and get Lindsey Licht and Tara Mueller to fill supporting roles behind her. Make Werth a captain, too, for that matter. Will Cook, used to relying on quiet giants like Sarah Pavan, pull the trigger on the shorter, ultra-competitive Werth? If he wants to win the national title, he will.

*The Nebraska men's basketball team will round into shape as a defensive stalwart by the Big 12 season. The question is: Will the offense come around? It's not looking terrific so far. Against USC, Oregon State. Saint Louis and Creighton – the four strongest teams on NU's schedule thus far – the Huskers have averaged 51 points, and possessions have, once, again, ticked down to the end of the shot clock, with little ball movement on dribble penetration in sight. The Big 12 is just too grueling for NU to play like that. It's twice as tough this year as it was last, as Iowa State, Texas Tech and Kansas State – heck, even Colorado – are much stronger.

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As we delve back into one of the more painful losses in Nebraska football history, I want to step away from the field of play for a minute. Let's head, instead, into the homes of interested viewers.

What do you suppose Syracuse fans, mired in another ugly losing season, thought as they watched NU's defense thunder away at Texas? The Orange could have nabbed Bo Pelini in 2004, you know. Chose Greg Robinson instead. What do you suppose Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne was thinking? He could have taken a run at Pelini in 2006 or 2007. How about Arizona State, which recycled Dennis Erickson? Or UCLA, which tried the Skippy? Or even Michigan, which fixated on Les Miles and forgot to notice the defensive coordinator who delivered all of the crucial wins?

How about Steve Pederson? What do you suppose his thoughts were, after Pittsburgh's miserable defense blew a 31-10 lead over undefeated Cincinnati in the snow? As he watched the Huskers grind down UT quarterback Colt McCoy, who surely is as good as Cincy's Tony Pike, and the Longhorns, who are, in many ways, a mirror image of the Bearcats' offense.

What do you suppose Gary Pinkel, whose Missouri team has been repeatedly humiliated by Texas and Oklahoma, was thinking? Mike Gundy, whose OSU bunch got butt-thumped by both teams? What do you think Turner Gill, prepping for an interview at Kansas, was thinking?

Maybe they were thinking what Alabama, the odds-on favorite to win the national title, already knows: If you can ever manage to acquire primo defensive mind – my goodness, hold onto him and pay him what he needs to succeed.

Amidst all this offense in college football, the story of Championship Saturday was Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban, who finally stopped Florida's trickery-based attack, and Pelini, who reduced McCoy, quite frankly, to a child lost in a supermarket. It was akin to Kubrick and Spielberg directing movies on the fly, back-to-back. You couldn't slow down the action to appreciate all the tiny quirks, but you knew it was brilliant, and you knew you couldn't stop watching. Seven hours of guts and gamesmanship worthy of NFL playoff games.

I have debated, with myself, the validity of Florida's offense; it is strangely and powerfully methodical, and yet couched in fakes and feints and funny business, too. Alabama exposed it Saturday night as an elaborate three-card monte, and Tim Tebow as more of an athlete than a quarterback. There are 10 or 15 Sabans in the NFL; I don't know Tebow survives at that level. The more motions and fakes and H-backs the Gators threw at the Tide, the more desperate and gimmicky it seemed, the more Tebow looked rudderless.

Robbed of his dive-and-counter game, UF's Urban Meyer prowled the sidelines – frantically, it seemed - and kept dialing Tebow's number – to no avail. Tebow was given every chance to win the Heisman Saturday night, and he kept double-clutching most throws, second-guessing most decisions. He was initially defiant, then frustrated, further confused and, finally, broken. When Saban takes a player of Tebow's sheer, raw athleticism and turns him into the lead actor of a “Happy Feet” sequel, he's really done something.

The Brothers Pelini produced an incredible encore. They dialed up aggressive blitzes, called for twists and stunts along the front four, and kept daring McCoy to throw it deep. The few times Texas did, it actually paid off with a nice gain or a pass interference penalty.

Both defenses proved this truth: Most college quarterbacks, good as they may be, have been coached within an inch of their life to make the smart, safe throw. McCoy, Tebow, Sam Bradford, Tony Pike, Andrew Luck, Greg McElroy, any of them. It takes a lot of NFL experience, or foolish moxie, to play otherwise.

If you take away that safety blanket - it you can get a 22-year-old to think in the pocket, instead of reacting – you have him dead to rights two downs out of three. So it went for Alabama and Nebraska.

NU did more than that, though – at least in terms of the Big 12. The Huskers stood up to Texas and Oklahoma like no other league team has in the last decade.

The secret is out. The gig could be up. The Russian is cut.

Nebraska didn't knock him down or out – some fans (not I) would argue the Big 12 politburo made sure of that in the final seconds of Saturday night – but the Huskers blazed a path through a dark forest, and left some crumbs behind to consider.

It's up to the rest of the league to wake up and smell the victories. The rest of college football, too.

Defense is back. And Bo is in the vanguard.

Now...about that offense...

Five Players We Loved

Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh: A performance we'll never forget. Worthy, by itself, of the Heisman.

Now, this week, you're going to hear that Toby Gerhart, in a series of relatively meaningless games, getting the ball in every obvious goal-line situation, somehow earned it instead. Well, folks, he didn't. What he did do is beat Notre Dame on national television. And since the East Coast Heisman voters don't generally know their rear ends from their elbows when it comes to college football, they'll alight on the nearest relative of anything Fighting Irish.

Just one question: If Gerhart is bounding through a hole, Suh is there to meet him and it's one yard for a first down – who wins?

Cornerback Dejon Gomes: Twelve months ago, this kid wasn't even on NU's roster. Ted Gilmore recruited him. Marvin Sanders coached him. Some recruitniks like to bag on Gilmore and Sanders' efforts in this area, but they got this one right.

Cornerback Prince Amukamara: He needs to come back for one more season, and polish off his considerable potential. But Amukamara has turned into everything Sanders hoped he would become.

Defensive end Barry Turner: The quiet man of the Blackshirts – nary an interview during the 2009 season – looked strong and fast Saturday night, consistently collapsing the pocket on McCoy. In the last month of the season Turner finally seemed at full confidence.

Safety Matt O'Hanlon: The back middle was closed for business, and he made some key open-field tackles. Does Matty O get a free agent look from an NFL club? We say yes. There's more than a little Scott Shanle – who starts at linebacker for the New Orleans Saints - in the kid. He could, at the very least, be a valuable special-teamer at the next level – if that's what he wants.

Three Concerns We Have

Quarterback Development: Hello? McFly? Where is it? Most Husker fans wouldn't trust Zac Lee to run a band saw in shop class right now. The coaches apparently don't trust Cody Green to do the same.

Lee made one poor read after another Saturday night. He's entirely too skittish under pressure. Twice, he jumped and rifled screen passes to Roy Helu and Rex Burkhead, too hard for them to do anything with it. His second interception – to Niles Paul – was underthrown, off his back foot. A crossing route to Paul that would have gained big yards was thrown before Paul was looking.

On Nebraska's best shot a touchdown – after Paul's punt return – Lee immediately tossed an ill-advised fade pass to Brandon Kinnie – who wasn't open – instead of waiting for Mike McNeill's slant route to clear over the middle. As Lee released the ball, McNeill broke open for six. One problem: Lee never looked at anyone but Kinnie.

That's development. First – why is Kinnie is the isolation fade route – and not Paul? Second – did Lee have a hot read based on Texas blitzing (UT brought six, which is why McNeill was open). Third – why, if he didn't have a hot read, did Lee ignore McNeill? The QB has to wait for the route to clear. Has to. Even if you get knocked into next week.

Against Missouri, you'll recall, Lee did just that on two touchdown passes. Against Texas, Lee chucked the ball at first sign of danger. And many of his throws were chucks – high, wobbly balloons without precision or placement. Green's lone pass – a bottle of gas thrown into a lake of fire – looked just the same: High, wide, uncertain.

Who coaches those guys, anyway?

No Push: Nebraska's offensive line may look very different in a month, when certain players have had a chance to heal and rest. For now, it's a broken pipeline, and no match for Texas' front seven. Most disappointing: The backside leaks, which eliminated any chance of Helu and Burkhead cutting their runs back to the field. With zone blocking, you have create a crease or a wall for a running back to read and attack. Helu and Burkhead were perpetually caught at the top of a Tetris stack, with pieces piling on faster and faster.

Untimely errors: Adi Kunalic's kick out of bounds. Larry Asante's horse-collar tackle. Eric Hagg, failing to look back for the ball on a third down pass. Nebraska blowing a timeout because Roy Helu didn't know the audible. Blowing another one because Cam Meredith wasn't sure if he should be on the field. Little mental stuff that you can't afford.

Reviewing the Five Keys

Right Break, Right Time: Nebraska got them early. But not in the game's final seconds.

Beyond the Comfort Zone: Oh, Nebraska and Texas' offenses were certainly in that stage of life on Saturday night. But not by their own choosing. NU and UT both stuck much too close to the offensive script when attacked by superior defenses.

Stop Shipley: In relative terms, Shipley's catches – five for 50 – were absolutely huge. He got Texas out of the shadow of its own goal line once, and set up field position for the game-winning field goal, as well. The kid's gamer. I was more impressed with him than McCoy.

The Stage: Nebraska more than embraced the moment. Texas shrunk from the pressure, but benefited from an awful NU offense.

The Heisman Boys: Covered in depth, I believe.

Three Questions We Still Have

Cody for the Holidays? Green deserves at least a shot to start in San Diego. Nebraska has little to lose, and Lee's had plenty of chances. With three weeks to retool, you'd hope NU can shape a gameplan around its talented freshman.

Does Nebraska have a No. 2 receiver? Is it Kinnie now? He played OK Saturday. Is it Khiry Cooper? Is it whomever Gilmore tabs as his best blocker during bowl preparation?

Other than Suh, who leaves the biggest shoes to fill? I'd argue it's Phillip Dillard, who played linebacker with speed, spirit and toughness over the last ten games, collecting 76 tackles and three sacks. Will Compton played quite a bit this year – but, in terms of play recognition and sideline-to-sideline pursuit, he wasn't in Dillard league. Then again, one year ago, Dillard wasn't in Dillard's league. One player I'm not worried about: P.J. Smith, who takes for Larry Asante. Word is, Smith is a smooth, confident player who may lack Asante's thumping skills, but has a better nose for the ball.

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Not surprisingly, Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was showered with awards from the Big 12 Tuesday, as league coaches named him the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year. Last year, Suh was properly snubbed, not even being named first-team All Big 12.

Along with Colt McCoy, Suh was the only unanimous selection to the All-Big 12 team.

Three more Huskers joined Suh on the first-team defense: Defensive lineman Jared Crick, cornerback Prince Amukamara and safety Larry Asante.

Kicker/punter Alex Henery, running back Roy Helu and linebacker Phillip Dillard are on the second team.

Huskers named to the honorable mention squad are: Defensive back Dejon Gomes, nickel back Eric Hagg, center Jacob Hickman, tight end Mike McNeill, safety Matt O'Hanlon, wide receiver Niles Paul and defensive end Barry Turner. Henery was named to this team, as well, as a punter.

Other awards given out by the Big 12:

Offensive Player of the Year: Colt McCoy

Coach of the Year: Mack Brown

Offensive Lineman: Russell Okung, Oklahoma State

Defensive Freshman: Aldon Smith, Missouri

Special Teams: Brandon Banks, Kansas State

Defensive Newcomer: David Sims, Iowa State

Offensive Newcomer: Daniel Thomas, Kansas State

Here is the whole team

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Without further delay, here are our All-Big 12 squads, best players and best moments.

BIG 12 OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Colt McCoy. McCoy edges out his teammate, Jordan Shipley, through the excellence of his play over the last seven games. Here's the line during that time: 154-209, 1,791 yards, 16 TDs, 2 INTs, 277 rushing yards. That's your winner.

Runners up: Shipley, KSU's Daniel Thomas, Missouri's Danario Alexander

ALL BIG 12 OFFENSE

QB: McCoy
RB: Thomas
WR: Alexander
WR: Shipley
WR: Dez Briscoe, KU
TE: Riar Geer, CU
T: Russel Okung, OSU
T: Adam Ulatoski, UT
G: Brandon Carter, Tech
G: Reggie Stephens, ISU
C: Chris Hall, UT

BIG 12 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ndamukong Suh. The league's best player, period. Had an impact on opponents' running, passing and special teams games. Plus – to account for him, teams had to devote two offensive linemen to block. Nobody else – not even Von Miller, who had gaudy stats for an awful defense – could consistently claim that.

Runners up: Miller, UT's Earl Thomas

ALL BIG 12 DEFENSE

DE: Aldon Smith, Mizzou
DT: Suh
DT: Gerald McCoy, OU
DE: Brandon Sharpe, Tech
LB: Miller
LB: Joe Pawelek, BU
CB: Prince Amukamara, NU
CB: Dominique Franks, OU
CB: Perrish Cox, OSU
S: Thomas
Nickel/DB: Brian Jackson, OU

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYERS OF THE YEAR: Alex Henery and Brandon Banks. Too hard to select here. Henery had another excellent year kicking field goals, but he added a bonus gift for downing punts inside the 10-yard line to his repertoire. He arguably was the difference in wins over Oklahoma and Colorado. Banks, meanwhile, returned four kickoffs for touchdowns.

ALL BIG 12 SPECIAL TEAMS:

K: Grant Ressel, Mizzou
P: Henery
KR: Banks
PR: Shipley

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Aldon Smith, Mizzou. A dominant defensive end with a funky number (No. 85) Smith has a great first move and better speed.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Paul Rhoads, ISU. The Cyclones have the worst talent in the Big 12, and still managed to get to a bowl. Yeah, Iowa State was lucky vs. Nebraska – but equally unlucky vs. Kansas State and Kansas. Rhoads' positive attitude gives him the edge for this year.

GAME OF THE YEAR (Non-Conference): Texas Tech's last-second, heart-stopper of a loss to Houston - 29-28 Cougars - will be best remembered for Mike Leach suspending his players' Twitter accounts after the game.

GAME OF THE YEAR (Conference): Missouri 41 Kansas 39. Two rich and arrogant schools playing for bragging rights in the Big 12 North's cultural hub (KC) to the tune of more than 1,100 total yards? We'll take it. Call it the “Bo Beat Us” Bowl from this point forward.

WORST GAME OF THE YEAR (Non-Conference): Oklahoma's 64-0 pasting of Idaho State. Never again, OU.

WORST GAME OF THE YEAR (Conference): Kansas State's 62-14 pounding of Texas A&M was utterly inexplicable, given the talent level of the two teams. A&M had five turnovers, of course, but still.

UPSET OF THE YEAR: Iowa State's improbable 9-7 win over Nebraska, thanks to eight turnovers (including five fumbles).

BEST SINGLE OFFENSIVE PLAY: Has to be Missouri's Alexander's 80-yard catch-and-run vs. Kansas State. Speed, moves and toughness, all in one play.

BEST SINGLE DEFENSIVE PLAY: Suh's sack and strip of Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who hurt his ankle on the play and wasn't the same for weeks.

BEST UNIFORMS: Still the good stuff - Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska. Although we're not opposed to Baylor's all-white look. The Missouri "Beast Mode" Nike outfit is sure to split new and old school folks - but we really liked it.

WORST UNIFORMS: The Arena League look Kansas sported for the Missouri game. Colorado's uniforms have become tacky and overdone, as well. Oklahoma should retired the all-orange look and go back to black.

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See also: Big 12 Postseason Awards, 10 Unforgettable NU-UT Moments, Big 12 Rankings, Bowl Watch, Onward to DFW, Huskers Giving Back and [url=http://www.huskerlocker.com/blogs/view/bid/2363/i/podcast

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Roy Helu jumped into the crowd. Matt O'Hanlon flipped the ball in the air. The Memorial Stadium faithful roared with vigor before, during and after every big play, and howled with delight at game's end.

The look, sound and feel of joy in Nebraska's 10-3 win over the Sooners.

It's been awhile around these parts. NU was close in 2006 vs. Texas. Close in 2002, as well. On Saturday night, the Huskers closed their hands on a signature win over a team that's much better than its 5-4 record suggests.

Now it's a Sunflower two-step. The land of toll roads, hoopheads, Flint Hills and poor souls who root for the Chiefs also claim the duo – Kansas and Kansas State – that stand in the way of Nebraska's trip to Dallas for a personal conversation with juggernaut Texas. With more momentum than the program's had since the 2005 Alamo Bowl win, NU can't spend a second savoring the OU triumph. The head-scratching loss to Iowa State has left the Huskers little margin for error.

Of course, we'll savor it a little, and ask some more tough questions. On with the review.

Five Players We Loved

Free safety Matt O'Hanlon: The three interceptions were nice, of course. They'll never be forgotten. But O'Hanlon really earned his bacon in run support, repeatedly tackling Sooner running back DeMarco Murray on those wide sweep plays that would have burned the Huskers in previous years. OU openly challenged NU's speed, and the Huskers were up to it. Kudos to strength and conditioning guru James Dobson for putting NU in the position.

Linebacker Phillip Dillard: Another tackling gem. Dillard snuffed out a couple screen passes, sacked OU quarterback Landry Jones and had a crucial interception after a deflection. After that pick, Dillard, an Oklahoma native, ran to the sideline and gave defensive coordinator Carl Pelini a giant bear hug. That's redemption earned.

Running back Roy Helu: He made a couple “only Roy” runs, a combination of vision and quickness that suddenly gets him into open space. Helu isn't a burner, but he busts long runs because he can evade, almost without effort, several defenders.

Cornerback Prince Amukamara: The kid really knows how to jump a route and redirect wide receivers. Nebraska's defensive backs were consistently physical with OU's receivers, and it left Jones without many options in the passing game.

Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh: He still had his game face on in the postgame press conference. Fine by me. Suh needs to treat this final three-game stretch like a personal offense to his talent. Everything is in front of NU, with a prize of Texas at the end of the rainbow. Know this: If Suh were to have a monster final month, culminating with a big showing in Big D, his Heisman hopes aren't over. People instinctively want to vote for this kid.

Three Concerns We Have

Dumb offensive penalties: Nebraska nearly self-destructed in its first two drives of the game with false starts and a personal foul for a cut block. Pelini looked like he was about ready to melt down over those minor mistakes. He should. They're getting old. And offensive line coach Barney Cotton needs to continue to answer for them.

Nervous in the Service: That's offensive coordinator Shawn Watson's way of describing how uncomfortable Cody Green looked Saturday night. He's used it to describe Zac Lee, too. You can see the problem here.

One Wrong Hit: On Helu or Alfonzo Dennard's shoulder, and they're back to half-speed. And these two guys are crucial to NU's success down the stretch. Nebraska needs a little luck here that they stay healthy.

Reviewing the Five Keys

Field Position: Nebraska lost this battle all night, really, except once – when it started a drive on OU's 1-yard line. That's field position.

Haymakers: The Sooners tried to knock out Nebraska in the first quarter, but missed two field goals and withered under Bo Pelini's well-timed blitzes.

O-Line Litmus Test: The Huskers' offensive line didn't exactly pass any exams, but it did open a few holes in the power running game.

Little Things That Kill: Nebraska successfully took away OU's short passing game more often than not, but the Sooners kept trying and failing to capture it anyway. Oklahoma tried too hard to assert its advantage in the passing game when it had none.

Gambles Not Worth the Risk: NU won this key. OU played recklessly after the first quarter, rolling the dice too often on fourth down or with risky passes. The Sooners took too many bad chances and didn't show much patience despite never trailing by more than seven points.

Three Questions We Still Have

Zac or Cody? Check out our longer commentary on this matter.

Can the defense roll another 7/11 in Lawrence? Kansas' defense has improved, NU's offense really hasn't, and KU quarterback Todd Reesing is experiencing an unexpected late-career slump. Nebraska may have to turn in an encore to win.

Where's the offensive creativity? Doesn't Shawn Watson have a few reverses in the toolbox? How can he better utilize the speed NU does have? What happened to the middle screen passes Helu ran so well last year? Conservative is one thing. Inert is another.

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