Husker Dan’s Big Red Notebook
Okay, Husker fans. I’m young, tan, rested and I’m back!! (Okay, one out of four ain’t bad.)
THE HUSKER SPRING GAME
I was thinking last Saturday that new Husker head coach Scott Frost was some kind of genius because had he not decided to move the annual spring game from its original date of Saturday, April 14th, the game likely would have been played in the snow. But guess what? The conditions this Saturday are not going to be a whole lot better. (Rain and temps in the 40s are predicted.) I wonder if Frost’s new staff has had any second thoughts about making the move from sunny Orlando, Florida to cold and snowy Lincoln, NE.
EXPECTATIONS?
What should Husker fans expect this Saturday? More than anything else, spring games, to me, are more about fans having another Husker football fix. True, the games can provide an opportunity for the players to showcase their skills, but I doubt if we’ll know a great deal about what the Huskers are going to look like this fall.
What Husker fans will most likely see is a much faster paced offense. There may be some long plays by the offense, but that may be due more to the usual serving of vanilla defenses. QBs will likely be wearing green “Don’t touch me!” jerseys.
It will be interesting to see if one quarterback will separate himself from the group of three: Tristan Gebbia, Adrian Martinez (another QB named Martinez from California?!) and Andrew Bunch.
Will a running back stand out? What will Chinander’s 3-4 defense look like? Will 90,000 Husker fans actually come to the game in less than perfect weather?
It should be interesting, to say the least.
P.O.B. and Super Max
The loss of Husker QB Patrick O’Brien came as no surprise to most Husker fans. His skill set is better suited to Mike Riley’s pro offense than Frost’s spread version. The only regret is that O’Brien didn’t get more playing time last year when Tanner Lee was misfiring with great rapidity. I hope POB will find a good team to play for. I also hope he’ll be eligible to play this fall. Where ever he goes, I will root for him…as long his team isn’t one of Nebraska’s opponents.
And we just learned this week that Husker QB prospect, Max Duggan from Council Bluffs, Iowa, has given his verbal commitment to play for the TCU Horned Frogs in 2019. Mild surprise, but a surprise, nonetheless.
I hope all works well for Max. I was hoping to see Husker Max playing for Nebraska and my being able to call him Big Red Max-a tribute to David Max, the co-founder of Huskerpedia.com and HuskerMax.com.
Sorry, David…
The good news about Duggan playing for TCU is, that he didn’t commit to another B1G team.
MILESTONE
And speaking of David Max, this column marks the beginning of my 16th year writing for Huskerpedia/HuskerMax. My first column in the spring of ’03 was about all the new faces on Frank Solich’s coaching staff. The lyrics were sung to the tune, “Take Me Out To The Ball Game”
My version went something like this:
“Let’s all go out to the spring game,
Let’s see who’s running our team,
Who is the coach of the running backs?
Who’s in charge of the quarterback sacks?
For it’s root, root for the Huskers!
If they don’t win it’s a shame!
For it’s one, two, three L’s you’re out!
That’s the old ball game!”
Okay, I didn’t say it was good, but it was the first step. And with this year’s crop of new coaches, the lyrics ring a familiar tune.
WHERE’S WYATT MAZOUR?
I’ve been waiting to hear more about Wyatt Mazour, Nebraska’s version of Danny Woodhead. Surprisingly, Mazour, who hails from Albion, Nebraska, will be a junior this fall. Maybe 2018 will be his breakout year.
HUSKER FANS SALUTE THE TROOPS FIFTH ANNUAL GOLF SCRAMBLE
Here’s the information on this year’s Salute scramble:
DATE: Friday, June 29th
PLACE: Ashland Golf Club
Ashland, NE
TIME: 11:00 a.m. shotgun start
SPEAKER: New Husker Running Backs coach, Ryan Held
EVENT CHAIR: Mike Spinharney (402-639-4778)
Or go to www.huskersalute.org
All the money raised at the scramble will go to Salute’s fall event which will be the weekend of October 13-14th at the Cornhusker Marriott Hotel in Lincoln, NE
There will be a group of former Husker football greats playing golf, so don’t miss out on this opportunity to help support our men and women in uniform.
You may contact the writer at [email protected]