HUSKER
SPRING GAME HEADLINE:
HUSKER OFFENSE IS TAYLOR-MADE (Groan)
BIG WED WAP-UP
SPRING FORWARD, FALL BACK
Daniel Bullocks may have taken more with him into the end zone Saturday
than just the pass he intercepted from Husker quarterback Joe Dailey.
Bullocks' interception helped put the final dagger into the young
quarterback's career at Nebraska.
It was obvious after last year's performance when he threw a school
record 19 interceptions and helped leave the Huskers with a 5-6 record,
that QB Joe Dailey was skating on very thin ice. Things didn't get
any better for Dailey when Zac Taylor joined the Huskers in January.
MONTHLY DAILEY
And speaking of turnovers, that's what inevitably resulted in Dailey's
demise. Last year, Dailey was all coach Bill Callahan had. It was
The Joe Show or The No Show.
Dailey did his best to learn the offense within the short time he
had, but all too often his miscues gave opponents short fields from
which to navigate. The result was the first losing season for the
Huskers since 1961 and its first non-bowl season since 1968.
Dailey had his moments last year, but was never consistent. His good
games became too rare. Joe Dailey became Joe Monthly (thanks Bud)
with good performances being the exception rather than the rule. Perhaps
JD will be better suited for a smaller program like Ohio University.
NEVAH HAPPEN
What was Joe Dailey thinking when right after the Spring Game, he
referred to Coach Bill Callahan as "Billy C.". It's hard
to comprehend. Can you imagine any player during Osborne's career
calling him "Tommy O."? It would NEVER have happened. Never.
Ever.
CON-SPIRACY
The latest controversy surrounding Joe Dailey is that JD was "set
up" to fail in the Spring Game. Here's how it goes:
On Dailey's interception that was returned by Bullocks for a touchdown,
there was a blitz called on the play. No big deal, right? Wrong, according
to Dailey's defenders. The blitz was the only one called the entire
game, they say, and maintain that the only reason it was called was
to make Dailey look bad. Sigh.
Maybe it was the only blitz called that afternoon, but with two spring
camps and eleven starts under his belt, shouldn't Dailey have been
expected to read the blitz? Shouldn't Dailey, because of his experience,
be held to a higher standard? What is wrong with the coaches trying
to see if Dailey had learned from his performances last year? Aren't
the coaches justified, even obligated to test their 2004 starter?
Sigh.
THE ZAC ATTACK
Barring a phenomenal Fall Camp by any of the other quarterbacks or
an injury to Zac Taylor, the keys to Bill Callahan's WCO this season
will be in number 13's hands.
It will be his job to lose. Yes, there is the freshman-to-be phenom,
Harrison Beck who will hit Lincoln this summer, but he'll be just
17 years old and have no college game experience.
Having said that, Husker fans may not want to read too much into Taylor's
record-breaking performance in Saturday's Spring Game. As impressive
as it was, his Spring Game passing record was achieved against vanilla
defenses. The real test will be this fall when Zac has to face defenses
that will be out to rip his head off. If Zac holds up mentally and
physically against defenses such as Oklahoma's, K-State's, Pittsburgh's
and Texas Tech's, he has a chance to be one of the all time Husker
greats.
To be sure, Callahan will have to have at least three very good quarterbacks
who can grasp the WCO and more importantly, don't turn the ball over.
MORE THOUGHTS ON THE SPRING GAME
If there were any doubts about the loyalty, dedication and devotion
of Husker football fans, it was erased Saturday when over 63,000 fans
showed up for a scrimmage. Amazing-absolutely amazing. Truly, "There
Is No Place Like Nebraska".
I lost track of how many times Husker radio p-b-p man Jim Rose said
in his pre-game interview, "the aforementioned", as in "the
aforementioned Chris Kelsay", or "the aforementioned Turner
Gill" etc.
It was great to see Gill, Rozier and Fryar together again at Memorial
Stadium for the first time since '83. The Scoring Explosion trio averaged
an amazing 52 points a game in that year. If only that team could
have had the '84 defense to go with it...sigh.
When asked on KFAB about what he thought of the West Coast Offense,
1983 Heisman winner Mike Rozier quipped, "I hate it, man, I like
to run the ball!".
MILK CARTONS
Zac Taylor had a stunning performance in the game, but I recall some
other great Spring Game performances that ended up putting the players'
pictures on milk cartons:
Todd Uhlir set the Spring Game rushing record a number of years ago
(never started)
Garth Glissman had a very good Spring Game a couple of years ago (never
started)
Joe Dailey broke the Spring Game record for passing yardage last year
(also established the single season NU record for the most interceptions
by a quarterback)
STEVIE WONDER
Kudos to Steve Pederson for the awesome marketing job that brought
former Husker greats and present Husker NFL players to the game. The
"MNF" theme music that was played when each former Husker
great was introduced before the game was fantastic!
Is there any truth to the rumor that the ovation Jammal Lord received
prior to the game Saturday was by Husker fans who were glad he was
in Houston and not playing quarterback for the Huskers?
STILL MORE...
Last year was the first time I can remember that "The Wave"
never got going. Does anyone know when the first "Wave"
was performed in Memorial Stadium?
BANQUET HIGHLIGHT
I went to the Husker Recruiting Banquet February 2nd in Omaha and
sat at a table with Doug, Larry, Brandon, Natalie and some other rabid
Husker fans. There was a record turn-away crowd of 1,400 (the largest
crowd anyone could remember prior to that, was 1,000 when Osborne
was the coach). By far, the highlight of the night was this:
WE'LL TAKE BLAKE
Film of the new recruits was shown by position and as a follow up,
each position coach came up to talk about each player.
After films of the defensive linemen were shown, the position coach
was introduced. "And now, the defensive line coach, John Blake".
Instantly, 1,400 people leaped to their feet and gave Coach Blake
one of the loudest and longest ovations I can ever remember.
Coach Blake waited until the applause died down. Without acknowledging
the ovation, he spoke very deliberately. "Last year the best
athletic director in the country went out and hired the best college
football coach in country, who in turn, hired the best assistant coaches
in the country. Those coaches worked hard and recruited the best college
football players in the country to come to the University of Nebraska."
He paused a moment and said very matter-of-factly, "And we're
gonna turn this mutha around."
He left the stage and immediately, the crowd leaped to their feet
for another thunderous ovation.
After the banquet, I introduced myself to NU head coach Bill Callahan
(no, I didn't use my Husker Dan moniker). I thanked him for coming
to Nebraska and wished him luck for the coming season. I also visited
with Randy Jordan-a very funny guy and Jay Norvell-a very sharp guy.
I saved the best for last. I went up to Coach Blake shook his hand
and talked with him about the ovations he received. He has a very
engaging personality, people immediately like him. Before I'd met
him, I thought this guy was big, as in fat, not as in muscle. Boy
was I wrong.
I'm convinced that John Blake is big enough and strong enough and
mean enough to uproot small to medium size trees. The man is built
like a planet.
I also attended a couple of other football banquets hosted by Phil
Elmassian and Kevin Cosgrove. There should be no doubt about the ability,
honesty, character and integrity of the current Husker coaching staff.
If they don't "turn this mutha around", I will be absolutely
amazed. Be patient Husker fans, in the next few years, you are going
to see some great Husker teams.
OSBORNE IN IRAQ
Dear Husker Dan:
My name is Sgt. Hornig and I'm in the Nebraska National Guard stationed
with the 313th Medical Company out of Lincoln. I'm a big fan of huskerpedia.com
and check it whenever I get the chance to keep updated on recruiting
and other husker news. Anyways, Tom Osborne visited us last Saturday
over here, reminding me why I am such a huge Husker fan. Anyways,
I thought you might be interested.
Thanks,
Sgt. Hornig
Dear Sgt. Hornig: Thanks for the great photo of you and Tom Osborne
and thanks for letting us share this with other Husker fans. Good
luck and Godspeed!
You can contact Husker Dan at: [email protected] For past Husker Dan columns click here.