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McQUITTY out for the Season! Read Article below!
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Coach Langs breakdown practice
Coach Williams not panicked over WR injuries; two walk-ons stepping up
There was no panic siren interrupting the hip-hop over the speakers at Memorial Stadium on Thursday.
Yes, the Huskers were thin at wide receiver during the practice. Just as they've been thin at other fall camps in recent years. No question the news about Jaevon McQuitty being out for the season hurts when you get into the depth conversation at the position. But... wide receiver Keith Williams knows you can't put up a "Closed" sign on the window during fall camp.
"Just keep moving on," Williams said. "You can't predict injuries and you don't know when guys are going to get nicked up, or whatever. So you just move on. That's why everybody is responsible for knowing the plays, and knowing their job in case of those type of situations."
In the case of the true freshman McQuitty, it's the second tough injury he's dealt with since his senior high school. This time it's a knee injury. He couldn't take contact in the spring as he recovered from shoulder surgery he had in December.
Williams said all you can do is offer encouragement to a player going through that. "Just make sure he knows that you support him, and that you're going to be there, and that things are going to bounce back when he's healthy. He went through a somewhat extensive rehab from his shoulder so he kind of understands."
The good news is JD Spielman, who was out Thursday, is expected back any day now. And Keyan Williams, who has been out the last few practices, is probably back in about two weeks. Both are out due to muscle pull issues. Such injuries were giving more prominent reps to receivers like Gabe Rahn and Brett Classen during Thursday's practice.
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Opponent Watch: Wisconsin LBer Jack Cichy tore his ACL during Tuesday's practice.
Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst announced Thursday.
“You hate it for Jack,” Chryst said in a press release. “You only get so many chances to play this game and you never want to see a guy miss any of those opportunities. He’s one of the leaders of our team and I know he’ll be a big part of what we do moving forward this season.”
Cichy suffered the injury during practice Tuesday. He is scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday.
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Quick Hits: News and Notes from Thursday's practice
Nebraska's Thursday practice featured the Huskers scrimmaging and then the offensive players and assistants met with the media to discuss how fall camp is going.
Here's what they said:
— Offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh was not happy with where his unit was after Thursday's scrimmage. The line coach said his group needs to get better in a hurry, particularly against edge pressure.
— Boe Wilson, who spent some time with the first team at right guard, has impressed with his athleticism and physical ability to handle the position. Cavanaugh wants the lineman to make a step mentally, but is pleased with where the redshirt freshman is at right now in camp.
— Snaps have been an issue for the Huskers. Cavanaugh likes what Cole Conrad and Michael Decker can bring physically, but the snaps have been inconsistent and that's problematic for the line coach.
— Reggie Davis likes what Nebraska's running backs have done over the last week, in particular, stepping up and filling in for Tre Bryant, who's been held out recently for general wear and tear. One area Davis is particularly happy with is Nebraska's effort in the screen game.
— Jaylin Bradley's pass protection has caught the attention of Nebraska's coaches. Davis excited told the media about Bradley stoning a blitzing Dedrick Young with good form and power.
— Mikale Wilbon called the running back competition "friendly fire" and he feels good that there's a role for each of the guys in the room at the moment.
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Wide Receiver room Takes Major Hit!
Nebraska will be without another freshman wide receiver for the 2017 season.
Head coach Mike Riley announced Thursday that freshman wide receiver Jaevon McQuitty will miss the season after injuring his knee earlier in the week in a blocking drill.
“We’re going to make some acquisitions off the waiver wire. We’re being very thoughtful. Having lost a few guys, we have other guys who weren’t on the 105, we brought them in and it’s been good for us,” Riley said. “It’s saved numbers-wise. It’s a very difficult balance numbers-wise because you need all the parts to practice the complete game. It puts you in a little bit of a bind.”
Riley said the injury was “a really freaky (injury) in a blocking drill.”
That means Nebraska is down to just one freshman scholarship wide receiver on its roster in the second week of fall camp. The Huskers also lost freshman walk-on Kade Warner to a broken hand earlier in camp.
Offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf said he was disappointed for McQuitty, who was looking at a chance to play this season.
“For a true freshman who has been here for a short time, I was really pleased with how he was progressing,” Langsdorf said. “I don’t think he was going to go in there and start, but he was definitely in the conversation of playing, so that was unfortunate.”
Other injury news:
— Wide receiver Keyan Williams and JD Spielman both missed Thursday’s practice because of pulled muscles. “I think JD is day to day, and I think Keyan is probably two weeks away. He had a good hamstring pull.”
— Tre Bryant didn’t practice on Thursday as Nebraska looks to reduce wear-and-tear on the back. “Over the course of time we’ve had him, he’s had kind of wear and tear issues with his knee, so we’re giving him a break. Maybe tomorrow, and for sure on Monday.”
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Michael Bruntz @michaelbruntz
NU assistant Trent Bray’s choice to stay in Lincoln shows Diaco Effect isn’t limited to players
LINCOLN — Maybe it comes on a goal-line stand next month in Duck Country.
Perhaps it’s sometime during the Wisconsin-Ohio State homestand in October. That would be timely.
A turnover. A sack. An open-field tackle on third down.
Maybe Bob Diaco comes down from the press box and makes the play himself.
We’re expecting a Diaco Effect this season. That’s why the defensive guru was hired. It’s on his résumé. It’s in his voice. It’s in his coaching. Impact.
How long will it take for Diaco to have that impact? Good question.
Answer: I’ve already seen it.
Actually, I spoke to Trent Bray after practice on Tuesday. Bray is entering his third season as linebackers coach for Mike Riley. And there’s your Diaco impact.
See, Bray is a young star in the coaching business. Bright, passionate, good communicator. On the elevator up. He’ll be a coordinator soon.
It could have happened this offseason. Bray was offered the D.C. gig at San Jose State, not a bad place to cut one’s coordinator teeth.
Bray had every reason to take it, too. Mark Banker, his friend, colleague and former coach at Oregon State, had been fired by Riley.
The job wasn’t going to Bray. No, Riley needed an immediate impact guy. Diaco got the call.
Diaco is a 3-4 defense guy. Bray didn’t know him. Diaco also likes to coach linebackers, Bray’s area. Again, every reason for Bray to take his talents to the West Coast.
But he said no way, San Jose.
“There were a number of reasons,” Bray said.
“One was I feel like I have unfinished business here with the kids I brought here. I wanted to finish it with them here because I think we can win a championship here. I believe that and I want to do that.
“But another reason was Coach Diaco.
“I think I can still learn a lot and what I learn now will help me tremendously in the future. It’s another way to do things. I’ve learned a ton from Coach Diaco. It’s made me a better coach.”
Keeping Bray around is solid impact. Adding him to Diaco’s think tank is like having two defensive coordinators. Their collective eyes will be on the four linebackers who make up the biggest puzzle pieces in this 3-4.
That’s probably a season-long transition in most places. But everything about Diaco’s arrival says urgency. He wasn’t hired to win in 2018 or 2019. He was hired to transform the defense now.
There are no magic wands in coaching, yet there’s a mystique to Diaco. A swagger that pours out of his skin.
It comes from coaching a Notre Dame club in the national title game. What you’ll hear and know is that Diaco was coaching ND talent, NFL talent, there. And it’s true, much of the genius of coaching is having players.
But it’s equally true that great coaches can lift up lower talent to higher levels. NU has good talent on defense, potentially great in spots. Two years ago, Nebraska had a pair of NFL defensive tackles.
That defense finished 12th in total defense in the Big Ten during a 6-7 season.
NU’s issues of late have been leadership, passion and urgency. Some games it was there — Wisconsin. Some games it wasn’t — Iowa.
Diaco seems to ooze urgency. To a man, his new disciples grimace at the idea of having that impact show up later in the season. They don’t want to wait.
“Absolutely,” Bray says. “I expect us to play great defense right away.”
Right now there’s a buzz around Diaco as he preaches and teaches nonstop. It’s all swagger and mystique and that’s OK. It’s been so long since the Blackshirts had either.
Believing you can be great — expecting it — is the first step to achieving it.
Everyone is saying all the right things now. Players talk about Diaco’s standard and accountability and intensity. How they already don’t want to let him down.
Again, that’s a good thing, but it comes with this grain of salt: Most new coordinators bring the hope of a fresh start. Two years ago, we heard from NU starters how much easier Banker’s defense was from Bo Pelini, and thus, easier to execute.
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By Tom Shatel OWH
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