Low Country Husker August 24, 2017 at 11:23pm

https://cornhuskermemesblogger.blogspot.com/2017/08/husker-offensiv...

Nish August 24, 2017 at 10:05pm

Oregon to Rock New 'Stomp Out Cancer' Unis Against Nebraska

Nike and the Oregon Health & Science University Doernbecher Children's Hospital teamed up to create the new look, dubbed the "Stomp Out Cancer" unis, which features a clean white-top, white-pant look with a silver helmet and yellow trim and accessories. If you look closely at the Ducks logo on the shoulder and gloves, the duck is literally stomping on the word cancer.

The Oregon wordmark across the chest also replaces the second "O" with a yellow ribbon. The ribbon in general is used to support awareness for different forms of cancer. Also, across the knuckles of the gloves are the words "over" and "come."

The Ducks always have slick uniform combinations, but these have to be near the top of the list in terms of general awesomeness. And they support a great cause. Win-win for Oregon.

Nebraska is just hoping to get the win that matters most when the two squads meet in Eugene, Oregon.

By Derek Peterson

Oregon to Rock New 'Stomp Out Cancer' Unis Against Nebraska

Nish August 24, 2017 at 8:13pm

Listen to Sip, 93.7 The Ticket:

-Lindsey has the hype, and was listed by CBS Sports as one of 5 B1G freshmen who could break out this year. As for Hoppes…he is a senior with no catches in his career

-Will Lindsey be the team’s go-to deep threat? Or will Hoppes be more of a reliable security blanket as the weeks go on?

What player with zero previous catches will have a bigger impact on...

Nish August 24, 2017 at 7:53pm

5-star pass rusher Micah Parsons serious about Nebraska

When Terrence Parsons heard his son, five-star pass rusher Micah Parsons, gush about a summer visit to Nebraska's Friday Night Lights camp, he was intrigued.

"I asked him, 'Are you seriously considering Nebraska?' " Terrence said, wondering if Micah's interest was genuine or fueled by good friend Brendan Radley-Hiles. "And he told me he really did like it."

So the family is coming to see for themselves Oct. 7, when the Huskers host Wisconsin.

Yes, Nebraska's best chance for a five-star commit just might come from Parsons, the Harrisburg (Pa.) High School pass rusher the Huskers need most in the 2018 class. Aside from a two-year stint from Randy Gregory, Nebraska has lacked an elite pass rusher since joining the Big Ten. It hasn't seriously been in the mix for a five-star pass rusher since 2010, when Owa Odighizuwa picked UCLA over NU on signing day.

Parsons — 6-foot-3, 235 pounds — fits the bill. He's the nation's No. 5 overall player according to the 247Sports composite. He ran wide receiver routes at the FNL event, beating several four-star corners. He soaked in the applause and played up to the FNL crowd.

Since the mid-June event, Parsons has been positive about Nebraska on Twitter. Terrence Parsons said NU and Ohio State are his son's top two, though other teams, like home-state Penn State, Florida State and USC, are in the mix.

Terrence, "a die-hard Penn State fan," said he gets the sense Micah wants to leave the state. Micah was committed to Penn State for several months, but decommitted in April. Terrence likes Ohio State in part because of defensive line coach Larry Johnson, who spent nearly two decades at PSU before heading to Ohio State in 2014.

"What he's done speaks volumes," Terrence Parsons said of Johnson.

At Nebraska, Parsons' coach would likely be linebackers coach Trent Bray and defensive coordinator Bob Diaco. Terrence Parsons said he hoped to talk NU assistants soon.

As for the visit, Terrence said he'll be examining Nebraska's academic support system.

"High school to college is a big transition," Terrence Parsons said. "I've seen guys get to college and with all the things you're doing, sometimes kids get lost. So I'm looking at that."

Micah, ultimately, will make the decision, Terrence said.

"I just want him to enjoy the process," Terrence said.

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Nish August 24, 2017 at 5:59pm

Nebraska defensive end Carlos Davis was named Nebraska’s most improved player last year. He said his acceptance speech would include a lengthy thank you to his position coach, John Parrella.

“That all really was on Coach Parrella, and making me believe that I could be the best that I could be,” Davis said. “He pushed me, and I just came out here every day trying to get better, and that’s what I did.”

Davis has emerged on the Huskers’ defense, and is set to be a starter in the new 3-4 defense when Nebraska opens the season Sept. 2.

He played in all 13 games last season, and made four starts at defensive tackle early in the season when Mick Stoltenberg was injured.

Some of Davis’ best games came at the end of the season, including when he had six tackles against Iowa.

Davis has a good idea why he got that most improved player award. Just recently he watched some old game tape.

“I’m a totally different player,” Davis said. “Last year it kind of looked like I was a little timid, and a little nervous, and this year I’m just full-go. The game kind of slowed down for me.”

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 295 pounds, Davis thinks he fits in well in Bob Diaco’s defense, which will line up in multiple defensive fronts. He thinks the other guys fit the defense well, too. Stoltenberg, at 6-5 and 305 pounds, is the nose tackle, and Freedom Akinmoladun (6-4, 280) is the other end.

“If you look at our D-line physiquewise, none of us are really fat. Like bad-body built guys,” Davis said. “We’re big, but we’re quick, and they emphasize that. They use that to their advantage, the coaches do.”

Davis said he can also play nose tackle. He said all the linemen know how to play all the positions, and if any player got hurt, somebody would be able to fill in just fine.

Nebraska getting a better pass rush could go a long way to helping the defense. Last year the Huskers ranked 11th in the Big Ten conference in sacks (2.0 per game).

“We always want to stop the run first, but pass rush is something we want to be good at as well to be dominant this year,” Davis said.

Davis was well-known when he came to Nebraska from Blue Springs, Missouri, because he was one of the top recruits in his state, he had the best prep mark in the discus in the nation 2015, and he had a twin bother, Khalil, also on the team.

Carlos Davis redshirted his first year at Nebraska in 2015, before playing in every game last season and finishing with 24 tackles, including five tackles for loss.

He said he’s actually ahead of where he thought he’d be at this point in his career, in part because he thought the coaching changes he's had may set him back.

“I thought I'd be a little behind, but I feel like the guys did a really good job of preparing me, and getting me ready for where I am now,” he said.

After a few weeks of just focusing on football for the players, classes began again at UNL this week. Davis likes when school starts again. He’s a big family guy, Davis said, so it feels like the family is all back together when school starts.

Davis is also excited for the regular season to begin with the Huskers’ new defense.

“I know that I’m a different player, and I can’t wait to show everybody what this defense has, and what we can do, and what we’re going to do,” he said.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7435 or bwagner@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSSportsWagner.

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Nish August 24, 2017 at 5:45pm

Cole Conrad. Tyler Hoppes. Bryan Reimers. Gabe Rahn. Luke McNitt. Chris Weber.

A quick scan of the projected Nebraska football depth chart shows former walk-ons all over the place, some in starting positions and others in reserve roles. Nebraska’s walk-on history is long and storied and a new player is set to join that group this season.

Jeremiah Stovall is a walk-on cornerback from Omaha Creighton Prep and he has gotten snaps with the second team throughout fall camp.

However, Stovall’s story is a bit different than most of the other walk-ons who have earned their way onto the depth chart.

Stovall was a Super-State performer for the 2014 Class A runner-up Junior Jays as a defensive back (six interceptions, eight pass break-ups and 45 tackles), as a running back (75 rushes for 812 yards and 11 touchdowns as well as four catches for 58 yards) and on special teams as a returner who also blocked two kicks.

However, Stovall did not see much recruiting action despite those senior year numbers and his situation was made even more difficult by his coach, Chris Nizzi, resigning amid legal troubles prior to the championship game.

Instead of continuing his football career, Stovall simply enrolled at Nebraska as a student in 2015. He stayed active in intramurals to get his sports fix, but it just was not the same. Then he saw the call from the football program for walk-on tryouts.

“I kind of got bored,” Stovall said. “Why not try to see if I can play? Come out and see what I can do?”

Stovall did just that, participating in the fall walk-on tryouts in 2015 in the hopes of catching the eye of one of the coaches. After the try-out was over, he had to wait for a phone call, a call that — for most of the students that participated — would never come. That wasn’t the case for Stovall, however, as one day his phone rang with some good news.

“Once I got the call, they told me in January I’d be joining the team for the winter workouts,” Stovall said.

Stovall joined the team and redshirted last season. He didn’t plunge into the situation blindly, however, he had the benefit of an older brother who spent two seasons as a walk-on for the Huskers. Zach Stovall, a stand-out corner from Bellevue East, joined Nebraska as part of the 2013 walk-on class.

“He just told me you have to keep striving and keep your head focused,” Jeremiah Stovall said. “Keep pushing, keep going in school, you have to get your grades first. He taught me a lot of things. He would show me drills they would do in practice over the summer before I actually came here, I started doing workouts with him back in Bellevue.”

Those workouts paid off. The lack of depth at corner allowed him to get some significant snaps preseason practice last season, though he never saw the field during the games.

Now, heading into 2017 after the loss of Chris Jones to injury and the defection of Elijah Blades from the 2017 recruiting class, Nebraska has “three starters” at corner in sophomore Lamar Jackson, redshirt sophomore Eric Lee Jr. and redshirt freshman Dicaprio Bootle, according to coach Donte Williams. After them, Stovall is right in the mix along with redshirt sophomore Avery Anderson and redshirt freshman Tony Butler, two players who moved to corner after working at safety last season.

Despite his humble beginnings and with highly-recruited players all around him, Stovall has looked the part in practice this fall.

“He just has a different hunger,” Jackson said. “He’s on a team full of scholarship guys and he hangs out with us; we don’t look at him like a walk-on or anything like that; he’s one of us. He goes out there, he matches our energy, he tries to do what we do.”

Jackson, the team’s No. 1 corner with Jones on injured reserve, is one of Stovall’s biggest supporters on the team.

“Stovall, he’s actually one of my roommates right now,” Jackson said. "I’m one of his biggest fans; I’m a big supporter. He comes in and each day he works hard, and it’s starting to pay off, he’s starting to move up the depth charts and things like that. He hasn’t disappointed anybody yet.”

Two years ago, Stovall was playing intramurals. Now, he has a very real chance of seeing the field for the Huskers at some point this season.

“It’s crazy,” Stovall said. “I’m blessed. I’m glad I put in the work and I’m glad it’s paying off.”

By Jacob Padilla

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Nish August 24, 2017 at 5:38pm

Guess Lamar Jackson Got His Swagger Back

Lamar Jackson is the type of guy that typically doesn’t lack for confidence.

Yet, last season he found himself out of sorts as a true freshman. He wasn’t playing as much as he wanted, and, like most highly touted high school prospects, he was used to helping his team by being one of the lead dogs.

This year, things will be different.

“Confidence never dropped because I’m an outgoing guy off the field,” Jackson said. “But on the field, I wasn’t on the field long enough to go out there and be confident. I just had to go out there and do what I had to do, so this year y’all are going to see the confidence. I’m going to play with a swag so I’m excited."

When searching for reasons why his confidence on the field took a hit, you have to start by looking at his role on the team last season. As a true freshman, Jackson played in 12 of the team’s 13 games and totaled 17 tackles but wasn’t one of the focal points of the defense. That will change this season.

“This season I’m going to look at the season totally different,” Jackson said. “I have a totally different role, a bigger role, a more exciting role. So I’m just more excited rather than nervous or cautious.

“Now I feel comfortable in the defense and my assignments, so I feel like I can go out there and just play and have fun this year.”

Jackson says he learned to keep his head down and go to work last year, and it has resulted in a more workmanlike approach to this season. The Huskers will count on him quite a bit in 2017, especially with the injury to star cornerback Chris Jones. In a lot of ways, Jackson’s development into a “shut-down” corner is a major component to the defense being able to solidify the secondary this season.

One thing that has helped Jackson’s development is his relationship with cornerbacks coach Donte Williams. Williams is known for pushing his players and stressing the details, which Jackson sees daily.

“He sees that things are starting to slow down,” Jackson said. “I’m doing little things off instinct. He stays on me though and makes sure I don’t get too comfortable, even the little stuff.

“So when [Williams] sees me getting too comfortable, dancing around, he says tighten up or quit it. He stays on me to keep getting better.”

Jackson has had a good camp. Maybe even a fun camp, and that’s probably a great sign for Husker fans. Jackson’s playing with confidence.

You need some extra confidence to play corner in major college football

By Greg Smith

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Low Country Husker August 24, 2017 at 2:14pm

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Low Country Husker August 24, 2017 at 1:00pm

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Nish > Low Country Husker August 24, 2017 at 5:24pm

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24 Aug 2017, Cornhusker News of the Day.

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Oregon to Rock New 'Stomp Out Cancer' Unis Against Nebraska