The blackshirts tradition used to be just an internal team tradition, not a public thing. Then it became something the media made a big deal out of. As a fan I think if it serves as a motivator, telling the players they are part of a brotherhood of the traditional world beater defenses of the past then fine. But it also means nothing to me if it doesn't come with defense dominated wins. It is not important to me if they wear blackshirts in practice or not. The annual question of "when should they hand them out?" Is meaningless to me.
We haven't seen a blackshirts defense since the mid 90's. The true blackshirts are a pack of wolves, brutal, hard hitting, take no prisoners maniacs. Right now they are not at that level so until they are , no matter the color of their practice shirts, they are not what it used to stand for.
IMO the Blackshirts have never had more meaning or relevance than they do now and I like the way Pelini handles this tradition by making them earn it instead of having it "automagically" appear in the lockers before the season even starts
if I'm remembering right they got taken away once too which is fine if it's not deserved
From the Head Coach:— Pelini said it felt like the right time this week to give Nebraska’s defenders blackshirts. “It’s an accumulation over time. I thought the way we’re practicing,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any perfect time to give the out, whether you give them out at the beginning of the year, or the end of the year or the middle of the year. We choose to do it the way we choose and there’s a reason behind it. What I’ve found on this, is you’re not going to make everybody happy. People are going to second guess you one way or the other. We do it with our players the way we see fit, and I like the way we do it. We try to honor the tradition by making them earn it. Do you ever completely earn it? No. You’re never perfect. I don’t want to sit there and say we arrived as a defense. That isn’t the case.”
LINCOLN — It took about 51 days, or seven games, for the fabled Nebraska Blackshirts to make their first appearance in the players’ lockers.
Apparently that wasn’t a problem.
“I had a little pep in my step today,” said Nebraska corner Jonathan Rose after Tuesday’s practice. “These Blackshirts have a lot of power. If y’all see any pictures of me flexing in my jersey, just know that I was a little bit excited.”
In terms of the Christmas morning reaction, the Blackshirts still get it done. Christmas morning finally came, on Tuesday, for the Nebraska defensive players who found them hanging in their lockers.
Your reaction might be, “Oh, they still hand out Blackshirts?”
For years, this was a rite of August. After a practice the week of the season opener, the most famous practice jerseys in college football would be waiting inside the lockers of the deserving defensive players.
It was a cool honor. You’re a Blackshirt? Stud.
But a funny thing happened when Nebraska hired Bo Pelini to come overhaul the defense in 2008. The Blackshirts got lost in the construction.
Pelini decided to award them each season based on when the defense earned them. It’s been a different time each year. The only time he handed them out in the preseason was last year.
Eventually, the media stopped asking about it. You stopped asking the media to ask. The tradition seemed to fade to, um, black.
Has the Blackshirt tradition ever been less relevant?
Depending on how you look at it, it might be more meaningful.
Pelini drives some crazy with the way he’s handled it. But it’s his nod to the tradition to wait. As a player at Ohio State, he received Buckeye stickers for his helmet for every good game or play he made.
He sees it as more than a prop, more than a logo you can buy at the bookstore.
“I want to give respect to the tradition by making sure it’s something that matters,” Pelini said. “I have respect for the tradition.
“I just know, in my opinion, you don’t get anything in this world for free. You’ve got to earn something. When the right time is, I don’t know. I don’t want to devalue the tradition by not handing them out. But I want to make sure that, like anything in life, you’ve got to earn it.”
A lot of fans want them handed out before the season. They say that’s the tradition. By giving them out before the opener, you set the standard for the season. A lot of former Blackshirts are in that camp, too.
They’ve got a point. But Kevin Cosgrove handed them out before the 2007 season. Before the 49-31 loss to USC, the 41-6 clubbing at Missouri and the 45-14 stomping by Oklahoma State.
Blackshirt tradition was upheld that season. Until the season actually started.
Pelini gets ripped by former Blackshirts for doing it this way, but the staff is actually trying to honor those old warriors.
“The reason why we do it the way we do it is we have so much respect for the groups that were here before us,” said defensive coordinator John Papuchis. “There is a standard they created. We wait to honor their tradition until we feel we’re playing at a level that is worthy of being Blackshirts.
“I think it’s more of a compliment the way we handle it.”
A lot of this drama misses the point. The tradition of the Blackshirt is not how they are handed out.
It’s how the defense plays each Saturday.
This group is living up to the standard of that old sporting goods jersey. The Huskers have lost a handful of potential starters early to injury. They’ve plugged holes and followed the lead of a stout defensive line. They’ve had their share of missed tackles, but they’re cleaning that up.
And they’ve become hard to pass against. In the second half at Northwestern, the Blackshirts allowed only 28 yards and three first downs. It was all about linebackers, nickels and dimes locking in on receivers. That allowed the front four to tee off.
“I like the direction we’re heading,” Papuchis said. “It hasn’t been four quarters of a game, but we’re getting close. At times we’ve been really good.”
The front four drives the bus. When you need to rush only four, pass coverage comes easier.
The game might soon change. These last five games, NU will face some of the Big Ten’s best bulldozers, including Wisconsin (343 rushing yards per game) and Minnesota (222). Iowa has a bulldozer, but it’s in the shop.
Nebraska’s linebackers will have to be ready. Maybe that’s what Josh Banderas had in mind when he declined to wear his Blackshirt at practice on Tuesday. He said he hadn’t been playing up to snuff.
The standard still lives.
“When you see that hanging in your locker, you know you have to get together as a team and take it to another level today,” Rose said.
These Blackshirts still get it. That is, when they get them.
Replies
We haven't seen a blackshirts defense since the mid 90's. The true blackshirts are a pack of wolves, brutal, hard hitting, take no prisoners maniacs. Right now they are not at that level so until they are , no matter the color of their practice shirts, they are not what it used to stand for.
IMO the Blackshirts have never had more meaning or relevance than they do now and I like the way Pelini handles this tradition by making them earn it instead of having it "automagically" appear in the lockers before the season even starts
if I'm remembering right they got taken away once too which is fine if it's not deserved
From the Head Coach:— Pelini said it felt like the right time this week to give Nebraska’s defenders blackshirts. “It’s an accumulation over time. I thought the way we’re practicing,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any perfect time to give the out, whether you give them out at the beginning of the year, or the end of the year or the middle of the year. We choose to do it the way we choose and there’s a reason behind it. What I’ve found on this, is you’re not going to make everybody happy. People are going to second guess you one way or the other. We do it with our players the way we see fit, and I like the way we do it. We try to honor the tradition by making them earn it. Do you ever completely earn it? No. You’re never perfect. I don’t want to sit there and say we arrived as a defense. That isn’t the case.”
By Tom Shatel / World-Herald columnist
LINCOLN — It took about 51 days, or seven games, for the fabled Nebraska Blackshirts to make their first appearance in the players’ lockers.
Apparently that wasn’t a problem.
“I had a little pep in my step today,” said Nebraska corner Jonathan Rose after Tuesday’s practice. “These Blackshirts have a lot of power. If y’all see any pictures of me flexing in my jersey, just know that I was a little bit excited.”
In terms of the Christmas morning reaction, the Blackshirts still get it done. Christmas morning finally came, on Tuesday, for the Nebraska defensive players who found them hanging in their lockers.
Your reaction might be, “Oh, they still hand out Blackshirts?”
For years, this was a rite of August. After a practice the week of the season opener, the most famous practice jerseys in college football would be waiting inside the lockers of the deserving defensive players.
It was a cool honor. You’re a Blackshirt? Stud.
But a funny thing happened when Nebraska hired Bo Pelini to come overhaul the defense in 2008. The Blackshirts got lost in the construction.
Pelini decided to award them each season based on when the defense earned them. It’s been a different time each year. The only time he handed them out in the preseason was last year.
Eventually, the media stopped asking about it. You stopped asking the media to ask. The tradition seemed to fade to, um, black.
Has the Blackshirt tradition ever been less relevant?
Depending on how you look at it, it might be more meaningful.
Pelini drives some crazy with the way he’s handled it. But it’s his nod to the tradition to wait. As a player at Ohio State, he received Buckeye stickers for his helmet for every good game or play he made.
He sees it as more than a prop, more than a logo you can buy at the bookstore.
“I want to give respect to the tradition by making sure it’s something that matters,” Pelini said. “I have respect for the tradition.
“I just know, in my opinion, you don’t get anything in this world for free. You’ve got to earn something. When the right time is, I don’t know. I don’t want to devalue the tradition by not handing them out. But I want to make sure that, like anything in life, you’ve got to earn it.”
A lot of fans want them handed out before the season. They say that’s the tradition. By giving them out before the opener, you set the standard for the season. A lot of former Blackshirts are in that camp, too.
They’ve got a point. But Kevin Cosgrove handed them out before the 2007 season. Before the 49-31 loss to USC, the 41-6 clubbing at Missouri and the 45-14 stomping by Oklahoma State.
Blackshirt tradition was upheld that season. Until the season actually started.
Pelini gets ripped by former Blackshirts for doing it this way, but the staff is actually trying to honor those old warriors.
“The reason why we do it the way we do it is we have so much respect for the groups that were here before us,” said defensive coordinator John Papuchis. “There is a standard they created. We wait to honor their tradition until we feel we’re playing at a level that is worthy of being Blackshirts.
“I think it’s more of a compliment the way we handle it.”
A lot of this drama misses the point. The tradition of the Blackshirt is not how they are handed out.
It’s how the defense plays each Saturday.
This group is living up to the standard of that old sporting goods jersey. The Huskers have lost a handful of potential starters early to injury. They’ve plugged holes and followed the lead of a stout defensive line. They’ve had their share of missed tackles, but they’re cleaning that up.
And they’ve become hard to pass against. In the second half at Northwestern, the Blackshirts allowed only 28 yards and three first downs. It was all about linebackers, nickels and dimes locking in on receivers. That allowed the front four to tee off.
“I like the direction we’re heading,” Papuchis said. “It hasn’t been four quarters of a game, but we’re getting close. At times we’ve been really good.”
The front four drives the bus. When you need to rush only four, pass coverage comes easier.
The game might soon change. These last five games, NU will face some of the Big Ten’s best bulldozers, including Wisconsin (343 rushing yards per game) and Minnesota (222). Iowa has a bulldozer, but it’s in the shop.
Nebraska’s linebackers will have to be ready. Maybe that’s what Josh Banderas had in mind when he declined to wear his Blackshirt at practice on Tuesday. He said he hadn’t been playing up to snuff.
The standard still lives.
“When you see that hanging in your locker, you know you have to get together as a team and take it to another level today,” Rose said.
These Blackshirts still get it. That is, when they get them.
Handing out Blackshirts? Bo Pelini made them earn it