Nebraska Football 2010 Preview: What to Look for on Defense

In 2009, Husker fans witnessed their beloved Blackshirts actually being Blackshirts once again.

That year, the Husker defense became one of the most feared in the entire country.  The No. 7 ranked defense overall in terms of total yardage was also the No. 1 ranked defense in the entire country when it came to scoring.  Nope, it wasn't Alabama's, or Florida's, or Texas' defense that led the country in defensive scoring—it was Nebraska's.

While many a Nebraska fan has held his head high on these simplistic facts, that same Nebraska fan has to realize that a man named Suh will no longer be on campus come the 2010 season.

They call him a once in a lifetime player, and I have no doubt that this is the truth about Suh.

So how does Nebraska recover from the loss of this "once-in-a-lifetime" player?

With hard work.

In an oft-quoted remark from Bo Pelini, the head man in charge in Lincoln, believes that the 2010 defense will be five times better than the 2009 defense. 

While that is all well and good from the outside, the reality is that it will not likely come to fruition without the supreme talents of Suh in the middle.

Time to break down not only the players, but what will undoubtedly be a change in scheme from the staff in charge for the Husker defense in 2010.

DEFENSIVE LINE

As already stated, you simply don't replace a guy like Ndamukong Suh.  He was the absolute heart and soul of the defense last year.  However, what you can do is elevate the play of the players that surrounded him while also building up the play of those that sat behind him. 

Enter Jared Crick. 

Without any doubt, the most surprising player on last year's Husker defense was Crick.  Not only did he quiet talk of his inability to replace a fifth-year senior in Ty Steinkuhler, he stepped so much forward that he became a legitimate First Team All-Big 12 selection.  And on some voters boards, he was ranked ahead of Oklahoma's very own Gerald McCoy, who is challenging Suh for being the No. 1 overall pick in this year's NFL draft.

While Crick looks to be solid in the middle, we also see that we have to replace Suh.  The thought is that red-shirt sophomore and former five-star recruit Baker Steinkuhler will fill in quite nicely.  I don't doubt that Baker will step in, become very productive, and aid in forming what will likely be the best defensive tackle rotation in the entire Big 12. 

The real question on the defensive line is the play at defensive end. This is where these Huskers may become one of the best defenses in the entire nation yet again in 2010.

Cameron Meredith will enter in as the replacement for Barry Turner.  And in all honesty, he actually outplayed Turner last year when he was subbed in anyway.  On the other side we have Pierre Allen.  With last year's defensive scheme, Allen was relegated to keeping in his lane without giving much effort on actually rushing the quarterback. 

Expect that to change in 2010, along with his backup/starting role cohort Josh Williams.  Without Suh in the fold, look for the Huskers to start sending their outside DE's to put some heat on the QB instead of simply holding their space. 

While the front four can in no way, shape, or form compare to the fantastic four from 2009, look for this group to really start shooting gaps, making stunts, and putting forth a much bigger pass rush than what we saw last year.  Look for Pierre Allen and Cameron Meredith to make huge strides this year, and for both to actually contend for All-Big 12 type mention.

LINEBACKER

In the Big 12, this position has basically become a dead man's land.  With all of the up- tempo spread offenses in the conference, a middle linebacker has become needed as much as a urinal in a woman's bathroom. 

For nearly 85 percent of the snaps the Nebraska defense saw last year against Big 12 offenses, they only had one linebacker inserted into their defensive scheme. 

With the departure of QB's in Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford, Todd Reesing, and Zac Robinson, look for Big 12 offenses to get back to running the football more often.

While the change may be towards running the football more than in the past two seasons in the Big 12, it will still be a flag-footballesque passing league.  Simply put, you can't put lipstick on a pig and make it fly.  Coaches and teams will simply do what they want to do, and that means that they will rely mainly upon passing the football.

With all that said, the Husker defense is forced in having to find a replacement for one of the most unheralded stars off of last year's defense in Phillip Dillard.  

The often bashed and ridiculed four-star recruit finally lived up to his billing during the 2009 season.  So much so that he nearly garnered a First Team All-Big 12 mention.  In reality, he probably should have. 

The other two linebacker positions?  Basically irrelevant as the Husker defense was relegated to Dime and Nickel coverage during Big 12 play for nearly 85 percent of their snaps.  Not only did the Huskers only put one linebacker into the fold for nearly their entire Big 12 campaign, they also put their best foot forward in doing so.

Nickel and Dime guys like Hagg and Gomes are back, and thus we should not expect a whole lot of change on that front.

However, the talents of Lavonte David and Eric Martin bring in a whole other factor for the Husker defense in 2010.  Both are fast to the point of contact, and both are looking to be big time playmakers.  While there are other linebackers in the Husker fray of talent, look for Martin and David to lead the way. 

Will Compton is another interesting player that could contribute, but his strength is in run support and as we have all seen, that simply isn't all that needed in Big 12 play.   

While Dillard may be tough to replace, I fully expect the play of David and Martin to completely fill his gap and be an actual upgrade when all is said and done.

SECONDARY

Easily argued as the Big 12's best last season.  While the loss of Matt O'Hanlon and Larry Asante at safety are a bit of a concern, the Huskers do return the best cornerback tandem in the entire league, and maybe even the entire nation in Alfonzo Dennard and Prince Amukamara.

Not since the days of Tyrone Williams and Michael Booker in the mid-'90s heydey have Husker fans witnessed such a dynamic duo at the all-important cornerback position.  Not only that, they are backed up healthily by such talents as Anthony West, DeJon Gomes, and Anthony Blue. 

Plus, a plethora of up and coming stars in Andrew Green, Lazzari Middleton, and Dijon Washington add even more depth.  Frankly said, the Huskers have never seen a cornerback position as solid and as deep in the entire history of the program.    

Safety is a bit of a different story.  The losses of both O'Hanlon and Asante will be felt.  However, the cupboard isn't exactly bare in trying to replace these two players.  P.J. Smith is an absolute stud on the rise and the move of Eric Hagg to safety is comforting.

I would also look for the sixth year given to Rickey Thenarse to pay serious dividends for our Husker faithful in 2010 as well.  We all saw the incredible rise of Dillard in 2009, I fully expect that Thenarse may have a similar type of season for the Huskers in 2010.

SUMMATION/COACHING  

You simply can't replace Suh.  However, I also look for Bo to change his defensive game plan quite a bit in 2010 to take over for that loss. 

Look for an ample amount of blitzing out of the 2010 Husker team as they will rely heavily upon their strong and deep secondary.  The defensive ends will also take a much heavier role in getting to the quarterback in 2010 along with a ton more stunts out of the front four. 

Given a couple of solid cornerbacks (a la the LSU 2007 defense), Bo has a strong tendency to throw a ton of blitzes at offenses along with a full amount of different looks. 

While the 2009 defense revolved around the talents of Suh and the wait-and-react attitude, the 2010 defense will in no doubt be a much more attacking style in which pressure will be put on offenses early and often. 

Will the 2010 defense be as good or better than the 2009 defense?  Hard to say.  Will it be "five times better" as said by Bo?  Impossible.  But in reality, it can definitely be one of the nation's best yet again.  And I have no doubt that it will be one of the country's Top 10 defenses in 2010.