Cornhusker Roundup: Paul Rhoads, Taylor Martinez, Shawn Watson and other Notes

ISU has hired Auburn defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads to replace Gene Chizik. He was also Pittsburgh’s defensive coordinator from 2000-2007. That’s a pretty impressive run considering Dave Wannstedt, a defensive minded coach, choose to hold him over from Walt Harris’ staff when he took the position in 2004.

Interesting note:

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His first order of business will be to keep Iowa State’s young players from jumping ship. Iowa State played a large number of freshmen this season — brought to Iowa State by Chizik — and Pollard (the AD) said earlier this week that many of them likely felt betrayed by Chizik’s move to Auburn.

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Shawn Watson said with Marlon Lucky Jr. now healthy, expect a 3-man running back rotation in the Gator Bowl.

Congratulations to the Nebraska football players who will be graduating today:

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Quarterback Beau Davis, defensive tackle Ty Steinkuhler, defensive end Clayton Sievers, wide receiver Todd Peterson, punter Dan Titchener, holder Jake Wesch, long snapper T.J. O’Leary, receiver Nate Swift and Ganz will all graduate.

Ten Nebraska players, including graduate student and offensive lineman Mike Huff, will have a degree when they compete in the Gator Bowl.

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The gameplan is all set. Please don’t get cute on us Mr. Watson. Keep it simple:

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“It’s done. We’ve got everything in,” Watson said. “All we’ll do is downsize our game plan from here. We’re looking at some different combinations, some different things we haven’t done. We’ll keep some, we’ll get rid of some, so we don’t carry too heavy of a plan into the game.”

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Bowl practices are basically an early spring practice. That is awesome. If Nebraska had 15 extra practices last year, with Interim Coach Shawn Watson leading the charge, maybe we could of developed some young players and add a few winkles that could of paid dividends in 2008 and added a “W” or two.

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“I said, ‘You know what, you got to look at these 15 practices as your springboard to spring ball,’” Sanders said. “And I think they’ve really taken that to heart.”

Sanders said Blue, the sophomore who has missed this season because of an ACL tear before spring ball, was one player in particular who really got after it Friday.

Blue has been practicing with the scout team since midseason and is trying to regain trust in going full-speed with his recovering knee.

“Today I think was the best I’ve seen him move since he’s been here,” Sanders said.

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2009 Position Battles: Alex Henery in 2009: BMOC, ladykiller, 2nd team pre-season All Big 12, scholarship(?), and punter. It could happen:

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And even though Henery knows he’ll be considered as a contender for Nebraska’s soon-to-be-open punting position, the sophomore still plans to wait until after the season to fully start experimenting as a legitimate collegiate punter.

“I won’t get into it until after the bowl game gets over,” said Henery, who hasn’t practiced punting consistently since high school. “You can lose a little, but you just have to refine your technique.”

Meanwhile, Henery has punted just once in his career—a 32-yarder in 2007 against USC. When asked last week, coach Bo Pelini didn’t even know if Henery could indeed punt with any level of consistency. Pelini assumed so.

“He can kick with both feet, so I’m sure he can punt,” Pelini said.

Papuchis has a little more reassurance that Henery is capable of earning that spot. The two have talked about it, Papuchis said, and they’ll address it again as soon as the season ends.

Henery may even have a bit of an advantage over Maher and anyone else who may join in.

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Interesting Nugget: Ganz creates plays for the Nebraska offense:

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Quarterback Joe Ganz didn’t talk this week, and he’s yet to supply his input into the gameplan, Watson said. Ganz typically creates his own plays for each game and tries to integrate them into the plan Watson’s already created. They’ve been called in games this year, and have been successful.

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Steve Sipple says ‘It’s the most wonderful week of the year,”

Husker Fan without any perspective asks a question and a sportswriter helps him get off the ledge:

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Q: Huge Husker guy here. What are your thoughts on Nebraska and the first year under Bo Pelini? I’m a little disappointed that we really didn’t beat any team worth talking about. And now we’re in a bowl game that doesn’t mean anything.
Michael Haines
Dallas
Hayes: Let me first say that I understand the frustrations of loyal Big Red fans. But at some point, you have to be realistic. Though Pelini’s team struggled in big games (0-3 vs. ranked opponents by a combined score of 151-76), the Huskers won games they were supposed to win. And that’s the difference between this team and the teams in the seasons under Bill Callahan — and the first big step to making that turn toward the elite of the Big 12.
The Gator Bowl may be the best non-BCS bowl this season — two hot teams (NU won five of its last six; Clemson won four of five) with a ton of momentum in an intersectional game on New Year’s Day. I’d pay to see it.
No question it’s a big game for Nebraska. These are the games where you make a statement not only about what has happened in Year 1 but also about what could happen in the future. These are the games that close a lot of deals with recruits — marquee games where you win a nice trophy on national television and everyone is talking about how bright the future is. It can be a great springboard into spring drills, which are all of three months away.

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Could the Gator Bowl be the last day of the Callahan Offense? BigRedReport thinks yes:

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If you want to watch what Nebraska wants to become, set your Tivo to Fox at 7 PM on January 8. You’ll see two teams full of ridiculous talent and high powered offense. The Huskers want to become that. High powered. Some would suggest we are high powered already but I don’t think we are near as good offensively as Shawn Watson and Bo Pelini want.

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Profile on Taylor Martinez:

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Martinez has committed to Nebraska, but he will face stiff competition to play his chosen position in college, where he might be used at safety depending on how he fares against other quarterback candidates.

But anyone who doubts Martinez can pull it off should consider his arm strength, his speed — and his nickname. Martinez signs off text messages with the phrase “Taylor Magic,” a reference that could also refer to his charmed career at quarterback.

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