Monthly Archives: August 2009

Preseason Polls Don’t Mean Much, But Here’s One For You To Chew On

Posted on by

The Huskers are ranked #38 in the nation in Scout.com’s preseason poll.

Here’s how the Scout sees the team’s potential in 2009:

Relative Strengths: Defensive Line, Offensive Line
Relative Weaknesses: Receiver, Linebacker

What to watch for on offense: The tight ends. The wide receivers are speedy, and the veterans have great high school résumés, but the tight ends will be the stars of the passing game. Mike McNeill is a great pass catcher who can block a little bit, while Kyler Reed is a great-looking prospect for the midrange throws. Ben Cotton would start for most teams without a problem, and he’s expected to shine when he’s in. Zac Lee will have plenty of outlet targets to rely on who’ll do more than just move the chains; they’ll come up with deep balls.

What to expect on defense: Utter dominance from the front four, no matter what configuration. DT Ndamukong Suh is an elite pro prospect and is coming off of one of the greatest statistical seasons for a tackle in the history of college football. He’s the one everyone will work around, but there are other linemen, like Pierre Allen and Barry Turner, who’s returning from a broken leg, on the outside. They should blow up and help lead a defense that will be among the best in the nation at getting into the backfield. Throw in promising sophomore tackles Jared Crick and Terrence Moore, along with superstar-in-the-making, Baker Steinkuhler, and the line will control games.

I like that outlook for the defensive line. If we can control the line, we can control the game and that’s exactly what we want/plan to do.