The coordinator report: Tony White takes responsibility for a defense that failed to play “with its hair on fire”
Nebraska defensive coordinator Tony White had never seen it before, he said.
The Huskers, fresh off a 45-7 loss to the second-ranked Michigan Wolverines on Saturday, dressed in full pads Sunday and went hard into full contact.
“Coach (Matt Rhule) just sprung that on the players on Sunday, and they went out there and had one of their best practices ever in pads,” White told reporters Tuesday.
“They have responded well to this point. But it’s still a process, right? The tell tale will be when the clock reads zero on Friday night.”
Nebraska (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten) plays Illinois (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten) at 7 p.m. Friday in Champaign, Illinois.
Regarding Sunday’s practice, White said, “It was just a lot of competition and a lot of physicality. Coach (Rhule) laid it out in clear terms how this place is supposed to play — you know, how we’re supposed to play on the grass, under the lights.
“We went out there and made sure they knew how to do that.”
Tony White echoes Matt Rhule’s criticisms
Nebraska entered the Michigan game leading the nation in rushing defense, having allowed only 1.82 yards per carry, but the Wolverines averaged 6 yards per try in rolling to a 28-0 halftime lead.
As was the case with Rhule, White described Nebraska’s performance Saturday as “ridiculous.” White said his unit’s issues were largely twofold: It neither played with its “hair on fire” nor executed well.
As was the case with Rhule, White took responsibility for the shortcomings.
He said he saw problems from the get-go.
“You saw guys not being in the right spots and then guys playing not to lose versus going to win games,” White said. “I thought coach (Rhule) said that the best: Go play to win.
“We can’t be hesitant. That’s me included as a play-caller. I can’t be perfect all the time and think I’m going to win the game. It’s trusting those young men to go play and lay it out on the line.
“It all starts with me in terms of letting the guys go play and being aggressive as hell and turning them loose, so they can go do those things.”
Perhaps the Sunday practice, a departure, will help matters.
“It’s something we needed to do,” said junior “Jack” linebacker MJ Sherman, a transfer from Georgia. “We didn’t play our best football on Saturday, man. We decided we needed to make up for that lost day. Our motto is every day is 1% better. We don’t care about wins, we don’t care about losses — all we care about is the tape. The tape didn’t look the part, so we had to make up for it.”
“If we can do it on Sunday after the game, then why the hell can’t we do it on Saturday?” Sherman added. “That goes for me, too.”
Satterfield says Jeff Sims “getting better each day”
Nebraska quarterback Jeff Sims, who suffered a high-ankle sprain Sept. 9 at Colorado and has played only a few snaps since, is showing signs of progress, Husker offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said.
“I wouldn’t say he’s 100%, but he was out there and had a good practice (Tuesday),” Satterfield said.
Heinrich Haarberg, who’s started the past three games, is now listed No. 1 on the depth chart ahead of Sims and No. 3 Chubba Purdy.
“Both those guys (Haarberg and Sims) are doing a nice job,” the coach said. “They’re competing with each other each day, and I think Jeff will be out there at some point sooner rather than later.”
Haarberg retains the No. 1 job in part because he’s done a better job of taking care of the ball.
“He just keeps getting more comfortable playing the position and being out there,” the coach said.
Satterfield praises OL in one area in particular
The question to Satterfield was simple: What do you think the best thing the offensive line is doing right now?
“I think they’re doing a real nice job in the run game,” he said, alluding to Nebraska’s average of 209.0 rushing yards per game, which ranks 14th nationally. “People know we’re going to run the football. So, they’re stacking boxes and blitzing and doing some different things.”
That means the offensive linemen might need time — even a couple quarters — before they fully figure out what the defense is doing.
“They’re doing a really nice job of ID’ing it and getting it under control,” Satterfield said.
Nebraska ranks just 125th nationally in passing offense, averaging 139.4 yards per game.
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