Nebraska Football Tickets

Suh a finalist for Lombardi award

Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is one of the 12 semifinalists selected for the 2009 Lombardi Award, which is presented to the nation's top lineman.

Suh has been a dominant force for the Nebraska football team, recording a team-best 32 tackles so far this season. Seven of his tackles have been for losses, and he also has three sacks and an interception. His pickoff of Blaine Gabbert helped ignite a 27-point fourth-quarter rally for the Huskers in their 27-12 win at Missouri last week.

Suh has alread earned some weekly honors this season, earning a Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week award and being named defensive player of the week by the Walter Camp Foundation.

The finalists for the Lombardi Award will be announced Tuesday, Nov. 10.

The Nebraska football team returns to action Saturday with a Big 12 home matchup against Texas Tech. Get your tickets to see the Huskers and the Red Raiders now at Ticket Express -- where no Husker football game is ever sold out.

Daniel will test Nebraska's defense

Nebraska's defense has been put through some difficult tests early on, but nothing like what they are about to encounter as they open Big 12 Conference play this weekend.

The undefeated and fourth-ranked Missouri Tigers come to town for Saturday's homecoming matchup at 8 p.m. on ESPN, and to say the Tigers have their best team in a long time would be an understatement. This is a very talented bunch that is on the short list of teams that, at this point, could be playing for the national championship come January.

The Tigers are led by Heisman Trophy candidate Chase McDaniel. The senior quarterback threw for over 4,000 yards last year and tore apart Nebraska's defense in a 41-6 demolishing last year in Columbia. To make matters worse, he compared Nebraska's defense -- in that game -- to a high school outfit.

Nebraska's defense has gotten a lot better since then, but this group still hasn't been tested the way the Tigers are going to this weekend. With Daniel and his seemingly limitless options -- led by sophomore sensation Jeremy Maclin -- the Huskers are going to see an offensive assault that is much more potent and multi-talented than any they saw in their first four games.

The Huskers' first big test came last weekend against Virginia Tech, and it was obvious there are still a lot of holes to fill. The secondary allowed far too many open receivers and the Hokies dominated the time of possession and were able to come away with a 35-30 victory. If the Huskers are unable to rebound, Saturday's result against the Tigers could be an ugly one.

Daniel has been dominant so far this season, passing for 1,412 yards and 12 touchdowns while completing 76 percent of his passes. He set a conference record earlier this year by completing 20 consecutive passes against Buffalo. If he gets on a roll Saturday, he could put up numbers similar to last year against a Husker defense that is still working at improving.

How about the Black . . . er . . . defense?

The Nebraska football team is starting to show signs it knows how to play defense again, but don't look for defensive coordinator Carl Pelini to be handing out the old Blackshirts just yet.

Nebraska had by far its best defensive performance of the year Saturday, keeping New Mexico State out of the end zone until the game was well in hand during the Huskers' 38-7 win at Memorial Stadium. The win put Nebraska at 3-0 going into its off week before a Sept. 27 showdown with Virginia Tech.

The Huskers kept New Mexico State's unique offense in check for much of the night. The Aggies did have some early success and drove deep into Nebraska territory on its first drive, but the Huskers held and were able to keep New Mexico State off the scoreboard when Zach Potter blocked a field goal.

Later in the first half, the defense came up big when Armando Murillo picked off a pass and returned it 57 yards to the Aggies' 20-yard line. On the very next play, Nebraska used a trick play that saw Marlon Lucky roll right with a pitch from quarterback Joe Ganz, stop and throw back to the left to wide open Ganz, who went 20 yards for the touchdown and a 14-0 Nebraska lead.

The Huskers made another impressive defensive stop in the third quarter in spite of two pass interference calls deep in Husker territory. The first gave New Mexico State the ball at the 2-yard line, but two sacks pushed the ball back to the 20-yard line. Nebraska was hit with a second interference call, but Matt O'Hanlon picked off a pass and kept the Aggies out of the end zone.

Nebraska limited the Aggies to 339 yards in total offense and looked much better than it did during their first two games. It wasn't the kind of effort that will make you think the classic dominating defense is back, but the effort showed that there is improvement being made and should give Husker fans hope that they'll be able to step up big for next week's game with the Hokies.

Glenn makes a good first impression at linebacker

The move from offense to defense was not an easy one, but Cody Glenn sure made a great first impression in his first start at linebacker.

The former running back made the switch last spring and had a good first showing in Nebraska's 47-24 win over Western Michigan on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. The senior got in the Broncos' backfield and made a tackle for a loss on Western Michigan's first play, then later forced a fumble that caused further problems for the Western Michigan offense.

In all, Glenn finished the night with a team-high 12 tackles, three of them for losses, and also had three pass breakups. It was part of an effort that saw the Huskers limit Western Michigan to eight yards rushing, but Glenn told the media after the game that it was far from the defense's best effort, noting the 350 yards passing and 24 points given up.

Fortunately, the Nebraska offense more than made up for it as Joe Ganz threw for over 300 yards and four touchdowns and Alex Henery hit four field goals -- all from 44 yards out -- to help the Huskers continue a tradition of winning season openers that dates back to 1986.

The Huskers are back in action Saturday against San Jose State, and tickets for the game are available now at Ticket Express -- where no Husker home game is ever sold out.

First day of practice is Monday

The long, cold, dark and dreary offseason ends in just two days for Husker football fans.

The first day of fall practice is scheduled for Monday as the Huskers prepare for their 2008 season opener on Saturday, Aug. 30 against Western Michigan. The Huskers will practice from 3:45 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the first day, and coach Bo Pelini and some of the players will talk with the media after that first day's practice.

The team will work out twice a day on six days between now and the season opener. Two-a-day practice sessions will be at 9 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. and will be held between Aug. 9 and Aug. 22.

The Lincoln Journal-Star reported that the Huskers will practice six days a week during the month of August, taking Sundays off.

Look for improved defense in 2008

Here's a look at the Nebraska defense and special teams for 2008.

To say last year was a bad year for the Husker defense would be an understatement. But there is hope that things will be better in 2008, especially with a defensive-minded guru like Bo Pelini as the head coach.

Up front, injuries and inexperience killed the team last year. They should be in better shape this year, led by tackles Ndamukong Suh, Terrence Moore and Ty Steinkuhler. On the ends, Zach Potter should have a breakout year and Barry Turner looks to be lighter and better coming into the season.

The big question for the Huskers on defense will be at linebacker. The position was hit hard by graduations, as all three starters moved on. That leaves some opportunities for some young people to step in, and also gave a former running back a chance to contribute on the other side of the ball.

Cody Glenn made the much-celebrated move from I-back to linebacker and had a good spring, making him a likely candidate, along with LaTravis Washington, to start at the Will position. Tyler Wortman had a fantastic spring and is the likely starter at the Sam position. The Mike position looks to be Phillip Dillard, who is the only returning player with starting experience.

In the defensive backfield, the Huskers have some question marks but also have some potential for solid play from those returning from last year.

Larry Asante had some success at strong safety last year and is the one of two returning starters in the backfield. Armando Murillo also started last year at cornerback and should have a solid season this year.

Matt O'Hanlon and Major Culbert should battle for one of the safety spots this year, and Anthony West looks to be the lead candidate at the other cornerback slot.

In the kicking game, Dan Titchener will return for his senior season as the punter. The kicking duties will again be split between Alex Henery and Adi Kunalic. Henery will handle the bulk of the extra points and field goals, while Kunalic and his booming leg will handle kickoffs and some of the longer field goal attempts.

Houston defensive lineman commits to NU

Nebraska got its second recruit on the defensive line with the announcement that Houston, Texas prep standout Thaddeus Randle has committed to play for the Huskers.

A 6-foot-1, 255 pounder, Randle is the third defensive commitment for the Class of 2009 and the second defensive tackle to verbally commit to Nebraska. He joins Lincoln Southeast defensive tackle Cole Pensick and Shawn Bodtmann, a linebacker from Pennsylvania.

Randle is solid fundamentally, but is a bit undersized and will need to get bigger before he can develop into a college-level type of lineman.

The Huskers will have a definite need for defensive lineman after this season. Five seniors make up the defensive line this year, including ends Zach Potter and Barry Turner and tackles Ty Steinkuhler, Kevin Dixon and Shukree Barfield.

Bodtmann says he is coming to Nebraska

Nebraska will be getting a talented linebacker from Pennsylvania with the recent announcement that Shawn Bodtmann has committed to play for the Huskers.

At 6-foot and 205 pounds, Bodtmann was a standout on both sides of the ball in helping West Scranton High School to a 12-2 record last season. In addition to his defensive contributions, he ran for 1,452 yards as a running back.

Bodtmann was recruited by the Huskers as a linebacker and should fill in well at the Will linebacker position. He was in Lincoln for the Red-White Spring Game and was impressed by the fact that the team could draw a packed house for what amounted to a practice.

Bodtmann is a very talented individual, according to the Lincoln Journal-Star. In addition to his efforts on the field, he can bench 225 pounds 12 times, runs a 4.62 40-yard dash and also sings in the school choir. The day after announcing his commitment, he went with his school choir to a performance in Maryland.

Huskers should be improved in 2008

Nebraska fans turned out in record numbers for the Red-White Spring Game, with over 80,000 in attendance to see Bo Pelini's first Husker football team.

Nebraska's team is going to be an improved bunch, if Saturday's efforts were any indication. Joe Ganz looks solid at quarterback and the offensive line is going to be good and deep, which is something Husker fans have grown accustomed to over the years.

What Husker fans have NOT grown accustomed to, though, is a shoddy defensive effort. Calling last year's defense shoddy would have been a compliment. The team set school records for first downs, points and yards allowed, and with the hiring of Pelini -- a defensive guru -- as head coach, one would have to expect the defense to be better than it was last year. Since they ranked near the bottom in just about every major statistical category, they can't get much worse.

The end analysis is that the Huskers will be a BETTER team in 2008 than they were last year, but Husker fans need to realize that the road back to the top is a long one. This team is not going to be playing for the national championship at the end of the coming season. In fact, it may be 2010 before we can start putting this team in that conversation.

One thing we will see, though, is that this team will play with the kind of fire and intensity that top-shelf programs exhibit week in and week out. Pelini will expect nothing less from this bunch, and you could see from Saturday's effort that these players -- at least those that want to suit up and play on Saturdays this fall -- will bring that fire and drive on every play for 60 minutes.

With a tough midseason schedule that includes road games at Texas Tech and Oklahoma and back-to-back home dates with top 10 teams like Virginia Tech and Missouri, the coming season is not going to be an easy one. But it should be a lot of fun and Husker fans are going to get their money's worth watching these guys in 2008.

Teams set up for today's Spring Game

The Red and White teams were set up for today's Spring Game at Memorial Stadium as Nebraska football coaches and players "drafted" both sides to give both teams an equal amount of talent.

It should be an interesting afternoon of football, as a sellout crowd is expected for the first time in the history of the spring intra-squad scrimmage. Look for a lot of good things to come from today's game as players from both sides show their stuff for first-year coach Bo Pelini.

Here is how the rosters for Saturday's Red-White Spring Game look:

Red Team

Offense

Quarterback -- Joe Ganz, Kody Spano, Beau Davis

Running Backs -- Marlon Lucky, Kenny Wilson, Marcus Mendoza

Fullbacks -- Thomas Lawson, Kevin Thomsen, Tyler Legate

Wide Recievers -- Menelik Holt, Curenski Gilleylen, Matt Donahue, Nate Swift, Ben Lester

Tight Ends -- Mike McNeill, Dreu Young, Jay Martin

Offensive Line -- Max McShane, Mike Caputo, Cruz Barrett, Keith Williams, Matt Slauson, Lydon Murtha, Marcel Jones

Defense

Defensive Line -- Ben Martin, Luke Lingenfelter, Faron Klingelhoefer, Jonathon Santin, Terrence Moore, Tyrone Fahie, Pierre Allen, Kevin Dixon, Zach Potter

Linebackers -- Latravis Washington, Thomas Grove, Joseph Camarata, Phillip Dillard, Tyler Wortman, Jeff Sayre

Defensive Backs -- Rickey Thenarse, Armando Murillo, Major Culbert, Anthony Blue, Prince Amukamara, Adam Watson, Lance Thorell

Special Teams

Kickers -- Alex Henery, Dan Titchener

Long Snapper -- Justin Baumgartner

White Team

Offense

Quarterback -- Patrick Witt, Zac Lee, Jim Ebke

Running Backs -- Roy Helu, Quentin Castille, Austin Jones

Fullbacks -- Aaron Gillaspie, Justin Makovicka

Wide Receivers -- Chris Brooks, Will Henry, Todd Peterson, Niles Paul, Wes Cammack, Xavier Rucker

Tight Ends -- Ben Tasa, Ryan Hill, Tyson Hetzer, Hunter Teafatiller

Offensive Line -- Mike Huff, Mike Smith, Jacob Hickman, Cory Iske, Mike Masin, Jaivorio Burkes, D.J. Jones

Defense

Defensive Line -- Ty Steinkuhler, William Yancy, Shukree Barfield, Taylor Escamilla, David Harvey, Clayton Sievers, Ndamukong Suh, Jared Crick, Barry Turner

Linebackers -- Blake Lawrence, Mike Hays, Nick Covey, Cody Glenn, Colton Koehler

Defensive Backs -- Larry Asante, Austin Cassidy, Shawn Sullivan, Ryan Ford, Eric Hagg, Matt O'Hanlon, Mathew May

Special Teams

Kickers -- Adi Kunalic, Jake Wesch

Long Snapper -- T.J. O'Leary