Amie Just: The origins of Foley’s adventure, and Knighton says Nebraska ‘not far off’

The introductory press convention circuit continues for all of Nebraska’s new assistant coaches, as each particular groups coordinator Ed Foley and line of defense coach Terrance Knighton took their turns on the sixth-floor podium at Memorial Stadium on Monday afternoon.

My observations from Monday’s availability:

Particular groups coordinator Ed Foley has had his nostril to the grindstone since arriving at Nebraska in December. He’s been to not less than 77 Nebraska excessive colleges, based mostly on his Twitter photographs. A few of these colleges have bona fide expertise, whereas a few of these colleges are in numerous phases of rebuilding.

Contemplating there are 280 highschool soccer applications within the state, you may’t assist however marvel if Foley needs to examine off in-person visits at every considered one of them.

“Yeah, I want to get to each college,” Foley stated. “I don’t know sufficient concerning the space to know if that’s a risk of a actuality. It’s not going to occur in a single yr based mostly on what I’ve seen.”

Foley’s tour of Nebraska wasn’t this grand detailed plan laid out by both him or head coach Matt Rhule, although. It happened organically.

With him executed recruiting the specialists within the 2023 class — Westside’s kicker Tristan Alvano and lengthy snapper Marco Ortiz from Richmond, Virginia — Foley requested himself, “What else are you able to do?”

After pondering on it, Foley figured he’d hop within the automotive and go hit native colleges to get background on some potential children who’d match of their 2024 or 2025 courses whereas he goes to the faculties with high recruits, like Bellevue West, Ainsworth, Westside and Omaha Central.

“It actually didn’t come out to be this plan of, ‘Hey, we’re gonna get to each college within the state,’” Foley stated. “(Rhule) simply got here out and stated, ‘Let’s go do what we do.’ Which is, ‘You be the native man for now.’”

Down the street, Foley stated, others on the employees will possible become involved on the in-state circuit quite than simply him.

“The plan going ahead is to get as many as I can, but additionally perceive too, there’s sure colleges which have actually good soccer gamers. And people colleges might have somewhat bit extra consideration or somewhat bit extra site visitors from us, based mostly on the principles, than a few of the different ones.

“It’s a mixture of seeing as many colleges as we will, but additionally giving the path to the place the gamers are which might be going to suit us for the quick time period.”

When Knighton took the job at Nebraska, he stated he had “no concept what we have been going into, roster-wise.”

However after assembly the workforce and watching hours of movie, Knighton has walked away with a constructive feeling.

“We’re not that far off,” he stated. “You sort of marvel since you simply have a look at the file, and also you make a judgment based mostly on the file, however, dropping numerous shut video games? For me, I really feel like that’s tradition. That’s tradition within the locker room, amongst the participant. And that’s a direct picture of the management.

“Within the fourth quarter, when the sport is tight, you need the gamers to say, ‘Hey, we’re not dropping this recreation.’ You need that to return from the gamers. So simply creating that mindset throughout the offseason, attacking the whole lot every day and making Saturday the simple day of the week.”

Foley waxed poetic about kickoff return and punt return for almost 5 minutes, explaining their minute variations from a philosophy and scheme standpoint.

The overall consensus although, with out getting too far into the weeds, is that Nebraska shall be returning punts and kicks. The Huskers is not going to be shying away from that as they’ve prior to now.

A delicate reminder: Nebraska had simply 77 yards on punt returns final yr (rating No. 12 within the Large Ten) and 444 yards on kick returns (eighth within the Large Ten with their 17.1-yard common thirteenth within the Large Ten).

“What we will’t do is, we will’t get tackled on the 8 (yard line) or the 6 or have penalties,” Foley stated. “So I’m going to place it immediately on the gamers and be like, ‘Hear, guys. I’m right here to return kicks. That’s Ed Foley’s agenda. However I bought a boss. So if we need to do that collectively, we’ve got to catch the ball and get it north and south. And we will’t have penalties.

“‘And once I say catch it and get it north/south, that sounds easy. The ball goes to be kicked, squibbed, blooped, skied, you gotta defend the sphere, defend the onside kick, defend the ball throughout the sphere.’ So there’s somewhat bit to that.”

“We’ve had some success with each of these issues at Temple and Baylor, so hopefully we will proceed to try this. However the philosophy is similar. We’re going to have a bunch of catch it and go 8, 10 yards. Hopefully we will change the sport.”

With defensive coordinator Tony White’s scheme being somewhat completely different than earlier ones put in by his predecessors, there’s nonetheless a choice left to be made so far as which place teams, similar to defensive ends and out of doors linebackers, shall be coached by which coaches.

Defensive position coach Terrance Knighton stated, “We’re nonetheless attempting to determine that fourth man, the linebacker, D-end, we don’t know.”

They’ll both be with Knighton or linebackers coach Rob Dvoracek, who was introduced on Jan. 11.