Tag Archives: Tim Beck

A Detroit Free Press story Sunday found that Nebraska’s assistant coaching salary pool of $2,648,500 is third in the Big Ten behind Michigan and Ohio State, while offensive coordinator Tim Beck’s salary of $700,000 is second only to Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Mattison, who makes $750,000. Ohio State’s Luke Fickell made $750,000 last year, but apparently $150,000 of that salary was tied to compensation left over from Fickell’s one, doomed year as interim coach.

Ohio State has by far the largest assistant coaching salary pool at $3.416 million. Michigan is just ahead of NU at $2.805 million.

But other Big Ten schools, presumably flush with Big Ten Network money, aren’t far behind the Huskers. All but Indiana has a salary pool of $2 million or …

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It appears that last week’s practices were productive for every position group within the Nebraska defense. Plenty of positive vibes to go around after practice Monday.

And look, nobody’s going overboard. This young group has plenty of work to do — defensive coordinator John Papuchis made a point to reemphasize that.

But…

Here’s what Papuchis said about Saturday’s scrimmage: “I thought the energy was better. The enthusiasm was better. The effort was better. But I think that’s all a byproduct of knowing what you’re doing. It’s hard to play fast and enthusiastic when you’re not quite sure what you’re supposed to do. We made a big jump last week, in terms of just our general understanding of the entire defense.”

Some tidbits from Monday’s practice, …

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John Papuchis knows there is plenty of room for this young Nebraska defense to grow, but the NU defensive coordinator sounded pretty content Monday as he reflected back on the first half of spring practice.

He talked about the Huskers’ pre-break scrimmage (on March 14), when the offense ended up having a good amount of success — said Papuchis: “We saw that a veteran offensive group, who had some moxie and some game readiness, made a few plays.”

But that was just 12 days into spring ball for a defense still trying to transfer its meeting room teachings to the practice field. There are times, Papuchis admitted, the coaches’ expectations for progress are too high.

“I want it to happen faster sometimes, but I do …

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The 2nd of Nebraska’s 15 offseason workouts is over; it’ll be the last, most likely, that NU conducts without pads for until the Spring Game warmup. Here are notes:

One surprise participant Saturday on Nebraska’s first-team offense was Elmwood-Murdock sophomore wide receiver Sam Burtch. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound walk-on flashed good speed, especially in downfield routes.

Until redshirt freshmen Jordan Westerkamp and Alonzo Moore develop more this spring camp, offensive coordinator Tim Beck said, look for Burtch to be NU’s No. 4 wide receiver.

“He can play all three positions for us,” Beck said. “So he’s a good guy to fill in as our No. 4. He’s there right now because of his experience.”

Various injuries to Tim Marlowe, Tyler Evans, Steven Osborne and Taariq Allen …

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We’ll keep it short, because that’s all this game deserves. If you’re still watching, you’re a Badger fan or you’re just REALLY bored on a Saturday night.

Three of the first eight plays for Wisconsin’s offense after halftime resulted in touchdowns — a 9-yarder by Montee Ball, a 57-yarder by Ball and a 68-yarder by James White. The Badgers now have 549 yards of total offense (449 on the ground), gaining 11.7 yards per play.

Just an ugly night for the Blackshirts.

Other observations are below…

>> Kenny Bell’s highlight-worthy block — he de-cleated Devin Smith with a perfectly legal hit — on a Jamal Turner touchdown reception was inexplicably flagged by an official (wiping out the score). The call was horrible. Bell’s post-block reaction …

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It’s Friday! That means Ten Big stories in 10 little bites. We’re loaded with Husker football, as usual. But we make room for Greichaly Cepero and Greg McDermott, Monte Kiffin and Nick Saban, Colin Kaepernick and Jim Delany. First, Big Ten championship talk.

In 2009, Nebraska went to JerryWorld and didn’t score a touchdown against Texas.

In 2010, Nebraska went back, put up 17 points in the first 17 minutes against Oklahoma, then disintegrated.

You can blame Bo Pelini or Shawn Watson or Taylor Martinez’s bad wheel. Point is, what stood between the Huskers and a signature achievement was the inability to score at crunch time.

That was a defining moment for Pelini. Now, two years after the OU meltdown, Nebraska is back in …

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Nebraska finally could enjoy a fourth quarter lead in Big Ten play Saturday, cruising to a convincing 38-14 win over Minnesota.

The Huskers remain in first place in the Big Ten Legends Division (tied with Michigan, but still holding the tiebreaker). Beat Iowa on Friday, and Nebraska will play for a conference title in the league championship game on Dec. 1.

Pelini said his team gave a “complete effort” Saturday, jumping out to a quick 10-0 lead and building from there. Lots of positive vibes from Pelini, the assistant coaches and the players after the Huskers’ fifth-straight win.

Some highlights and notes are below. Plenty more coverage will be up on Omaha.com/BigRed shortly. Stay tuned…

>> Pelini indicated that senior Rex Burkhead still isn’t 100 …

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Nebraska is taking care of business against Minnesota in dominating fashion, finally delivering a complete performance against a Big Ten team.

It hasn’t been perfect, but the Huskers are up 38-0 against an improving six-win team. They jumped on Minnesota early and haven’t looked back. Well done.

Nebraska also avoided a third-quarter letdown after an impressive first half, adding on to its lead. Ameer Abdullah lost a fumble on NU’s first drive after halftime, but Daimion Stafford intercepted a pass on the next play.

Junior Stanley Jean-Baptiste’s pick-six toward the end of the third quarter highlights a shutdown afternoon for the Blackshirts, putting the Huskers up 38-0 with 1:12 left.

A few more observations…

>> Nebraska’s used the quick screen passes out to flat with …

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A mini-momentum boost for Minnesota just before halftime as the Gophers stuff Imani Cross at the goal-line to keep their deficit at 24-0.

Not much else has gone right for Minnesota, though.

Credit the Huskers, who’ve had forgettable first halves in Big Ten play. Not Saturday against Minnesota. Focused and sharp, Nebraska’s controlled this one from the start.

Quarterback Taylor Martinez has 221 yards through the air (17 of 23) against the nation’s seventh-ranked pass defense. Better yet, he’s turnover-free.

On the other side of the ball, the Blackshirts have controlled the line of scrimmage and have imposed their physical style of play on the outside. Minnesota has only 60 yards after two quarters and just four first downs (three on one possession).

The Gophers …

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Coach Bo Pelini wanted to make it clear after Saturday’s 28-24 win at Michigan State: He’s concerned about the mistakes that nearly proved costly.

Three turnovers. Nine penalties for 72 yards. The undisciplined approach at times by his defense, especially against the run. The struggles inside the red zone.

“You can’t live like that all the time,” Pelini said.

It will continue to be addressed going forward. “We’ve just got to keep talking about it, and working at it, and striving to get better at some of those areas — that I think are holding us back from playing with the type of potential I think we’re capable of,” Pelini said.

But with all that said, Nebraska still found a way to win. The Huskers …

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