Tag Archives: Tommy Armstrong

Nebraska coach Bo Pelini seemed pretty upbeat after watching a competitive scrimmage Saturday, which he said ended a week of practice without any significant setbacks or letdowns for the Huskers.

Pelini said they went for more than 100 plays and seemed to carry an energetic approach throughout.

“I like the way first and foremost how our guys competed, flew around and hit,” Pelini said. “There was a lot of enthusiasm and passion out there on the field. It was fun to watch.”

Clearly, there’s been some progress, Pelini said. He mentioned that he thinks the group, as a whole, is growing up. More players are making a commitment to the little things.

Said Pelini: “You can want to do have success as a football player, …

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The Huskers have finished their pregame warmup routine here on a gray and chilly Saturday afternoon at Spartan Stadium.

A venue that seats 75,005 is still filling up, though there are expected to be some barren bleacher pockets. We’ll see how many Husker fans show up. The Nebraska marching band is here, crammed into the northeast corner of the field (the sidelines here are quite small).

A few noteworthy items and observations as we approach kickoff…

>> Senior Rex Burkhead is not suited up.

>> Sophomore Ameer Abdullah is dressed, however — and he looked fine going through warmups, despite rumors suggesting otherwise. Abdullah, Jamal Turner, Tim Marlowe and Braylon Heard were catching punts for several minutes. Heard looks like he’s moving well, too.

>> …

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Coach Bo Pelini said sophomore Ameer Abdullah will still return kicks and punts against Michigan, even if his workload at running back increases given senior Rex Burkhead’s injury status.

If Burkhead’s out Saturday, that presumably means more I-back snaps for Abdullah. But Pelini indicated that sophomore Braylon Heard and freshman Imani Cross will be used a little more than usual this weekend in an effort to keep Abdullah fresh.

“We have a full range of players at the running back position,” Pelini said. “We feel good about where we’re at.”

More updates from Pelini are below…

>> Denard Robinson was on Michigan’s kick return team to begin the second half last week. Pelini said that won’t change the way his kickoff coverage unit prepares.

>> …

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The success Michigan had on third down against Nebraska last year, especially in obvious passing situations, played a “huge part” in the 45-17 NU loss, defensive coordinator John Papuchis said.

Quarterback Denard Robinson completed five of his eight pass attempts on third down. He totaled 127 yards on those five passes, including a touchdown throw. Nebraska was also whistled for a defensive pass interference on a third down and goal play.

Papuchis said the Wolverines had certain route combinations that exploited the way NU runs its match-up zone defense. The coaches set aside time in the spring to analyze it, he said.

“Some teams, if they study how we match routes enough, can kind of manipulate some of our adjustments,” Papuchis said. “But then we …

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Sit down and grab hold of something because you’ll never believe this: We have a depth chart for Husker football.

Easy now. Just breathe.

The depth chart is here (courtesy of Huskers.com).

All kidding aside, coach Bo Pelini’s not too fond of revealing the latest individual rankings within each and every position battle (aka: releasing a depth chart). He doesn’t want anything hinting that there might be some finality to a particular lineup. The competitions will never cease, he says.

But with the opener a day away, the NU coaches have willingly provided us with a glimpse into their minds. No real surprises, but I have a few observations. Feel free to share your thoughts below.

>> Taylor Martinez’s top backup at QB? It’s a …

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Quick hits from Saturday’s scrimmage:

>> Nebraska coach Bo Pelini awarded junior Spencer Long and seniors Seung Hoon Choi, Justin Jackson, Justin Blatchford and Brett Maher scholarships for the upcoming season. Walk-ons Jase Dean, Graham Stoddard and Kenny Anderson will be put on scholarship during the second semester. Long and Maher were put on scholarship earlier this summer.

Pelini announced the new scholarship players at a midfield huddle after Saturday’s scrimmage.

“Words can’t describe,” Jackson said. “It chokes me up talking about it now. Been a long time. A lot of work. Coach Bo takes care of us. Great feeling. I was always hoping. We got a lot of guys on our team that bust their butt and work really hard. To hear my name …

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Just a few extra Bo Pelini quotes from Wednesday’s press conference that are somewhat intriguing, but haven’t found a home just yet.

A simple way to wind down a busy day, right? Words from Nebraska’s fifth-year head coach…

>> “This is as talented a walk-on class as you could ever (have). On the surface, we’ll see how it plays out, but probably the most talented group we’ve brought in.”

>> On quarterback Tommy Armstrong: “Really excited about the type of leader he is, the type of command he has in the huddle, the type of person that we’re getting. … We thought he was good obviously when we offered him, but we grew to like him even more.”

>> On signing day festivities: “I signed …

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Defensive tackle Vincent Valentine made his commitment to Nebraska and signed a letter of intent Wednesday, becoming the 17th member of the Huskers’ 2012 recruiting class.

He’s a 6-foot-4, 313-pound D-lineman from Edwardsville, Ill., who said it was a close race between Nebraska and Illinois. Florida was also in the mix.

“Nebraska is a great place with great people, and they’re very consistent,” Valentine told Huskers Illustrated, The World-Herald’s recruiting partner. “I didn’t just love my visit there. I loved the people. I made a few bonds with my future classmates. It’s just a great place, and I can see myself being there for the next four or five years.

Get the latest on our signing day page. That’s where you’ll find NU …

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Nebraska target Devin Fuller, a dual-threat quarterback from New Jersey, plans to announce his nonbinding commitment Sunday. The Huskers are among five finalists.

Fuller told Huskers Illustrated via text message that he’ll be deciding between Rutgers, Nebraska, UCLA, Arizona and TCU. He’s taking an official visit to Arizona this week.

Fuller’s scheduled to share his decision publicly at 4 p.m. Sunday. Check out Huskers Illustrated, a World-Herald recruiting partner, for more about Fuller.

Fuller, a 6-foot, 185-pounder from Westwood, N.J., has been heavily recruited by Nebraska for some time now.

The Huskers’ 2012 recruiting class does include an oral commitment from a quarterback (Tommy Armstrong, 6-foot-1, 200-pounder from the San Antonio area). Nebraska is still trying to lure Alonzo Moore, who played …

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Nebraska landed its first quarterback commit for the 2012 class in Tommy Armstrong. That was offensive coordinator Tim Beck’s top choice since spring, when he saw Armstrong in a practice.

But NU doesn’t appear to be done hunting QBs. And the primary remaining target, Old Tappan, N.J., athlete Devin Fuller, received the full-court press from Beck and head coach Bo Pelini on Tuesday. That’s Nebraska’s two highest-profile guys in one living room for a full night.

“It was a very good visit I had with the coaches,” Fuller told 247Sports. “They were just letting me know I’m their top option and they want me really bad. Then we also talked about early playing time and how they would use me as a quarterback.”

Yes, …

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