Post by highjumper on Aug 24, 2005 12:51:02 GMT -5
Huskers continue to work on mastering West Coast offense
By Joe Bonge, Daily Nebraskan
August 23, 2005
(U-WIRE) LINCOLN, Neb. -- When the West Coast offense arrived in Lincoln, Neb., in 2004, question marks loomed over the Nebraska football team.
How would the once-vaunted option attack of yore be completely transformed into a high-flying passing showcase?
Nebraska fans quickly learned that change doesn't happen quickly.
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A 5-6 season and no bowl game later, the dust blown in with the winds of change is far from settled.
Now the new players have arrived and the returning players are chomping at the bit as they work to master the West Coast offense and its playbook that weighs more than an offensive lineman's dinner plate.
"Every year you start over," coach Bill Callahan said. "Every year is a new year and interestingly enough, we all start at the bottom and we're all trying to put one foot in front of the other. Our kids are learning the basics, just like everybody is."
NU begins its second year in the offense with new quarterback Zac Taylor, who transferred from Butler County (Kan.) Community College.
The learning curve for newcomers like Taylor will be quicker compared to what it was for players in Callahan's first season. This year's team holds an advantage over the leftovers from the Frank Solich era -- they were brought in to play in the West Coast offense.
Taylor, for instance, played in similar systems in high school and junior college, something that last year's signal caller, Joe Dailey, didn't experience.
"I've got a lot to learn and we haven't even put in the whole thing yet," Taylor said. "I think each day, we're all getting more comfortable."
To help the learning process, offensive coordinator Jay Norvell and the rest of the coaching staff altered the practice schedule during fall camp. Instead of having two-a-day practices every day, the Huskers held them every other day, allowing more time for meetings and film sessions.
"Practices are spread out more, which should give guys more of a break," Norvell said. "We're less rushed and that helps us in our teaching."
In its debut season a year ago, the Husker offense struggled, averaging 367 yards of total offense per game, with just 186 through the air.
Senior I-back Cory Ross, who rushed for 1,102 yards a year ago, shouldered nearly one-third of NU's total offense output.
Callahan said experienced returnees such as Ross hold the biggest edge in continuing to learn the system.
"Our older and experienced players have a little bit more of an advantage because they've heard these plays and they've heard these techniques now for about the fifth or sixth time, so they're pretty confident about what they're doing on the field," Callahan said.
But remembering a play's name is equal parts memorization and cryptography.
As Taylor put it on the first day of fall camp: "One play would be: 'Strong right, F-short spider 2 wide banana Z-over.'"
The complexity of the West Coast offense isn't limited to the coaches and quarterbacks. The linemen up front are still adjusting, too.
Senior center Kurt Mann said the key to learning the offense is memorization.
"Even if you haven't gone over something for a while, it's still in the back of your head," Mann said. "If a play gets called and you haven't been over it, it should be automatic just to run it.
"It's going to take a while for everyone, but the longer you run it, the easier it gets."
Junior fullback Dane Todd knows the best way for the newcomers to familiarize themselves with the system.
"It just takes studying all the time," Todd said. "One word in a play can change everything you do. The young guys just need to stay in their books and talk to the older guys about it and ask questions."
