Red Report: Pelini not ready to name starting QB
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By the Lincoln Journal Star
Opening statement
“I’m no different than I was two weeks ago. It’s about getting this football team ready to play and getting better. I don’t ride the roller coaster that other people do. I have a pretty good feeling about where this football team is and where it needs to be.”
— Bo Pelini
No starter named yet: Husker coach Bo Pelini wasn’t about to unveil after Thursday’s practice who will start at quarterback against Baylor this week.
So keep wondering: Zac Lee or Cody Green?
“We’ll find out on Saturday, won’t we?” Pelini said. “I don’t announce that. We’ll evaluate the tape and see how it goes.”
Someone asked the coach if there’d be a short leash if the starter didn’t get the job done.
“There’s no short leashes,” Pelini said. “We want guys to go out there and execute.”
He said the past two losses and all the outside conversation about the quarterback position haven’t hurt his team’s psyche.
“Our team psyche is fine,” Pelini said. “Obviously, they’re hurting. These guys take it hard. They want to win football games. That’s part of the deal. But you have to earn it on Saturday.”
Sub simulation: Baylor’s offensive unit likes to substitute a lot just before snaps, sometimes making it tough for a defense to match personnel.
“To be honest with you, that’s hard to simulate in practice,” Pelini said. “It’s something we know, we prepare for. It’s something you talk about, you get ready for. But until you actually see it live it’s difficult.”
Ready for the road: It’s been wondered this week if it might benefit the Huskers to play away from home after a couple rough weeks. Maybe get away from some distractions.
To that, senior nose tackle Ndamukong Suh said: “I don’t see many distractions here, other than maybe you guys. You really don’t get to me, so I really don’t have a problem with it. I don’t think you get to my teammates.
“But I like playing on the road. I like going to somebody else’s house and disrupting their day.”
Injury rundown: Senior wide receiver Chris Brooks will not be on the travel roster because of a lower back injury. Brooks was injured against Texas Tech and missed the Iowa State game.
“Chris, obviously he’s missed about 10 days,” Pelini said. “He’s still a little nicked up. He's going to need a couple more days.”
Otherwise, Pelini said, his team is fairly healthy. Running back Roy Helu continued to wear a green no-contact jersey, but Pelini said: “He’s better than he’s been in a few weeks.”
The coach mentioned Dontrayevous Robinson — who led the team in carries against Iowa State with 15 — along with Austin Jones and Lester Ward as other running backs who have practiced well this week.
“You’re going to see a rotation,” Pelini said.
Bo and baseball: There was a lighthearted moment to begin the postpractice session when Pelini was asked how hard it was watching Wednesday’s Game 1 of the World Series.
The starting pitchers — New York’s CC Sabathia and Philadelphia’s Cliff Lee — both were formerly with Pelini’s favorite team, the Cleveland Indians.
“It hurt me bad,” Pelini said. “I texted somebody with the Indians last night and said, ‘Yeah, nice trade.’ But that’s for another day. It hurt me, though. It still hurts me.”
Practice meter
On a rainy Thursday in Lincoln, the Huskers finished the week practicing in the Hawks Championship Center.
Pelini was pleased with NU’s week of practice.
“I thought the competition was good. I saw a lot of guys getting better,” he said. “And once again we got back to fundamentals and technique and stressed those things. We got to put it on the field on Saturday. The effort’s been there. Now we have to execute.”
— Brian Christopherson
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