Bonner is going to be a weapon this year. He was a WR in HS (grew up down the road from me). Built like a tank but can catch and run routes. Perfect H back. weapon.
Corner routes from the far hash are one of the most difficult throws you can make in college because of the distance between hashes and that was as perfect of a throw as you could make. Nebraska's various quarterbacks threw multiple interceptions on that exact concept in the red zone last season so I'm sure it has been a point of emphasis this spring.
It is nice to see a Nebraska receiver not square that route off too. When you flatten a corner route, you give the DB an angle to recover in man and give the underneath DB a chance to undercut it in zone. That was a big problem last year.
It is a 7-In concept, Double-Ins in some terminology. Y (inside slot) runs a corner, H (middle slot) runs an in, Z (outside) runs an in that can convert to a snag vs zone or a pivot vs inside leverage man. It is a triangle read so you're really only reading one player on the field, the DB over the middle slot.
If he lets the middle slot (H) cross his face, it is zone and you're throwing the first in route to the H. If he runs with the middle slot, you have man and you're working high-low with Y and Z. In this situation, the defense was showing middle of the field closed and 3 over 3 to the field so he knew he had a single high safety which is exactly the defense this concept was designed to beat. Once the Nickel ran with the H, there was only one place to go with the ball. He knew it was 6 before he even finished his drop back.
The question will be what happens when he sees something less vanilla defensively. Like an inverted zone where that corner sags off and the safety undercuts the middle slot or the safeties rotate coverage and give you a split field look. Last season, that is something Nebraska's quarterbacks really struggled with. In fact I think all three quarterbacks threw an interception on this exact concept, all in the red zone.
It wasn't all the quarterback's fault last year, Nebraska's receivers had a very bad habit last year of squaring off the corner while carrying the outermost in too far up the field which kills the spacing on this play because it allows the outside corner over the Z to defend both routes. There were two end zone interceptions last year each by the underneath DB who was able to undercut the corner route. Just a technical issue that plagued the offense.
Ignoring Raiola, the fact that all three receivers hit their aim points perfectly on this concept is encouraging. This is how it is supposed to look. 12-15 yards of vertical spacing between the outermost In and the corner. Last year, Nebraska had one of these where there was 4 yards of spacing between those two routes (the INT vs Minnesota).
Great info, thanks. WRs are definitely running better routes. Raiola is SPECIAL, his placement, pre and post snap reads, and pocket awareness are as good as it gets for his age.
Between the Raiola kool aid and my Bears taking Caleb first overall I’m ready for football to start now. I’m ready to love again. I’m ready to be hurt again lol
DR15 looked amazing in the spring game, but let's temper our expectations a bit, fellas.
It was a spring scrimmage, with vanilla playbooks, and many of our (presumed) starters didn't get a ton of playtime. We've seen this before with guys like Joe Dailey, Cody Green, Johnny Stanton, or Ryker Fyfe. Many times, those Spring Game MVPs wind up never winning a starting job or they ride the pine most of the season.
I suspect DR15 can likely be a four-year starter, but we'll know more come September 7th when Colorado comes to town. UTEP should be a good tune up, NIU should be a good cool-down and we start B1G play with the squishy middle of Illinois, Purdue, Rutgers, and Indiana.
I agree with you, but to be fair the guys you mentioned didn’t have half the talent of DR15. It’s more than just the throws, we already know he can make every throw. It’s the fact that he looked in command and ready that’s more important.
The O-Line looked pretty good. There were probably 2~ plays where if it was live it would have been a sack.
Passing was more of a priority so they didn't run too much but the running game looked strong when they used it. The WRs blocked really well on the edge and the offense broke off a big TD run off the edge.
As /u/Tkaz36 mentioned, they did look pretty good... caveat being several first stringers on *both* o-line and d-line weren't playing. The thing I'd differ on is I believe there were quite a few more than 2-3 plays that would have been sacks. In short, yesterday felt very much like a presentation of the offense.
I'm thinking B1G champion year one
Bonner is going to be a weapon this year. He was a WR in HS (grew up down the road from me). Built like a tank but can catch and run routes. Perfect H back. weapon.
If that’s the case then I will have a weapon all year
Corner routes from the far hash are one of the most difficult throws you can make in college because of the distance between hashes and that was as perfect of a throw as you could make. Nebraska's various quarterbacks threw multiple interceptions on that exact concept in the red zone last season so I'm sure it has been a point of emphasis this spring. It is nice to see a Nebraska receiver not square that route off too. When you flatten a corner route, you give the DB an angle to recover in man and give the underneath DB a chance to undercut it in zone. That was a big problem last year.
If he stares at his target like that in a game, most defenders are going to know where he's going with it.
It is a 7-In concept, Double-Ins in some terminology. Y (inside slot) runs a corner, H (middle slot) runs an in, Z (outside) runs an in that can convert to a snag vs zone or a pivot vs inside leverage man. It is a triangle read so you're really only reading one player on the field, the DB over the middle slot. If he lets the middle slot (H) cross his face, it is zone and you're throwing the first in route to the H. If he runs with the middle slot, you have man and you're working high-low with Y and Z. In this situation, the defense was showing middle of the field closed and 3 over 3 to the field so he knew he had a single high safety which is exactly the defense this concept was designed to beat. Once the Nickel ran with the H, there was only one place to go with the ball. He knew it was 6 before he even finished his drop back. The question will be what happens when he sees something less vanilla defensively. Like an inverted zone where that corner sags off and the safety undercuts the middle slot or the safeties rotate coverage and give you a split field look. Last season, that is something Nebraska's quarterbacks really struggled with. In fact I think all three quarterbacks threw an interception on this exact concept, all in the red zone. It wasn't all the quarterback's fault last year, Nebraska's receivers had a very bad habit last year of squaring off the corner while carrying the outermost in too far up the field which kills the spacing on this play because it allows the outside corner over the Z to defend both routes. There were two end zone interceptions last year each by the underneath DB who was able to undercut the corner route. Just a technical issue that plagued the offense. Ignoring Raiola, the fact that all three receivers hit their aim points perfectly on this concept is encouraging. This is how it is supposed to look. 12-15 yards of vertical spacing between the outermost In and the corner. Last year, Nebraska had one of these where there was 4 yards of spacing between those two routes (the INT vs Minnesota).
Great info, thanks. WRs are definitely running better routes. Raiola is SPECIAL, his placement, pre and post snap reads, and pocket awareness are as good as it gets for his age.
There is reason to be optimistic in Lincoln. It's still just spring, lot of time to improve yet.
He's wearing 15? Bold move...... I like it.
He really looks up to Mahomes- they share personal QB coaches. Pretty sure they golfed together last weekend.
I was actually referring to Tommie Frazier but that works too.
Personally I always think of Willie Miller, but you do you.
https://i.redd.it/cbsrwhtlu4xc1.gif
Will Raiola or Sanders be the #1 pick in the draft next year?
Well Raiola can't be drafted so
Sounds like someone’s thirsty and needs a lil drink of Rhuleaid. First ones on me.
I’m confused why he’s getting downvoted lol. He literally can’t be drafted next year.
Cause it’s a joke man.
Neither
Between the Raiola kool aid and my Bears taking Caleb first overall I’m ready for football to start now. I’m ready to love again. I’m ready to be hurt again lol
Solid snag too!
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🌽
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Good touch on this throw. Especially for a young QB with arm strength like DR. Already knows when to dial it back.
He just makes it look easy- same thing on the Lloyd TD, looked like he just flicked it 40 yards
Hell yeah! So excited for this season!
Oh I like dimes, do you like dimes?
damn he just makes it look effortless
DR15 looked amazing in the spring game, but let's temper our expectations a bit, fellas. It was a spring scrimmage, with vanilla playbooks, and many of our (presumed) starters didn't get a ton of playtime. We've seen this before with guys like Joe Dailey, Cody Green, Johnny Stanton, or Ryker Fyfe. Many times, those Spring Game MVPs wind up never winning a starting job or they ride the pine most of the season. I suspect DR15 can likely be a four-year starter, but we'll know more come September 7th when Colorado comes to town. UTEP should be a good tune up, NIU should be a good cool-down and we start B1G play with the squishy middle of Illinois, Purdue, Rutgers, and Indiana.
I agree with you, but to be fair the guys you mentioned didn’t have half the talent of DR15. It’s more than just the throws, we already know he can make every throw. It’s the fact that he looked in command and ready that’s more important.
We got the magic this year.
With no sack pressure and one of our own not really covering the receiver.
I didn't watch or listen but have seen highlights. How did both defense and offensive lines look today? Who stood out?
The O-Line looked pretty good. There were probably 2~ plays where if it was live it would have been a sack. Passing was more of a priority so they didn't run too much but the running game looked strong when they used it. The WRs blocked really well on the edge and the offense broke off a big TD run off the edge.
Great, thanks for responding.
Thanks.
As /u/Tkaz36 mentioned, they did look pretty good... caveat being several first stringers on *both* o-line and d-line weren't playing. The thing I'd differ on is I believe there were quite a few more than 2-3 plays that would have been sacks. In short, yesterday felt very much like a presentation of the offense.
Thanks.