HUSKER FOOTBALL: Blackshirts Continue Preparation for South Alabama

LINCOLN–(NU Athletics August 27)–The Nebraska football team practiced for over two hours Tuesday morning inside Memorial Stadium on the Tom Osborne Field.

Defensive Coordinator Eric Chinander began his time with the media speaking on presenting the Blackshirts yesterday to the deserving defensive players.

“It was an awesome experience. It meant the world to me and the guys. I’ll never like to talk about what those guys say because I want them to feel like they can come back to the team and say what they want, but you’re talking about a deal where some grown men are shedding a tear, one of them being right here,” Chinander said. “We just told those guys what it meant to be a Blackshirt. I don’t know if they have heard that from enough guys yet to get this tradition back where it needs to be. It was an awesome idea; one I will cherish for the rest of my life.”

Chinander spoke about the challenges of the South Alabama offensive attack.

“There’s some new pieces. I think they lost a wide receiver (Jamarius Way) who was with the Denver Broncos.” Chinander said. “Their quarterback (Cephus Johnson) is a heck of an athlete who can really throw the ball.  They have a really nice scheme and some really difficult things to defend and some really good athletes running around. It is going to be a good first game for us to get a lot of things fit up correctly and match personnel. They are very multiple in what they do.”

Chinander then gave a little picture of what people should expect to see from the defense this Saturday.

“What I’ve seen is guys playing really, really hard. The effort has been unbelievable.” Chinander said. “The communication has been unbelievable. Hopefully, we create some turnovers, tackle well and are a physical football team. That is what I want to see in game one,”

Chinander ended his press conference on what differences he sees from the team going into this year’s first game than last year.

“It is just a more mature group and a more workmanlike group. It is a group that knows what has to be done if we want to be successful. It’s not a ‘we are going to do it our way.’ It is a ‘we are going to do it Coach Frost’s way.’ To me, it’s a completely different attitude,” Chinander said.

Nebraska, which is ranked No. 24 in the AP poll, will continue game week preparations tomorrow for their opening game against South Alabama on Saturday August 31 at 11 a.m. on ESPN.