Nebraska football spring practice got underway Thursday, and offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield gave reporters an inside look into what he wants out of his offense.
The offense itself sounds very much one that will allow the best players on the field at any time. In fact, Satterfield called it ‘positionless.’ This is certainly intriguing given the personnel the Nebraska football program has at their disposal.
Just look at the tight end position for example. Arik Gilbert and Thomas Fidone headline a room that has a fair amount of talent. The wide receiver position has many names in the room as well. It would be easy to see guys like Josh Fleeks and Zavier Betts not necessarily playing just wide receiver. They could also run sweeps out of the backfield and things like that.
This is what makes a potential positionless offense intriguing. Nebraska football finally has the depth and personnel to run a type of offense like this. It’s easy to think about the possibilities within this offense, and Satterfield gave a bit of a preview on Thursday, and specifically talked about tight ends, as transcribed by Sam McKewon of the Omaha World-Herald.
“You have a tight end that’s maybe a bigger guy who puts his hand down and he’s blocking the C/D gap,” Satterfield said. “And you have another tight end that might be a little bit shorter who’s playing the fullback type. And then you have another tight end who might be just a little undersized and he’s playing in the slot. But they’re all tight ends — and they have to be counted as tight ends.
“We’re going to strive to be what we’ve come into this world to be — which is physical and tough,” Satterfield. “Run the football, take care of the football, and keep the defense off the field.”
This idea of an offense that doesn’t necessarily adhere to positions is a fascinating one. This is going to be about putting the best group of players on the field that Nebraska football can. It’s something that previous staffs have not done.
It’s going to be fascinating to see how they utilize guys with speed. Jaylen Lloyd comes to mind in addition to the above-mentioned people. Tight ends are almost certainly going to be physical, giving way to the bruising game by the running backs. Running backs may be more involved in the passing game. There are several possibilities with this.
This offense has a lot of potential surrounding it. It seems like Satterfield wants to get the best athletes on the field that he can. The schemes may be a little bit unorthodox compared to what we have seen in previous years. Then again, it may be all part of trying something new.
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