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Will Tony White bring the 3-3-5 defense to Nebraska Football?

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Tony White
Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

About a month ago, head Matt Rhule hired Tony White as the new defensive coordinator for Nebraska football. For the past three years, White was the DC for Syracuse. Before Syracuse, White coached Arizona State, San Diego State, New Mexico, and UCLA.

Last year at Syracuse, White led the Orange to the 29th-ranked defense in the nation. Syracuse gave up 338.1 yards per game. White runs the 3-3-5 defense; he learned that defense from Rocky Long and now he will bring that system to the Nebraska football program.

White was recruited by Long to UCLA and coached under long at New Mexico and San Diego State for 11 years; he was the cornerback coach and recruiting coordinator, while Long was the defensive coordinator.

Each year while White was Syracuse, they improved in rushing defense per carry. In 2020 the Orange gave up 4.56 per; in 2021, 3.45 per carry, and in 2022, 3.83 per carry. Therefore, the run defense will be a strong suit for the Nebraska football defense.

The 3-3-5 defense is an excellent option for coaches to run in today’s game of football. It allows for great flexibility to defend against both the pass and the run, especially when more and more offenses are running multiple wide receiver sets and out of more shotgun formations.

One of the best things about a 3-3-5 defense is you can confuse the offense. It allows almost every player on the second and third levels could be a blitzer. Your players must have speed and quickness to play on this particular defense.

There are some weaknesses in the 3-3-5; teams usually attack off tackle with running plays and stack receivers. Also, teams will try to run in power formation to take advantage of the three-down lineman.

It will be necessary for Nebraska football to have the right personnel to run the 3-3-5. White is a good recruiter and should be able to help bring talent in to run his defense. If not, White will have to switch things up. But, as I said above, the Cornhuskers should be stout against the run, and it will allow them to get creative on passing downs.

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More crystal ball projections for Nebraska Football ahead of big weekend

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Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Nebraska football has landed two more crystal ball projections ahead of a huge recruiting weekend for the Huskers.

There are going to be 26 recruits on campus this weekend visiting the Nebraska football program. Five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola is the headliner, along with a number of other top-100 recruits and the top-ranked player in the state of Nebraska Carter Nelson.

It’s one of the most impressive visit weekends for Nebraska football recruiting in a long time, maybe ever, but how many commitments are going to come this weekend if any?

I certainly wouldn’t expect a pledge from Raiola. As much as Nebraska football fans might want that, the top-ranked QB in the 2024 class just scheduled an official visit in June with Georgia, the defending national champs. This is on the heels of another visit to UGA, so the Huskers need to recapture some momentum.

The key objective with many recruits will be getting them back for an official visit. Gatlin Bair is a name that comes to mind since the kid is ranked 40th overall in the 2024 class via 247 sports. He’s visiting this weekend and if the Huskers got him back for an official visit in June, they’d have to feel good about their chances.

However, Nebraska football could land a couple of commitments this weekend. One candidate is three-star tight end Ian Flynt. He visited back in January, has family ties to Nebraska football, and just received another crystal ball projection for the Huskers. That’s four total for the No. 456 overall recruit in the 2024 class (247 composite).

A commitment might not happen this weekend, but I’d look for a commitment date coming soon out of this weekend. Flynt is out of Texas and so is three-star offensive lineman Gibson Pyle, who also received a crystal ball projection on Friday (Flynt did too).

Pyle is 735th overall and he teased an announcement a couple of weeks ago but it didn’t come. He’s got six crystal ball predictions for the Huskers and that’s another potential commitment to watch out for this weekend.

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FOOTBALL

Nebraska Football welcoming Nebraska high school coaches

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Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Nebraska football was busy on Thursday, as the first week of spring ball begins to wrap up. There was a ton of anticipation throughout the week, as players and fans got a first look at what this team could be like. Thursday, Several Nebraska high school coaches got their chance too, with many in attendance.

Omaha North’s Larry Martin, York coach Glenn Snodgrass, and Papillion -La Vista South coaching legend Walt Olsen were there Thursday. In addition to the coaches, Lincoln Football Coaches Association president Mark Waller was also in attendance, per a report from Sam McKewon of the Omaha World-Herald.

It’s easy to gloss over why this is important information. Nevertheless, the attendance of those particular people fits with the vision that Matt Rhule is trying to bring to the program.

This Nebraska football coaching staff wants to make the state of Nebraska a focal point in recruiting. Honestly, they should. There is a ton of talent in the state, and that should be able to continue with future classes.

Nebraska high school coaching staffs indicated they felt ignored by previous coaching staffs. The Scott Frost staff was just beginning to make inroads into the Nebraska high school circuit in 2022. Coaches such as Mickey Joseph were beginning to really build a fence around the state. Now, this current coaching staff looks to finish the job.

What better way to do so than to have Nebraska high school coaches at a practice? It’s clear that Rhule and this coaching staff wants to make the state a priority. Having high school coaches at practices helps establish the pipeline early.

It’s good to see this group of Nebraska coaches building connections with those in the state. It’s something that should be able to serve them well. Establishing good rapport early is nothing but a positive. It’s encouraging to see the state itself being addressed, and a focal point at that.

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FOOTBALL

Nebraska Football: Tommi Hill returns to practice Thursday

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There was a lot of information to take in during Thursday’s Nebraska Football practice, including the appearance of a player who was not practicing at the beginning of the week. Defensive back Tommi Hill returned on Thursday, adding more depth to the field, per a report from the Omaha World-Herald.

Hill played on both sides of the football for Nebraska last season. He started at defensive back, before moving over to wide receiver. It was a rough year for Hill, as it was for most of the defense. All told, he tallied 17 pass breakups and four deflections. He did not record any statistics as a wide receiver, though his speed made it an intriguing position move.

Whatever happened during the beginning of the week appears to be settled, as Hill was back at practice. He could very well be a major part of the defensive backfield, especially with Malcolm Hartzog potentially moving to safety. It would be more of a natural fit for Hill at the corner spot, as he has played the majority of his career in the defensive backfield.

At the very least, this gives another body for the huskers coaching staff to work with. Hill is one of the many players who are looking to bounce back after a difficult year last year. It will be interesting to what kind of role he will play, as Nebraska football has several options for personnel in Tony White’s defense.

Hill’s athleticism could land him a potentially big role in White’s 3-3-5 defense.  As for now, Hill is just working to get back into the fold, as the defense begins to take shape.

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