Cosgrove Likes Progress of NU Defense

Lincoln?The Nebraska football team was back to work Monday afternoon with a two-hour, full-pad practice inside Memorial Stadium. Following last week’s demanding schedule, which included scrimmage work at the conclusion of each of the four practices, the Huskers held a day of correcting mistakes noticed during Saturday’s full-scale scrimmage.

Despite the corrections needed following Saturday’s work, Defensive Coordinator Kevin Cosgrove seems pleased with the progress his defense has made so far after deciding in the off-season to put more of an emphasis on zone coverage this spring.

"The biggest thing we’re trying to do with our zone (coverage) is just trying not to let the receivers have free releases," Cosgrove said. "We’re trying to be aggressive on receivers and playing off the quarterback’s intentions after we get our initial reads. And I’ll tell you what, when we play what we call our ?Cover 5’ I’m seeing a lot of progress every day."

Cosgrove has also seen noticeable improvement from junior transfer Dontrell Moore, who switched positions from NU’s SAM (strongside) linebacker position to MIKE (middle) during the spring.

"(Dontrell) has been there only three days, and he has shown tremendous improvement each day," Cosgrove said. "He’s a very physical player and he’s starting to play under control. He’s picking up things very well, but it’s a big change for him. When he was a SAM, he had to have very little communication at that position. Now at the MIKE position, he has more responsibilities. But the thing I really like about him is the mistakes he makes from the practice before, he corrects the next day. He’s very coachable."

Nebraska begins the second half of its spring drills Wednesday, April 6 with a 3:45 p.m. workout. Only six practices remain before the annual Red-White Game on April 16. Tickets for the Spring Game can be purchased online at Huskers.com and by calling or visiting the Nebraska Athletic Ticket Office.