Crick is Ready to Take Some Heat Off Suh On Opposite Side of the Line

The heat is on.

And Nebraska's defense is responding, according to defensive coordinator Carl Pelini, who said Thursday that the Huskers were able to get in the correct position for every play working against the no-huddle spread offense.

Ndamukong Suh, of course, is the defensive anchor, but attention is increasingly focusing on Nebraska's other defensive tackle starter - 6-6, 285-pound sophomore Jared Crick.

It's not a huge stretch to think that Crick is almost as important as Suh because his play inside will dictate how much opponents can afford to gamble using double teams and other special blocking assignments.

The good news, Carl Pelini said Thursday, is that Crick is just the man to take some heat off Suh on the other side of the line.

"Head and shoulders, it's Jared," Pelini said, adding that with so much attention focused on the Huskers' preseason All-American, Crick could "clean up" on some tackle stats that might surprise people.

A former defensive end, Crick "has put on a lot of weight . . . good weight," Pelini said. "He's going to be a pretty tough guy to handle for anyone."

From last fall to last spring, Crick gained 40 pounds. "It took him some time to figure out to move that body," Pelini said, "but now he looks like he has the same speed he had when he was a defensive end."

Suh is known for his incredible athleticism, but Crick is no slouch either. At Cozad (Neb.) High School, he averaged 12 points and 8 rebounds a game in basketball and threw the shot put nearly 61 feet.

Both Suh and Crick have gone above and beyond in the summer months to get the mental part of the game down as much as the physical part.

Now that both better understand what they're supposed to do, based on what the offense is trying to do, look for the defensive line to be an even stronger part of the defense this year than it was last year.

Today, Crick takes his mind off the strategy of the game and offers some personal thoughts on our video series, Quick Hits.

Although he's a man of few words, you'll be interested to hear Crick tell who he thinks could surprise people the most this year.