Tony White urging better execution from Blackshirts against Illinois

LINCOLN, Neb. — All eyes will be on Memorial Stadium Friday night as the Huskers celebrate the 400th consecutive sellout, and their Defensive Coordinator plans on taking advantage of the spotlight.

Tony White has drastically improved Nebraska’s defense since he took over the job with his 3-3-5 scheme. White pretty much picked up where he left off from last year when the Blackshirts finished 11th nationally in total defense.

Through three games this season the Blackshirts are ninth in the FBS in scoring defense, 16th against the run and 23rd in total yards allowed. Nebraska’s defense only surrendered three points in last week’s win over Northern Iowa, but White thought that was too much, especially after he viewed the film. He’s even holding himself accountable.

“There were more missed assignments this game when you go back and count guys, and that’s on me,” White said. “Whenever you have too many missed assignments from all three levels than that’s on the Coordinator, period, there ain’t no running from that.”

It didn’t come as a surprise to White that the Panthers threw the kitchen sink at his defense, with several looks, formations and motions. At times the Blackshirts were slower to the point of attack because they were thinking too much, and it somewhat affected their tackling. Which is why White wants to simplify everything for his players moving forward.

“Maybe we tried to do too much with all of the different looks they were giving,” he said. “We eliminated some things, took it back to training camp to make sure that we know exactly what we’re supposed to do, so we can do it at a high level and perform.”

The stakes will be higher for Nebraska’s defense when No. 24 Illinois invades the Sea of Red. White needs his defense ready for the challenge, considering the Fighting Illini are playing lights out on offense, and it’s a battle of unbeatens. Last year’s contest between the two teams was sloppy, and a defensive slugfest. Now both teams have firepower on offense, so White is anticipating more points this time around.

The Fighting Illini are led by quarterback Luke Altmyer, who’s currently tied for second in the Big Ten in passing touchdowns, and has yet to throw an interception this season. Illinois’ offense will be the toughest test to date for White’s defense, and he’s viewing the matchup as a measuring stick for the Blackshirts.

Not to mention Altmyer has a plethora of weapons in his arsenal, including explosive wideout Pat Bryant. The Fighting Illini have White’s full attention, and the Blackshirts can’t allow Altmyer to be comfortable in the pocket.

“You got the playmakers on the outside, so those guys are going up and getting footballs, you see they do a great job of keeping balance, they know when they want to run the ball, and what looks they’re running the ball into,” the 45-year old said. “He (Altmyer) is playing with a lot of confidence right now, he’s not really panicked, and he’s operating at a high level, so he’ll be a challenge to deal with.”

It helps that Nebraska (3-0) has already generated nine sacks. This game will be downright physical, and likely won in the trenches. It’s going to be important for the Blackshirts to set the tone early up front, and dictate the flow of the game with Ty Robinson and Nash Hutmacher.

White is demanding his players to meet the standard, and perform up to their potential. After all, he takes pride in being a great game day motivator, and understands what this game means to all parties involved, especially the fans.

No doubt the pressure is high, considering the Huskers have lost their last four Big Ten openers, including one to the Fighting Illini. So White plans on delivering something special for the program’s historical night.

“Number one is to get the win, and number two is what attitude are we going to have, so if we clean up the things we’re supposed to do, practice and really dive into the process, then we’ll have a chance to play even better this coming Friday.”