Mike Dawson praises Nebraska's d-line depth on 'Sports Nightly' appearance
Nebraska defensive line coach Mike Dawson was a guest on “Sports Nightly” on the Husker Radio Network on Tuesday night.
Here’s a quick recap of what he had to say…
On spring ball
***Dawson said the good news from this spring was that not only did the available players in his group get in a ton of reps, but the staff did a great job monitoring and maximizing each rep and make sure guys didn’t get unnecessary overloaded.
On Ty Robinson
***Dawson said Ty Robinson was one of the veteran leaders of the unit now and needed to have a big season. He said Robinson has had a great offseason in the weight room and looked as physically ready as he has in his career.
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On Nash Hutmacher
***Dawson said Nash Hutmacher was a guy who was always great in the weight room, but his work with strength coach Zach Duval over the past couple of years had “kind of busted him through the roof as far as how big and strong he can get.”
Dawson added that while putting up big numbers in the weight room was great, Hutmacher now needed to translate that into his performance on the field. Dawson said he saw flashes of Hutmacher doing that this spring.
***Dawson also said he wanted Hutmacher to translate more of his wrestling skills into his football play. For example, Dawson said he watched Hutmacher and Garrett Nelson, another former high school wrestler, doing some light grappling one day, and Hutmacher shot in “like a cobra” with his first step.
On Mosai Newsom
***Dawson said Mosai Newsom was a guy who has worked very hard to make an impact this season, and his recent graduation had added “a bounce in his step” and some confidence in his play. Dawson said Newsom had great upside physically and was starting to “figure it out a little bit” with the mental aspect of the game.
If Newsom continued to develop at the rate he did this spring, Dawson said he had a chance to see some game snaps this season.
On Jailen Weaver and Ru’Quan Buckley
***Dawson said Jailen Weaver and Ru’Quan Buckley benefitted from their redshirt years in 2021. They’re still reshaping their bodies to carry “the right weight” and adjusting to the speed of this level at their size.
On Stephon Wynn Jr.
***Dawson had some nice praise for Alabama transfer Stephon Wynn Jr., said he was a guy who had already made an impact on the room with his football knowledge and leadership.
Dawson said Wynn not only understood his role in the defense but also what the offense was to do against them.
On Colton Feist
***Dawson said Colton Feist was fitting “right in line” with Nebraska’s storied walk-on tradition. Dawson remembered when Feist was a freshman walk-on during his first stint on NU’s staff, and it was great to see how far he’d come since then.
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