Shatel: Nebraska OC Dana Holgorsen cuts through the coach speak — and it's refreshing

I see the magic in Dana Holgorsen. Nebraska’s new/interim offensive coordinator flashed it on Tuesday, as he was introduced to the media. It wasn’t on a chalkboard.

Holgorsen, one of the smartest offensive minds in college football, didn’t give a seminar with X’s and O’s. Not that I would have understood it if he had. Who cares? What ails Nebraska’s offense right now isn’t something you’ll find in a football algorithm.



The straight-talking Holgorsen laid it out in two simple, matter-of-fact examples. Asked for his impressions on how the offense went last Saturday at USC, Holgorsen first talked about the running game. The run-blocking, he said, was good.

The holes were this wide, and he held out his arms over his head. But there were yards left out there. “There’s a hole like this, and the back’s not in it,” Holgorsen said.

“That’s discouraging. “We’ve got to get (the running backs) to open their eyes, trust the block and hit it.” Holgorsen added, “At halftime, I told the running backs coach, they need to hit that thing better because there were some holes there.

” Then, asked for his impressions of Nebraska’s receivers, Holgorsen praised their size. “These guys are big bodies,” Holgorsen said. “I’m like, 'Why are you not blocking worth a crap on the perimeter?' .

.. first thing I said to them is, if you don’t start blocking out there, you’re not going to get the ball.

” Bam. I’m starting to see the real reason why Holgorsen has run successful offenses everywhere he’s been. The secret to football isn’t scheme.

It’s execution and attention to detail. It makes you wonder what other bad habits Holgorsen is going to find. And all this talk about Holgorsen bringing the “Air Raid” to Nebraska.

It’s our fascination with schematics as fans and media. It’s fun to call plays. Everyone wants to be smart.

But Holgorsen wasn't trying to impress anyone with his knowledge of offense on Tuesday. He simply reminded us that the difference between winning and losing college football games is one team is going to get things done right and another team is going to mess up. It’s a first impression, sure.

But I like the vibe that this hire is bringing. Holgorsen has been around the block a time or two. He won a lot of games as part of Mike Leach’s staff at Texas Tech.

He was a head coach at West Virginia and Houston. He’s a respected big name in college football. But he didn’t show up here acting like a big shot.

He didn’t try to big-time anybody. He sounded humble. He talked about the great respect he had for Nebraska football growing up in small town Iowa.

He said he was “grateful” to Matt Rhule for saying that he needed his help. Holgorsen was straight forward. Explaining that he wasn’t ready to come to Nebraska last December after having just been fired at Houston.

Saying he doesn’t know all of his players yet. Adding that he’s basically spent most of his time the last two weeks in a room watching film. When he was asked how there were a couple new faces in the offense last week, Holgorsen said, “A fresh set of eyes help.

Position coaches get blinded sometimes. They fall in love with certain people — and don’t want to give certain people a chance. “That’s all position coaches.

I did it.” That’s something you don’t hear very often, if ever, in these press conferences. There’s a refreshing air to Holgorsen’s bluntness.

He’s a lot like Leach, without the wandering stories about Halloween candy or Santa Claus. He cuts through all the coach speak and tells it like it is. As Nebraska wades through the fog of a four-game losing streak, and tries to find a way out of the Wisconsin Streak, I think Holgorsen’s approach will be most useful.

He appears to have a good relationship with quarterback Dylan Raiola, too. Holgorsen will challenge Raiola and won’t care that he’s a five-star quarterback. He’ll certainly care about what Raiola can do with a football.

He’ll care just as much about how the backs hit a hole on time or that the receivers make their blocks. You don’t win games at the podium. But I get the feeling that’s not where Holgorsen does his best work.

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