As Nebraska’s 2017 season opener approached, much of the talk about the defense that first-year coordinator Bob Diaco had put together came in the form of praise for the varied pressures.
Diaco’s overseen some very good defenses in his career, but over 12 games here, not only did the unit not produce sacks (14, last in the Big Ten) or turnovers (12, last), but when the chips were down, Diaco oftentimes opted to play coverage instead of bringing extra pass-rushers.
“I think No. 1, you have to talk about it, you have to meet about it, and do whatever you need to do — show clips to visualize it,” Chinander said.