LINCOLN — If an analogy might help, think of Nebraska coach Bo Pelini as the father walking three young sons from the comfort of their home to the first day of school.

He can tell the boys what will happen, what might happen and how to deal with just about anything that does happen. But until they open that door and walk inside, they will never know.

So Saturday night becomes the time where Pelini and the Husker defensive staff let go with Sean Fisher, Will Compton and Mathew May — poised to be the youngest crew of linebackers in the Big 12.

“They better lean on themselves, because no one's going to be out there helping them,'' Pelini said. “They're going to have guys around them, obviously, but they've got to handle their responsibility and they've got to be ready to react the right way and play well.

“I have confidence in them or I wouldn't be putting them out there. It's time to stand on your own two feet and be a man and show up.''

Fisher and Compton are redshirt freshmen expected to start at strongside and middle linebacker, respectively. May is a sophomore still going at it with junior Blake Lawrence for the weakside job as Florida Atlantic prepares to visit.

Once 6:10 p.m. rolls around Saturday, they no longer will have the luxury of coaches on the field or practice timeouts to go over a miscue. So as much as NU defensive coordinator Carl Pelini wants perfection, he understands it could be unattainable at first.

“I know just from experience that there is going to be a level of anxiety, and anxiety leads to indecision,'' Pelini said. “You've just got to make them feel comfortable. If you can give them enough up front that they know they know what they're doing, then they can just rely on their technique and not think too much.''

May said last season he dealt with pre-snap brain freeze or hesitation by turning to fifth-year senior Tyler Wortman or junior Phillip Dillard. Now his cohorts in the Huskers' base defense will be a pair of 19-year-olds possibly looking at him.

May played in eight games last season, after all, qualifying him as a veteran in this bunch.

“We had a lot of guys that were experienced last year and it really made the transition easy,'' May said. “This is really a neat experience. We're all young, but the good thing about it is we're all going through the same thing together. We're all learning.''

There will be an added element with a crowd of 80,000-plus and the energy that goes with a Husker opener. Florida Atlantic also is a team that has won back-to-back bowl games and features an NFL-caliber quarterback.

Lawrence's advice for Fisher and Compton is simple: Focus.

“There's a lot of things that can get you distracted on your first game day — your parents in the stands, just the feeling of being on the field for the first time,'' said Lawrence, who played some as a true freshman in 2007. “But when it comes down to it, you have to focus on your technique and your playbook.''

The Husker linebacking corps lacks upperclassmen because of some past holes in recruiting classes. Among scholarship linebackers, Dillard and former walk-on Colton Koehler are the only seniors and Lawrence the only junior.

Fisher had the best angle on a job and has been mostly running with the No. 1 defense since spring practice. Compton kept plugging away and came on as of late to beat out Dillard and Koehler.

“He's always had the ability,'' Lawrence said. “Will took a step back, looked at what he had to get done and he executed it. That's what has vaulted him toward the top.''

To fully prepare, Carl Pelini said the underclassmen needed to watch a ton of tape and get as many repetitions and as many looks as possible in practice.

As they go out on their own, it will be about communication on the field. That involves the safeties, cornerbacks and defensive ends all talking to the linebackers.

Senior safety Larry Asante said he intends to assist the young linebackers, and also will have the freedom to check the defense into different calls.

“I think coach is right, they are going to have to stand on their own two feet,'' Asante said. “They may be on their own when it comes time to make a play, but as far as pre-play communication they will receive a lot of help from the back end and everybody around them.''

Asante said Fisher and Compton started to limit their freshmen moments as camp progressed. Their football sense helped with correcting and not repeating mistakes. They've grown up fast.

And to a certain extent, Carl Pelini said, maybe Fisher, Compton and May aren't as inexperienced as you might think.

“To me, these guys have been coached through two springs and two fall camps and one whole season,'' he said. “They've had a lot of coaching. They haven't been isolated from the team. So they're inexperienced on game day, but they're not inexperienced in terms of our system.''

Contact the writer:

444-1042, rich.kaipust@owh.com

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