LINCOLN — Anthony West put in his time at cornerback and knew the position pretty well by the end of his junior season at Nebraska.
Safety?
It’s not only new to West, but comes with a bigger user’s manual.
“The main thing is getting everything down, because it’s so much more than corner,” West said. “There’s so much more you’ve got to know at safety.”
West has forfeited some comfort to give safety a try. The experiment started in seven-on-sevens during winter conditioning, with the idea being to maybe help the Huskers at a thin position and perhaps give himself a better chance to play.
“I knew we were losing Larry (Asante) and Matt (O’Hanlon),” West said. “It was something I just figured I might as well give a try.”
Any self-analysis would be incomplete since Nebraska has gone through just seven spring practices, but West so far seems OK with it.
West played some safety in high school so there is a little background. All that he’s learning, he said, also should give him a better overall understanding of what everybody else on the NU defense is doing.
Husker defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said last week that West is having “a heck of a spring” working at safety, where NU also has P.J. Smith, Austin Cassidy, Rickey Thenarse, DeJon Gomes and Courtney Osborne.
“There’s a learning curve, but it’s coming around for him,” Pelini said.
The San Diego native started 11 games at cornerback as a sophomore and the first four of his junior year. The emergence of Alfonzo Dennard last fall then led to a significant decrease in playing time.
Both Dennard and Prince Amukamara return, and NU is well-stocked with underclassmen at cornerback — so West is giving something else a try.
His time at cornerback has helped with things such as footwork. He has picked the brains of returning safeties and NU secondary coach Marvin Sanders to help with his transition.
Is it permanent?
“I’m going to still make sure I know everything at corner, in case, but I’m pretty much sticking at safety,” West said. “It’s been good. I mean, I like it.”
Contact the writer:
444-1042, rich.kaipust@owh.com
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