Lucky leads Husker I-back pack
LUCKY STILL THE ONE: Senior Marlon Lucky is having a strong camp and should be considered Nebraska’s top I-back, Husker running backs coach Tim Beck said after Friday’s spring practice.
But make no mistake, the buzz this spring about sophomore Roy Helu is legitimate.
“He’s a physical presence blocking,” Beck said. “He can run inside and outside and has good vision and quick feet in the hole. He’s catching well. The key is, he’s understanding (the offense) better, so he’s playing faster.”
Beck said Helu is “hands down” the team’s most improved running back, at least based on what the coach heard about last season. But Beck also praised the progress of redshirt freshman Marcus Mendoza.
Meanwhile, sophomore Quentin Castille missed Friday’s practice.
“Quentin’s been sick — he had a pretty bad flu bug,” Beck said.
Castille said he probably could have practiced but was told by coaches to take the day off. He’s expected to be back today and is looking to take his level of play up a notch. He said he doesn’t want to just be known as a short-yardage back.
“I’m actually looking to (get) more of the every-down back type carries,” Castille said. “I know my abilities and everything like that. It’s my fault that I haven’t done as much as I can to be that every-down back.”
SCRIMMAGE TODAY: Nebraska practiced some situational drills inside the Hawks Championship Center on Friday, including work on various defensive blitz packages.
Today’s practice is expected to come with a heavy dose of scrimmaging.
“We’re going to try to ramp it up a little bit and move the ball for the first time this spring,” offensive line coach Barney Cotton said. “We’ll actually let the offense go and let the defense try to stop the offense for about half the practice. It will be about half-normal, half-scrimmage (practice).”
Beside Castille, a couple of other fairly prominent sophomores sat out Friday’s workout.
Will Henry apparently is still bothered by a right hamstring injury. The receiver has missed all but one practice this spring.
Guard Keith Williams was also bothered by a left shoulder injury suffered Wednesday. None of the injuries are thought to be too serious.
At tight end, both Mike McNeill and Dreu Young were practicing after missing some workouts last week.
David Pillen of Sugar Land, Texas — a walk-on fullback/linebacker in the Huskers’ 2008 recruiting class — was watching the practice alongside his father, Clete Pillen, a former NU standout linebacker from Columbus.
Briefcase in hand, athletic director Tom Osborne also viewed some of the practice from a skywalk above the field.
BY THE NUMBERS:
14
Number of entries found on eBay after typing “Nebraska spring tickets” into the Web site’s search box on Friday night.
The Husker ticket office stopped selling tickets for the April 19 Spring Game on Wednesday after about 65,000 had been purchased.
One person on eBay had received a bid of $122.50 for four tickets, more than $30 a ticket to see the scrimmage.
SCOUTING REPORT
DT Terrence Moore
Husker coach Bo Pelini said earlier this week that redshirt freshman Terrence Moore was starting to see more reps at the nose tackle spot.
“He gets better every day,” Pelini said.
The 6-foot-3, 270-pound New Orleans native said he’s just one of many guys on the defense anxious to show coaches they’ve got more talent than last year’s statistics might suggest.
“As a defense we got to prove ourselves next year,” Moore said. “I mean, I was a scout last year, but I was a part of the team. As a whole team, we got to prove ourselves. I think you can see that in practice. We want to hit, you know. We want to tackle. Coach is always like, ‘Keep them (pads) up, keep them up.’ But we’re always trying to tackle, and that’s because we feel like we have to prove ourselves.”
OPPONENT WATCH
Kansas
While KU fans continue to bask in basketball glory, the Kansas football team is currently just trying to figure out how to beat the weather.
Anticipating inclement conditions, the Jayhawks have moved their spring game scheduled for Saturday afternoon to Monday at 7 p.m. Fans can get into the game for free.
—Brian Christopherson and Steven M. Sipple
But make no mistake, the buzz this spring about sophomore Roy Helu is legitimate.
“He’s a physical presence blocking,” Beck said. “He can run inside and outside and has good vision and quick feet in the hole. He’s catching well. The key is, he’s understanding (the offense) better, so he’s playing faster.”
Beck said Helu is “hands down” the team’s most improved running back, at least based on what the coach heard about last season. But Beck also praised the progress of redshirt freshman Marcus Mendoza.
Meanwhile, sophomore Quentin Castille missed Friday’s practice.
“Quentin’s been sick — he had a pretty bad flu bug,” Beck said.
Castille said he probably could have practiced but was told by coaches to take the day off. He’s expected to be back today and is looking to take his level of play up a notch. He said he doesn’t want to just be known as a short-yardage back.
“I’m actually looking to (get) more of the every-down back type carries,” Castille said. “I know my abilities and everything like that. It’s my fault that I haven’t done as much as I can to be that every-down back.”
SCRIMMAGE TODAY: Nebraska practiced some situational drills inside the Hawks Championship Center on Friday, including work on various defensive blitz packages.
Today’s practice is expected to come with a heavy dose of scrimmaging.
“We’re going to try to ramp it up a little bit and move the ball for the first time this spring,” offensive line coach Barney Cotton said. “We’ll actually let the offense go and let the defense try to stop the offense for about half the practice. It will be about half-normal, half-scrimmage (practice).”
Beside Castille, a couple of other fairly prominent sophomores sat out Friday’s workout.
Will Henry apparently is still bothered by a right hamstring injury. The receiver has missed all but one practice this spring.
Guard Keith Williams was also bothered by a left shoulder injury suffered Wednesday. None of the injuries are thought to be too serious.
At tight end, both Mike McNeill and Dreu Young were practicing after missing some workouts last week.
David Pillen of Sugar Land, Texas — a walk-on fullback/linebacker in the Huskers’ 2008 recruiting class — was watching the practice alongside his father, Clete Pillen, a former NU standout linebacker from Columbus.
Briefcase in hand, athletic director Tom Osborne also viewed some of the practice from a skywalk above the field.
BY THE NUMBERS:
14
Number of entries found on eBay after typing “Nebraska spring tickets” into the Web site’s search box on Friday night.
The Husker ticket office stopped selling tickets for the April 19 Spring Game on Wednesday after about 65,000 had been purchased.
One person on eBay had received a bid of $122.50 for four tickets, more than $30 a ticket to see the scrimmage.
SCOUTING REPORT
DT Terrence Moore
Husker coach Bo Pelini said earlier this week that redshirt freshman Terrence Moore was starting to see more reps at the nose tackle spot.
“He gets better every day,” Pelini said.
The 6-foot-3, 270-pound New Orleans native said he’s just one of many guys on the defense anxious to show coaches they’ve got more talent than last year’s statistics might suggest.
“As a defense we got to prove ourselves next year,” Moore said. “I mean, I was a scout last year, but I was a part of the team. As a whole team, we got to prove ourselves. I think you can see that in practice. We want to hit, you know. We want to tackle. Coach is always like, ‘Keep them (pads) up, keep them up.’ But we’re always trying to tackle, and that’s because we feel like we have to prove ourselves.”
OPPONENT WATCH
Kansas
While KU fans continue to bask in basketball glory, the Kansas football team is currently just trying to figure out how to beat the weather.
Anticipating inclement conditions, the Jayhawks have moved their spring game scheduled for Saturday afternoon to Monday at 7 p.m. Fans can get into the game for free.
—Brian Christopherson and Steven M. Sipple
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