Here are some quick notes to pass along from Nebraska's spring practice on Tuesday morning...
ROBIN'S NUGGETS
***Special teams coordinator Bill Busch said Nebraska made sure to capitalize on the cold, rainy, windy weather on Tuesday by getting as much special teams work as possible on the outside fields.
He said he learned long ago from golfers that "if you get a rainy day, go out and play," because that's going to make you better. Busch said NU also made it a point to kick into the wind with every unit - kickoff, punt, field goals, and extra points.
***Busch said the top punt returners right now were Trey Palmer, Tommi Hill, and Brody Belt. Palmer is an obvious candidate, but Busch said Hill was "a natural" punt returner with his confidence to catch the ball in traffic and make defenders miss quickly.
Busch also said he challenged Belt this offseason to step up in that role because he saw a lot of potential in the walk-on.
***Busch said he's told his punt return team that every punt they field would result in one of two calls by the officials: either "touchdown, Nebraska, of first down, Nebraska." Possessing the ball on every return is priority No. 1.
***Busch said all of Nebraska's kickoff return package was already fully installed.
***The competition is ongoing for the top returner spot, but Busch said the most important returner was the "off-returner," and that would be Zach Weinmaster.
Busch said the off-returner was responsible for making "critical blocks" and "has to put his face on somebody." Busch said that role was essentially a "pulling guard" on returns.
***Busch said punter transfer Brian Buschini had done very well this spring. Buschini spent NU's spring break down in Alabama working with his personal punting coach.
***Busch said he wanted to instill a "fourth-and-1 mentality" within his kickers and punters because they were only on the field on fourth downs, "and you don't get many redos." In other words, he's stressing that every rep needs to be perfect.
***When it comes to the gunners on punt team, Busch said he usually looks for wide receivers first because they're "natural releasers" off the line of scrimmage. He said forcing fair catches was the goal on every punt.
***Every special teams player who spoke on Tuesday praised how well Busch balanced criticism with praise in his coaching. They said he'll rip into guys when they screw up and praise them when they do well, and the players have fed off that.
***Buschi said he was no stranger to punting in inclimate weather coming from Montana, and he loved getting outside on Tuesday to punt in the cold, rain, and wind.
He said there were gusts around 30-40 mph, and he loved the challenge of trying to overcome the elements with his kicks.
"You're not punting at Arizona State," Buschini said. He added that the Big Ten has featured some of the best punters in the nation every year, and a lot of that is because they're able to be successful despite the conditions.
***Buschini said he first knew he was at a big-time program when "I got like 8 million followers on Twitter when I committed" and then all of the media and NIL requests that followed.
He said he's working with a dental office on a commerical with a slogan something to the effect of, "kick away tooth decay."
***Buschini said NU had been rotating four long snappers each day in practice so far. Ethan Piper and Brady Weas were two of those four.
***Wide receiver Omar Manning he's loved working inside at slot receiver this spring, and he's almost starting to prefer it over playing outside. He said he thrives on creating mismatches against slower linebackers and smaller defensive backs.
***Manning said he feels much more comfortable going into his third season at Nebraska and it's made a difference with how he's practiced. He credited receivers coach Mickey Joseph for pushing him in a good way, calling Joseph "a dog" who set the tone from Day 1.
***Asked the difference in the quarterback player from last season to this spring, Manning said Casey Thompson was a much more vocal leader than Adrian Martinez was.
***Manning said Palmer has fit in really well with the rest of the wide receivers both on and off field. Manning said what's stood out as much as anything about Palmer was his confidence.
***Alante Brown said on the first day of spring ball, Joseph said, "I don't F around" when it comes to meeting his expectations.
ABBY'S NUGGETS
***Joseph said he challenged his receivers to catch 5,000 balls before spring practice. He said all but one or two of them caught more than 5,000. Joseph said it’s something he did at LSU but had his players catch 10,000 balls. He cut the number in half because these wasn’t as much time due to him arriving in December.
Joseph said he wanted to challenge his new players to see how hard they would work on their own. He was pleased with their efforts and their willingness to develop and learn.
“If you don’t want to develop, I don’t know if you can play for me,” Joseph said.
***Inside linebackers coach Barrett Ruud said there hasn’t been a change scheme wise in his room however there are a few new techniques they’re learning.
Nebraska had a scrimmage on the Friday before spring break and Ruud said it was good for the linebackers to tackle to the ground so Ruud could see the new techniques in full action.
***Inside linebacker Grant Tagge said Nebraska’s special teams has been working hard on all of the special teams units but listed the punt team as making the most improvement so far during spring practice.
*** Ruud said the only good thing about injuries, which his room has a lot of, is that younger players get more reps. Ruud said while the younger players were getting a lot of special teams reps last season, they are now getting a lot more defensive action.
*** Ruud said Ernest Hausmann will be ahead of the curve this season because he had gotten so many reps as a first-year player with Luke Reimer and Garrett Snodgrass out for the spring.
*** Joseph has started recruiting student-athletes in the Omaha area but Ruud said his job hasn’t changed much. He still goes around to all the schools and calls the in-state players.
*** Ruud said all of the freshmen have impressed him with their attitudes but they need to make big, big jumps daily in spring ball to impress him.
ROBIN'S NUGGETS
***Special teams coordinator Bill Busch said Nebraska made sure to capitalize on the cold, rainy, windy weather on Tuesday by getting as much special teams work as possible on the outside fields.
He said he learned long ago from golfers that "if you get a rainy day, go out and play," because that's going to make you better. Busch said NU also made it a point to kick into the wind with every unit - kickoff, punt, field goals, and extra points.
***Busch said the top punt returners right now were Trey Palmer, Tommi Hill, and Brody Belt. Palmer is an obvious candidate, but Busch said Hill was "a natural" punt returner with his confidence to catch the ball in traffic and make defenders miss quickly.
Busch also said he challenged Belt this offseason to step up in that role because he saw a lot of potential in the walk-on.
***Busch said he's told his punt return team that every punt they field would result in one of two calls by the officials: either "touchdown, Nebraska, of first down, Nebraska." Possessing the ball on every return is priority No. 1.
***Busch said all of Nebraska's kickoff return package was already fully installed.
***The competition is ongoing for the top returner spot, but Busch said the most important returner was the "off-returner," and that would be Zach Weinmaster.
Busch said the off-returner was responsible for making "critical blocks" and "has to put his face on somebody." Busch said that role was essentially a "pulling guard" on returns.
***Busch said punter transfer Brian Buschini had done very well this spring. Buschini spent NU's spring break down in Alabama working with his personal punting coach.
***Busch said he wanted to instill a "fourth-and-1 mentality" within his kickers and punters because they were only on the field on fourth downs, "and you don't get many redos." In other words, he's stressing that every rep needs to be perfect.
***When it comes to the gunners on punt team, Busch said he usually looks for wide receivers first because they're "natural releasers" off the line of scrimmage. He said forcing fair catches was the goal on every punt.
***Every special teams player who spoke on Tuesday praised how well Busch balanced criticism with praise in his coaching. They said he'll rip into guys when they screw up and praise them when they do well, and the players have fed off that.
***Buschi said he was no stranger to punting in inclimate weather coming from Montana, and he loved getting outside on Tuesday to punt in the cold, rain, and wind.
He said there were gusts around 30-40 mph, and he loved the challenge of trying to overcome the elements with his kicks.
"You're not punting at Arizona State," Buschini said. He added that the Big Ten has featured some of the best punters in the nation every year, and a lot of that is because they're able to be successful despite the conditions.
***Buschini said he first knew he was at a big-time program when "I got like 8 million followers on Twitter when I committed" and then all of the media and NIL requests that followed.
He said he's working with a dental office on a commerical with a slogan something to the effect of, "kick away tooth decay."
***Buschini said NU had been rotating four long snappers each day in practice so far. Ethan Piper and Brady Weas were two of those four.
***Wide receiver Omar Manning he's loved working inside at slot receiver this spring, and he's almost starting to prefer it over playing outside. He said he thrives on creating mismatches against slower linebackers and smaller defensive backs.
***Manning said he feels much more comfortable going into his third season at Nebraska and it's made a difference with how he's practiced. He credited receivers coach Mickey Joseph for pushing him in a good way, calling Joseph "a dog" who set the tone from Day 1.
***Asked the difference in the quarterback player from last season to this spring, Manning said Casey Thompson was a much more vocal leader than Adrian Martinez was.
***Manning said Palmer has fit in really well with the rest of the wide receivers both on and off field. Manning said what's stood out as much as anything about Palmer was his confidence.
***Alante Brown said on the first day of spring ball, Joseph said, "I don't F around" when it comes to meeting his expectations.
ABBY'S NUGGETS
***Joseph said he challenged his receivers to catch 5,000 balls before spring practice. He said all but one or two of them caught more than 5,000. Joseph said it’s something he did at LSU but had his players catch 10,000 balls. He cut the number in half because these wasn’t as much time due to him arriving in December.
Joseph said he wanted to challenge his new players to see how hard they would work on their own. He was pleased with their efforts and their willingness to develop and learn.
“If you don’t want to develop, I don’t know if you can play for me,” Joseph said.
***Inside linebackers coach Barrett Ruud said there hasn’t been a change scheme wise in his room however there are a few new techniques they’re learning.
Nebraska had a scrimmage on the Friday before spring break and Ruud said it was good for the linebackers to tackle to the ground so Ruud could see the new techniques in full action.
***Inside linebacker Grant Tagge said Nebraska’s special teams has been working hard on all of the special teams units but listed the punt team as making the most improvement so far during spring practice.
*** Ruud said the only good thing about injuries, which his room has a lot of, is that younger players get more reps. Ruud said while the younger players were getting a lot of special teams reps last season, they are now getting a lot more defensive action.
*** Ruud said Ernest Hausmann will be ahead of the curve this season because he had gotten so many reps as a first-year player with Luke Reimer and Garrett Snodgrass out for the spring.
*** Joseph has started recruiting student-athletes in the Omaha area but Ruud said his job hasn’t changed much. He still goes around to all the schools and calls the in-state players.
*** Ruud said all of the freshmen have impressed him with their attitudes but they need to make big, big jumps daily in spring ball to impress him.
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