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Saturday notebook: Frost has former Huskers address team
***Saturday was Nebraska’s “Former Player Day”, as more than 100 former Huskers attended the practice after met with the players afterward. Adam Carriker and Chris Kelsay spoke to the defensive players after practice, while Aaron Taylor talked to the offense.
***Nebraska extended the team period portion of practice with more live tackling, partly because they wanted to give the numerous recruits on campus for Junior Day a taste of the coaching staff in action.
***Nose tackle Mick Stoltenberg remains out with an undisclosed injury, but he was not on crutches on Saturday.
***Offensive coordinator Troy Walters said the majority of the offensive playbook was installed, and now it was a matter of refining all of the details within it and getting the players to master it.
Walters said that would only come with more reps in practice, which is helped by how many reps NU runs each day in this system. Walters “it’s going to take some time” for the players to fully master the system, and said it took all the way into Year Two at Central Florida before it was running at 100 percent.
***Walters said he was very excited about Tyjon Lindsey’s potential in this offense, saying he was a versatile and dynamic player who had a great football IQ. While Lindsey still has a way to go yet, Walters said the sky was the limit for the sophomore wide receiver.
***Walters said it’s been hard to know what exactly to do with the former fullbacks on the roster given that they don’t use a fullback at all in their offense. He said those players have really been utilized on special teams, and the staff’s message to them is that the players who travel for games during the season are the ones who can play special teams.
***Neither Walters nor quarterback coach Mario Verduzco would tip their hat on how the quarterback battle currently stands, saying all the players are doing well and competing. Walters said the main thing they're looking for is which guys step up as leaders on the field and take command of the offense.
***Offensive line coach Greg Austin said Cole Conrad had been slowly working his way back into the mix since returning from injury this week. Despite his return, Austin said Hunter Miller has still been getting reps with the top offenses at center.
Austin said Miller had done a good job of taking care of his opportunity with Conrad and Michael Decker out, especially for a guy who’s first collegiate practice ever was NU’s opening spring practice.
***Walters and Austin said the overall athleticism and mobility of the offensive line has been good this spring, but Austin said it needs to get even better over the course of the summer. He said better “eye training” with knowing assignments and who to block would help the guys play faster, and that could only come with time.
***Austin said Brenden Jaimes was a much better fit at left tackle than he was at right and was the clear No. 1 right now on the left side. Austin said he sometimes forgets how young Jaimes is, saying he’s essentially still a true freshman seeing how this was his second semester of college.
***Austin said the backup guards behind Jerald Foster and Tanner Farmer are, in no particular order, Boe Wilson, John Raridon, Broc Bando, and Jalin Barnett, while Will Farniok has been working at both guard and center.
***Austin made it clear Saturday was not a good day for the offensive line, and that’s not necessarily totally a bad thing. Austin said the scrimmage portion of practices “brings out the real character” of an offensive line, and today should be a real learning experience for the group.
“This was our day of adversity,” Austin said, and he was now excited to see how his unit responded and how they get better because of it.
***Lindsey said he lost 20 pounds during his medical situation at the start of winter workouts. However, now that’s he’s physically back on track, Lindsey said he’s currently in some of the best shape of his life.
Lindsey said he’s down 5 percent in body fat, and he replaced 10 pounds of fat with 10 pounds of muscle.
***Lindsey said his medical issue definitely made him question his future at Nebraska at first, but said Scott Frost, Walters, and Zach Duvall immediately reached out to him and constantly checked in to see how he was doing. He said that let him know the staff really cared about him and reaffirmed he was in the right place.
***Peyton Newell said he put on 23 pounds of muscle in just seven weeks of winter conditioning. He said he gained one pound of muscle last winter.
***Conrad said he’s put on 13.5 pounds of muscle this offseason, and he said this was the most muscle he’s ever had in his life and feels great.
***DaiShon Neal said he’s up to 290 pounds (he was listed at 275 last season).
***Deontre Thomas said he’s much more comfortable since moving outside to defensive end from nose tackle. He said it allows him to utilize his speed and explosiveness much better.
***Thomas also said he’s really taken to new defensive line coach Mike Dawson. In fact, Thomas used the word “love” about four times when talking about his relationship with Dawson.
Saturday notebook: Frost has former Huskers address team
***Saturday was Nebraska’s “Former Player Day”, as more than 100 former Huskers attended the practice after met with the players afterward. Adam Carriker and Chris Kelsay spoke to the defensive players after practice, while Aaron Taylor talked to the offense.
***Nebraska extended the team period portion of practice with more live tackling, partly because they wanted to give the numerous recruits on campus for Junior Day a taste of the coaching staff in action.
***Nose tackle Mick Stoltenberg remains out with an undisclosed injury, but he was not on crutches on Saturday.
***Offensive coordinator Troy Walters said the majority of the offensive playbook was installed, and now it was a matter of refining all of the details within it and getting the players to master it.
Walters said that would only come with more reps in practice, which is helped by how many reps NU runs each day in this system. Walters “it’s going to take some time” for the players to fully master the system, and said it took all the way into Year Two at Central Florida before it was running at 100 percent.
***Walters said he was very excited about Tyjon Lindsey’s potential in this offense, saying he was a versatile and dynamic player who had a great football IQ. While Lindsey still has a way to go yet, Walters said the sky was the limit for the sophomore wide receiver.
***Walters said it’s been hard to know what exactly to do with the former fullbacks on the roster given that they don’t use a fullback at all in their offense. He said those players have really been utilized on special teams, and the staff’s message to them is that the players who travel for games during the season are the ones who can play special teams.
***Neither Walters nor quarterback coach Mario Verduzco would tip their hat on how the quarterback battle currently stands, saying all the players are doing well and competing. Walters said the main thing they're looking for is which guys step up as leaders on the field and take command of the offense.
***Offensive line coach Greg Austin said Cole Conrad had been slowly working his way back into the mix since returning from injury this week. Despite his return, Austin said Hunter Miller has still been getting reps with the top offenses at center.
Austin said Miller had done a good job of taking care of his opportunity with Conrad and Michael Decker out, especially for a guy who’s first collegiate practice ever was NU’s opening spring practice.
***Walters and Austin said the overall athleticism and mobility of the offensive line has been good this spring, but Austin said it needs to get even better over the course of the summer. He said better “eye training” with knowing assignments and who to block would help the guys play faster, and that could only come with time.
***Austin said Brenden Jaimes was a much better fit at left tackle than he was at right and was the clear No. 1 right now on the left side. Austin said he sometimes forgets how young Jaimes is, saying he’s essentially still a true freshman seeing how this was his second semester of college.
***Austin said the backup guards behind Jerald Foster and Tanner Farmer are, in no particular order, Boe Wilson, John Raridon, Broc Bando, and Jalin Barnett, while Will Farniok has been working at both guard and center.
***Austin made it clear Saturday was not a good day for the offensive line, and that’s not necessarily totally a bad thing. Austin said the scrimmage portion of practices “brings out the real character” of an offensive line, and today should be a real learning experience for the group.
“This was our day of adversity,” Austin said, and he was now excited to see how his unit responded and how they get better because of it.
***Lindsey said he lost 20 pounds during his medical situation at the start of winter workouts. However, now that’s he’s physically back on track, Lindsey said he’s currently in some of the best shape of his life.
Lindsey said he’s down 5 percent in body fat, and he replaced 10 pounds of fat with 10 pounds of muscle.
***Lindsey said his medical issue definitely made him question his future at Nebraska at first, but said Scott Frost, Walters, and Zach Duvall immediately reached out to him and constantly checked in to see how he was doing. He said that let him know the staff really cared about him and reaffirmed he was in the right place.
***Peyton Newell said he put on 23 pounds of muscle in just seven weeks of winter conditioning. He said he gained one pound of muscle last winter.
***Conrad said he’s put on 13.5 pounds of muscle this offseason, and he said this was the most muscle he’s ever had in his life and feels great.
***DaiShon Neal said he’s up to 290 pounds (he was listed at 275 last season).
***Deontre Thomas said he’s much more comfortable since moving outside to defensive end from nose tackle. He said it allows him to utilize his speed and explosiveness much better.
***Thomas also said he’s really taken to new defensive line coach Mike Dawson. In fact, Thomas used the word “love” about four times when talking about his relationship with Dawson.
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