Huskers Continue Drills; Koch Awarded Scholarship

Lincoln, Neb. -- The Nebraska football team continued fall camp Tuesday afternoon with a two-and-a-half hour practice in full pads on the Memorial Stadium turf.

The Huskers conducted situational drills as they continue preparations for the Sept. 4 season opener against Western Illinois, primarily focusing on the red zone, short-yardage and two-minute drill situations during today’s practice.

"We accomplished quite a bit," Head Coach Bill Callahan said. "We made huge strides in the area of goal-line and short-yardage offense. We had a lot of good work, and we need to continue to work in those areas to become the team we want to be."

Callahan also announced that junior punter Sam Koch has been awarded a scholarship for the upcoming season. The 6-1, 230-pound junior from Seward appeared in NU’s final seven games on kickoffs, recording 18 touchbacks on 32 kickoffs. This fall, he will replace All-American Kyle Larson as the Huskers’ starting punter.

"Obviously, Sam has deserved it and we would like to reward him for that," Callahan said. "He has continued to improve (during the fall). We are really proud of what he has done, and he has done a good job for us."

Callahan also received more good news, as I-back Tierre Green and receiver Mark LeFlore both returned to action Tuesday after missing several days of practice.

One other area Callahan talked about was the progress of freshman quarterback Ryan Goodman, who took snaps with the second-string offense during much of practice.

"He’s really a bright kid," Callahan said. "He has an excellent grasp of the (offensive) system and manages the offense well. I was telling him yesterday as I was coming off the field that this system is really complex. For him to come in here and be able to manage it, be able to communicate all the idiosyncrasies is really impressive."

Nebraska continues fall camp with a pair of workouts on Wednesday. Coach Callahan will be available to the media following the 8:45 a.m. practice, while Husker players will be available following the 3:40 p.m. session.

--HUSKERS--