Huskers Open Fall Training Camp

Lincoln- The Nebraska football team looked sharp as they hit the field in half-pads for their first practice to open fall training camp on the recently completed Ed and Joyanne Gass practice fields.

In addition to the practice fields and indoor practice center, the Huskers also got comfortable in the brand new Osborne Athletic Complex and the MyersPerformanceCenter just in time for the squads arrival on Wednesday.

The temperature stayed in the upper 80s to low 90s for what defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove called a highly anticipated practice.

“We all like to be on the field, and this is our first opportunity since the spring,” defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said. “In respect to the new season we’re all very excited. Just talking to the coaches, the young guys did really well today."

Cosgrove, who led animated one-on-one instruction with the defensive line throughout the two-and-a-half hour practice, expressed a need to see constant improvement from a defensive unit which returns seven starters.

“I want to see guys improve every day,” Cosgrove said. “I want to see a confident group out there, and I want to see the development of our team chemistry. From the back end, there are a lot of formations, a lot of adjusting, and for the most part, they adjusted well. It’s just constantly doing it, so they gain the confidence in themselves so that they can play faster.”

Offensive coordinator Jay Norvell looked at ease with a unit that includes a returning quarterback in senior Zac Taylor and a matured quarterback in sophomore Harrison Beck.

“(Sophomore quarterback) Harrison (Beck) has worked really hard this summer,” Norvell said. “He’s lost some weight, and I think that’s allowing him to move better because he’s smoother. I think he’s in great condition, much better than he’s been. Like a lot of our guys, our whole team has been conditioning and preparing for this camp all spring, so they’re ready to go.”

Norvell’s outlook for the offensive squad was optimistic based on the veteran unit's ability to execute in crunch game-time situations.

“We expect to be good. That’s always our expectation. We’ve got some experienced guys back and we feel like we should be able to do some good things, running the football, and our experience in our receiver corps and quarterbacks is great. When you have guys that know what to do in tough game situations, you can expect execution from them. So we have high expectations from this group.”

Head Coach Bill Callahan also announced that three former walk-on players have been awarded scholarships. The three Nebraska natives include senior safety Brandon Rigoni (Lincoln, Neb.), senior linebacker Andy Kadavy (Seward, Neb.) and junior defensive back Ben Eisenhart (Culbertson, Neb.).

“I’m happy about it,” Eisenhart said. “There are a lot of guys who deserve scholarships on this team. The spring went well for me, and I was just lucky enough to be one of the guys to get one.”

The Huskers return to the practice field for the second of three practices this week with another half-pad two-and-a-half hour practice on Friday.