Huskers Go Through First Two-a-Day Session

The Nebraska football team continued fall practice on Saturday, going through its first day with a pair of practices. The Huskers practiced for 2 ? hours in full pads in the morning, before returning to the practice field for a two-hour workout in sweat clothes in the afternoon. Both practice sessions were held in Memorial Stadium.

 

The Huskers completed the morning workout with approximately 40 plays of live scrimmage work. Head Coach Bill Callahan said he was impressed with the physical nature of the scrimmage and how the players responded to the workout.

 

“We got a lot of good reps in this morning,” Callahan said. “I thought our conditioning was very good and the players held up well.”

 

Callahan said the scrimmage gave Nebraska’s talented corps of I-backs a chance to showcase their skills. He said he was pleased with the way all of the I-backs performed in the practice.

 

“The scrimmage was really positive in terms of getting some contact and bringing our backs to the ground,” Callahan said. “I was really happy to see the backs run hard and get the jitters and butterflies out of their system. We had some great situations to assess their play and I was impressed with our running game. We can definitely get better.”

 

A pair of new players joined the Huskers on the field for the Saturday afternoon workout. True freshman defensive back Rickey Thenarse and sophomore quarterback Brian Hildebrand were on the field for the first time in the afternoon after joining the program earlier in the day. The two spent the morning going through orientation before being cleared for the afternoon practice.

 

Callahan commented specifically on Hildebrand, who joined the program after completing coursework at Mt. San Antonio Community College in California earlier this week.

 

“He’s with our program, and it’s good to have him,” Callahan said. “This is a guy who has Division I experience, has excellent high school credentials. We’re anxious to get him out onto the field to see what he looks like. He’s anxious and eager to get rolling.

 

“He’s a pro-style quarterback and he has a lot of experience in pro systems. We were talking last night about our system, and he said, ”You know coach, it’s basically like what I did up at OregonState.

 

“We like competition at that spot, and we’re always looking for leadership. It’s important in that role. We’re looking for guys who can pick up a team on their back on carry the team down the field.”

 

Thenarse is expected to compete for playing time in the Husker secondary and worked out with the Husker cornerbacks in his first action on the field. He joins Major Culbert, Anthony West and Corey Young as true freshmen bidding for playing time in the secondary.

 

The Huskers battled through the afternoon heat and humidity well according to Callahan, and concluded the afternoon practice with a two-minute drill. Nebraska return to practice on Monday after their second off day during fall camp on Sunday.