Suh, Henry Benefit from Physical Grind of Intense Practices

So what's the big difference in Ndamukong Suh from last year to this year? Is he faster? Yes. Stronger? Yes. Meaner? Yes. Tougher? Yes.

Credit James Dobson for making the senior All-America defensive tackle faster and stronger. Nebraska's strength and conditioning coach found the right training mix to help Suh sculpt a leaner body at the same time he was developing more explosion in his feet and legs.

Credit offensive right guard Ricky Henry for making the nation's leading Outland Trophy candidate meaner and tougher.

What was true in Nebraska's national championship years in the mid-1990s seems to ring true this year for at least two players in the trenches ... sometimes, perhaps even most times, Saturdays are easier than weekdays.

And Suh knows why. His aggressive one-on-one battles with Nebraska's most physical offensive guard has created a love-hate relationship with the teammate who lines up across from him every day in practice.

He loves Ricky Henry for making him meaner and tougher. But there are also daily doses of hatred buried in the midst of their unrelenting, oftentimes dramatic battles.

Henry, you see, has the kind of nastiness that all offensive line coaches enjoy, and that includes Nebraska's Barney Cotton.

"Ricky and Big Suh go at each other hard. They don't stop until the whistle blows," Nebraska assistant strength coach Chad Wade said before correcting himself. "Actually, they don't stop until they hear the echo of that whistle. That's why it's never boring to watch those two battle each other. It's all-out war every play, every day."

That intense physicality has made Henry a highly effective first-year starter.

And it's made Big Suh an even bigger star than he was a year ago.