Huskers Look for Offensive Spark

Lincoln--- The Nebraska football team practiced in full pads for two hours Tuesday at the Hawks Championship Center.  The Huskers are preparing to hit the road against Baylor on Saturday. Offensive Coordinator Shawn Watson discussed how they begin to look for a spark on offense.

"You look for it in personnel," Watson said. "Maybe it is the younger players stepping up and trying different combinations at all positions."

Watson commented that finding a spark on the offensive side of the ball comes from making sure the players have a clean understanding of what is expected of them. The coaches have also spent time observing the play of some younger players such as receiver Khiry Cooper.   

"You send a message about what is acceptable and what isn't acceptable," Watson said. "You give younger players opportunities and take a good, hard look at them and see if they can bring our game to more detail."

Watson noted that the Huskers' problems in handling the ball against Iowa State came from sloppy play. While the team has been fortunate to handle the ball well in game situations until last week, he said that they focus on fundamental ball-security drills in practice every week.

"I think more than anything else, we had sloppy ball handling," Watson said. "That was the big thing, being around piles and getting stripped late. Niles (Paul) had a fluke thing happen to him, but that is fundamental with keeping the ball tight. It is just adhering to the details, bottom line."

The Huskers will return to the practice field on Wednesday afternoon. Kickoff for the Baylor game is set for 11:30 a.m. and can be seen on Versus. Check back to Huskers.com for more updates on the Nebraska football team throughout the week.