Blackshirts Look to Contain KU Quarterback

The Nebraska football team practiced for a little over two hours on Wednesday utilizing both the Hawks Championship Center and the Ed and Joyanne Gass practice fields just northeast of Memorial Stadium. The Huskers practiced in helmets and shoulder pads as they hit the midweek point in their preparation for their upcoming game against the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday.

Defensive coordinator Carl Pelini addressed the media after Wednesday's practice and talked about the Jayhawk offense. Pelni said his defense will have its work cut out for it with the amount of playmakers KU has on the offensive side of the ball, including two of the better wide receivers in the conference.

"They're a good offense," he said. "They have great skill. They have a great quarterback who can beat you running or throwing. They have a couple of the better receivers we've see all year. They're good at running back. (Jake) Sharp is a good running back. They just have a lot of skill and they can make plays. They have a lot of guys on the field that can make plays, so you have to be really sound and really disciplined. They'll take advantage if you make mistakes."

One key for the Husker defense on Saturday will be stopping Jayhawk quarterback Todd Reesing. Pelini said Reesing does a good job scrambling around and buying time for his receivers to get open.

"You have to keep the quarterback in the pocket," Pelini said. "They do a really nice job with him just scrambling and buying time for his receivers. They do a great job in their scramble drills with their receivers getting open or going deep when he's buying himself time. And you have to deal with the designed quarterback run. They are a real versatile offense."

The Huskers return to the practice field on Thursday. Kickoff for this Saturday's game is set for 2:30 and the contest can be seen regionally on ABC. Check back to Huskers.com for more updates on the Nebraska football team.