Friday nuggets: So far, so good for Huskers after finals week
Here are some quick notes and observations to pass along from Nebraska’s half-padded practice Friday afternoon inside the Hawks Championship Center and fields north of Memorial Stadium…
***Head coach Mike Riley said the academic statuses of his players was “absolutely ongoing” as the team officially wrapped up finals week on Friday. Riley said he’s already heard news on several players regarding their academic standing, and so far there’s been “no bad news”. He said he’ll learn more over the next week leading up until the game if there would been any changes.
***Defensive tackle Kevin Williams and wide receiver Alonzo Moore both sat out of practice with injuries, while cornerback Daniel Davie was back in action after missing the first few bowl practices while catching up on academics.
***With Nebraska suddenly thin at cornerback due to roster attrition, Riley said Davie and Trai Mosley would be the No. 2 corners behind Joshua Kalu and Chris Jones. At nickel, Aaron Williams will take over in place of Kalu, who will play exclusively at corner.
***Quarterback Tommy Armstrong said he met with offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf after the Iowa game and told him, “I want you to treat me like a freshman” when it came to critiquing his performance this season and coaching him going forward in the offseason.
***Armstrong said he talks with former NFL great Brett Favre "a couple times a week", and their latest conversations included Favre telling him to attack the bowl practices with the right attitude and to continue to hold himself accountable as a team captain.
***Armstrong said he always sees the quarterback position as an open competition, and that will definitely be the case heading into the spring.
***Riley said Nebraska has already installed its entire game plan for UCLA. He said he always makes sure to have everything installed before the team leaves because it’s always so hectic once they’re at the bowl site.
***Riley said the two top priorities for NU’s offense going froward would be eliminating turnovers and being a more effective rushing team. He said he wants to continuously be ranked in the top-three in the Big Ten for rushing offense, and this year they were back towards the middle of the pack.
***Nebraska will hold two more practices in Lincoln on Saturday and then Monday morning before flying out to San Francisco on Monday night.