Tuesday nuggets: Huskers healthy as ever after bye week

Here are some quick notes to pass along following Nebraska's practice on Tuesday morning...

***Lubick said he and the offensive coaches went back and studied all the things they thought they did well and where they struggled through the first eight weeks during the bye.

As far as fixing their weaknesses, Lubick said they already knew most of their problem areas, but they were able to delve into the finer details of why the struggles were happening and figure out ways to fix them.

***Lubick called Purdue defensive end George Karlaftis a "special player" and a "difference-maker" who was "every bit as good" as what NU saw against Michigan's Aidan Hutchinson.

***When it came to fixing Nebraska's pass protection issues, Lubick said it was more than just improving the offensive line's play. He said the running backs needed to be better in pass pro, and the quarterbacks needed to identify blitzes better and adjust protections before the snap.

***On wanting to be more aggressive as an offense, Lubick said he felt they'd done a good job creating more explosive plays this season. But they still needed to be better in exploiting defensive weaknesses and being more physical off the ball.

***Lubick said NU's offense was "as healthy as we've been" all season coming out of the bye, which included receivers Zavier Betts and Omar Manning.

***Lubick said tight end Austin Allen had "been good since Day 1" but always works to get better. Lubick said Allen "drives the emotion of the team" as a vocal leader and sets the tone every day by being a "perfectionist."

***Defensive coordinator Erik Chinander opened his press conference by thanking everyone who had reached out to him and his family following the tragic death of his father two weeks ago.

Chinander had to fight back tears as he recalled how much his father meant to him as a son and a football coach. He said he "earned everything" from his dad about how to be a coach, and most of it wasn't about X's and O's but how to be hard on players while also making sure they knew he loved them.

***Chinander said it was "amazing" to see so many of his father's former players come back for the funeral. He said there were current players, their dads, and even their grandfathers, who all played for and were impacted by his father.

***As far as Purdue, Chinander said it would be a unique challenge having to prepare for three different quarterbacks. He said all three brought something different to the table, but each could run the full offense, so NU couldn't just assume one would run, another would pass, etc.

***Chinander said Purdue's David Bell was one of if not the best receiver in the Big Ten and one of the best in the country. When NU played Purdue last year, Rondale Moore was a little banged up, and the Huskers felt that Bell was the most dangerous threat.

***Chinander confirmed that Deontai Williams would be out this week and that Myles Farmer would start in his place at safety. Chinander said he had total faith in Farmer to take on "a huge responsibility" as a starter because he'd already answered the call before.

When Farmer was vaulted into the starting lineup last year at Northwestern, he responded with two interceptions.

***After Farmer, Chinander said guys like Noa Pola-Gates, Lane McCallum, Phalen Sanford, and Marques Buford would be the next guys up at safety.

***Farmer said he was ready for the challenge because he'd already played so many game snaps over the last two years.

***Farmer said Bell had such a big game against Iowa because the Hawkeyes played soft coverage against him and could run clean routes. Last week against Wisconsin, though, Farmer said the Badgers were very physical with him at the line of scrimmage and "knocked him around" all game.

***Buford said he knew after the Fordham game that he wasn't going to redshirt this season. He's currently playing on every special team except for the field goal unit.

***Running backs coach Ryan Held said Rahmir Johnson, who went out against Minnesota with a concussion, passed all the protocols and practiced on Tuesday and bounced back ""really good.""

Held said he earned the starting running back job by being the most consistent. Johnson catches the ball well and has a business-like approach, Held said.

He said Jaquez Yant, Markese Stepp, and Sevion Morrison needed to become more consistent to have a second or third back that can make an impact.

***After 127 yards on 13 carries against Northwestern, Held said Yant was ""brought back to earth"" against Minnesota, which held him to six carries for 24 yards.

On 4th-and-goal, Yant took a handoff and tripped before getting into the endzone. Held said Yant would make that play 99 out of 100 times and that he wanted to make a play so bad but needs to wait for the play to come to him.

"I have the utmost faith in him and would put him in again in that situation," Held said.

***Held said Morrison was focusing on catching balls in important moments. He said he is practicing making a catch when he is about to get hit.

"He has good hands and just needs to have focus when the lights are on in those situations," Held said.

***The running back room is composed of almost only freshman and sophomores. With young players, Held said sometimes they have good results, and sometimes they don't' but it's' hard to know until they are in those situations. The more they are thrown into those moments, the better they will handle them next time.

***Defensive line coach Tony Tuioti said his linemen were focusing on a game with a lot of pass rush opportunities. Purdue is a pass-heavy team and "does a good job of getting the ball to their best players," Tuioti said.

***When he is recruiting and looking for future pass rushers, Tuioti looks for players with great motors and effort. He said, most of the time, pass rushers don't get to the quarterback or pressure him on their first move; it's typically their second or third move.

He said he wants players who relentlessly battle to get to the quarterback. Tuioti said he would be selective with who he recruits and wants to find the right person to fit into Nebraska's culture, whether from high school, JUCO, or the transfer portal.

***Tuioti said Nash Hutmacher was the "next guy up." With younger players, Tuioti has a lot of conversation with them to keep them engaged, and for Hutmacher, he is vastly improving. Trusting the process is essential for the next players up for the defensive line and all positions.

***As for the remaining four games, Tuioti said he wants to tighten up 1) being more aggressive at the point of attack, 2) finding the running back and reading the play keys, and 3) finishing the play, which he said is the hardest part.

Tuioti said he shows his linemen film from NFL players like Aaron Donald, Joey Bosa, and Chris Jones, and the group studies their technique and abilities to finish.

***Allen said Thomas Fidone, who has been practicing after recovering from an ACL injury, is a "great football player" with "a lot of learning left to do."

"Anybody who comes into the new playbook, it's gonna take a while for him to understand," Allen said. "But he's starting to understand the technique and what we're trying to accomplish technique-wise."

Allen said he hoped to see Fidone in some games soon as he had four games to play to retain his redshirt.

***Allen said the team was super eager in practice. He said they understand there is two weeks, a bye week, and then two more weeks of football, and they're' going to give it their all.