Your Nebraska Cornhuskers just finished their fifth workout of the 2016 Fall Camp session, the first one in full pads according to Head Coach Mike Riley.
Practice #5 complete at #Huskers fall camp. Riley: “It was a good start in full gear.”
— Kevin Sjuts (@kevinsjuts) August 9, 2016
I was going to mention how it’d seemingly been a healthy camp so far. And now, I’m glad I wasn’t the jinx breaker.
Michael Rose-Ivey watched much of practice with apparent knee injury, Mike Riley said. “Just hoping it’s not significant,” the coach said.
— Steven M. Sipple (@HuskerExtraSip) August 9, 2016
Chris Jones, the junior cornerback, apparently had leg cramps. Hot day of work. #Huskers
— Steven M. Sipple (@HuskerExtraSip) August 9, 2016
There is better depth in this case on the Linebacking crew, but MRI losing time to any injury is bad again, so let’s hope that things are alright.
For many, hopes are that Tommy Armstrong gets it clicking and can be the game manager that many hope can get the Huskers over the hump. However, today was probably not one of his best days of the Fall.
Tommy didn’t look great today at practice. By my count, 3-of-8 and 2 picks during 7-on-7. #Huskers
— Christopher Heady (@heady_chris) August 9, 2016
Passing game was “rusty” in 7 on 7 per Mike Riley. Armstrong threw a Pick Six on the 2nd play of the session. Chris Jones stepped in front.
— Samuel McKewon (@swmckewonOWH) August 9, 2016
As we mentioned above, it’s the first full day of pads. So, it could be a little bit of difference with some different folks in the fray for both sides. But… there was some “good things” as coachspeak likes to say.
WRs were smoking DBs in the 1-on-1 drill. Kalu and Jones looked good, other DBs not so much. #Huskers
— Christopher Heady (@heady_chris) August 9, 2016
So, we pride that whole #Wideouts stuff, so it could be a spell that some of the youth on the DB side (Jackson, Anderson, Bootle, Dismuke, etc) was just getting it handed it to them. It is the first week of camp, so I’m not going to sweat that too much.
Practice over. First day in pads. Lengthy run game session on the far field. not always easy to see, but it looked like RBs busted a few.
— Samuel McKewon (@swmckewonOWH) August 9, 2016
There was not much Offense vs. Defense the first few days of camp, so I wonder if these were the 1’s going on each other. If it was the 1’s, we would all like to know how much was “a few”.
It sounds like the Huskers hit a big time heat wave, and there was only really one heat related issue with Jones, so that’s not a bad thing at all compared to last season’s issues.
Mike Riley and Danny Langsdorf did have some things to say after practice. Riley on the workout:
“This was the first day of extended interaction between our offense and defense, resulting in probably some obvious give and take,” Riley said. “But it was good for us — it was a little hot, but…I thought overall it was a good start in full gear. We put spent a lot time just putting in plays and practicing individual skills so it was good to do this.”
While Langsdorf talked about backup Ryker Fyfe, who is battling AJ Bush and Patrick O’Brien this season to stay behind Tommy Armstrong.
“I love how he worked through the winter,” Langsdorf said. “I think he’s in the best shape of his life. He brags about it. He feels good about it. I think he looks good, and he’s throwing the ball well. I think he’s doing a nice job through the spring. I think he’s lot more comfortable calling the plays, executing the play, getting guys lined up right. He looks a lot further along. ”
With their only being one football on Gamedays, Langsdorf knows that spreading the ball out to the multiple playmakers the Huskers have, both on the ground & in the air, is vital for success.
“I think we have to have a good menu for each guy. We have to make sure we get Cethan [Carter] the ball and this is how we’re going to get it to him. Same with Brandon [Reilly], same with [Alonzo Moore], you got [Stanley Morgan Jr.] in there [and] the backs. I think that’s a good problem. I just think it’s being organized, making sure you have a good menu for each player and how it fits in the game plan. ”
The Huskers will practice closed tomorrow, and will be available to the media after Thursday’s workout.