NU football notebook, 12/15: Ruud says offense improving in practice

 No comments  
 E-mail Story
 Print Story
  Share

 digg it!
 Facebook
 del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit

Text Size: 

Tools Sponsor

BY STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star

If Alamo Bowl workouts are any indication, Nebraska’s offense might be ready to pick up where it left off in the Huskers’ last game, a 30-3 dismantling of Colorado last month.

“I see the offense getting better every day,” Husker sophomore weakside linebacker Bo Ruud said Wednesday. “It used to be we’d dominate the offense every day. Now they seem to be winning about half of the time, which they never did before. You see bigger improvements on offense, I think.”

Nebraska (7-4) continued preparation for the Dec. 28 Alamo Bowl against Michigan (7-4) with a two-hour practice inside the new Championship Indoor Center just north of Memorial Stadium.

Several Husker players were absent because they were taking final exams. However, NU coach Bill Callahan said his team accomplished a lot.

The Huskers, riding a two-game win streak, began an “introductory phase of what Michigan is going to give us,” the coach said. He said the Wolverines’ offense doesn’t closely resemble any NU faced this season.

“They’re unique,” Callahan said. “They have a system they’ve employed for a number of years.”

Nebraska coaches have used bowl workouts as an opportunity to increase practice repetitions for younger players and reserves, allowing many veterans to rest and recover from minor injuries. True freshman defensive end Barry Turner, for instance, has been spending ample time at strongside linebacker, where fifth-year senior Adam Ickes typically starts.

“We backed down on some of those seniors and other guys we wanted to get rested,” Callahan said.

Ruud expects intensity in practice to pick up a notch next week as the bowl game nears.

“Then the guys will start getting after it really hard,” he said. “Right now, we’re healing up and staying in a rhythm. That’s kind of what we’re trying to accomplish right now.”

-- HOT TICKET: Nebraska has sold about 11,500 tickets to the Alamo Bowl. The Huskers last week had to request more tickets after exceeding their allotment of 10,800. “From what I’ve heard from fans and my friends and family, it seems like everybody wants to go,” Ruud said. “It should be a lot of fun on the Riverwalk.”