NU Football Notebook, 4/16: Beck sits,
shoulder to be evaluated again
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BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL and STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star
Disappointed you didn’t get to see Harrison Beck play Saturday? You’re not alone. “It was really a sad sight for me to see Harrison go out in the warmup and not be able to even flick the ball with his wrist,” Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said. “He was pushing it.”
That’s why coaches decided to sit Beck, the sophomore quarterback who’s troubled by a sore shoulder. Beck underwent an MRI earlier in the week that revealed no damage. Callahan said Beck would undergo another evaluation.
Callahan said Beck threw the ball well in Nebraska’s last practice, on Thursday morning, and thought he would be able to play in the Red-White Game.
“Unfortunately, when he got out there,” Callahan said, “he just couldn’t get himself going.”
HERIAN BACK: Senior tight end Matt Herian played Saturday, his first game appearance since the fall of 2004, when he broke his leg. He primarily blocked, and couldn’t get a handle on the only pass thrown to him, a 12-yarder from Zac Taylor. Linebacker Dontrell Moore had good coverage on the play at the near corner of the end zone. “It was just good to see him get in there and compete,” Callahan said of Herian.
NO NUMBER ONE: There’s no post-spring depth chart. And even if there was, you would probably see Marlon Lucky and Cody Glenn listed as co-No. 1 at running back. Randy Jordan, the position coach, said he won’t name a leader, that he believes in the “by-committee” system. “We’ll roll with the one that’s hot,” Jordan said. “I look at them as equal guys who can come in and do different things and still be effective.”
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES: It appears Dan Titchener has the edge in replacing Sam Koch as punter. Titchener had two punts for an average of 44.5 yards for the first-string Red team. But Callahan said that battle will continue into the fall. Punters for the White team were Tyler Kester (2-48.0), Jake Wesch (3-38.0) and Jordan Alegria (2-38.0). Punt returns were not live. ... Jordan Congdon missed his only field-goal attempt, hitting the right upright on a 37-yard attempt. ... Titus Brothers’ 100-yard kickoff return came against the top coverage unit, but Callahan said he was pleased, because the Huskers had been working extensively this spring on improving their return team. Nebraska averaged 19.7 yards per kickoff return last season, ranking No. 79 nationally.
NASTY BOYS: After the offensive line drew praise for its work Saturday, right tackle Matt Slauson said the linemen are trying to establish an image, one that might make their mamas wince. “We want to get back to the classic Nebraska offensive line,” he said. “Just big brutes playing in the mud. Just jerks. That’s the way we want to be seen.” Jerks? “Off the field, I’m not a jerk at all,” he said. “I’m a big teddy bear. On the field, I may even still have a problem being a jerk.”
SACK PARADE: Nebraska’s top-unit defense held the White team to — drum roll, please — 4 yards of total offense. Defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove was particularly pleased with the pass rush as the Reds recorded five sacks — two apiece by tackles Ola Dagunduro and Barry Cryer and one by linebacker Corey McKeon. Safety Ben Eisenhart and linebacker Andy Kadavy, a pair of walk-ons, made nine tackles apiece for the Whites. “I saw guys competing and having fun,” Cosgrove said. “We wanted to see how young kids reacted in a game-like situation, and it was certainly a game-like situation with the great crowd we had. We want them to be a dominant unit, and we want them to expect to be good.”
STRONG INTERIOR: Dagunduro and Cryer have taken hold of the two interior defensive line starting positions. But equally as important is the emergence of their backups. Callahan noted the progress of Ty Steinkuhler, who’s done “an excellent job” after moving from defensive end, and also had praise for Ndamukong Suh. “He’s been a load to block the entire spring,” Callahan said of Suh, a sophomore.
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