Husker Football Notebook, 9/28: Glenn returns; Octavien out

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BY STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star

Nebraska sophomore running back Cody Glenn returned to practice Wednesday after missing Tuesday because of a hamstring injury suffered a week ago.

The injury caused the 6-foot, 230-pound Glenn to miss last Saturday’s win against Troy in Lincoln. Glenn, from Rusk, Texas, has carried 24 times for 135 yards and three touchdowns this season.

“He was full-go,” NU coach Bill Callahan said after Wednesday’s two-hour workout in half-pads at Hawks Championship Center.

The news wasn’t so good for weakside linebacker Steve Octavien, who also has been slowed   by a hamstring injury.

“He’s continuing to rehab,” Callahan said. “I don’t know how long Steve’s going to be out. It may be a while yet. I don’t know. We just have to take it day by day.”

Octavien, a junior, has nine tackles this season in a reserve role.

Sophomore Clayton Sievers, a linebacker/defensive end/tight end, also missed practice with what’s believed to be a hamstring injury.

Octavien and Sievers missed last week’s game and most likely will miss Saturday’s Big 12 opener against Kansas, Callahan said.

NICKEL LOGIC: Nebraska has made little-to-no use of its  nickel package this season, mostly because of inexperience among reserve cornerbacks currently in line to enter games as an extra defender in obvious passing situations. As it stands, true freshmen Rickey Thenarse and Corey Young are the top backups at the corner positions.

Husker cornerbacks coach Phil Elmassian essentially plays down the importance of using the nickel defense.

“The nickel back is the guy who’s not good enough to start for you in the first place,” he said. “So why put him in the game on third down, the most important down? To do what? Screw it up?”

Nebraska has been keeping its linebackers on the field in passing situations, a plan Elmassian supports. “You want (strongside linebacker) Stew Bradley — one of your best players — sitting next to Coz (on the sideline)?” said Elmassian, referring to NU defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove.

Does there come a point where Thenarse’s speed might help more than Bradley’s experience?

“Nope,” Elmassian said. “Next question.” He went on to explain, “If you played nickel, you’d be in nickel 70 snaps a game, because there are no two-back (offenses). So you’d better just fire your linebackers and play nickel the whole time.”

(He was being sarcastic.)

And, no, Elmassian said, he isn’t worried about Nebraska’s situation at the backup cornerback spots. In fact, he praised Thenarse and Young, particularly their strong play on special teams. That’s where they develop confidence, the coach said.

“There are no worries,” he said. “I wouldn’t live. … You do what you have to do, you know what I mean?”

HIGH PRAISE: With a half-dozen receivers back from last season, Kansas boasts a formidable corps of wideouts, said Elmassian, in his third season at Nebraska. “The first year we played them, we said, ‘Let’s go play man-to-man and press them up.’ Because they dropped balls. ... That’s changed. Talent, coaching, whatever — that’s changed. They’re competitive for the football. That’s probably the biggest difference I saw from when we first got here to last year. I think their receiving corps has matched our receiving corps in terms of maturation.”