Huskers have plenty of visitors Friday
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COACHING CLINIC: About 700 coaches on hand Friday for Nebraska’s Spring Coaches Clinic were treated to a 2½-hour practice at Memorial Stadium.
The Huskers’ sixth of 15 spring practices was highlighted by live scrimmaging toward the end.
“We had a short scrimmage, about 12 minutes,” defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said. “It is the second time we’ve actually had contact. The aggression was a little better. I saw guys getting after it on both sides of the ball. Every time we do that (scrimmage), it’ll get a little more violent, I think.”
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During Friday’s first part of practice, the biggest crowd of coaches was around Mike Ekeler’s linebackers.
“C'mon! Faster! I want better feet!” Ekeler shouted to his players.
Freshman tight end Tyson Hetzer (knee), sophomore wideout Will Henry (hamstring) and senior I-back Kenny Wilson (leg) remain sidelined.
The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Henry, while not in uniform, jogged along the boundaries of the field.
A pair of Nebraska 2008 scholarship recruits — linebackers Sean Fisher and Will Compton — were on hand. Athletic director Tom Osborne watched some of the practice from the upper levels of South Stadium.
Nebraska will complete its second week of spring practice today, which will conclude the coaching clinic activities. Before Saturday’s practice, the coaches at the clinic will hear from a list of speakers that includes Osborne, NU head coach Bo Pelini and Appalachian State head coach Jerry Moore.
A Nebraska assistant from 1973 to 1978, Moore has guided his team to three consecutive national championships in the NCAA Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA).
GET YOUR TICKETS! If you want to go to the April 19 Spring Game but don’t yet have tickets, you better get your business handled soon.
With advanced ticket sales having reached into the mid-50,000s, the athletic department has announced that less than 8,000 tickets remain for public sale.
The cutoff is necessary because 10,000 complimentary tickets are being held for special groups (youth taking the Drug Free pledge, former players, UNL students and faculty, families of currently deployed Nebraska soldiers).
Remaining tickets, which are general admission, can be purchased at Huskers.com or at the NU Ticket Office. They cost $8 for adults and $4 for youth (high school age and younger) and seniors.
BY THE NUMBERS: 34
Cody Glenn had his familiar No. 34 on his new red defensive jersey (the offense wears white jerseys in practice). Glenn practiced with a number-less red jersey Wednesday, his first day on defense after three seasons as an I-back. Oh, yes, Glenn came up with an interception Friday. “I kind of let the tight end think he had me, then Beau (Davis) threw it and I broke on it and almost took it to the house,” Glenn said, smiling. “We weren’t even scrimmaging and they tackled me.”
SCOUTING REPORT
Redshirt freshman Jared Crick of Cozad has moved to defensive tackle after starting his career last season as a defensive end. The 6-foot-6 Crick is officially listed at 270 pounds.
“Right now, he’s a little underweight,” Carl Pelini said. “But again, we addressed the weight issue in the winter. We asked a lot of guys to drop weight. He dropped about 14 pounds, so he’s a little undersized at this point. But the one thing he has is great speed off the ball. He’s getting into blockers. If he uses that speed to his advantage, that size differential isn’t going to mean anything.”
OPPONENT WATCH
Colorado
While Cody Hawkins is trying to keep his starting quarterback spot from being taken by redshirt freshman Matt Ballenger, yet another player is entering the Colorado QB picture.
According to the Boulder (Colo.) Daily Camera, walk-on Kyle Black has been seeing a lot of snaps this spring.
The reason: The Buffs are looking to use Black in the red zone because of his threat to run. Black sat out the 2007 season after transferring from Air Force.
“We want to be able to have some packages for him and be able to insert him, because I think when you get in certain situations, particularly down in the red zone, that’s one more guy,” CU coach Dan Hawkins told the Daily Camera. “You’re basically playing 12-on-11 that way. You’ve got a ball carrier and everybody else is blocking.”
— Steven M. Sipple and Brian Christopherson
