Matt Herian, a senior tight end who broke his leg in October 2004, practiced Wednesday with the Nebraska football team. He caught several passes during drills and looked OK. At times, he had a slight limp, but NU offensive coordinator Jay Norvell said it’s because Herian is recovering from a pulled hamstring.

“It was good to get him back out there,” Norvell said. “His leg’s fine. His leg is healed. When he get his hamstring healed, he’ll be fine.”

Herian, who hasn’t spoken to the media since his injury, told NU media relations personnel he’d do interviews after a couple of days of spring practice.

Nebraska coach Bill Callahan said coaches aren’t being cautious with how they practice Herian, but do want to be smart.

“We don’t want him to take a lot of wear and tear,” Callahan said. “We want to make sure that he’s ready to perform in the fall.”

Nebraska’s first practice, without pads, was inside Hawks Championship Center. The Huskers practice again Friday, then have their first workout in pads on Saturday.

OVERLOADED: While Herian, who has a career 53 receptions for 1,093 yards, would obviously be a welcome addition, the Huskers can’t say they’re lacking bodies at tight end. Nebraska has 10 tight ends in spring camp — six scholarship players and four walk-ons — making it the deepest position on the team. Callahan said two of those tight ends, Clayton Sievers and J.B. Phillips, would also work some in the fullback’s role. Nebraska isn’t as deep there, with Dane Todd and Grant Miller the only experienced players returning.

INJURY UPDATE: Linebacker Steve Octavien, given clearance to practice during the spring after recovering from a broken leg in the fall, is now rehabilitating a slight hamstring pull. Callahan said Octavien, who “tweaked” his hamstring toward the end of winter conditioning, will be used in a limited role. Also, Dan Erickson, who’s moving from wide receiver to free safety, will be limited after having surgery last week on his appendix. Players who will miss the entire spring season because of injury include Kurt Mann (shoulder), Jordan Picou (shoulder), Newton Lingenfelter (shoulder), Tony Sullivan (shoulder), Nick Covey (shoulder) and Eric Lueshen (back). Linebackers Bo Ruud (broken arm) and Stewart Bradley (ACL) will wear green jerseys and participate on a limited basis.

POSITION MOVES: Not to say Nebraska is lacking depth at safety, but five players are making position moves to that very spot. Tierre Green’s move from cornerback to strong safety during bowl practices started the trend. Others to follow are Bryan Wilson and Ben Eisenhart (from cornerback), Jordan Adams (from quarterback) and Erickson (from wide receiver). The Huskers are also looking for depth in the middle of the defensive line, hence, changes for Ty Steinkuhler (from defensive end to defensive tackle) and Craig Roark (from center/guard to nose tackle). Also, Dontrell Moore will move back to SAM linebacker after playing some at defensive end, and Lance Brandenburgh, who’s played MIKE and WILL linebacker, will play exclusively SAM.