Part of the allure of Nebraska’s participation in a bowl game this season has been the opportunity for young players to learn and grow with more practice time.

Nebraska coach Bill Callahan, in a Tuesday press conference for head coaches in tonight’s Alamo Bowl, noted the Huskers have started or significantly played 29 freshmen and sophomores this season.

So, has the extra month of practice produced the desired results for those youngsters?

“I feel certain that our young players benefited from that, because we could see their improvement, we could see them benefiting from the repetitions they were getting,” Callahan said. “We went live quite a bit early on during the bowl practices.”

Callahan, whose team has been in San Antonio since Dec. 23, said coaches have been focusing primarily on fundamentals, just as they have with practices during the regular season.

The extra practice time, he said, is a benefit to any program.

“It’s a matter of how you want to schedule or focus your practices relative to where your team is,” Callahan said. “For our team, being so young, we had to go back to basics. We had to go back to the things that will make us better. It all starts with fundamentals.”

* ANOTHER YEAR RECOMMENDED: Callahan, when asked what advice he would give an underclassman who’s considering leaving school early for the NFL draft, admitted he’d be “a little selfish.” Of course, the coach would like to see the player stay … especially when that player is junior defensive end Adam Carriker, who admitted he’s at least considering his future options. But Callahan said the decision is about more than football. “I would really encourage any underclassman to look closely at, number one, completing their eligibility, graduating,” Callahan said. As for the football side, Callahan said very few players are ready to make the leap to the professional ranks, and they could benefit from extra time in college. “Unless their draft status is so high where it’s just a situation where they can benefit economically or socially or allow them to improve their situation as a human being,” Callahan said. “I have tremendous respect for that decision as well.”

* DECEIVING NUMBERS?: Don’t be fooled by Michigan’s 1,809 rushing yards, which ranks ninth in the 11-team Big 10 Conference. Callahan said that with a typical Michigan offensive line, the Wolverines can be “a power football team whenever they want to be.” He said stopping the run will be a big challenge for Nebraska’s front seven. “They’ve got tremendous balance, they’ve got the ability to knock you off the ball, and they’ve got the ability and size to dominate the line of scrimmage,” Callahan said of the Wolverines.

* OH, REALLY?: Two large television screens at Tuesday’s Alamo Bowl Kickoff Luncheon were displaying various trivia questions regarding Nebraska-Michigan football history. One of the tidbits: “Did you know Nebraska and Michigan split the national championship in 1997?”

* QUOTABLE: ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews helped emcee Tuesday’s luncheon by interviewing players from both teams. When she asked Nebraska senior running back Cory Ross about running the ball an Alamo Bowl-record 37 times here two years ago, Ross responded, “I think (this year) I’ll catch it 37 times.” Ross was joking. We think.