Nebraska’s Chubba Purdy (6) throws a pass during the Red-White Spring Game on April 9 at Memorial Stadium.
JAIDEN TRIPI, Journal Star file photo
Nebraska’s Nate Boerkircher (right) celebrates with Anthony Grant (23) after Grant scored the first touchdown during the Red-White Spring Game on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Saturday's Red-White spring game marked practice No. 15 for the Nebraska football team.
It marked practice No. 3 for Chubba Purdy.
The Florida State transfer quarterback, bothered by a foot injury for most of the spring, only began practicing in full pads on Monday. That meant he got all of two workouts before suiting up in front of 54,357 for his unofficial Nebraska debut.
"I didn't really have a spring," Purdy said after the game, "but I did what I could."
That meant a lot of watching film and watching practice from the sidelines as NU's other quarterback transfer, Casey Thompson, seemed to solidify himself as NU's top option heading into the summer and fall.
"You know me, I am not going to crown anybody. Usually by all the reps we get it is pretty clear (who has the edge) at the end of that," NU coach Scott Frost said of Nebraska's quarterback situation. "Chubba missed a lot of time. He has had some good practices late in spring ball and there will be a lot more reps for everybody to make a decision."
Purdy is hoping to make that decision a more difficult one for Nebraska's revamped offensive coaching staff with a full summer of workouts with the Huskers' skill players.
"It's tough because I want to get in there and show these coaches, my teammates what I can do — trying to learn and read and get the physical reps, not just the mental reps," Purdy said. "So it was tough, but I prayed about it, just asking God to heal my foot. And over the past couple weeks it's gotten way better, and I'm superexcited to get back."
Purdy didn't disclose the exact nature of his injury but said it took "five to six weeks" to heal to the point that he could participate fully in practice again.
While he wasn't perfect Saturday, Purdy went 5-for-10 for 63 yards, the second-most of any of Nebraska's quarterbacks, and ran twice for eight more yards.
Now, Purdy will use the summer to try and make up the ground he lost while sitting out in the spring.
"It can improve a lot because I haven't really thrown to the receivers — just a little bit on seven-on-seven and some team stuff," Purdy said. "But as all of us get together, and we're going to throw every other day in the offseason, so the receivers are going to understand which quarterbacks have a strong arm, which ones are going to zip it in, which ones are going to throw it in.
"When we get that connection with our receivers, they're going to be just fine."
2 crowd-pleasing offensive moments
Grant goes long:Â Anthony Grant's 60-yard touchdown run in the first half was easily the most impressive play by Nebraska's top offensive units. Running inside zone, Grant started to the right, made a quick jump cut back to the left, and then another cut to avoid a defender before breaking free up the west sideline for a touchdown. Was Grant perhaps touched down in the backfield? Maybe, but the officials let it go, and one of the biggest offseason additions to Nebraska's roster had an electric highlight to send things into the offseason.
Slippery Synek: Redshirt freshman quarterback Jarrett Synek had a few standout moments as NU's reserves played in the second half, including a 42-yard touchdown pass to Ty Hahn late in the game. But it was his 16-yard touchdown scamper earlier in the half that got a real charge out of the crowd. Synek rolled to his left on a designed pass play, then took off downfield, slipped an ankle tackle, and juked safety Noa Pola-Gates at the goal line to get the score. Synek hit 3-of-5 passes for 55 yards and ran twice for 24 yards. A good day for the former Hastings High School standout.
It was tough to get a read on who may have helped themselves the most due to the nature of the game, but Grant seemed to solidify himself as a leading candidate to be Nebraska's top running back. His 69 yards on six carries were the second-most of the day behind Trevin Luben's 91, and easily the most for any of the group considered to be among NU's top backs. Coaches and teammates have talked about Grant all through the spring, and he showed up on Saturday.
Quotable
"We were being dreadfully simple and running inside zone and between the tackles, and then you get tagged off and they would blow it down. … It is hard to get a real read from that." NU coach Scott Frost on Nebraska's running game in the first half.
Photos: All of the sights from Nebraska football's 2022 Red-White Spring Game
Reach Clark Grell at 402-473-2639 or cgrell@journalstar.com. On Twitter at @LJSSportsGrell.
Nebraska’s Nate Boerkircher (right) celebrates with Anthony Grant (23) after Grant scored the first touchdown during the Red-White Spring Game on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.