Freshman left tackle Turner Corcoran has missed a good chunk of Nebraska's fall camp because of injury.
But offensive line coach Greg Austin made it sound Wednesday like the gem of NU's 2020 recruiting class will be ready to go for the season opener Aug. 28 at Illinois.
"He's doing well. Minor setback, but he's doing well, and we should have him available here soon," Austin said.
Asked how soon, Austin responded "I don't know; we'll see. We'll be ready."
Corcoran's return would be a boon for a unit that is thought to be a strength of this year's Husker team. But if the 6-foot-6, 300-pounder isn't ready to go, Austin feels good about his room's depth across the board. That includes a local product in his first fall with the program.
"There's Brant Banks and guys like Ezra Miller, and (Nouredin) Nouili, he's doing a good job as well," Austin said. "Teddy Prochazka's another guy we that we can use out there as well. A rising young guy that's done an amazing job here the last couple weeks.
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"So we've got some bodies that we can certainly go to, and there's some guys inside that can certainly shift out as well. … Obviously, we've just got to work on fine-tuning our technique, and our learning and understanding of what we're doing and how we're doing it."
TEs getting healthier: Nebraska offensive coordinator Matt Lubick on Wednesday said that the team’s tight end group continues to get healthier.
Both juniors Austin Allen and Travis Vokolek, the team’s two top options at the position, were not at practice last week when reporters were allowed to watch about 30 minutes. Head coach Scott Frost said Allen was just being given a day off, and that Vokolek’s injury was more substantial but did not jeopardize his season.
Lubick went a step further on Wednesday.
“We’re starting to get healthy at that position, too, and we’ll be healthy for the first game,†Lubick said, adding that the missed time from the veterans has allowed younger players like Chris Hickman to get valuable repetitions in practice.
“And it allows you to build depth when those other guys are out,†he said. “Austin Allen’s played a lot of football, so if he misses a practice, it’s not the end of the world. He knows his assignments.â€
More praise for RB Morrison: Freshman running back Sevion Morrison has clearly impressed his coaches during preseason camp.
Add Lubick to the list.
“When (Morrison) gets the ball in his hands, he’s been doing a lot of good things,†Lubick said. “He has great vision; he’s a guy we can throw the ball to; he’s very assignment sound. So it kind of goes back to that consistency thing. He’s done a lot of things well.â€
Lubick noted that NU is looking not just for a starting running back, but they’re trying to identify who gets the ball when the game is on the line.
“At the end of the day, you want to know who that guy is, when it’s third-and-1 to win the football game, who are you giving the ball?†he said. “And we feel pretty good about it, but we’re not ready to say who that guy is.â€
"Respect" for Betts: Freshman receiver Zavier Betts has had a strong camp. On Wednesday, Lubick said he was impressed that Betts acknowledged that he didn’t have as good a spring as he’d have liked to.
“I got a lot of respect for Zay. Because it shows a lot of maturity to admit that you’ve got room to grow. And that you can get a lot better. And admit your faults,†Lubick said. “And in his defense, any time you go from high school to college, and you get thrown in to play, it’s not easy.â€
Lubick said the 6-2, 200-pounder from Bellevue West has been growing all through preseason camp.
“You can make an argument some of the days that, you look out there and that guy might be our No. 1 receiver,†he said. “Each day they kind of take their turns on who’s the No. 1 guy. But he’s continuing to make plays, he’s playing at a high level, and just his effort and continuing to play fast.â€
Rolling downhill: Austin said he's "really excited" to showcase Nebraska's downhill running back, saying he wants his linemen to be confident, and NU's backs to be confident in the holes he expects those linemen to open.
"I want full speed, and I want us to attack folks," Austin said. "That's the mindset. We've got to attack people downhill. In this conference, the people that win are the people that can run the football consistently."
While he isn't yet in possession of a "Run the Damn Ball" hat like a couple of his players, Austin understands the sentiment.Â
"There's no greater joy than taking a man against his will from Point A to Point B," Austin said. "So that's the mindset. That's the 'run the damn ball' mentality."
Lineman in transfer portal:Â Nebraska redshirt freshman offensive lineman Jimmy Fritzsche has entered the transfer portal.
The native of Greenville, South Carolina, announced his decision on social media Wednesday morning. He was a late addition to the 2019 recruiting class.
The 6-foot-7, 290-pounder didn't appear in a game in his two years in Lincoln. He redshirted in 2019, and didn't play in a game in 2020.
When he signed, Fritzsche was the first player from South Carolina to sign with NU since 1988.
The former three-star prospect chose Nebraska over offers from Clemson, Purdue and Syracuse, among others.