10 things we learned from Nebraska's press conference

Nebraska head coach Scott Frost and several players met with reporters on Monday for their weekly press conference inside Memorial Stadium, recapping the win over Northern Illinois and previewing this week's Big Ten opener at Illinois.

Here are 10 of the most interesting things we learned from the day...

As usual, Frost had no intention of giving any updates on the injury statuses of two key Huskers in starting left tackle Brenden Jaimes and starting safety Cam Taylor-Britt.

Taylor-Britt left Saturday’s game vs. Northern Illinois in the second quarter with a shoulder injury and did not return. Jaimes then went down early in the fourth quarter with a leg injury and had to be helped to the locker room by NU trainers.

It remains to be seen whether either player will be available for Illinois, but if either has to miss any time Frost would only say: “We have a depth chart and the next guy up will be the next guy up.”

That would mean sophomore Broc Bando, the No. 2 left tackle behind Jaimes, and No. 2 safety Eric Lee Jr. would get the nod if Jaimes and/or Taylor-Britt is out on Saturday.

Even after already losing Week 1 starting safety Deontai Williams to a shoulder injury, Nebraska still feels good about its depth at the position behind Taylor-Britt.

At left tackle, though, the drop-off in experience from Jaimes to Bando is about as big as it gets.

Jaimes leads all current Huskers with 23 consecutive starts and has played since he was a true freshman. Bando, on the other hand, has played in a total of three games in his young NU career, with his 15 snaps vs. Northern Illinois serving as by far his most extensive game action.

Even so, Bando’s coaches and teammates have faith in the Lincoln, Neb., native being ready to answer the call if Jaimes is unable to play.

“He did a really good job, especially just coming out there,” senior right tackle Matt Farniok said. “He knew what he was doing… He was more than ready and prepared coming out there and he did an excellent job.”

Nebraska’s kicker position has been a bit of a mad scramble all season, as starter Barret Pickering has missed the first three games to injury to leave the Huskers still searching for a viable replacement.

Senior Isaac Armstrong has handled both starting kicker and punter duties the past two games, but he was pulled from the placekicker role on Saturday after having two field goals and an extra point blocked.

Armstrong was replaced by walk-on defensive back Lane McCallum, who was a scholarship kicker at Air Force in 2017. The Norfolk, Neb., native made all three of his extra point tries, and after the game Frost said McCallum would get more opportunities in that role going forward.

Pickering remained off of Nebraska’s Week 4 depth chart for Illinois, but Frost wasn’t ready to announce who the starter would be this week just yet.

“Well its only Monday, so we will figure that out as the week goes along,” Frost said. “Lane came in and did a good job. I saw him kick a week ago for the first time and he did a good job. He got a little sore from kicking for the first time, so we weren’t quite ready to give him a chance out at Colorado, but when he came in Saturday, he did a really good job.”

Nebraska will be looking to do something this week that it’s never done under Frost, and hopefully end an ugly addition to the school record book in the process.

Going back to the 2017 season, the Huskers have lost eight straight road games, the longest road losing streak in program history. Of those eight, the last six have come under Frost.

The last road game NU won came back on Oct. 28, 2017, when Stanley Morgan Jr. caught a touchdown pass in the final seconds to rally past Purdue, 25-24.

Taking it even further, Nebraska has lost 13 of its past 15 games away from Memorial Stadium.

“We just need to do what we do,” Frost said when asked if he needed to do anything differently to get his team to play better on the road. “It’s not about anything we do traveling or at the hotel or any superstition. It’s about practicing really well, being in the right frame of mind and going in and playing the best we can.”

The drastic improvement of Nebraska’s defense has been the story of the season so far. More specifically, the Blackshirts have been downright dominant against the run.

A defense that allowed over 5.0 yards per carry last season is now holding opponents to just 2.18 ypc and has yet to allow 100 rushing yards in a game.

There are a lot of reasons for that progress, but most of the credit from the Huskers on Monday went to the defensive line and new d-line coach Tony Tuioti.

The lone new addition to the staff following the departure of Mike Dawson this offseason, Tuioti has been a perfect match with his fellow coaches and his players. A stickler for details and perfect technique, his players all agree that Tuioti’s influence has made a major difference.

"Coach T has been on our butts about little things,” senior nose guard Darrion Daniels said. “My hand placement isn't where he wants it to be at, getting our blocks, our feet in, keeping a good base, not getting knocked back, the little things… Coach T really focuses on our technicals and makes sure everything is fundamentally sound, and that plays a huge role in why we're able to do what we do now."

One of the remaining two available scholarships was finally filled on Monday, as Frost announced that senior cornerback Jeremiah Stovall shed his walk-on label.

While he hasn’t seen the field on defense yet this season, Stovall has made a big impact on special teams.

The former Omaha (Neb.) Creighton prep standout has averaged over 20 special teams snaps per game on all four kick and punt teams and stands as one of NU’s highest graded special teams player per Pro Football Focus.

Nebraska now has only one open scholarship remaining for this season, and Frost said a decision on which walk-on would receive it should be coming soon.

“Jeramiah Stovall is going to go on (scholarship),” Frost said. “He’s been a core special teams player for us for a long time. This is his last season. He’s a starter on all four (special teams). There are several guys who deserve it, but we rewarded him with one and are closing in on adding another.”

Wan’Dale Robinson came to Lincoln as arguably the highest-profile recruit in Nebraska's 2019 class, and through the first three games of his college career things have gone just as he’d expected.

The Huskers have made it a point to get the former four-star prospect involved in as many ways as possible, lining him up at receiver, running back, and the No. 1 kickoff returner.

Robinson has played 106 total snaps so far this season, ranking second on the team with nine catches and 116 yards; eight rushes for 30 yards; and three kickoff returns for an average of 25.7 yards.

Robinson said he was still adjusting to the speed of the college game and the level of mental preparation needed to succeed at this level, but he feels like he’s right on track.

“It’s probably gone about the way that I expected,” Robinson said. “I expected to be used the way that I am now. I expected the games to go that way. Guys have already told me the way games were going to go, and I’ve been here through spring ball too, so I got acclimated to the college game a little early.”

Illinois’ identity on both sides of the ball has been constantly evolving under head coach Lovie Smith, and that’s not a good thing.

Whether it’s firing coordinators, changing schemes, or adjusting around player personnel, the Fighting Illini have been a totally different team in their last three meetings with Nebraska under Smith.

That will be the case once again on Saturday, as Frost said Illinois had made some dramatic changes on both sides of the ball since the Huskers’ 54-35 win in Lincoln last November.

"I think they've changed quite a bit,” Frost said. “Last year we saw Cover 2 and man coverage. They're playing a little more quarters and versions of quarters and mixing in (Cover) 3 and man and still playing a bit of 2. They're doing a good job of disrupting and re-routing receivers to keep guys from getting down the middle of the field…

“Offensively, they've put up quite a few points. The running back (Reggie Corbin) is a really good player, I'm impressed with him. They have some really good people around him. We have to be ready to go on the road and have a big test."

Nebraska’s uniforms had a small but noticeable change against Northern Illinois.

Last season the Huskers added each player’s hometown area code to the front tag of their helmets above the facemask, something Frost’s staff did at Central Florida as a way for players to represent where they came from.

The area codes were on the helmets for the first two games this season, but they were removed on Saturday night.

“I took the area codes off for that game,” Frost said. “I just kind of made the decision to take them off.”

Frost was asked if the area codes would be back on the helmets this week at Illinois.

“Probably not this week.”

There are still some decisions to make as far as potential redshirt candidates among Nebraska’s freshman class, and now entering Week 4, those will eventually have to come sooner than later.

So far there are three scholarship true freshmen who have played in all three games – Robinson, cornerback Quinton Newsome, and linebacker Garrett Nelson.

Safety Noa Pola-Gates is the only freshman to play in two games, while receiver Darien Chase, running back Rahmir Johnson, offensive tackle Bryce Benhart, and defensive back Myles Farmer have all played in one.

“I think some of them are wait and see,” Frost said. “Several of the guys are ready to help us on special teams and we're going to use them when we can on special teams when we need them. Right now, especially, with what's happening to our secondary, we're having to play a lot of those guys on special teams and defense and they're getting a lot of plays on defense…

“If a guy is going to be playing a lot, all four special teams and on defense or three special teams and on offense and defense, we're going to have to play them. There's a few guys who fall into that category and we'll kind of make those decisions as we go along and use the guys that we need. We'll include them in those conversations too and make sure they're good, but almost every one of them would say that they want to play."