Fall Practice No. 4 – Quick Hits from running backs coach E.J. Barthel

Real football is inching closer.

Nebraska finished its fourth practice of fall camp on Thursday morning, and running backs coach E.J. Barthel took the podium to answer questions from media members.

Below are the quick hits from Barthel:

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From the top down starting with Matt Rhule, the Huskers are "not talking about starters right now," Barthel said.

Right now, it's about finding out the players who are "gonna represent the brand of Nebraska football that we wanna put out there against Minnesota."

“We’re still in the ‘earn it phase’ right now," Barthel said. "No one’s really separated themselves as the clear guy. The reality is we’re gonna have to use multiple guys throughout the season. The biggest thing is getting the bottom half of our room ready to play – and when I talk about bottom half, I’m talking about youth, I’m not talking about talent – so getting Kwinten Ives, Emmett Johnson, Trevin Luben ready to play.”

Figuring out who best showcases the brand of Husker football began right when the staff arrived. First, lay the foundation of how the staff is going to hold players accountable off the field. Then, that bleeds over into mat drills, winter workouts and spring ball.

"Now, we’re really into the detail part," Barthel said. "We’re really trying to make sure not only are we running the ball with physicality – we’re just talking about the running backs right now – but are we also gonna be detailed in ball security? Are we gonna be detailed in pass protection? Making sure that everything we’re doing is applicable to the game and what we’re doing prepares us for the season. The details right now – speaking for my room – are really the biggest thing we’re trying to set in front (of ourselves)."

Rhule and the Husker player representatives at Big Ten Media Days had a clear-cut theme that they were putting out into the national media and conference media in Indianapolis: Gaining back the respect of Nebraska football. Playing a brand of football that everyone would be proud of – from the coaches and players to the families and fans of those guys.

Barthel echoed that "respect" theme on Thursday as well. He did so through explaining what he wants out of his running backs room, and that's when he let us in on one of his position group's biggest mantras.

“When we play Nebraska football, we’re gonna run the ball with a lion mindset," Barthel said. "Everything we do, we’re gonna attack with a lion demeanor. Wake up a lion, you do lion things. If a lion hunts, if he doesn’t kill he doesn’t eat. That’s the reality of how we wanna run the football. Everything we do needs to be with a physical intent. We wanna dominate every rep.

"We’re gonna fight, and it goes back to that theme I’ve been talking about of earning every single yard. That’s really the representation of our brand in this camp – really earning our respect, earning every inch – and I think that starts with running the ball with a level of dominance. ... We really need to mimic what the head coach’s vision is, which is all our vision – we need to learn how to earn it. We gotta earn our way, earn our respect here, and it starts with running the ball, in my opinion.”

Rhule laid out a detailed vision last week for how he wants Nebraska's running game to operate. A noteworthy piece of that plan involves more zone runs, which Barthel made sure to make clear the Huskers are not too caught up with any one type of run. They don't want to be too zone-heavy or too reliant on one particular style in the rushing attack.

"Our focus is to not be limited and to have everything be an NFL style offense, be multiple, be able to adapt and adjust with our personnel. ... Make sure our guys have a great understanding of the whole menu so we can adapt, adjust and get ready for Big Ten play.”

One of Barthel's major teaching philosophies – which was detailed more in depth during spring ball – is his aim to get his backs to "run with their eyes."

He wants them to see the lanes open up before they even get the ball, then trust their vision and attack the opening. That's what Barthel and Co. have been installing in the position room this offseason. An improvement in that area would certainly benefit guys like Anthony Grant, who hit a bunch of home-run plays early in the season but then began relying on those explosives too often. Barthel, though, was not singling out Grant in any way on Thursday. Rather, that approach is group-wide.

"One of key things is training the eyes, making sure that we’re seeing the reads, being patient and understanding," Barthel said. "The zone run is an expensive run. You really have to work at it. (An expensive run) means you have to invest some time in teaching it because you may miss a read here or there. But, eventually, you’ll get the read and gash the defense if the ball is going where it’s supposed to be with the right timing. There's a lot of things that come with that – the mesh, the aiming point, all those things – and it’s a really detailed run. Every style, every run is that way. We need to make sure all of our aiming points, our timing are matched up properly.”

Barthel says that the most important aspects of any given run play are timing, aiming points, patience and understanding where the ball’s supposed to go.

So the Huskers are still focusing on sharpening each of those areas, but another is separate from the run game itself: pass protection.

"We wanna make sure we’re setting the tone for pass protection. We don’t wanna be collecting a defense or collecting a defender upon contact. We wanna have a great base and make sure that we deliver a strike that is setting the tone to who we are as a brand – which is lions.”

Gabe Ervin Jr. is the presumptive starter for most prognosticators. Barthel certainly didn't put Ervin into that territory and did not even hint that Ervin is the No. 1 back right now.

Barthel, though, talked about what has been most notable from Ervin on the field since he took over as position coach: Ervin's growth in being able to rebound from missed reads, respond well, learn in the film room, understand the playbook and getting a firm grasp of where the ball is supposed to be.

>>> MORE ON THE HUSKERS: Fall Camp HQ | Thursday's quick hits from Marcus Satterfield | Sights & Sounds <<<

Off the field has been more noticeable, however, as Ervin has done a great job with his daily approach mentally. In the spring, Barthel and the staff's No. 1 focus was teaching Ervin how to be "A guy."

Barthel brought up two guys he coached on the Carolina Panthers – Mike Davis and Christian McCaffrey (again) – as examples of "guys you got to see how they prepared."

How they prepared for practice, took care of their body and having expectations of coming into a meeting room fully prepped. Ervin accepted that mindset in the spring, "but now he's showing it," Barthel said.

"He’s confident, focused on the daily task at hand and being a really mature player off the field. ... Gabe has taken ownership of being a mature, veteran player which is hard when you haven’t played a lot, so that’s a key point," Barthel said.

Discuss E.J. Barthel's comments from Thursday on the Insider's Board.