Jurgens named No. 1 center for season opener

It was never much of a secret that Cam Jurgens was Nebraska’s top option at center going into the start of fall camp. The question was would he be healthy enough to play by the time the season began?

With the help of a cautious offseason workload and some hard work in his rehab process, Jurgens looks to have put those concerns to rest as the Huskers put a bow on fall camp.

Head coach Scott Frost announced on Friday that, even though NU hadn’t finalized its official Week 1 depth chart yet, Jurgens would be the No. 1 center for the opener vs. South Alabama.

“The initial depth chart will come out soon, and I expect Cam to be No. 1 on that chart,” Frost said.

Jurgens suffered a broken leg and a foot injury since his senior year at Beatrice (Neb.) High School two years ago. On top of his recovery process, the former tight end added nearly 50 pounds to his frame since switching to offensive line this offseason, bulking up to 6-3, 285.

Knowing they had to ease him back into the mix this fall, the coaching staff limited Jurgens’ reps in camp and allowed guys like redshirt freshman Will Farniok, redshirt freshman AJ Forbes, true freshman Ethan Piper, and junior walk-on Josh Wegener to see increased opportunities.

But while the rest of the center depth showed plenty of flashes over the fall, Frost was reminded just how special Jurgens could be at the position once he started increasing his workload towards the end of camp.

“I thought the guys that were in did a really good job,” Frost said. “I think Will Farniok’s got a bright future here. He’s still young but he did some really good things. Piper did some really good things being new to our program. AJ Forbes did well, Wegener did well.

“That being said, we look a little bit different with Cam Jurgens back in full speed now. We’ve got to keep him healthy, but I think he’s going to be a game-changer for us on the inside of the line.”