Press conference notes: Improving run game imperative for NU

As good as Tanner Lee was in leading Nebraska to a 25-24 comeback win over Purdue on Saturday night, the unavoidable blemish on the Huskers’ final stat sheet was the complete lack of productivity from the running game.

The Huskers managed just 40 yards on 27 carries against the Boilermakers, with true freshman Jaylin Bradley registering a team-high 42 yards and 20 of those coming on one attempt.

That performance dropped NU to 106th nationally in rushing offense at 121.9 yards per game on the season, including an average of just 3.79 yards per carry and eight rushing touchdowns in eight games.

Injuries have definitely played a factor in Nebraska’s run game regression, as starting tailback Tre Bryant was lost for the year and the starting offensive line has fluctuated several times with players forced to miss time.

As far as head coach Mike Riley is concerned, though, the real issue has been the Huskers just not getting the job done in the trenches.

“It’s probably pretty simply the whole idea of winning the one-on-one match-ups up front, and then from there being able to do that kind of repeatedly so you have good running stats,” Riley said. "I don’t have any other magic formula to it. You’ve got to block them.”

Things will be a little more difficult in that regard this week and the for the rest of the season, as Riley announced that starting center Michael Decker could be out for the year with a lower leg injury and right guard Tanner Farmer would miss “extensive time” with a sprained ankle.

Junior Cole Conrad, who started the first three games this season before Decker took over, will resume the starting center duties with Decker out. Redshirt freshman Matt Farniok, who started two games at right tackle, will replace Farmer at right guard.

Farniok replaced Farmer against Purdue after his injury, and Riley said the Sioux Falls, S.D., native would likely stay at guard going forward.

Regardless of who takes the field, junior left guard Jerald Foster said the offensive line had to be much better than what it was against the Boilermakers, even if the game ended in a victory.

“We still need to go back and figure out our problems in the run game,” Foster said. “That was a big part of why we couldn’t get into the end zone… So we really do need to take this game with a grain of salt and just remember that if we want to be able to beat Northwestern, we really need to improve all the way around.”

Riley said he and offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf had long discussions on Sunday night and Monday morning about how they could solve their run game problems.

One solution could be continuing to narrow down a concise number of go-to run plays that work consistently and then drawing up some variations off of those.

Especially against a Northwestern defense that ranks 17th nationally against the run at just 118.0 ypg, Riley said having a select group of “repeatable” runs for the offense to lean on would be far more valuable than adding more to the playbook.

“We certainly never intended for it to be like this with the running stats,” Riley said. “We are going to continue to try to strive to be that team, and then do what we need to do to win the game.”

- Robin Washut

As he normally does each week, Riley began his Monday press conference at Memorial Stadium by reading off Nebraska’s injury list.

A minute and 10 seconds later, Riley could finally move on to breaking down the win over Purdue.

Along with Decker and Farmer, the lengthy injury report included seven other Huskers who entered this week listed as out or questionable with a variety of ailments.

Linebacker Luke Gifford did not play vs. Purdue due to a hip injury, and Riley said they would know more about his availability for Northwestern as the week went on.

Nebraska was able to get safeties Antonio Reed and Aaron Williams back in the mix over the bye week after both missed the Ohio State game, but Reed re-injured his knee and Wiliams re-aggravated a soft-tissue injury in his neck on Saturday night.

Cornerback Eric Lee left the Purdue game after a hard hit in the second half and is now going through concussion protocol.

A sprained ankle put a damper on Bradley’s breakout night, and while NU is hopeful he’ll be ready to go vs. the Wildcats he will enter the week listed as questionable.

Riley also revealed that linebacker Tyrin Ferguson was now expected to be out “for an extended period of time” with a foot injury he suffered against OSU and forced him to miss the Purdue game.

As if all of that weren’t enough, the Huskers were without their starting holder on Saturday night, as Zack Darlington had to miss the game while dealing with the flu. He’s expected to be ready to return this week, but still remains questionable.

- Robin Washut

After waiting the past seven games for Tyler Hoppes to live up to all of the preseason praise he’d received, fans finally got to see how valuable the senior tight end could be in Nebraska’s offense on Saturday night.

Having recorded just 14 receptions for 151 yards and a touchdown on the season coming in, Hoppes set career highs with five catches for 105 yards against Purdue, including a 27-yard touchdown that brought the Huskers to within 24-19 early in the fourth quarter.

The former Wayne (Neb.) State transfer and Lincoln native became the first NU tight end to register a 100-yard receiving game since 2007, when Sean Hill had three catches for 129 yards in a win over Ball State.

“That’s what I’ve been waiting to see there at that position,” Riley said.

What made Hoppes’ night even more impressive was how the bulk of his production came when the Huskers absolutely needed it the most.

His fourth-quarter touchdown catch was obviously the biggest of them all, as it brought Nebraska back to within 24-19 with 11:03 left to play and gave a huge boost of confidence to a sputtering offense.

On NU’s eventual game-winning drive in the final minutes, Hoppes hauled in a 17-yard grab for a first down at the Boilermaker 46-yard line, and he was able to get out of bounds on the play to preserve precious seconds on the game clock.

“We’ve all been saying how athletic Hoppes is, and I have a lot of faith in his ability,” Lee said. “Especially when it came down to crunch time, he made a huge play on that corner route and got out of bounds, and he caught a touchdown earlier in the fourth quarter that was a really big play.

"I love having him out there, because really he saves me a lot with a lot of great catches.”

Lee said Hoppes’ breakout game at Purdue was by no means a coincidence, either.

“I think that’s something we definitely focused on during that bye week, was little route deals that we were able to execute during the game,” Lee said. “ A lot of those things we worked on were tight end routes to Hoppes, and I think that showed up.”

- Robin Washut

As Nebraska has renewed its focus and organization in recruiting in the Riley era, a notable omission from the past three classes has been the presence of junior college players.

Nebraska has historically had success with JUCO transfers that come to Lincoln in the middle of their college careers. In the past 10 years, linebacker Lavonte David and defensive end Randy Gregory have been two examples of high NFL draft picks that started JUCO and ended their careers at NU.

The Huskers averaged 2.2 junior college commits per class from 2006-14 but haven’t had one since.

“When you recruit a junior college player, you need to be right about their ability and their character,” Riley said. “You’ve got to have a real plan for them because if it doesn’t work, he knows his clock is short so he’s unhappy, nobody’s happy.

“I think that in an ideal world if you can sign a freshman and develop them through a period of time that that helps your team most in the long run. Frankly, if you get a freshman and he’s the right guy and you redshirt him, then by the time he’s playing he’s had well over a year of practicing and developing physically with you and is more prepared to play with you for a longer period of time.”

Riley alluded to possible pushback from Nebraska’s admissions department and the Big Ten Conference overall as a reason for his hesitancy in JUCO recruiting.

One of UNL’s current initiatives, catalyzed by former chancellor Harvey Perlman, is to grow undergraduate enrollment while maintaining the high academic standards of the Big Ten.

“I’ve never felt anybody say 'no' or a real pull-back, but I think that there is an awareness of that,” Riley said. “I think that everybody who talks about admissions and graduation are, I would say - I would use the word ‘aware' of the issues that might be involved there of graduating this person, of them being able to fit in academically.”

With the 60 credit hours needed for a junior college player to get an associate degree, eligibility and admissions questions can sometimes linger until August, more than five months after National Signing Day. In junior college recruiting, only the most sought-after players typically graduate in December and enroll in January.

Even with the Huskers taking a second look at JUCO recruiting in 2018, specifically at NJCAA powerhouse Iowa Western, Riley maintains that fit is the most important quality when evaluating a recruit.

“If you’re going to join a guy like that on your team, you want the right ability, the right fit,” Riley said. “This is our plan for you, this has got to work, and then they’ve got to be the right person, too.”

- Matt Reynoldson

***Redshirt freshman Boe Wilson will be the No. 2 right guard behind Farniok and redshirt freshman John Raridon would be the No. 2 center behind Conrad.

***Riley said despite the success Nebraska had late against Purdue with an up-tempo pass-heavy offense, they will always strive for balance with the run and the pass. Riley said they have thought about mixing in more tempo offense, but not really anything in depth.

***Riley mentioned a couple times he was not pleased with Nebraska’s tackling vs. Purdue. He said missed tackles led to nearly all of Purdue’s explosive plays in the game. Riley said the tackling has been "better" for the most part this season.

***Riley said they got no response from the Big Ten after submitting a request for further explanation on the pass interference call on Purdue’s fake punt. He declined to give much detail on his thoughts but essentially made it clear that it was the wrong call.

***Riley said they got no response from the Big Ten after submitting a request for further explanation on the pass interference call on Purdue’s fake punt. He declined to give much detail on his thoughts but essentially made it clear that it was the wrong call.

***Riley said with a guy like cornerback Chris Jones, it’s important to know that it’s not “like just getting back on a bike” when it comes to guys coming back from major injuries. He said Jones has done a great job with his recovery, but still had work to do to get back to his old self.

***Asked to evaluate his game vs. Purdue, linebacker Mohamed Barry said his performance was “piss poor” and not close to his own expectations.

***On the final drive by Lee to beat Purdue, Barry said: “It was magical.” He said everyone on offense clicked and knew exactly what to do. Barry said that was the Lee he’d seen all offseason, and told fans and media they just needed to give Lee a chance to come into his own in this offense.