Prior to his undefeated season at Central Florida in 2017, Scott Frost still had the mindset of how practices operated back at Oregon when he finally became a head coach.

But when the legendary Tom Osborne made his way to Orlando to speak to the Knights before that season, Frost knew he needed to get back to his old Husker roots when it came it instilling an attitude of physicality.

Now in his first spring running the show at NU, Frost is already bringing the philosophies regarding tackling and live contact during practices that he learned as a player under Osborne.

“Back in the 90s, during the season we’d do some live reps on Tuesday and some live reps on Wednesday, and I remember as a player thinking how that kept us so much sharper,” Frost said. “By the time we hit the field on game day, that wasn’t as hard as Tuesday and Wednesday.

“We adopted that (at UCF) last year and we actually went live to the ground, even during the season, and I think it made a difference for us. We need to be able to run and hit and we need reps at it, so we’re going to take some live reps this spring. We’re going to try to keep the guys healthy, but we need to learn how to be physical.”

Tuesday’s full-pads session featured some live tackling to the ground when the offense took on the defense in a charted practice competition. On Monday, Frost gave a presentation to the defense about proper tackling to further set the tone.

“I’m passionate about that,” Frost said. “I was a bad NFL tackler for five years of my NFL career before I got to (the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and they taught us the right way. That’s how we teach our guys to tackle: on the move, to and through the ball carrier all the time with the right technique.

“We’re going to work on it every single day until these guys master it. One of the keys is - we talk about playing with the desire to succeed and no fear of failure - if you’re going to run through a tackle and be aggressive, you’re going to miss some until you get good at it.

“I want guys to continue to try to make the big hit, the splash play, the impact play, instead of being afraid to go make that play and coming to a stop and giving up yards. So we’re going to run through tackles, and the technique is going to come along as we keep working.”

Frost was asked - somewhat jokingly - if he planned on utilizing any outside consultants to help teach tackling to his players, something NU’s previous staff did last season. His answer said it all.

“Tackling consultants?” Frost said. “Hey, they pay us good money to coach. If we don’t know what we’re doing, then they probably need a different coach.”

- Robin Washut

Frost and his staff were somewhat critical of Nebraska’s first full week of spring practices last week, saying the execution wasn't where it needed to be despite the massive scheme changes on both sides of the ball.

Tuesday was a much different story.

“Today was far and away our best day as a team,” Frost said. “I saw great enthusiasm… I’m seeing guys start to get it. Guys are starting to understand our schemes on both sides of the ball and what we’re looking for from a pace standpoint and an effort standpoint.

“We talk all the time about setting a new standard daily and trying to beat that standard, and we definitely had our best practice today. So it’s going to be a challenge on (Thursday) to come back and do better than that.”

Frost said some of the biggest reasons for the Huskers’ noticeable improvement was the players starting to physically and mentally adjust to the staff’s high-tempo practices.

He added that there looks to be a growing comfort and understanding of the systems, and as a result, there's better comminution on the field between the players.

Those gains were as apparent at quarterback as any other position.

“I thought we had our best practice as a quarterback group today,” Frost said. “Every one of those guys is making plays when they get their turns, and we’re trying split up the reps evenly right now.”

Frost said while the quarterback group as a whole has taken big strides over the first five spring practices, no player has emerged from the pack as the frontrunner for the starting job just yet.

“All of them need to learn to operate our offense a little better at a better pace and with a quicker understanding of what’s going on,” Frost said. “I saw big improvement today.”

- Robin Washut

Junior college prospects aren’t typically recruited just to add depth.

They are brought in to play immediately, and that’s exactly what former NJCAA All-American running back Greg Bell’s mindset is this spring.

The former Arizona Western C.C. star signed with Nebraska in December and was one of four JUCO prospects who joined the Huskers as early enrollees in January. Bell said he’s quickly bonded with the other JUCO transfers and they are all fighting for starting roles this spring.

“All of those dudes are my roommates right now, so we all talk about (starting),” Bell said. “We’re all trying to get a starting spot. I want to get the starting spot. I’m trying to start and help this team win games.”

With only two years of eligibility remaining, Bell said he’s attacking this spring with a sense of urgency. He has become friends with his fellow running backs, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t all competing for the same spot.

“You’ve got to come in and do your job right now because you only have two years to play,” Bell said. “Everybody knows that everybody is trying to get a (starting) job. Off the field 9the running backs) are all cool and stuff like that, on the field we are cool as well but we are all trying to get the starting job.”

Bell was sidelined with backs spasms on Tuesday, but said it was an injury he’d never suffered before and didn't think would be a long-term issue.

- Nate Clouse

Coming in from first Georgia Southern and then East Mississippi Community College, wide receiver Mike Williams has been around the block.

Williams finds himself in a wide receivers room now that returns two of the top five players at the position in the Big Ten, along with several others vying for playing time in Frost’s new offense. Thus far, Williams said he’s been able to fit right in.

“It’s funny. It’s one of a kind and real unique,” Williams said of the receivers room.

It’s no surprise that room will be led in 2018 by senior Stanley Morgan Jr., who topped the Big Ten in receiving yards in 2017.

Williams said Morgan has been great to work with so far.

“He’s real humble, believe it or not,” Williams said. “I know he led the Big Ten and he was All-Big Ten. He’s a real humble guy, and if you didn’t even know him, you wouldn’t even know he led the Big Ten and all that.”

- Sean Callahan

Deontai Williams is not your typical junior college transfer. Because Williams got hurt before his first season at Jones County (Miss.) Community College, he had to take a redshirt in 2016.

Most top junior college players like Williams wouldn’t normally redshirt, but because he did he now has three years of eligibility to play three seasons at Nebraska, on top of being an early enrollee this spring.

He’s just the fourth three-for-three junior college prospect at NU in recent history, joining names like defensive end Randy Gregory, defensive back Larry Asante, and wide receiver Frantz Hardy. Both Asante and Hardy played three seasons at NU, while Gregory went pro after two.

“At first when (the injury) happened, I had to look and sit down at what God had planned for me,” Williams said. “At first I was so stubborn and so big-headed, now look at me.”

Williams said getting to Nebraska couldn’t have worked out better for him. Originally he had verbally committed to both Florida and Georgia and even signed a letter of intent to Ohio before not academically qualifying out of high school.

In the end, he said it’s all worked out getting to Nebraska.

“The road, it’s a blessing, to be honest with you,” Williams said. “I’m glad Coach Frost gave me the opportunity to get a shot to play here. I don’t really want to talk about the other teams because I’m a Cornhusker now. That’s all that matters.

“JUCO helped me. It helped me grow as a person. It’s a small city, and there’s nothing really there, so I had to be by myself. When people go home and stuff, I was on the football field working every day to better my craft, so that’s what helped me.”

- Sean Callahan

***Frost said Nebraska was “lucky to have” JUCO linebacker Will Honas on the team and that he loved Honas as a player and a kid. The biggest thing they want Honas to improve on right now is being a more vocal leader in practice, something that will probably only come with time.

***Nebraska got senior offensive lineman Cole Conrad back at practice this week. Conrad has missed the first week of spring ball while recovering from a shoulder injury.

***Frost said he’s really seen progress with the overall strength of the offensive line. He said they’re actually starting to get some movement up front and moving the line of scrimmage.

***Frost said they have some defensive backs who really like to hit, especially Deontai Williams and Marquel Dismuke. In fact, Frost said the coaches have had to tell those guys to back off a bit in order to reduce risking injuries.

***Honas said he quickly developed great respect for inside linebackers coach Barrett Ruud, saying Ruud’s experience as a player really helps him teach things in a way that the players can understand and process.

***Bell said he speaks with Husker signee and former Arizona Western C.C. wide receiver Jaron Woodyard often and the speedy wideout can’t wait to get to Lincoln after the spring semester.