Nearly all of the talk regarding Nebraska’s tight end position going into the year revolved around senior Tyler Hoppes.

Seeing how he’s just two catches away from tying the school’s tight end season reception record, that talk was justified.

But another player at the position has steadily emerged as the Huskers’ potential tight end of the future in redshirt freshman Jack Stoll.

After hauling in his first collegiate reception in NU’s loss to Ohio State, the Lone Tree, Colo., native has now caught six passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns over the past three games alone.

Stoll’s late surge has head coach Mike Riley seeing big things for the former three-star recruit.

“Jack Stoll is going to be a player,” Riley said. “Physically, he’s a great fit. As he develops in knowing what he’s doing, he’s going to be good.”

Offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf said one of the biggest reasons for Stoll’s jump this year has been due to his development as a receiver.

At 6-4, 245, Stoll was initially expected to serve mostly as an edge blocker, but as he's continued to impress with his hands and route running in practice, his role in the passing game has directly increased.

“I think he’s been even more surprising as a receiver,” Langsdorf said. “He didn’t catch many balls in high school, but he’s got really good hands. I think he’s faster than you think.

“Recruiting him, he was kind of a bruiser, blocking, in-line tight end. He had that as his strength, and I think he’s really improved his route running and he’s made some nice catches.”

- Robin Washut

Moments after stepping off the natural grass field where his team put up 34 points in the second half, Riley stepped into a small classroom underneath the Beaver Stadium bleachers to talk with reporters.

Not ignoring the questions swirling about outside noise, Riley talked about being more appreciative of what he does now than ever before, then went off on a tangent to say he wanted to be “more engaged, with something offensively in particular.”

He clarified those comments Monday.

“That was kind of reflective over a long period of time,” Riley said. “I don’t want to get too much into what I might do, could have done, or anything like that at this time. Those were decisions that were made a while back.”

Riley confirmed that although his reflection concerned play calling, he never took on those duties this season – but joked that he “only threw in the plays that scored touchdowns.”

Even so, he mentioned after Saturday’s game that the coaches had come together at halftime to address the running game issues, signifying the type of involvement Riley had thought about with the offense.

The unit had single-digit rushing yards at the break, and Langsdorf said the staff collaborated to create a plan that worked.

“I thought we regrouped a little bit, kind of got back to the plan that we started with,” Langsdorf said. “Right from the second half, that drive wasn’t perfect, but I thought we got on a roll after that a little bit and started making some plays.”

- Matt Reynoldson

When the list of finalists for the 2017 Butkus Award came out on Monday, there was one surprising and confusing omission.

Iowa senior linebacker Josey Jewell leads the Big Ten Conference and ranks fourth nationally with 115 total tackles and is third in the country with 11.7 tackles per game. He’s also racked up 12.5 tackles for loss (fifth in the Big Ten) and 4.5 sacks.

Yet even with all of those gaudy numbers, Jewell didn’t make the final cut for the Butkus Award, given to the best linebacker in college football.

While he may have been spurned by the award’s committee, Jewell has the full respect and attention of Nebraska’s offense.

“He has got great instincts,” Langsdorf said. “He’s always around the ball all the time. Even on a pressure, he’s got a responsibility where you think he’s going to be in like the B gap, and then all of a sudden he’s flying over the top.

“He avoids blocks very well, and he just seems to be around the ball all the time. So he’ll be a guy that we’ll have to cover up and not let him get too involved. He’s a guy that we’ve really got our eyes on. He’s a great player, and probably one of the best on their defense.”

- Robin Washut

Senior offensive lineman David Knevel spent his whole career at tackle. His 6-foot-9, 315-pound frame seemed like a perfect fit for the outside.

But needing an experienced player on the inside, coaches turned to Knevel at right guard as the Huskers faced off against a defense with eight senior starters.

“He did some good things,” offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh said of Knevel’s first start at guard. “We’ve got to be moe physical, but first time up, I thought it was a C-plus, probably.”

There was little rust for Knevel to shake off in his first action since the season-opener. In the third quarter, right tackle Brenden Jaimes went down with a minor injury, forcing Knevel to slide back outside and redshirt freshman Matt Farniok to come in at guard.

In limited time on the outside, Knevel didn’t miss a beat, but coaches showed no hesitation in putting Jaimes back in at tackle.

Nevertheless, Cavanaugh is encouraged by the experience Knevel brings to the inside position.

“He’s played tackle, obviously,” Cavanaugh said. “There wasn’t a huge, huge adjustment. A couple things will get corrected, obviously, but overall I thought he jumped in there and did alright.”

Now up against another physical defense in Iowa, the Huskers will need a strong performance from the offensive line, and Knevel’s ability to move around get out in space may catalyze a more successful unit on Black Friday.

“He’s got some athleticism in there at guard and I think that’s helped us,” Langsdorf said. “I think he moves well. I thought he did a nice job of passing some of the stunts off.”

- Matt Reynoldson

***Receiver J.D. Spielman watched Tuesday’s practice in street clothes as he continues to deal with a shoulder injury he re-aggravated last time out at Penn State. The redshirt freshman has not practiced the past two days.

***The good news was that running back Devine Ozigbo (sprained ankle) and safety Aaron Williams (neck) both fully practiced on Tuesday and look on track to play vs. Iowa.

***Defensive coordinator Bob Diaco said he has never coached against his alma mater Iowa in his career, and hasn’t even been back to Iowa City since 1998.

***Diaco said he doesn’t expect there to be any added emotions about taking on his former school for the first time, as he'll only be focused on winning the game and sending NU’s seniors out right.

***Diaco reiterated that there was a very fine line between looking like a bad defense and a great defense. He said even the slightest drop in focus or effort can lead to huge breakdowns, and as this unit continues to develop and gain more experience, he still has no doubt it will become a great defense.

***Diaco said Iowa’s offense will look the same as it has since he played there, as the Hawkeyes don’t run a lot of plays or do anything fancy, but the plays they do run they run really well.

***Diaco said he couldn't say enough about senior linebacker Chris Weber and what he’s meant to the defense this season. Diaco said Weber was going to be a great leader in whatever he does in life, and he had “top-chart tangibles and top-chart intangibles” that made him a joy to coach.

“I’m going to miss being around him for sure,” Diaco said.

***While Iowa’s offense has been up and down all season, linebackers coach Trent Bray said they’re preparing as if they’re going to face the Hawkeye team that dominated Ohio State 55-24 a few weeks ago.

***Knevel said it felt great to get back on the field with his teammates again after another extended period of time off due to injury.

***Knevel also said he’s embraced the late move to right guard because it will only make him a more versatile commodity at the next level, and he’d rather get thrown into the fire at guard now than in a pro training camp.