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Wednesday notebook: Martinez inching closer to return

Now with three full days of practice under his belt, the odds of freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez returning to action this week at Michigan seem to increase by the day.

However, Nebraska offensive coordinator Troy Walters said Martinez would still be a game-time decision on Saturday, and the staff would continue to evaluate the long-term and short-term benefits of him playing equally.

“He’s making progress,” Walters said. “He looks better and better every day, so we’ll see come Saturday what his status is, how he’s feeling. We’re going to make the best decision with the team in mind and our future in mind, so we’ll see where that goes. But he’s making progress each day…

“We want to make sure he’s healthy. We want to make sure he’s close to 100 percent. We’re going up against a good defense. They fly around and they’re physical, so we’re not going to put him in any harm or any danger. He’s got be able to make all the throws and make all the runs and things of that nature, so we’ll take our time and make sure that he’s healthy and he gives us the best chance to win.”

Quarterbacks coach Mario Verduzco said he hadn’t seen much rust from Martinez through the first three days of practice this week.

“He was good to go just in terms of his tempo,” Verduzco said. “That was fine.”

Should Martinez not be ready to return by Saturday, Walters said the coaches were still confident in sophomore walk-on Andrew Bunch to run the offense.

Bunch earned his first career start vs. Troy in Martinez’s absence, completing 19-of-27 passing for 177 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw two costly interceptions, including one on the potential game-winning drive in the final minutes, and was sacked three times and had three fumbles, all of which were recovered by the offense.

“He did a good job,” Walters said of Bunch’s debut. “We’ve got to help him. We’ve got have receivers making plays; we’ve got to have the offensive line protecting him better, opening up holes; we’ve got to have running backs hitting the holes.

“I mean, he played a good game. He played well enough for us to win. We’re proud of Andrew. He’s only going to get better, and if he plays this game, he’s going to get better in Game 2. We feel good about if it’s Adrian, it’s Adrian; if it’s Andrew, it’s Andrew. We feel like we can go up to Michigan and win with either of those two guys.”

- Robin Washut

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Washington good to go after minor injury

Fans watching Nebraska's game vs. Troy on television got a bit of a scare when cameras showed freshman running back Maurice Washington appearing to be in a lot of pain on the sideline with an unknown injury.

While there was some worry about whether Washington, who led NU with 92 rushing yards in the loss, had suffered any sort of setback, those concerns can be put to rest.

Running backs coach Ryan Held said all was well with Washington and he fully expected the Stockton, Calif., native to be a key part in the backfield rotation at Michigan on Saturday.

"Oh yeah, he's ready to go," Held said. "Absolutely."

- Robin Washut

Offensive line rotation questions remain up in the air

Will Nebraska rotate more on the offensive line this week at Michigan? Through two games, the starting five has taken nearly every rep, other than right guard Boe Wilson, who’s logged around 30 snaps through two games.

Walters said on Wednesday he’d like to see more guys play this week if possible.

“I think we’ve got some depth there, so we can rotate guys in,” Walters said. “When guys get tired, we’ve got to bring fresh legs in. A fresh body is better than a tired body, so you’ll see some more guys play up front.”

However offensive line coach Greg Austin was not ready to commit to any rotation plans for Saturday.

“Yes and no,” Austin said when asked about playing more guys. “It depends on how the game is going and what we are doing and what they are doing. Certainly, there’s a confidence in Boe that we have unlike some of the other guys that are not starting. So, we’ll see. Some of those other guys have not a bad week of practice. So, we’ll see about getting those other guys in there.”

As for other names after Wilson, that also remains up in the air, but head coach Scott Frost mentioned players like walk-ons Trent Hixson and Hunter Miller on Monday.

“I don’t know. We’ll see,” Austin said when asked if there were any other linemen besides Wilson who may play this week. “Right now, we have confidence in the guys that we played, and we’ll see about getting other guys in.”

- Sean Callahan

Walters issues challenges to wide receivers

Looking back on last week’s loss to Troy, standout wide receivers Stanley Morgan Jr. and J.D. Spielman did their part, combining for 11 catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns.

The problem was that no other wideout did much of anything behind them. Sophomore Tyjon Lindsey was the only other receiver to catch a pass in the game with one reception for six yards.

That lack of production beyond the top-two targets certainly hasn’t been lost on Walters this week, and he issued a couple of direct challenges to his receiving corps this week.

The first was for more wideouts to step up and take hold of the rotation spots behind Morgan and Spielman. At this point, Walters said the receiver pecking order from the No. 3 on down was completely up for grabs.

“We need some other guys to step up their game and contribute,” Walters said. “We didn’t play a whole lot of guys the last two games, but that’s got to change. We’re wearing J.D. and Stan out, so we’ve got to make sure we play other guys.

“They’ve practiced well this week. (Jaron) Woodyard has practiced well, Andre Hunt, and even (Jaevon) McQuitty. We’ve got to make sure that we’ve got a good rotation where we don’t wear guys out.”

The second challenge was for Nebraska’s receivers to take on a much more physical mentality going up against some of the most talented and aggressive cornerbacks they will see all season in Michigan’s Lavert Hill and David Long.

“I told the receivers this week that if anybody puts their hands on you – girlfriend, family member – knock (their hands) off. I was serious. It’s that type of game. It’s a mentality where they’re going to be physical, and they’re going to try and disrupt the timing of the quarterback, they’re going to try to get their hands on us.

“We’ve got to be physical; we’ve got to have a physical mindset of nothing’s going to be easy. You’re not going to get five, six, seven yards of separation against these guys. Everything is going to be contested, and you have to have that mentality going in…

“So tell your girlfriend don’t take it personal, that’s just the mindset we’re in this week.”

- Robin Washut

Nebraska's staff is focused on keeping the Huskers from digging into big early holes with costly turnovers.
Nebraska's staff is focused on keeping the Huskers from digging into big early holes with costly turnovers. (USA Today)

Offense focused on protecting the football

Turnovers have helped put the Nebraska offense in an early hole the first two games of the season. The Huskers spotted Colorado 14 points and then let Troy go up by 17 before the offense was able to put points on the board.

Tight ends coach Sean Beckton said starting off in deficits like those not only throws a wrench into the game plan, but it's forced the coaches to become "cheerleaders."

“It makes it tough on us as a coaching staff,” Beckton said. “We’re over there cheerleading, ‘Hey, let’s stay in this!’ Instead of really focusing on continuing to drive and make things happen on offense. So we were doing a lot of cheerleading the first two games.”

Protecting the football is obviously a priority, but Beckton said this week it has been more emphasized than ever and to each position group.

“Turnovers have basically harmed us the first two weeks and us as a coaching staff, we’re going to continue to work on that,” Beckton said. “These guys have to start understanding if you have that football in your hand you have to protect it like gold. That’s been our motto this week, ‘protect the football.’ Quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends, we are protecting the football. That’s basically what has killed us the first two weeks.”

Beckton said if they protect the football they should be able to put drives together and ultimately put points on the board which is what they plan to do at Michigan this weekend.

“This week, our emphasis is we’re going to start out and we’re going to protect the football,” Beckton said. “We’re going to start out, sustain drives and score points. Those guys have that mindset this week. Our job this week going up to Michigan is to get that done.”

- Nate Clouse

O-line will face its toughest test yet at Michigan

Anchored by two future potential NFL first-round draft picks, Nebraska’s offensive line more than has their work cut out this week.

The Wolverines will attack the Huskers with defensive ends Rashan Gary and Chase Winovich. The duo has combined for 19 hurries, seven hits on the quarterback and two sacks.

According to Pro Football Focus, the pair also has been credited with 19 “defensive stops,” which are tackles that constitute a loss for the offense.

“Yeah the tackles have a challenge, but the guards and centers have a challenge as well,” Austin said. “Everybody has a challenge. Certainly, those guys are good players and they stick out on film. Our tackles have been working on those guys and their set lines, their eyes, their hands, etc.

“More so it’s a battle of will and a battle of fighting, and what sticks out to me on film is those guys aren’t going to quit. They aren’t going to quit on a play. They are going to play from the snap to the end of the whistle to sometimes after the whistle.”

Austin added, he hasn’t seen any guys pouting this week in practice, because quite frankly they can’t afford to.

“Keep fighting,” Austin said when asked what his message is to his guys. “This is football, but when things go wrong in life, what do you have to do? You have to keep fighting. That’s it. You can’t sit up there and hold your head down. Nobody cares about that. Nobody cares. Things happen.

“Hell, if you get into a wreck, who cares, besides the person who either hit you or you hit them. Nobody else cares in the world. Problems are going to happen. Losses are going to happen. If you hold your head down and you are sulking, you are not helping yourself or the situation. These guys know the only thing they can do is bring their ass to practice and keep on fighting and prepare for the next contest and find ways to get better.”

-Sean Callahan

Running backs coach Ryan Held said this week was like "Rocky IV" for Nebraska, comparing Nebraska to Rocky Balboa and Michigan to Ivan Drago.
Running backs coach Ryan Held said this week was like "Rocky IV" for Nebraska, comparing Nebraska to Rocky Balboa and Michigan to Ivan Drago. (Tyler Krecklow)

Quick hits

***Held said compared Nebraska’s situation this week to Rocky Balboa going up against Ivan Drago in “Rocky IV”. He said no one is giving the Huskers a chance to win this game, and they need to go up there and play with nothing to lose and shock the world.

"At the end of the day, this is Rocky IV," Held said. "Nobody thinks we can win this game; national people don't think we can win this game. So we've got to be able to rally, come together as a group, and go get on that airplane like Rocky Balboa did and go frickin beat Ivan Drago. That's what we've got to be able to do. That's kind of where we're at, and we're going to keep fighting to get this deal done."

***Michigan linebacker Devon Bush is clearly a top priority in Nebraska’s offensive scouting report. Walters said Bush was an incredible athlete who had everything you would look for in a linebacker. Beckton said he recruited Bush out of high school and has a great relationship with Bush’s dad, so he knows full well how good Bush is.

***Held said the running back rotation would continue to be a game-to-game deal where one player might get the majority of the workload one week, and another would get a bigger share the next.

***Beckton said Jack Stoll had done a great job so far, but the first play he showed the tight end on film this week was his fumble early on vs. Troy. Beckton said Stoll tried to do a spin move on the play, and “I’ve never in my life taught my guys to spin move.”

***Beckton also said Kurt Rafdal was a natural route runner who has really picked it up the last few weeks. Beckton said Rafdal had definitely earned more playing time going forward.

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