NASHVILLE, Tenn. - There was a point in the summer before his junior season that Ryker Fyfe strongly considered transferring from Nebraska to another school.

In fact, the quarterback actually briefly debated whether he even wanted to continue playing football anymore.

But after some long talks with his family and his new coaching staff, Fyfe decided to stick it out and finish his career as a Husker. Now, the senior from Grand Island is on his way to being NU’s starter for the Music City Bowl on Friday.

“I thought, might as well (come back to Nebraska),” Fyfe said. “You’ve got two more years, just finish it out and do you best. Here I am now starting in the bowl game.”

While Nebraska still hasn’t officially announced that Fyfe will be the starter over injured senior Tommy Armstrong, Fyfe has taken every first-team rep since the start of bowl practices earlier this month.

Offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf said just the fact that Fyfe hasn’t really had to look over his shoulder as the clear No. 1 for the past month has given a huge boost to his confidence, which has translated into his play on the field.

“He had a ton of work this last month,” Langsdorf said. “Having him take the No. 1 reps for a month has been really good for him. He’s ready to go. It looks like he’s playing probably his best football.”

It’s also helped that Fyfe’s injured left wrist, which he broke during Nebraska’s win over Maryland, has almost completely healed since he underwent surgery the week before the Iowa game.

While he’ll continue to wear the soft brace he’s been sporting the past month in the bowl game, Fyfe can now take snaps from under center without any issues.

Now healthy and as confident as ever, Fyfe said he’s locked in on making the most of the biggest opportunity of his career in his final game as a Husker.

“It means a lot,” Fyfe said. “It’s been a long journey and not knowing if you’re going to play much. But that’s the risk you take walking on.

"I mean, I think it pays off. Starting three games at Nebraska means more I think than starting four years at UNK. That’s just my opinion.”

- Robin Washut

When Nebraska started its preparations for the Music City Bowl earlier this month, there was some temporary concern over the injury situation at running back.

Senior starter Terrell Newby suffered a knee injury in NU’s loss at Iowa, and then freshman backup Tre Bryant was sidelined with a hamstring injury.

With the bowl game now just two days away, though, NU is feeling a little better about its backfield.

While Bryant looks like he’s going to miss the Music City Bowl, running backs coach Reggie Davis said Newby has finally looked like his old self the past week.

“I think he’s back,” Davis said. “He said he’s feeling better than he has in a long time, so that’s a good thing. And he looks like it, so we’re excited.”

Davis said the fact that Newby had an entire month to heal from his injury definitely was a major help. Had the injury occurred during the regular season, Davis said Newby would have likely missed at least one game.

“He had two good practices before we left Lincoln,” Davis said. “He looked like he got his bounce back.”

- Robin Washut

One of the bigger match-ups to watch in Friday’s Music City Bowl will be to see how Nebraska left tackle Nick Gates matches up with Tennessee All-American defensive end Derek Barnett.

Barnett was regarded by many as the top defensive player in the SEC this year, as he has 32 career sacks.

“It’s a big opportunity for me showing my attributes and things I’ve got going for me,” Gates said. “I’m excited to go against a player like that. It will be a good challenge for me. I’m looking forward to it.”

Gates added it will come down to his overall technique when he looks at this match-up.

“I just can’t lean and I have to use my hands real well,” Gates said. “I can’t be sitting and be out of position, because he’ll definitely take advantage of it, because that’s what All-Americans do.”

-Sean Callahan

Not only will Nebraska have a healthy Newby at its disposal against Tennessee, a familiar face could be making his way back into the running back rotation.

Davis said he expects sophomore Devine Ozigbo, who tallied just three rushes for minus-7 yards over the past four games, to have a much bigger role in the offensive game plan for the bowl game.

“Devine’s going to play a big part in this game,” Davis said. “We just got done talking about that this morning. He’s going to have a great opportunity to help us a lot. I think he brings an added dimension to our offense, so I’m looking forward to it.”

After being arguably Nebraska’s top running back for the first three games of the season, Ozigbo essentially became a non-factor after suffering an ankle injury in NU’s win over Illinois.

He carried the ball just 14 times in the following seven games, with 10 of those attempts coming in one night at Wisconsin.

Ozigbo said the injury was only part of the reason for his diminished role, as he was also struggling with uncharacteristic mistakes in practice and in games that he said lost him some trust with his coaches.

Davis said Ozigbo has made big strides in earning that trust back this month, and he’s got an opportunity on Friday to set the tone in a major way for next season.

“He’s getting there,” Davis said. “It’s good to see him back healthy. He definitely wasn’t healthy there for a while, so we didn’t see some of the juice that we normally see out of him.

“I think it affects some players more than others when they are injured and they’re not quite the same player. So yeah, he’s definitely earning that (trust) back.”

- Robin Washut

A little-known connection between the two coaching staff going into Friday’s Music City Bowl is that Nebraska offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh worked under Tennessee head coach Butch Jones for two season at Division II Ferris State from 1995 -96.

Jones was quick to point that out on Tuesday night during the team event at the Wild Horse Saloon.

“Mike Cavanaugh and I worked together at Ferris State, so I know Mike very, very well,” Jones said. “I know the mindset and attitude he brings up front. They are very skilled and they can make plays.”

Cavanaugh joked on Wednesday that he and Jones were even roommates for a short while during their time at Ferris State.

“Butch is the same guy,” Cavanaugh said. “He’s always been an intense guy. He’s a good football coach. I had a lot of time with him at Ferris State. We had a couple weeks of rooming together. That was a long time ago. You are making me feel old now.”

-Sean Callahan

***Armstrong met with reporters to give the latest on his status for the Music City Bowl. Armstrong said he still hasn’t been ruled out for the game, and estimated his torn hamstring was about 75-80 percent recovered.

***Even if he’s not able to start, Armstrong said he would be available as an emergency No. 3 quarterback behind Fyfe and Zack Darlington.

***Langsdorf said that if Armstrong weren’t able to suit up for the bowl game, the No. 3 quarterback would be fullback Luke McNitt, who played QB at Nebraska-Kearney before transferring to NU.

***Linebacker Marcus Newby, Bryant, receiver J.D. Spielman, and tight end Tyler Hoppes all sat out Wednesday’s practice with injuries.

***ICYMI, head coach Mike Riley said on Tuesday night that with Bryant out, senior Jordan Nelson would take over as the primary kickoff returner for the bowl game. Mikale Wilbon will move to the off-returner, and Brandon Reilly will be the No. 2 behind Nelson.

***Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason stopped by Nebraska’s practice on Tuesday Mason watched the first couple periods of the practice and briefly met with NU’s coaches.

***Country music singer Chase Rice was in attendance for Wednesday’s practice. Rice wore a Sam Foltz jersey during a concert he played in Kearney, Neb., the night of Foltz’s funeral, and on Wednesday he presented the jersey in a frame to Foltz’s father, Jerald, who was also in Nashville to watch the practice.

The framed jersey will be auctioned off along with side stage passes to one of Rice’s concerts, and the money will go to the Grand Island Public School Foundation as a gift from the Foltz family.

Here is a link to the bidding site.