Concussions, Hamstrings, and other assorted injuries

Last week, Major Culbert told the Journal-Star that he wanted to move back to safety...but in light of the injuries that Marlon Lucky (concussion) and Cody Glenn (hamstring) suffered on Saturday, Culbert will probably be staying at I-back for a little while longer. Freshmen I-backs such as Quentin Castille, Roy Helu, and Marcus Mendoza usually only see spot situational duty while they learn their assignments, especially in the passing game, so Culbert will likely stay on offense this season.

Hamstring injuries have also hampered expected starting offensive guard Andy Christensen and receiver Chris Brooks at the start of preseason practice.

Buzz out of Lincoln is that Sam Keller is starting to pull ahead of Joe Ganz at quarterback. In other breaking news, it's hot and humid in Nebraska. Seriously, though, does anybody seriously NOT expect Keller to be the starter barring injury?

Kevin Cosgrove and Buddy Wyatt tell the Omaha World-Herald that they are pleased with how the defensive line is progressing, which is huge considering that last year's starters are now in the NFL. Tomorrow's World-Herald features Zac Potter, who decided that he needed to supersize himself like Adam Carriker, so Potter feasted on cheeseburgers and pizza last season. Problem with that is that Carriker's size was better suited to nose tackle, so that's where the Rams moved Carriker. Meanwhile, Potter worked off the extra weight and is showing the promise he showed as a freshman. This does raise a concern with Cosgrove in that he appears to favor size over speed, as Barry Turner has added 20 pounds at the other end. On the other hand, if you are going to play more 3-4, you probably want your 3 linemen to be bigger to free up the linebackers to make plays.

One name that I'm hearing is Curenski Gilleylen...and it's not in reference on how to pronounce it. The true freshman wide receiver is bringing his sprint speed to the field and is raising some eyebrows in his ability to stretch the field and give the Huskers a deep threat in the passing game.