LINCOLN — Nebraska's first-game weekend must have made a positive impression because the Huskers have reportedly added a sixth member to their 2010 recruiting class.

Harvey Jackson, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound safety from Missouri City, Texas, made an oral commitment to Nebraska Sunday afternoon, according to rivals.com.

Jackson, who attends Hightower High School near Houston, was on campus for an official visit last weekend. He was seen on the sidelines prior to the Nebraska's season opener against Florida Atlantic.

Attempts to reach Jackson were unsuccessful Sunday night.

Jackson is the second Texan in the 2010 class. Defensive end Donovan Vestal, from Arlington, Texas, announced his non-binding pledge to the Huskers last month.

Last year, Nebraska signed eight recruits from Texas.

Goal-line power game

It took four plays to reach the end zone, but there was an old-fashioned feel to the Nebraska offense for a first-and-goal from the 3-yard line in the second quarter Saturday night.

And a statement involved, too.

“We're going to run the football,'' NU offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. “I was not going to throw a pass.''

The Huskers brought out the fullback and the I-formation for a situation that started with 1-yard gains by I-back Roy Helu and quarterback Zac Lee on a keeper.

After Helu was stopped on third down running behind right guard Ricky Henry, NU went back to the same play and Helu scored for a 21-3 lead on Florida Atlantic.

“We need to be a physical football team,'' Watson said.

“They were in a loaded front, and we needed to block that play. We had it, we just needed to block. We didn't execute.

“But it was to send a little message, and the kids knew what I was doing, too.''

Too much spice

Cody Green was excited for his debut Saturday night. Maybe a little too much so, judging by the freshman quarterback's second pass.

On a third-and-2 play on his first fourth-quarter series, Green had so much zip on a pass to Kyler Reed that it skipped off the hands of the tight end and sailed into the Florida Atlantic secondary.

“They say it had a little spice on it,'' Green said. “When I got to the sideline I was like, ‘I didn't throw it that hard.' I promise I didn't try to throw it that hard, put it that way. They say it went like 20-some odd yards past him.''

Slow to the line

Lee was roundly praised for his first start as a Division I-A quarterback, but there were some hiccups with the Nebraska offense.

The Huskers often were getting to the line with about 10 seconds left on the play clock when their goal is 15. Watson took some blame for getting plays down slow, and receiver Menelik Holt said some of it had to do with players not getting back to the huddle fast enough after the play before.

“We put Zac on a short clock up there a couple times, which we don't want to do,'' Watson said.

NU head coach Bo Pelini said he thought it affected the Huskers' tempo and rhythm, which improved after halftime. Lee completed 15 of 22 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns, and his only interception came on a ball he underthrew.

“Overall I thought he played outstanding,'' Pelini said. “He made good decisions. You just see how confident he is. He carries himself the right way and he leads this football team and leads that offense. I liked what I saw from him.''

Crick ‘too selfless'

Senior Ndamukong Suh had just one complaint about his new partner on the defensive line Saturday night: The youngster was too selfless.

Jared Crick was a first-time starter at defensive tackle against Florida Atlantic, apparently more concerned about creating opportunities for his teammates than anything else.

Suh said he'd find himself reminding the sophomore to take advantage of his own chances, instead of trying to get the rest of the linemen into one-on-one situations.

“I told him to go make plays and it'll open up everything else once you start doing that,” Suh said. “So that's what he did, and it opened up.”

Crick finished with three total tackles and blocked a field goal attempt. In the second quarter, he was called for a roughing the passer penalty, wiping out an interception. And right before the first half ended, he nearly got another flag when he fell into the FAU quarterback's legs well after the ball was released.

But Crick's relentlessness will never be criticized, defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said.

“I thought Jared played his tail off,” Pelini said. “He plays as hard as anybody I've ever coached. He was physical. I'm excited about him.”

— Rich Kaipust, Jon Nyatawa

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