LINCOLN — Cameron Meredith has pretty much always known what to do on the football field.

But knowing why he’s doing it is making all the difference.

A touted defensive end coming out of California’s Mater Dei High School, Meredith redshirted a year ago. He’s seeing the field as a backup this year, and last week registered his first career sack in the second quarter of NU’s 55-0 rout of Lousiana-Lafayette — the start of a five-tackle performance in just his fourth collegiate game.

He said understanding the reason for assignments is making him a better player.

For example, Meredith said, taking a gap and filling it isn’t enough. You have to know that the reason you’re taking a certain gap is because a linebacker is taking a different gap.

“It’s not only ‘You do this,’ it’s why you do that,” Meredith said. “That really helped me understand the defense.”

The 6-foot-4, 250-pound Meredith is an important piece of the defensive puzzle, even in a backup role, said defensive ends coach John Papuchis.

“I look at him as almost a third starter,” Papuchis said. “He could go into any situation, and I’d feel comfortable with him doing it. He’s a hard worker. He’s very technically sound, and that’s allowed him to have success in the games.”

He’s benefited from the work he put in during his redshirt season, a year that Meredith would describe only as “tough.” He’s made a habit of getting to quarterbacks since he was 8 years old, so watching from the sidelines wasn’t something he was used to.

Looking back on it now, though, Meredith says he can see the benefit of the extra year.

“I looked at it as this is a chance for me to get better and learn the defense and not worry about playing,” he said. “I could just work on getting bigger, stronger and learning the defense. So I think it was a more positive thing.”

His sack last week showed Meredith’s motor. He started on the right side and ran down Lafayette quarterback Chris Masson from behind on a rollout the other way.

Papuchis won’t go as far as to call Meredith a speed rusher, but says Meredith’s quickness may be a little underrated.

“He’s a strong, powerful guy and he has a low center of gravity, but he’s deceptively quick,” Papuchis said. “I don’t think many people would view him as a speed rusher, but he knows how to rush the passer and it allows him to have success doing it.”

NU head coach Bo Pelini sees it, too. Pelini said Meredith shows in practice regularly what he showed against Lafayette.

“Cameron Meredith is a good football player, and somebody we really count on,” Pelini said. “He’s just going to keep getting better.”

Papuchis said he could see Meredith coming on about a third of the way through spring practice. The coach calls it his “coming out.”

As for Meredith, he can’t pinpoint exactly when everything started to make sense, but he’s sure been enjoying himself since it has.

“This year, since I’m contributing on the field, I really feel like a part of the team,” Meredith said. “I’m happy to be a Cornhusker. It’s a real honor for me.”

Contact the writer:

850-0781, nickrubek@hotmail.com

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