LINCOLN — Superman has been grounded. So who wears the cape now?

True freshman I-back Rex Burkhead is out indefinitely after suffering a broken bone in his right foot Monday at a Nebraska football practice. The Huskers' top backup out of Plano, Texas, wore a boot Tuesday at practice and walked with crutches.

Running backs coach Tim Beck, meanwhile, began auditioning five players to take his spot — potentially for the rest of this season.

“Maybe we'll have one. Maybe we'll have two. Maybe it will be all of them,” Beck said. “You've still got eight games to play.”

Additionally, starting I-back Roy Helu donned a green no-contact jersey Tuesday, though Beck said he didn't need it. Helu, hurt in the fourth quarter last week at Missouri, appears fine to play Saturday against Texas Tech.

Still, the turn of events leaves Nebraska in a tenuous spot at I-back, without its top backup one week into a stretch of eight Big 12 games in eight weeks.

“I feel worse for the kid,” coach Bo Pelini said. “He's a prideful, tough, competitive guy.”

The list of possible replacements includes sophomores Marcus Mendoza and Austin Jones, redshirt freshmen
Lester Ward and Collins Okafor and freshman Dontrayevous Robinson.

Robinson has not played this year. The others have combined for six carries.

Beck said he was impressed by the group Tuesday. All five got a chance with the top offensive units.

“I think all of them upped their game,” Beck said. “They all know. I met with all of those guys and let them know it's going to be open. The best player will have the best opportunity.”

Burkhead won the No. 2 job in preseason camp and immediately fit well. The 5-foot-10, 200-pound rookie rushed for 118 yards and one score on 23 carries in five games, without losing a yard. He also caught eight passes for 66 yards and a touchdown and returned four punts for 73 yards.

Burkhead got the “Superman” moniker after achieving legendary status as a Texas prep star.

At Nebraska, he already has proved to be a clutch player. His 4-yard catch on third-and-3 against Mizzou extended the Huskers' first scoring drive, which sparked a 27-point fourth quarter.

“Just a really talented guy,” quarterback Zac Lee said. “A really, really tough guy. So he'll be missed, but we have guys who can step in.”

Ward and Jones traveled to Missouri last week but did not play. Mendoza stayed home, he said, to recover from a bout with the H1N1 virus. Burkhead rushed five times for 34 yards against the Tigers.

“We know we've got to step it up,” Mendoza said. “That's what we're going to do.”

Before this week, no clear No. 3 had emerged behind Helu and Burkhead. Beck said he'd like to identify at least two backs among the five contenders. That way, he said, another injury won't put the Huskers back in this position.

According to Pelini, the search for a new backup won't be complicated.

“Whoever earns it,” the coach said.

Nebraska apparently will not look to use freshman quarterback Cody Green in an expanded rushing role to take some of the load away from Helu. Asked about the possibility, offensive coordinator Shawn Watson was emphatic that Green needs to stay focused on his job as the backup quarterback.

“No, no, no, no,” Watson said. “We need him. He's got to be there to help us win games by passing the ball. That's important.”

According to Watson, the Huskers are prepared to avoid taking a step back in the absence of Burkhead.
“The next guy gets ready,” he said. “This is called life. You move forward. We don't panic about stuff like that. We
have the next guy. We have more than two guys on scholarship.

“This is what we've been dealt. We're going to look for our depth and get a guy ready to play behind Roy.”

Contact the writer:
402-473-9587, mitch.sherman@owh.com