Filed by Mitch Sherman at 9:18 p.m.
Running backs coach Tim Beck reiterated this morning that Nebraska freshman Rex Burkhead is likely to play Saturday against Kansas State.
“There's a good chance,” Beck said during his presentation at the Big Red Breakfast.
Burkhead's return to practice this week, after he missed five games with a broken bone in his right foot, has energized the Huskers' young group of I-backs, Beck said.
“Competition is a great thing,” he said.
The second-year NU assistant also addressed some of the issues that have prevented reserves Lester Ward, Collins Okafor and Austin Jones from playing more.
“When the pieces move defensively, the lights aren't clicking fast enough right now for them,” Beck said.
All three players have progressed this fall, he said, though Burkhead and fellow rookie Dontrayevous Robinson benefited from more experience in high school against complex defensive schemes.
Of Nebraska's shift to a power game on the ground, Beck said it's been a hit with the offensive players.
“I think, as a coach, the idea is to give your kids the best chance to win,” Beck said. “There's a lot of guys that stuff the system down the kids' throats and say, ‘By gosh, we're going to do this, I don't care what.' To be able to find the identity that gives your kids a chance to win, that's good coaching.”
Look for a full report from the Big Red Breakfast in the Metropolitan Edition of The World-Herald.
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