• Photo Showcase: NU football practice, Aug. 17
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LINCOLN — The grinding and demanding nature of preseason camp had an impact Tuesday, as the testy Huskers ended their 12th practice in frustrating fashion.
The players apparently scuffled a bit too often Tuesday, because the entire team spent about an extra 10 minutes on the Hawks Center indoor practice field.
Call it endurance-draining punishment, issued by coach Bo Pelini.
“That's (something) we don't want to do again, I'll tell you that right now,” senior Anthony West said of the closed-door, post-practice requirements. “We suffered, suffered the consequences.”
Those on-field tempers aren't out of the ordinary at this time of year, according to offensive coordinator Shawn Watson.
“It's just part of fall, the preseason camp,” he said.
But the players must have crossed the line.
“That was kind of a punishment deal,” junior fullback Tyler Legate said. “I don't know if I'm supposed to say anything about it, but with all the fighting and stuff, we had to do a little negative reinforcement.”
Helu more decisive this year
I-back Roy Helu might not be physically faster, but maybe his mind is working that way.
Helu said Tuesday that being “mentally decisive on cuts” might be his biggest improvement from a year ago. The senior said part of it includes better knowing his pre-snap progressions and reads.
Helu ran for a career-high 1,147 yards a year ago, but his efficiency suffered after an October shoulder injury.
“Once I hurt my shoulder,” he said, “I was less decisive.”
NU assistant coach Tim Beck said Helu is “playing faster.”
“I think it's the acceleration that's making him more decisive and making him better on his cutting,” Beck said. “But it's also trying not to make the big play and just, ‘Here's where it's supposed to hit. Get there as fast as you can.'”
Depth at running back
Beck said the ability to follow or complement Helu with Rex Burkhead and Dontrayevous Robinson makes for a great situation in the Husker backfield.
A year ago, NU knew what it had with Helu, but lost Quentin Castille in fall camp and used both Burkhead and Robinson as true freshmen.
Beck compared the Huskers' current situation to the one two seasons ago with Helu, Castille and Marlon Lucky.
“Every one of those guys had over 500 yards rushing, over 100 carries, and we needed every one of them,” Beck said. “Everybody needs to have guys that go in there and play and carry the load whenever you need them to, because if you rely on one guy, like last year, you see what happens. They get beat up and they're just not the same person.”
Quarterback evaluations
It's an important week for the three quarterbacks battling for the NU starting spot, though it's unlikely that the staff will publicly reveal its assessments once the stretch ends.
Senior Zac Lee, sophomore Cody Green and redshirt freshman Taylor Martinez will all spend the week operating out of various game-like situations, what should be the coaches' best chance to evaluate their QB candidates so far.
But Watson, who tutors the quarterbacks, stressed Tuesday that the position battle isn't close to being decided. And continuing with the team-wide trend for vagueness when discussing the quarterbacks, he chose to share only his general thoughts about the competitive trio after practice Tuesday.
“They've all done well,” Watson said. “I'm not going to get specifics, just because they've all handled managing every aspect of the offense pretty well. So I'm excited about their development, to be honest with you, across the board.”
Enunwa ‘making plays'
If freshman Quincy Enunwa keeps progressing at this rate, he might end up bypassing a redshirt year.
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound receiver from Moreno Valley, Calif., has had a good showing early in camp, emerging as a candidate to serve as a contributing reserve this season.
There's still an apparent gap between the top three receivers — senior Niles Paul, junior Brandon Kinnie and senior Mike McNeill — and the rest of the corps. But Enunwa finds himself in the mix to help provide depth behind the top guys, according to Watson.
“He just has a knack for making plays,” Watson said. “He's really figured into a look. He's got to earn his place. He's still working on that. He has talent.”
— Jon Nyatawa
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• Video: Husker football practice highlights, Aug. 17:
• Video: NU coach Shawn Watson after Tuesday's practice:
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