Nebraska tight end Cameron Jurgens is out "about a month" according to Scott Frost after suffering a foot injury Monday during preparation for the Huskers' trip to Evanston to face Northwestern. Jurgens was seen on crutches following Wednesday's practice.
"He got his cleat caught in the grass and broke a metatarsal in his foot," Frost said. Jurgen's injury was not to the same foot that sidelined him towards the end of his senior football season at Beatrice High School.
Jurgens, a true freshman, appeared in one game for the Huskers so far this season at tight end meaning he will still be able to redshirt under the NCAA's new rule allowing a player to appear in four games whil still maintaining a year of eligibility. The injury may not have an immediate impact on the Huskers' depth chart, but it might slightly delay a position move already underway for Jurgens.
Scott Frost confirmed on Monday that Nebraska is looking at Jurgens as a future center or guard on the offensive line.
"Cam is a unique athlete," Frost said. "When we recruited him we didn’t know what he was for sure, whether he was a tight end or a defensive lineman or something else. After evaluating him for a while he’s as physical and as good of a blocker as we have on our football team and I really think he’s got a potential to be a really good player on the offensive line either at center or guard. I think he’s bought into that and is starting to try and put on good weight instead of losing weight, and he’s another young player that has a chance to be really good around here."
Frost added that Jurgens had been working at both positions, center and guard, in addition to getting looks at tight end this season.
". . . [I]n order to be ready down the road I think it’s important that he gets some looks at it and some meeting time," Frost said. "He’s a smart enough guy to know a bunch of things. He’s just an exceptional athlete, an exceptionally explosive athlete and I just think after watching for a while that his body type fits that. I can’t wait to see what he can do."
