There are always plenty of storylines to dive into when spring rolls around. One that is always consistent that people want to know about is how the newcomers are adjusting to being at Nebraska. After a couple weeks of spring, I checked in on what coaches were saying about the newcomers. Spring football will end this Saturday after the Red-White Spring Game.
The most high-profile newcomer, tight end Thomas Fidone, suffered a knee injury during the last week of spring practice.
“Just an unfortunate play, just kind of a nothing play and he went down,” Frost said. “We feel terrible for him, but he’s in a good place and he’s going to work to get back.”
Before his injury Fidone was turning in a corner this spring, putting together a couple of his best practices according to Frost and tight ends coach Sean Beckton.
Let’s see what was said about the rest of the newcomers in the second half of spring.
Offensive line coach Greg Austin on Henry Lutovsky:
“A guy that is a self-starter who wants to be really good,” Austin said. “A guy that’s a mid-year, should be really in high school, making the same mistakes a normal mid-year or high school kid would make. But nevertheless, he’s a kid that’s going to compete his ass off.
“I mean, when I say compete his ass off, I’m talking about got into a couple fights, just because he’s going at the echo of the whistle, so I love the kid. Excited about what he’s going to be in the near future. The best thing for him is coming in mid-year, getting all that out of his system, now learning what he has to do, what the responsibilities are.”
Coach Scott Frost on Logan Smothers:
“He’s working through a few mechanical things with Mario and has been for a while,” Frost said. “We’re really starting to see the benefits of that this spring. Honestly, when he doesn’t think about it — any time you’re trying to alter something, when you think about it you get a little in your own head. When he doesn’t think about it he rips it great. We’ll keep working with him, but I’d expect by this fall it’ll be second nature to him. I was really impressed by the progress he made in all aspects of his game, but particularly throwing it this spring.”
Beckton on Jaquez Yant:
“He’s a big running back, and when he hits the ball downfield, he plays with a lot of passion and force, Beckton said. “He’s just got to be more consistent with what he’s doing offensively. But he’s been a big surprise for our entire offensive staff, how well he’s running the football. Really, all the running backs have been doing a great job. But he’s really stood out, as a walk-on, being a guy who might be able to give us some snaps this year.”
Frost on Heinrich Haarberg:
“Haarberg is a really talented kid that can run and throw,” Frost said. “He was swimming a little bit at first but he’s hungry to learn and he’s really improved throughout spring.”
