What injuries mean for Nebraska football, plus an incredible punter, and more

The Nebraska football team completed its 11th practice of fall camp on Saturday, with a lengthy scrimmage that was delayed a little bit due to bad weather.

Overall, Matt Rhule sounded pleased. In a press conference Saturday morning, the Nebraska football head coach told reporters that the offense was really efficient. He praised the running backs, and also reported season-ending injuries to Gage Stenger and Byle Hill.

Stenger, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound junior out of Omaha, Nebraska, played in seven games on special teams for the Huskers last season with three tackles. Blye Hill, a 6-foot-4, 195-pound cornerback who played in two games last season, after transferring from St. Francis in the FCS, will also miss the entire season after another knee injury.

Hill was among the top three guys on the depth chart, but was certainly in the mix after that. He would have been a valuable depth piece. The same can be said about Stenger. These players might not have played huge roles, but each would have likely played in most, if not all, of the games this season if healthy, so it’s a loss.

That’s why depth is important, and thankfully, Nebraska has one of the deepest teams in a while. It is the deepest and most talented team of the Rhule era.

Rhule also went out of his way to praise the running backs. He said people who doubt that they don’t have three good backs will be surprised. Mekhi Nelson got some praise. Rhule also said there is hope Kwinten Ives can come back this week, but that he’s still out with an injury.

Dylan Raiola, who Rhule said could be one of the best players in the nation this season, was upset at Matt Rhule because he wanted more time on the practice field. Rhule said this has been a really fun team to be around, even though he said tackling could be better.

Lastly, Archie Wilson feels like a game-changer at punter. We’ll see how he looks during games, but Rhule talks about him like he’s the 8th wonder of the world.

The guy’s amazing at what he does,” he said. “I used to walk over to the O-line during punt period or kind of stand over to the side. Now I’m out there with popcorn because it’s really a fun thing to watch. I hope we don’t punt a lot, but when we do, it’ll be fun.”

It does feel like a major upgrade has happened on special teams. Mike Ekeler is an elite coach who added some elite players at key positions.  The final product should be fun to watch.

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