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Defense Makes Strides in Scrimmage, but Late Blunder Provides Teachable Moment

Matt Rhule says Huskers are further ahead overall than he had expected

Joe Hudson

Scott Bruhn photo, Nebraska Communications
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Ball security left something to be desired in Saturday's Nebraska football scrimmage, but head coach Matt Rhule said the team is "ahead of where I thought we'd be" one week before the Red-White spring game.

The defense showed significant improvement Saturday after struggling in the April 1st scrimmage, Rhule said. The offense did have some explosive plays — he mentioned a long run by quarterback Jeff Sims and a long reception by Marcus Washington — "but the defense was better today."

The defense, however, was guilty of a major blunder on what should have been the last play of the scrimmage. After the offense was stopped inside the 10 on fourth down, a defender threw a punch. The offense got an untimed down and scored.

"I scream at the defense and make them run a gasser — the coaches too," Rhule said. “...The defense won the whole scrimmage. But at the end of the day, you know what they did? They didn't make the play at the end to win it. It wasn't anything physical. It was mental — our awareness of the situation and our awareness of doing the right thing."

The quarterbacks were live for contact Saturday, just as they were in the April 1 scrimmage. Rhule said defensive lineman Elijah Jeudy and tight end John Goodwin suffered minor injuries.

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Joe Hudson
JOE HUDSON

Joe Hudson has operated a Husker-related website since 1995 and joined forces with David Max to form HuskerPedia (later renamed HuskerMax) in 1999. It began as a hobby during his 35 years as a newspaper editor and reporter, a career that included stints at the Lincoln Star, Omaha World-Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer and Denver Post. In Denver, Joe was chief of the copy desk during his final 16 years at the Post. He is proud to have been involved in Pulitzer Prize-winning projects in both Philadelphia and Denver. Joe has been a Nebraska football fan since the mid-1960s during his childhood in Omaha. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in journalism and economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1976. He resides a few freeway exits north of Colorado Springs and enjoys bicycling and walking his dogs in his spare time. You can reach him at joeroyhud@outlook.com.

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