Hey, this is good. Husker preseason training camp is here.
You know who it feels especially good for right now? Nick Henrich. The linebacker said after the first practice on Monday he did wonder after a serious injury at Purdue if that was his last football snap ever. It wasn't.
"I really felt kind of reborn and I'm just so blessed I have these guys around me to really pick me up," he said.
He's got a bulky knee brace on he's getting used to, but he feels all the way back.
What else from Nebraska players after the initial workout? Here's what. Some Quick Hits:
– "It feels so good just to be running around with my teammates," again said the senior linebacker Henrich.
He doesn't know the exact date he felt healthy, but it was a long process – longer than any injury he's had before. "I don't like the brace but I'll wear it if I can play, I really don't care."
Henrich said one of the things that helped him get through things the most was his faith in Christ and getting baptized in March. His teammate Luke Reimer was the one who performed the baptism.
He also had a lot of conversations with a guy like Will Honas, who have been through a tough ACL injury before. He got to the point where he was determined to "just come back stronger."
– Even though he wasn't out there in the spring, coaches and players communicated the defense well to him and he feels "very confident" in what he knows, but added it's a huge fall of banking reps for everyone to get it where it needs to be.
Henrich loves "the freedom this defensive gives you to run around and make plays." He thinks it allows guys to play fast and keeps the line of thinking simple: "The object of the game is to get guys to the ball."
The biggest learning adjustment in a way is actually the freedom the defense gives. "And no being so focused on, 'I have to be here, I have to be here.' And knowing that, 'No, you can do this, you can do this' as long as you play fast and run to the ball."
– Henrich said they run every coverage and front. "So it's really chaotic and really fun."
– He knows a competitive camp is ahead at linebacker. There's a lot of guys vying for playing time. "All the guys are really unselfish and good competition is going to push everyone so it's been really nice."
– Ty Robinson has had time to see other Husker veterans lead and kind of compute what he thinks works and doesn't. He's working on improving himself in this area.
"I can be kind of a hard ass sometimes. I think it's just because my competitiveness really gets ahold of me and I want it to be done the right way. I want to just have us improve because to me I have a standard that's not really obtainable. Because if a standard's not obtainable you try to reach for it every day."
Robinson said he's OK with not being liked and thinks they will thank him for being that hard ass in the end.
– He feels 100 percent after rehabbing from his shoulder inury.
He was swimming, running and doing rehab workouts six days a week. Got him into some of his best shape endurance-wise. Slimmed down. He's at 304 now and might lose another five during camp, he said.
– Henrich said dorm life is fun. Cozy in the smaller quarters at Selleck, but a good opportunity to grow together.
"We're here all day at the stadium anyway," he said. "My room is small. It feels like we're all living together ... Kind of nice to experience dorm life."
A lot of guys are mixed with someone from a different position group. Like an O-lineman and a DB together. Robinson's roommate is freshman Eric Fields.
Robinson sees the use of it, although he acknowledged the bed leaves something to be desired. His feet hang off the end.
Ty Robison and Nick Henrich spoke to the media after Monday's first fall camp practice.
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