Nebraska’s Tuesday Practice Notes

*After rumors of junior running back Rex Burkhead being in a walking boot spread through Husker Nation on Monday, all Husker fans can

breath a little more easy on Tuesday. Burkhead was fully back in practice after being limited on Monday. He was one of the first guys on the field on Tuesday, and showed no signs of being slowed down or limited by his sore ankle.

*Senior Linebacker Lavonte David was named as one of the finalist for the Butkus Award list. He is one of six players on the list. He is joined by Dont’a Hightower (Alabama), Jarvis Jones (Georgia), Luke Kuechly (Boston College), Manti Te’o (Notre Dame) and Courtney Upshaw (Alabama). The winner will be announced on or before December 7.

*Head coach Bo Pelini,  handed out 20 black shirts after the Minnesota game. He handed out one more on Tuesday. Junior linebacker Alonzo Whaley earned his black practice jersey after seeing a lot more playing time in the last three games.

*On Monday and Tuesday Nebraska was in half-pads. Which means if the Huskers stick to the normal practice schedule they will not be in full pads at all this week. It will be interesting to see how the Huskers respond to the week of less contact against Iowa on Friday.

*Defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said Iowa’s Marvin McNutt would be maybe the best wide receiver the Huskers will have faced this season. He said his defense would try and match-up senior cornerback Alfonzo Dennard on McNutt as much as possible in the game, and the secondary would account for him on every single play with double coverage or a safety over the top. Dennard said he was excited to go up against McNutt, as he always thrives on the challenge of taking on the opposing team’s best receiver.

The biggest praise any coach gave Iowa players was Carl Pelini compared Iowa running back Marcus Coker to some of the big, bruising downhill runners the Pittsburgh Steelers have had over the years. Pelini said Nebraska has four fully healthy defensive tackles at this point in Terence Moore, Chase Rome, Baker Steinkuhler, and Justin Jackson who moved over from the offensive line. Pelini said Jackson has made great improvements since moving back to defense. Pelini said Rome looks 100 percent again after dealing with a groin injury the past few weeks.

By Jimmie Allen