Speaking in front of the media on Tuesday morning, Nebraska defensive coordinator Rob Aurich said that to excel at the Huskers’ level, players need to “go to a dark place." Not long after those comments, he highlighted one player who appears to be living there so far in training camp and in preparation for the season opener.
Rex Guthrie isn’t someone who has scored a ton of headlines this month, but he’s clearly impressed the coaches the last few weeks. On the Huskers’ first depth chart release of the new season, Guthrie emerged as a co-No. 1 safety along with Dwayne McDougle III, a transfer from San Diego State. It’s worth noting that McDougle was a starting safety for the Aztecs when Aurich was the defensive coordinator. Despite seemingly having the inside track, the transfer player didn’t beat out Guthrie entirely.
It’s also worth noting that Guthrie missed Nebraska’s spring practice recovering from a shoulder injury. Still, Aurich has loved the way the sophomore safety has attacked things.
“Rex is playing above my expectations for coming back from that injury,” Aurich said. “No signs of lingering pain or whatever with the shoulder have shown up. He missed spring, so it kind of took him, I would say, a couple practices to get into the rhythm of that new position with the new terminology. But he’s a smart kid, he’s a competitor. We’re really pleased with him.”
Nebraska football’s Rex Guthrie embodies Rob Aurich’s demanding defensive mentality
Guthrie’s rise has been an interesting one to watch. He came to Nebraska after being one of the top prospects in Colorado but redshirted his first season in Lincoln. Last year, as a redshirt freshman, he played in all 13 games and started 8. The shoulder injury he was recovering from this spring happened during the regular season, but he played through it until he had surgery in the offseason.
Last year Guthrie recorded 63 tackles and added 2.0 tackles for loss and one pass breakup. Guthrie became only the third Husker freshman to record 60 tackles in a season since freshmen regained eligibility in 1972, and his 63 tackles were the second-most by a Husker freshman since 1972. Guthrie was a key member of a secondary that ranked third nationally in pass defense.
Now that Guthrie has gotten his callout on Tuesday and should see significant playing time for Nebraska on Saturday, it’s time for him to go to that “dark place” and stay there all season.
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