So NU had Sims running the ball a lot as he split practice snaps with Heinrich Haarberg — who’s now the co-starter at Husker quarterback.
“I made him keep the ball early on — we do a little team compete period — and I called some stuff where he had to keep the ball, and he did a nice job with that,” Satterfield said. “He’s progressing at the rate we thought he would.”
Satterfield and coach Matt Rhule aren’t going to show their quarterback cards before Saturday’s game with Louisiana Tech — “it’s a day-to-day deal for us,” Satterfield said — but the OC has one item high on his to-do list.
“We’ve got to throw it more,” Satterfield said. NU’s 21.7 pass attempts per game only ranks ahead of the nation’s three military academies for pass attempts per game. “I told the guys again today. We have to throw the football in order to win some of these games we’re going to have to win in the coming months. There’s an emphasis to improve our passing game, and I have faith in Jeff and in Heinrich.”
The offensive coordinator is growing in his faith of backup wideouts, who logged 14 total snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, in the 35-11 win over Northern Illinois. Against Colorado, it was 10 snaps.
Satterfield said he challenged freshmen Jaylen Lloyd and Malachi Coleman to show they’ve earned more playing time. Each had “a great day” Tuesday.
“There was an emphasis from them, you could tell,” Satterfield said. “Malachi’s out there, he was going so hard that I think he threw up one time out there. I said ‘get out,’ and he wouldn’t even come out. It’s just a mindset. He was basically trying to say ‘Satt, I’m tough, I’m ready to go do this thing.’”
Quick hits
* In the wake of season-ending injuries to running backs Gabe Ervin and Rahmir Johnson, Nebraska will adopt a “what’s next mentality” to replace that duo.
* Louisiana Tech’s offense, NU defensive coordinator Tony White, is similar to Colorado’s spread system.
“Get the ball out quick, get it to playmakers in space and when they want to take their shots, they’ll be calculated and throw it deep,” White said. “They’re take their shots. They’re tough. You see why they had a lot of success on offense.”
Satterfield said the Bulldogs’ defense has a stout front seven with good middle linebackers. He echoed Rhule’s comment that LaTech would play the run aggressively and choose man coverage schemes against the pass.
* Receiver Billy Kemp said Haarberg “looked pretty comfortable” in the huddle on Saturday night and Kemp looks forward to seeing Haarberg and Jeff Sims competing for the starting job going forward. As for his own game, Kemp said he needs to get better at recognizing short punts and yelling “poison!” before the ball hits one of his teammates who are blocking on the punt.