NEW YORK — Bowl games and the rules around them have completely changed since the last time Nebraska appeared in postseason play.
Among the biggest is a rule allowing early enrollees to go on bowl trips and practice with the team at bowl sites if they choose.
Nebraska has nine players and transfers along on the trip in New York — offensive lineman Houston Kaahaaina-Torres, East Tennessee State defensive line transfer Jaylen George, cornerback Bryson Webber, safety Tanner Terch, quarterback TJ Lateef and wide receivers Jackson Carpenter and Isaiah Mozee are all practicing this week in New York. Defenders Pierce Mooberry and Caden VerMaas are in New York, but not practicing.
Not all of Nebraska’s players who will enroll in late January will be in New York for the bowl game, but Rhule said there is an advantage to having players around.
The players began being able to practice with Nebraska on Dec. 21, and were slowly trickling in a few days before the Huskers left Lincoln for New York City. The players can’t play in the bowl game, but Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule said last week there’s value in getting those early enrollees on campus and getting them acclimated to how Nebraska does things.
«It’s a great indoctrination into how we do things,» Rhule said. They can’t practice until the 21st until school is out, but some guys were starting to get here…That’s great for them to just come in and see how we do things. Some of them will get a chance to practice and we’ll start to work with them and then they’ll show up in January, I think it will be way better for them.»