Loomis High grad Thorell sees extensive action
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BY BRENT C. WAGNER / Lincoln Journal Star
Yeah, this was a long way from playing eight-man football for Loomis High School.
And that’s partly why Lance Thorell finds it funny that he was primarily used during Saturday’s game against New Mexico State when the Aggies were in formations that included four wide receivers and one running back.
“You have to have five guys on the line in eight-man,” Thorell joked. “This was a pretty big change.”
The redshirt freshman seemingly came out of nowhere to see significant action in Nebraska’s 38-7 victory.
Thorell finished with eight tackles, second on the team behind Eric Hagg’s 10.
With cornerback Anthony West out with an injury, Thorell learned Monday he’d be shifted from working exclusively at cornerback to needing to learn the dime package, which puts him closer to the line of scrimmage. Thorell was chosen because of his ability to play physical against the run and also cover receivers.
Now, Thorell is glad he made the shift, and hopes maybe he’s found his spot on the team. If coach Bo Pelini’s postgame comments were any indication, it sounds as though the coaches will find spots for Thorell.
“He played an outstanding football game,” Pelini said. “We asked him to learn a lot. He needed to play well, and he stepped up.”
As for those eight tackles, including one on the Aggies’ first drive, Thorell says he was only making plays within the system.
“I trust everything these coaches tell us to do,” he said. “In all these packages they put us in the right position. If you read your keys and do what you’re supposed to do, you’ll make a play every time.”
He’ll have to adjust to being sore again, Thorell said.
And there was one other little difference from playing those high school games.
“(The) crowd’s a little bigger, too,” he said. “It was awesome to be out there and play.”
McNeill’s big catch
Tight end Mike McNeill had a 35-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter that drew a reaction from the crowd. McNeill flipped into the end zone at the end of the play to score.
“The (defender) dove, and I made a little move,” McNeill said. “I came back to my high school days of wide receiver action.
“I didn’t even realize how I landed. It was a little crazy.”
McNeill had two receptions for 57 yards. He also had a 3-yard TD catch in the season opener.
Injury update
Defensive end Pierre Allen, in his first career start, left the game with an apparent foot injury in the second quarter. Senior Clayton Sievers and true freshman Cameron Meredith both saw considerable time with Allen out.
“Pierre is fine,” Carl Pelini said. “He could have gone in the second half, but I figured everything was going OK. Clayton was playing well, Zach Potter was playing well. I wanted (Allen) to be fresh two weeks form now.”
Henery no longer perfect
Nebraska place-kicker Alex Henery pushed a 35-yarder wide-right late in the first quarter, the first miss of his Husker career. Before that attempt, he was 12-for-12 on field goals and hadn’t missed on 55 PAT attempts.
Henery later made a 19-yard field goal and was 5-for-5 on PATs.
Briefly
* Nebraska held New Mexico State scoreless in the first half, marking the first time in 23 games Nebraska has shut out an opponent in the first half.
* The Huskers’ six takeaways this season are just five shy of their total of 11 last season.
* Nebraska’s game captains were Marlon Lucky (offense), Hunter Teafatiller (offense), Potter (defense) and T.J. O’Leary (special teams).
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