Red Report: Pelini says Lee ready to roll

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Opening statement

“We’ve been coming along. Our job now is to play the best football we’ve played yet because we haven’t played up to our capability yet. And Saturday’s our next opportunity.”

— Bo Pelini

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Lee “going to play his butt off”: Concern about the status of quarterback Zac Lee may have dominated the beginning of this week. But Bo Pelini expressed great confidence in his junior starting quarterback after Thursday’s practice.

“Zac’s going to play his butt off,” the Husker coach said two days before his team plays Louisiana-Lafayette. “I have no question about that.”  

 Lee sat out Monday’s practice and was wearing a stabilizing device on his left thumb to protect what Pelini described as a “splinter” fracture in the top joint.

But Lee returned to practice Tuesday and has been looking sharp, according to coaches.

Lee is hoping for a bounce-back game against Lafayette after a lackluster 11-of-30 passing performance in the 16-15 loss to Virginia Tech.

“I think I can learn a lot more from this game than I can the first two games, honestly,” Lee said this week. “Just analyzing things midgame, making sure that I slow myself down, not speeding it up, not forcing things. I think this game will help me as a player, actually.”

The quarterback won’t have to look far for support.

“Zac has confidence and we have confidence in him,” Pelini said. “He’s our guy.”

Smith ready to go: Husker left tackle Mike Smith  was back practicing Thursday after wearing a boot on his foot the day before. Pelini said Smith practiced well, and the coach doesn’t have any health concerns about his Huskers heading into Saturday’s game.

“I wish I had some wood to knock on, but we’re doing OK,” he said. 

Kicking it around: About 10 reporters were circled around Alex Henery at one point on Tuesday, asking him questions for 15 minutes about kicking. Try finding another place where the kicker draws such attention.

Granted, he’s been a great kicker, especially on Saturday when he nailed five field goals on five attempts.

One interesting nugget from Henery: The junior said he knows immediately after contact with the ball if he’s made it or missed it.

“I know right when I hit the ball what I did wrong,” Henery said. “You get used to it, like the way it hit my foot, or the sound, I’ll, like, know exactly.”

Know your Huskers video: Alex Henery



Sack lunch: One impressive stat about Lafayette? The Rajun Cajuns haven’t allowed a sack this season. And that comes despite games against BCS-conference schools LSU and Kansas State.

“Great protection, number one,” Husker defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said. “But even when the protection breaks down, the quarterback does a great job. He gets rid of the ball on time. He knows when to get rid of it, when to throw it away, when his feet will get him out of trouble.”

Ignoring the hype: Bo Pelini said his team can’t get caught up in all the hype surrounding the 300th straight sellout at Memorial Stadium.

“That’s for the fans, everybody else,” Pelini said. “Our job is to play our football and celebrate that thing by us playing Nebraska-type football. That’s with passion, that’s with great effort, that’s with executing to our standard.”

Backer breakdown: Pelini wouldn’t say for sure if Phillip Dillard would start at the WILL spot on Saturday.

But he did say: “You’re going to see a number of guys at the linebacker spot.”

Checking The Meter

“We’re ready to play,” were Bo Pelini’s initial words to the media after Thursday's practice. 

“It’s been a good week," Pelini said. "Now, it hasn’t been perfect. But today was our best day yet.”