Nebraska Football 2012: Latest News, Updates and More from Spring Practice

Nebraska had a successful first season in the Big Ten, finishing with a 9-4 record, with victories over Michigan State, Penn State and Ohio State. This season, they look to take that next step and become one of the top teams in the country.

They'll have the talent to do it, as they return eight starters on each side of the ball. The Cornhuskers were one of the more balanced teams in the country last season, and with keeping majority of the team intact, they should be even better this year.

Nebraska has the team and the favorable schedule to make for a great season.

But of course, there are questions surrounding the team, some of which could be answered in the spring as they prepare for the spring game, which takes place on April 14.

Stay tuned for all your latest news, updates and more involving your Nebraska Cornhuskers.

March 15 Updates

Nebraska just finished their third spring practice before everybody gets to relax during spring break. The Cornhuskers won't take the field again until March 26.

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"I thought we had a good first three days of practice — a good start to spring," Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini said. "I just talked to the guys. We have to hit the ground running when we get back.

"We got a lot installed. When they come back after break, we will review what we've done up to this point and keep progressing with our install. If we can continue along this path, with the attitude we've had, we'll get a lot accomplished this spring."

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One of the main standouts so far is redshirt freshman Ryne Reeves, who is competing for a job on the offensive line this season.

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"He's done well over the first couple days," Pelini said. "We're trying to figure out whether he's going to be a center or guard right now. That kind of remains to be seen how that all works out."

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One of the things that made Nebraska so tough to play last season was their secondary, which was ranked 18th in the country. But losing a couple of key members in that unit, as well as having a new secondary coach in Terry Joseph, may concern Cornhusker fans a bit that the group may not be as dominant as they were last season.

Senior safety P.J. Smith says no worries, as Joseph is a very challenging coach and it should pay off on the football field when things get going.

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He's challenging us every single day in the meeting room. We have a test every day we get in there. We have some type of test, and we've never had it before. And with these tests, you see that guys are really learning what they've got to do. He's working us.

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Joseph previously worked at Tennessee and has experience under LSU coach Les Miles. He also served time at Louisiana Tech, improving their secondary tremendously in the short time he was there.

March 13 Updates

Nebraska has just recently opened up their spring practice, and, already, good things are coming out of them. The Cornhuskers are looking to improve on a solid 9-4 season in their first year in the Big Ten, but the will need a much more balanced offense to do so.

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“We have to mix it up,” Offensive coordinator Tim Beck said. “I think offensively you need to because it’s going to help our run game. We were very efficient in our play action pass last year. It was high percentage with a very big gain per catch. We feel like we got to do more of that.”

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Nebraska had an excellent running game last season that was ranked 15th in the country. Although the passing game struggled, to say the least, as they averaged only 162 yards in the air, a lot of that has to do with quarterback Taylor Martinez and his poor mechanics. 

Beck said that is something the Cornhuskers are working on during the spring, and it is paying off.

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They’re excellent. He’s really working on the things he needs to work on that we’ve identified in the offseason. He’s put the extra time in and you can see the conscious effort in doing it. It’s helping him.

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That's music to Cornhusker fans' ears, because if they can improve the quarterback play, this team will really have a shot to win the Big Ten this season. Of course, there are other concerns on this team, but the quarterback position is an area that really needs work.

Updates

This slideshow will continue to be updated with the latest news, quotes, position battles and more throughout spring practice. Stay tuned for everything involving your Nebraska Cornhuskers.