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NU Notes: Returnees report for conditioning


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NU Notes: Returnees report for conditioning

JON NYATAWA

WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

 

LINCOLN — Just because Nebraska coach Bo Pelini won’t be overseeing his players’ eight-week workout session this summer doesn’t mean he won’t know the exact details of everything that’s going on.

 

Pelini and his strength coach, James Dobson, don’t keep secrets. So the second-year NU head coach, prohibited by NCAA rules from contacting his players on the field or in the weight room, is assured to stay well informed about his players’ progress over the next two months.

 

Dobson’s the eyes and ears at this time of year. And that’s fine with Pelini.

 

“I think we’re very fortunate to have Coach Dobson,” Pelini said. “He’s doing a phenomenal job.”

 

The NU players will work eight hours a week with Dobson and the Nebraska strength staff until fall camp starts in August. They’ll have a week off around July 4, which will actually serve as somewhat of a bridge between two different phases of training, according to Dobson.

 

He plans to have the players build muscle in June. In July, they’ll spend more of their time conditioning.

 

“We’re going to work on getting bigger, stronger and more powerful,” Dobson said. “And as July comes around, we have to start thinking about getting in better shape to play the game of football. We have to be ready for two-a-days in camp. We have to be ready for the season.”

 

Even though the workouts are technically voluntary, Pelini said all of the returning NU players were back Wednesday to start summer training.

 

In no particular organized fashion, Nebraska’s 21 freshman signees will start trickling into Lincoln beginning this week, according to Pelini.

 

A few of the six Californians that Nebraska signed in February will arrive later this month since their high school class sessions extend into June, Pelini said.

 

One or two of the incoming freshmen may have issues meeting academic standards, Pelini said, but he did not name the newcomers in question.

 

Injury report is mostly good

 

Pelini says his Huskers have remained injury-free since their final spring practice in April, although a couple players will likely still be limited throughout the summer.

 

Junior Jaivorio Burkes, whose exact medical condition has never been disclosed by the NU staff, is still working to rid himself of the unspecified ailment, according to Pelini. Burkes didn’t practice last spring.

 

Pelini is still hoping that redshirt freshman Kody Spano will be back this fall after the quarterback suffered a serious knee injury April 13. He had surgery, but Pelini seems optimistic. “He is doing better,” Pelini said.

 

According to Pelini, junior linebacker Blake Lawrence, who missed the latter portion of spring practice with a concussion, is back working out with the team.

 

Odds and ends

 

Junior Niles Paul, suspended for the final three practices last spring, will participate in summer drills, despite ongoing legal issues that stem from an April arrest. Last week, Paul pleaded not guilty to charges of reckless driving, minor consumption and operating a vehicle without a license.

 

Pelini had been vague during the past few months about the status of John Levorson, a defensive back from Crete who left the team during the offseason. But Pelini said Friday that he has not spoken with Levorson at all.

 

Nebraska will host two high school football camps this week. Its Elite Quarterback Academy is scheduled to run from June 14 to 16.

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