Sports Headlines

WOWT Mobile Web >> Sports Headlines

Back to Home

Nebraska Holds Scrimmage, Hands Out Scholarships

Bo Pelini was pleased with how his team practiced, especially during Saturday's scrimmage.

Posted: $util.date("h:mm a MMM d, yyyy",$story.contentLiveDate,$timeZone)
Reporter: WOWT

Nebraska Holds Scrimmage

Bo Pelini was pleased with how his team practiced, especially during Saturday's scrimmage.

“We had a good scrimmage, we got the chance to look at a lot of guys and also give a lot of guys rest. There was a lot of mixing and matching and we got well over 100 plays in the scrimmage.”

Pelini noted that five previous walk-ons were awarded scholarships for the 2012 season. “It’s a great walk on group, and they have been a big part of our program for a long time.”

Senior kicker/punter Brett Maher was awarded a scholarship after being a stand out special teams performer last year. A native of Kearney, Maher earned All-Big Ten honors as a junior for the Huskers, winning the Big Ten Kicker of the Year Award as well as the Big Ten Punter of the Year award after the 2011 season.

Senior offensive lineman Spencer Long also received a scholarship. The Elkhorn native will be a force on the offensive line this year, earning preseason first-team All-Big Ten honors for the 2012 season.

Safety Justin Blatchford also earned a scholarship. The senior native of Ponca will be a key member of the Blackshirt defense and special teams in 2012.

South Korea native and Lincoln Christian graduate Seung Hoon Choi received a scholarship for his senior season. Choi will be a leader of the NU offensive line where he is likely to earn a starting job at guard.

Senior offensive lineman Justin Jackson received a scholarship for 2012 as well. Jackson, a native of Roca, will bring senior leadership to the line and is currently battling for the starting center spot.

Pelini said there were other worthy candidates for scholarships, but he was limited to giving only five. With them placed on scholarship for the 2012 season, Pelini has now awarded 18 scholarships to walk-on players during his first five seasons as head coach.

He also noted that freshman linebacker Jared Afalava has been cleared academically by the NCAA and will be joining the team once he gets to Lincoln.

The Huskers will return to practice on Monday.