Nebraska practiced for over two hours Wednesday afternoon in preparation for Saturday’s game against Arkansas State.

Head coach Bo Pelini also addressed the media after practice, giving updates on sophomore wide receiver Tyler Wullenwaber and starting defensive tackle Chase Rome.

“Tyler Wullenwaber blew his ACL and he’s out for the year. Chase Rome is dealing with some personal issues and isn’t with the football team right now and won’t be for the foreseeable future.” Pelini said Rome's "personal goals and personal perception of where he should be on this football team doesn't match the team goals."

Rome's departure comes after the Cornhuskers' defensive line played poorly in the loss at UCLA last Saturday. Defensive coaches said early in the week that personnel changes were being considered at several positions.

Rome, a sophomore from Columbia, Missouri, had four tackles in the first two games.

Running backs coach Ron Brown spoke after practice about sophomore I-back Ameer Abdullah. “It’s good to see him getting into a flow of things. He’s showing that he can do it, his pass protection, his running routes, his catching the ball, running inside, running outside and carrying out fakes. There are a lot of things that a back has to be good at. Rex (Burkhead) does it all very well and Ameer has stepped up and played extremely well that way.”

Brown added that it’s important to establish a running game against Arkansas State because the Red Wolves ran 97 plays in last week’s victory over Memphis. “We want to have as much possession time as we can and to do that you probably do need to be running the football well. We just want to get as many yards as we can on every carry. How it all sorts out we don’t know. We need to be ready for any type of game.”

Brown also said that he wants to get true freshman Imani Cross more playing time this week. “He’s a good player. He’s more than just a backup guy. He’s a guy that can help us in a bunch of different situations. I’m hoping to get him going. He’s a fun kid, he’s a physical kid and he’s playing hard and studying film. He’s ready to get in there and do it.”