Nebraska coach Bo Pelini announced Thursday that defensive tackle Chase Rome has returned to the team and will be available to play Saturday against Idaho State.

Rome left the team last week due to personal issues after starting the first two games in which he made four tackles. "Chase Rome is back with the football team," Pelini said. "He got through some issues and was ready to come back. He's been in practice with us all week."

The sophomore from Columbia, Missouri didn't play much in the second half of Nebraska's 36-30 loss at UCLA. Pelini said last week that Rome's "personal goals and personal perception of where he should be on this football team doesn't match the team goals."

The Huskers held a 90-minute workout Thursday afternoon. "We had a good week of preparation," said Pelini. "I just told our team, we're going to find out a lot about our football team this week. We have to come out and be ready to attack this football team from the start. We're looking forward to the challenge."

When asked about whether this squad is more battle-tested at this point in the season than last year, Pelini said he likes the maturity he's seen from the Huskers up to this point.

"I've said all along, I like our leadership. I like our football team and the character we have. We're going to need that going forward. Our work ethic has been pretty steady. We're not riding the highs and the lows. It's just understanding that we're not where we need to be yet as a football team. We've got to keep working day-in and day-out as a football team to do it."

The Huskers will conduct a final walk-through practice on Friday before facing the Bengals on Saturday afternoon.