The final practice of the spring for Nebraska football was more than just a scrimmage Saturday.
Coach Scott Frost called the event a “showcase” earlier in the week. It was also a celebration of the team and how far the community has come since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 36,406 fans in attendance, the largest gathering in Nebraska since most events came to an end in the spring of 2020.
“I don’t know who needed that the most, us to have the fans in there cheering for us or the fans,” Frost said. “The stadium wasn’t full but, man, there was a lot of people in there. The sooner we get back to normal, the better for everybody.
May 1, 2021
There were signs. Interstate 80 traffic heading southwest from Omaha was busy. As you got into Lincoln, there were more signs. Lots of signs. Approaching Memorial Stadium, something seemed familiar, almost comforting. The signs said things like, “Game Parking $25.” Or, “Lot Full.”
After a year of pandemic-induced isolation, it appeared that life was returning to the Haymarket. At least, it looked like the early stages of reinvigoration.
Once they made their way into the stadium and spread out, the crowd of 36,406 looked more like a skimpy layer of red frosting on a sugar cookie than the iconic Red Sea that paints Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoons in the fall. The crowd came in below its 50% capacity limit and fell well short of the 47,000-plus, who showed up for Alabama’s spring game the week before, but they filled parking lots, bars and restaurants, bringing signs of life to downtown Lincoln.
Nebraska counting on sharper Martinez in prove it season Follow Us
Question of the Day By ERIC OLSON - Associated Press - Thursday, April 29, 2021
Adrian Martinez will be a rare four-year starting quarterback at Nebraska this fall and yet, for all his experience, he is one of the team’s biggest mysteries.
He was among the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the country as a freshman in 2018 and appeared on Heisman Trophy candidate lists the next spring.
But a sophomore slump set in amid injuries, he seemed to lose a step and committed 13 turnovers in 10 games. It didn’t get better in last year’s pandemic-shortened season. He continued to struggle hanging onto the ball, and he lost the starter’s job for two games as the Cornhuskers went 3-5.
April 29, 2021
Adrian Martinez will be a rare four-year starting quarterback at Nebraska this fall and yet, for all his experience, he is one of the team’s biggest mysteries.
He was among the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the country as a freshman in 2018 and appeared on Heisman Trophy candidate lists the next spring.
But a sophomore slump set in amid injuries, he seemed to lose a step and committed 13 turnovers in 10 games. It didn’t get better in last year’s pandemic-shortened season. He continued to struggle hanging onto the ball, and he lost the starter’s job for two games as the Cornhuskers went 3-5.
April 7, 2021
Media was allowed into the Hawks Championship Center to watch about 30 minutes of football practice Wednesday morning. This is the first such opening since 2019. Open practices had yet to happen in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the rest of the spring and disrupted the fall.
KLIN’s Kenny Larabee was in attendance to capture some of the sights.
Quarterbacks coach Mario Verduzco
Verduzco is heading into his fourth season in charge of the QBs in Lincoln. Each season has been preceded by the presumed backup or depth piece leaving the program (Tristan Gebbia & Patrick O’Brien, Noah Vedral, Luke McCaffrey).