11:35 a.m.: Ricky Henry's finally back to his old self after missing all of spring practice because of shoulder surgery. That's a good thing for an offensive line emphasizing physical play.
If the Huskers ever had a posterboy for tenacity, Henry would be that guy.
He was the overwhelming statistical leader among linemen last year, recording more knockdowns, pancakes and cut blocks than anyone. Henry said his three-category total was about 160. He beat second-place finisher Jacob Hickman by at least 40.
Henry's play-through-the-whistle mentality has rubbed off on his teammates, especially lately. Henry actually struggled to regain his form during the early portion of fall camp. He's settled in now since then, though, assistant coach Barney Cotton said.
“About halfway through camp, all of a sudden it started to click again for him,” Cotton said. “He's made huge strides this last week to 10 days. He's playing probably the best football he's played, so hopefully he just keeps building from there.”
Henry seems to always have a certain relentlessness to his approach, something that Cotton wants to see every time out from all his linemen. The group, as a whole, is doing a better job of that.
“I think we've done it more than we haven't,” Cotton said. “We just want to be more consistent.”
Henry's expected to be the season-long starter at right guard. But even Henry understands that could change if he digresses, considering the progress of the underclassmen below him on the depth chart. Brent Qvale and Andrew Rodriguez in particular.
“They're progressing real well,” Henry said. “It's crazy how quickly they've picked all the stuff up. They picked it up a lot quicker than I did when I first got here.”
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