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With the recent departure of running back Aaron Green, some have wondered what the Huskers will do with Braylon Heard.
Will they keep Heard at nickel back, where he received positive reviews this spring, or move the sophomore to the running back position he played his first season in Lincoln?
The answer, for now? Both.
"We're going to play him at running back and continue to work him some at nickel and we're going to let it play out,” Husker coach Bo Pelini said Friday. “So he's going to be playing a little bit of both. That's basically what we're doing."
Pelini doesn’t expect giving Heard reps at both spots to present any issues.
“It’ll play out pretty easy,” he said.
"He thought he made good strides and put a lot of work in at nickel and didn't want to waste it. And I think he's confident (at running back). Obviously, he played a whole year at the running back position. We think he can really help us there. … We're going to see how it goes for a while, and then make a decision, obviously sit down with him and see how it goes.”
The Huskers moved Heard from running back to defensive back this spring. But that move was made before Green announced he was transferring to TCU.
"We didn't move (Heard) in the first place because he wasn't a good running back. We kind of had a logjam there,” Pelini said. “And now with Aaron leaving, it kind of opens up a door.”
The cupboard is hardly empty at running back, where Nebraska has senior Rex Burkhead and sophomore Ameer Abdullah. But these days, many coaches like to have at least three solid options at a position where players face so much wear and tear.
Junior Mike Marrow and incoming recruit Imani Cross could make cases to be reliable options, but both enter the fall unproven at this level.
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Heard did not have many touches last year -- 25 carries for 114 yards -- but does at least have some collegiate game experience at a position he shined at during his days at Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown, Ohio.
Heard was also an impressive defensive back in high school. Pelini has said Nebraska could have just as easily recruited him as a cornerback coming out of high school.
Heard decided to switch to the secondary this spring only after ample discussion with Pelini.
"It wasn't really easy, because I haven't played corner in so long, so I didn't know if I would be actually good at it in college," Heard said this spring. "My love is running back and I got recruited as a running back. But I feel comfortable, though."
Whatever Heard's role at running back ends up being, Pelini said he feels good about the position.
He says the same about the nickel spot, where Heard worked along with junior Ciante Evans.
“We're deep in the secondary,” Pelini said. “We have a lot of options there."
Will they keep Heard at nickel back, where he received positive reviews this spring, or move the sophomore to the running back position he played his first season in Lincoln?
The answer, for now? Both.
"We're going to play him at running back and continue to work him some at nickel and we're going to let it play out,” Husker coach Bo Pelini said Friday. “So he's going to be playing a little bit of both. That's basically what we're doing."
Pelini doesn’t expect giving Heard reps at both spots to present any issues.
“It’ll play out pretty easy,” he said.
"He thought he made good strides and put a lot of work in at nickel and didn't want to waste it. And I think he's confident (at running back). Obviously, he played a whole year at the running back position. We think he can really help us there. … We're going to see how it goes for a while, and then make a decision, obviously sit down with him and see how it goes.”
The Huskers moved Heard from running back to defensive back this spring. But that move was made before Green announced he was transferring to TCU.
"We didn't move (Heard) in the first place because he wasn't a good running back. We kind of had a logjam there,” Pelini said. “And now with Aaron leaving, it kind of opens up a door.”
The cupboard is hardly empty at running back, where Nebraska has senior Rex Burkhead and sophomore Ameer Abdullah. But these days, many coaches like to have at least three solid options at a position where players face so much wear and tear.
Junior Mike Marrow and incoming recruit Imani Cross could make cases to be reliable options, but both enter the fall unproven at this level.
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Heard did not have many touches last year -- 25 carries for 114 yards -- but does at least have some collegiate game experience at a position he shined at during his days at Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown, Ohio.
Heard was also an impressive defensive back in high school. Pelini has said Nebraska could have just as easily recruited him as a cornerback coming out of high school.
Heard decided to switch to the secondary this spring only after ample discussion with Pelini.
"It wasn't really easy, because I haven't played corner in so long, so I didn't know if I would be actually good at it in college," Heard said this spring. "My love is running back and I got recruited as a running back. But I feel comfortable, though."
Whatever Heard's role at running back ends up being, Pelini said he feels good about the position.
He says the same about the nickel spot, where Heard worked along with junior Ciante Evans.
“We're deep in the secondary,” Pelini said. “We have a lot of options there."
