Nebraska players getting better results with revival of the run

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — When Nate Swift and Todd Peterson were recruited to Nebraska, Frank Solich was the head coach and the I-back was the identity of the offense.

It’s turned out that the two fifth-year seniors have had a pretty good run as receivers in a system that came to rely more on the pass than the ground game.

“It’s kind of weird, thinking back, how different it could have been,” Peterson said Tuesday.

Swift, who leads the Huskers (2-0) with 11 catches for 191 yards and two touchdowns, needs 30 more receptions to replace 1972 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers as the school’s all-time leader.

Peterson, who has seven catches for 93 yards, is closing in on 1,000 yards for his career and is positioned to end up among the school’s top 10 in receptions and touchdowns.

Though both have made their mark as pass-catchers, they surely could have thrived in the old-school triple-option offense employed by Tom Osborne and Solich.

Back in the day, Nebraska receivers were known as much or more for their blocking ability.

What’s old is new again with the Huskers, trying to re-establish the run with coordinator Shawn Watson fully in charge of the offense after deferring to former head coach Bill Callahan the previous two years.

“Not only are they catching the ball and running good routes, but they’re blocking on the perimeter extremely well,” coach Bo Pelini said. “I can think of very few times the first two games — only one instance — where we missed a block on the perimeter that hurt us.”

Swift said receivers coach Ted Gilmore emphasizes toughness among the receivers and challenges his charges to achieve a certain number of knockdowns each game.

Swift isn’t averse to mixing it up with defenders. He was, after all, a running back his senior year at Hutchinson High in Minnesota and led the state with 2,500 yards and 30 touchdowns.