The first test of many
Fan Day and the Big Red Preview are built for some flashiness, but Saturday was more intentional than that.
Saturday night wasn’t built for flash. It was built for football.
Yes, Nebraska hosted its annual Fan Day. And yes, the Big Red Preview brought a couple thousand fans into Memorial Stadium for an inside look at the sixth practice of fall camp.
But this wasn’t about fanfare.
“This is work tonight,” Matt Rhule told the media before practice. “We don’t have any time to waste.”
It was the Huskers’ first day in full pads and their first of just nine NCAA-allowed fully padded practices before the season opener on Aug. 28 against Cincinnati. That number—nine—frames the urgency.
“You get nine times in full pads. Nine times you can actually, physically tackle someone before the first game,” Rhule said. “If you want to know why early-season football sometimes looks pretty sloppy, that’s why.”
So no, this wasn’t a night for spectacle. It was live contact, full effort, and live reps under the lights, with fans watching and with consequences baked in.
So what did we learn? Let’s just say while a few things stood out from Saturday’s padded practice, others are becoming patterns.
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