Lincoln – The Nebraska football team held its second day of Cotton Bowl preparations Sunday with a three-hour workout in full pads inside the Hawks Championship Center. For the second straight day, some of the more inexperienced Huskers received a portion of the practice’s focus with a scrimmage to conclude the afternoon’s exercises.

Head Coach Bill Callahan singled out several players whose play stood out during the scrimmage.

“Our younger players did a nice job,” Callahan said. “We scrimmaged at length with our younger players—freshmen primarily—and they did some awfully good things. Corey Young had some hellacious hits. (Tyler) Kester, he did well. Thomas Lawson carried the ball quite a bit in the scrimmage. Our young linemen, they just can’t get enough reps right now. All in all, it was a great day for our young players.”

The depth that the Huskers have built this season has allowed the squad to designate sections of their bowl practices for the sole development of their younger players.

“I don’t know if we had enough bodies to do it last year,” Callahan said. “We’re a little bit deeper right now, so it has allowed us some flexibility in trying to get these guys a little more experience.”

Callahan said repetitions like those offered during Sunday’s scrimmage can be very important for the development of younger players.

“They’ll have an opportunity so see themselves on film. They will get a chance to evaluate and assess their fundamentals and techniques in a scrimmage situation, so it is just invaluable, to say the least.

“The players are all in position meetings during the course of the season. They have a great idea of what is being taught. It is just a matter of executing and getting practice with it. (The scrimmage) was great for everyone. These guys have been absorbing the system now for the entirety of training camp and the fall, so it was great to see them get to try and execute under duress.”

On the injury front, Callahan reported that freshman offensive tackle Jacob Hickman was sidelined by a knee injury during practice on Saturday after suffered a sprained MCL. While still unsure of the severity of the injury on Sunday, the squad has not ruled Hickman out of action for the Cotton Bowl matchup with Auburn. Additionally, junior fullback Matt Senske has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after undergoing back surgery.