Husker notes: Where Turner Corcoran will play, plus Nebraska's fast, young players

Turner Corcoran isn’t making requests, he’s taking them.
“They’re going to put me wherever they feel like they need me,” the fourth-year Nebraska offensive lineman said. “Right now, I’m playing wherever they need me.”
On Monday — at the start of NU’s training camp — that was tackle. Corcoran’s usual spot since he arrived in 2020.
While the 6-foot-6, 310-pound junior may project to guard or even center in the NFL, he’s started 21 games at tackle out of sheer necessity. In 2020, he started at left tackle when Brenden Jaimes forwent NU’s final game at Rutgers. In 2022, he started three games at left guard before again moving to tackle after Teddy Prochazka suffered a season-ending injury.
Luke Mullin and Wilson Moore share their observations from Nebraska's first day of fall football practice Monday.
Lincoln Journal Star
Prochazka is back in 2023. He practiced on Monday. And longtime right tackle starter Bryce Benhart is back, too. So Corcoran could back them up or play an interior position.
For now, Corcoran is part of a seasoned, veteran group full of returning starters.
“I think it’s a good thing,” Corcoran said. “We’ve got guys who can help bring along the younger guys and let ‘em know what to expect and what not to expect. What to do and what not to do ... playing a lot of snaps together and having guys who have played a lot of snaps. Seeing a bunch of different looks on defense, knowing what’s coming. Knowing how to break down film and help the younger guys advance their skills.”
'They are really, really fast'
These young guys can move.
If there was one early takeaway by coach Matt Rhule from Nebraska’s split-practice format — which generally put older players through drills before finishing the morning with freshmen and underclassmen — it’s that this Husker roster has some quality athletic depth.
“They are fast,” Rhule said Monday, moments after the first workout of fall camp ended. "They are really, really fast.”
So much so that the head coach and NU special teams coordinator Ed Foley commented to each other that getting on kickoff and coverage units won’t be easy for anyone. Everyone, it seems, can fly.
The format is “a little bit of a strain” on the staff, Rhule said, because coaches need to be on the field longer. The payoffs are worth it, though, from identifying which freshmen are possible future leaders to seeing players like Chubba Purdy — still a relatively inexperienced quarterback himself entering his fourth season — take on more of a veteran role leading the third-team offense.
Rhule said some college programs have practice setups that might afford freshmen five good reps in a session. NU got its rookies around 40 on Monday.
Junior defensive lineman Ty Robinson named frosh D-lineman Cam Lenhardt — one of the spring-game standouts a few months ago — as someone who showed out on the first day.
“I think he’s got a lot of potential here, especially for this season,” Robinson said.​