LINCOLN — Coach Bo Pelini said quarterback Zac Lee has put in the time and effort necessary to earn the response and respect he is seeing now from the offense.

“I think his confidence is growing every day, and as that happens you see the confidence around him growing,'' Pelini said Saturday. “I think the offensive guys have a sense he's ready to step in and lead this team.''

Lee directed the Huskers through spring practice, summer seven-on-seven drills and now the first week of preseason camp. The junior is expected before long to officially be named the starter for the Sept. 5 game with Florida Atlantic.

“I think everybody would agree that they're seeing the right things from Zac,'' Pelini said.

Keeping an eye on Ricky Henry

Assistant coach Barney Cotton said everything is being done to keep Ricky Henry sharp as the right guard continues to miss practice time. Kansas State transfer Derek Meyer and freshman Brent Qvale have been taking the snaps at right guard in his absence.

“Certainly it puts him a little behind, but he gets every mental rep,'' Cotton said. “He's out here, he's got a script, he sees everything happening in front of him, he's at every meeting. So hopefully when we get him back out here, it'll be a lot faster for him since he's been getting all those mental reps.''

There is no such uncertainty at left guard, where junior Keith Williams is feeding off a sophomore season in which he started nine games.

“Through nine practices I think this was probably his best practice,'' Cotton said. “Keith has a chance to be a very, very physical guy for us. We just look for that to continue to develop.''

Battle for punter is continuing

Nothing new at punter yet, where starting place-kicker Alex Henery is trying to win the job over redshirt freshman Brett Maher.

Pelini said Henery has looked good during camp.

“I think he's really confident back there, and I think he wants the job,'' Pelini said. “I think it's going to be a good battle as we go through camp.''

Depth looks good at defensive end

Nebraska is setting itself up to be three-deep at both defensive end positions. The only drawback is inexperience behind starters Pierre Allen and Barry Turner.

“It's a good group,'' Pelini said. “We have more depth there than we did a year ago, I can tell you that.''

Pelini said Cameron Meredith is “playing very well'' and Josh Williams is coming along. Both are redshirt freshmen.

David Harvey moved from defensive tackle back to end, and Pelini said the fifth-year senior “brings some things that we think he can help our football team with.'' Pelini also called true freshman Jason Ankrah a talented player who is making his mark in camp.

— Rich Kaipust

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