• Photo Showcase: Tuesday's practice
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• Video: Highlights from Tuesday's Nebraska football practice:
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LINCOLN — Don't expect an announcement on Nebraska's starting quarterback before the Sept. 4 opener.
So said coach Bo Pelini after the Huskers practiced for two hours Tuesday on the FieldTurf outside the Hawks Center.
“There have been no decisions made at any positions,” Pelini said.
“Guys who trot out there for the first play, the guys we put out there, they're starters. Until then, it's a competition.”
Asked specifically about the quarterbacks, Pelini offered even less: “I'm not answering any quarterback questions.”
Zac Lee, Cody Green and Taylor Martinez continue to vie for the job.
The focus in practice Tuesday, Pelini said, was “not up to my liking.”
“We've got a long ways to go,” the third-year coach said.
More praise for Enunwa
Count Brandon Kinnie among those impressed with freshman receiver Quincy Enunwa.
“He reminds me of me a little bit,” said Kinnie, a junior and projected starting receiver.
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Enunwa, from Moreno Valley, Calif., has earned good reviews with his play in preseason camp.
“He plays fast,” Kinnie said. “He's really explosive. I didn't have that then. I tell him all the time, ‘Man, you've got something special.' ”
Williams earns Pelini's praise
Keith Williams said he's excited about the possibility of Nebraska trying to establish the run to start the season. The left guard also agrees with talk that the offensive line is better prepared to move the football on the ground.
“Coach (Shawn) Watson does a great job, and Coach (Barney) Cotton, too, in preparing us to run the ball and be physical,” Williams said. “So that's important to our offense — run downhill and be physical.”
Williams, a third-year starter, could play a big role in the ground game's success. Although he was sidelined some early in camp, Pelini said Tuesday that the senior has come back strong.
“He's doing really well,” Pelini said. “He has practiced well. He hasn't missed a rep.”
Paul gives run game good reviews
Niles Paul knows how important a stable running game will be to Nebraska's offensive approach this fall, so it's a good thing that he likes what he sees from the team's top I-back trio so far this month.
Senior Roy Helu and sophomores Rex Burkhead and Dontrayevous Robinson are making plays consistently enough to give Paul the confidence that they'll show up on game day.
And ultimately, it should make the receivers' job easier, Paul said.
“For the receiving corps, the year that I expect for us to have this year as a whole, we need our running game to get going early,” the senior receiver said. “And I have no doubt that they will. Any one of them has big-play potential.”
Those three — Helu, Burkhead and Robinson — are expected to share carries when the season starts Sept. 4 in what could be a run-heavy debut for the offense against Western Kentucky.
That's fine, Paul said. He said he won't mind if he's the one clearing the path instead of catching passes.
“I love blocking,” he said. “I'll just sit back, wait and let them do their thing. We'll get our numbers called, too.”
— Mitch Sherman, Rich Kaipust and Jon Nyatawa
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