No "Q," no problem.
Nebraska I-back Roy Helu Jr. took advantage of his first career start and helped make Cornhusker fans forget about the departure of Quentin Castille in NU's 49-3 win over Florida Atlantic Saturday night.
After a slow start in the first half, Helu sparked NU's offense with 95 of his game-high 152 rushing yards in the third quarter. He scored a career-best three touchdowns on the day.
"Roy's a heck of a player," coach Bo Pelini said. "He played that way, and he played very well. He's as good of a back as there is out there."
Though he rushed for 57 yards in the first half, Helu admitted he wasn't in a good rhythm. On several runs, he said he was a cut or a block away from breaking off big runs but was being too impatient.
"It was up and down for me personally," Helu said. "The biggest adjustment was that we put the ball in the running game's hands and set the tempo that way."
And the run game delivered. Helu broke off runs of 14 and 28 yards to start off the third quarter, then scored on a dive play from 7 yards away to put NU up 28-3.
On NU's next possession, Helu took a handoff on a zone read play. He looked left, stopped on a dime, turned right and cut through a line of blockers. After breaking a tackle, he was off to the races for a 44-yard score.
"That was a great job by him," running backs coach Tim Beck said of the run. "He made a great cutback, and he's fast and has great change of direction and cutting ability. He showed all of that on that play."
Beck said he was impressed by Helu's ability to let things develop in the second half and thought the junior I-back showed off the work he put in during the offseason.
"He's stronger and faster," Beck said. "You noticed it really in the second half when he ran through some tackles and he made people miss. He runs over, around and through people, and he was more confident."
When Helu needed a break, NU turned to Rex Burkhead. The true freshman backed up his hype Saturday night.
Burkhead admits he was nervous on his first carry, which came with about eight minutes left in the second quarter. He took a handoff up the middle for 4 yards before tripping over his own feet.
"I just kept thinking about holding onto the ball," Burkhead said. "When I first ran out there, it felt like I was in a dream – it was unbelievable. After I got that first run, I got into a groove."
Burkhead rushed for 39 yards on nine carries, including an 8-yard score to end the third quarter, and earned the praise of Beck for his natural talents.
"He runs hard, and he's a lot like Roy – he has great instincts, and he cuts really well," Beck said. "I wish we could've had the opportunity to give him a few more carries, but I was very impressed."
Burkhead said he didn't know he'd have a chance to play right away when he arrived in Lincoln in June, but Castille's dismissal on Aug. 22 opened up the door for the No. 2 job.
"It kind of made me step up some more and really just contribute to the team any way I could," Burkhead said. "All you can do is come out and play as hard as you can and the best you can."
Though NU has a stable of backs who are older and more experienced, including Lester Ward and Marcus Mendoza, Beck said Burkhead is a key cog in the run game.
"Rex obviously is going to be a guy that's going to help us a lot this year, and I think he helped pick things up today," Beck said.
Castille, by the way, rushed for 12 yards on eight carries for Northwestern State in the Demons' 55-7 loss to Houston.
His former team has moved on without him, and Helu said the 262 rushing yards NU put up Saturday night is an "all right" start.
"The type of team that we are and the type of offense that we're trying to become – you saw in the third quarter," he said.
maxolson@dailynebraskan.com
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