How Barret Liebentritt — and old-school physicality — can help Nebraska’s run game

For 10 minutes a day in practice, Barret Liebentritt experiences a release of old-school physicality, crashing into teammates during individual periods.

The fullbacks work with longtime Nebraska assistant Ron Brown, who wants to instill the same grit and toughness of the great NU teams of the 1990s.

“He’s passionate about physicality, so it’s right up his alley,” Liebentritt said.

Liebentritt is in his second season with Nebraska, having transferred from Notre Dame in the summer of 2023. He’s appeared in every game, clearing the way for the Huskers’ stable of tailbacks out of the I-formation.

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule wants more explosiveness out of his running backs, and Liebentritt is a key factor in the Huskers’ ability to create more chunk plays. If he clears the way, it not only takes a defender out of the play but it also gives the running back more space to make another potential tackler miss, opening up more of the field and more possibilities.

“That’s kinda the two pieces that go together, so if I can give him an extra yard or two of space to make a guy miss, maybe they break one or two more,” Liebentritt said. “You break a couple of them, the next thing you know, it starts to kinda snowball from there.”