Matt Rhule plans to limit Casey Thompson’s throwing in spring camp to avoid re-injury

Nebraska quarterback Casey Thompson – who started most of last season for the Huskers – will be “limited” in NU’s upcoming spring camp, coach Matt Rhule said Monday. Thompson is recovering from offseason surgery on his throwing shoulder after passing for 2,407 yards and 17 touchdowns last season.

“We’re hoping he’ll able to throw, but he’ll be pretty limited,” Rhule said. “And we’ll err on the side of caution with all these guys, right? I don’t see him being able to do very much other than potentially, at some point, being able to throw.”

Thompson has participated in parts of offseason conditioning, and is part of a large quarterback room that includes Georgia Tech transfer Jeff Sims and four more scholarship players in Chubba Purdy, Logan Smothers, Heinrich Haarberg and Richard Torres. Rhule said Monday that Purdy and Haarberg are among the fastest players on the team according to GPS tracking software.

The 6-foot, 195-pound Thompson has a history of injuries — and playing through them. At Texas, he toiled through a broken throwing thumb that didn’t fully heal until summer 2022 surgery. During the 2022 season, he suffered elbow nerve damage that kept him out of 2½ games. The shoulder was its own problem.

Asked if Nebraska has urged Thompson to take it easy in spring to promote healing, Rhule said Thompson has been “diligent.”

“He might be doing things on his own that I don’t know about, but, obviously, with the rules of college football, we can’t throw with him,” Thompson said. “He’s been diligent.”

Rhule does not want any of his banged-up players, including Thompson, to get hurt again.

“Re-injury, to me, is the biggest no-no,” Rhule said. “We don’t want to have re-injury. So we have to make sure things are thoroughly healthy.”