With no glaring weaknesses, Husker backer Reimer hungry to push game to another level | Column

If Luke Reimer happens to hear his position coach’s latest comments on his overall game, he’ll note it’s essentially a good news-bad news assessment.

Actually, there’s not much bad news at all.

“I don’t know if Luke has a big-time weakness, but he has to improve everything,” Nebraska inside linebackers coach Barrett Ruud said Monday. “I think that’s a good way to put it.

“He’s a really good athlete, really understands football,” the coach added. “Probably the worst part of his game — I don’t know if it’s a weakness — is the pass rush. But overall, he doesn’t have a glaring weakness in his game. It’s all about having the mentality to improve each aspect on a daily basis.” 

Reimer, a sophomore from Lincoln North Star, said he grades himself in a harsh manner. He understand his limitations. Good news: He has an opportunity to make significant improvements this month, what with Nebraska in the midst of preseason practice in advance of its Aug. 28 opener at Illinois. A five-game starter last season, he’s regarded as one of the Huskers’ top three inside linebackers along with redshirt freshman Nick Henrich and Chris Kolarevic, a junior transfer from Northern Iowa.

Ruud already has made it clear that he plans to use a rotation of inside backers — three for sure and perhaps more. Make no mistake, Reimer is a safe bet to be a mainstay. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound speedster, in six games total last season, recorded 40 tackles, including five for losses, with two sacks. His speed to the ball is noticeable to most any layman.