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Jeff Sims runs over defender, scores first TD of Nebraska career in spring game

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax04/22/23

BarkleyTruax

Jeff Sims Nebraska football 2023
Nebraska quarterback Jeff Sims (Photo: Casey Fritton/HuskerOnline)

Jeff Sims met the end zone at Memorial Stadium for the first time Saturday. You get the feeling the two will be pretty familiar with each other by the time the 2023 season is over.

He didn’t just score a touchdown — Sims broke two tackles and waltzed in for it on a designed quarterback run in the red zone, much to the adulation of the Nebraska fanbase.

It almost looked as if Sims made the defenders tackle themselves. Catch the impressive score below:

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Catch the rest of Sims’ and Rhule’s Nebraska debuts live on the Big Ten Network. The White team — the first team offense — was in firm controls of Red team — the first team defense — at the end of the first half. The Red team was able to score its first touchdown at the end of the second quarter, and will receive the ball to open the second half.

Matt Rhule explains reasoning behind game-like format in Nebraska spring game

Taking in the atmosphere inside Memorial Stadium for the first time as Nebraska head coach, Matt Rhule couldn’t say enough about the fanbase showing out 60,000 strong for a spring game. 

Rhule revealed what he is looking for in his team during the showcase, saying he wants his players to get the closest thing to real game experience in his system that they can before the regular season begins. 

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“I think it’s so important for our guys, we’re going to play it just like a game,” Rhule said prior to opening kickoff. “We need to see how we can handle the situations in a game in everything from how we dress, to the penalties. It’s a great dry run for the fall.”

After an XFL-style kickoff, transfer QB Jeff Sims was the first-team quarterback for the Cornhuskers, who found TE Nate Boerkircher down the seam for a 38-yard gain on the opening drive, but was stalled by the first-team defense and was forced to settle for a field goal. Chubba Purdy started as quarterback for the second team.

Aside from the kickoff, everything else is formatted as if it were a regular college football game. Behind a big crowd that Rhule expects to be rowdy all afternoon, Nebraska fans should get a real-time look at exactly where their Huskers are at this point in the season.