Five things we learned from Nebraska's Week 13 press conference

Nebraska football interim head coach Mickey Joseph and several Huskers met with reporters on Tuesday to preview this week’s Senior Day home game against Wisconsin.

Here are five of our biggest takeaways from what they had to say…

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’Baller’ Jarrett Synek could be the No. 2 quarterback this week

Casey Thompson is progressing toward returning to action after missing the past two-and-a-half games to injury. 

The junior practiced Tuesday and “made some throws.” That led Joseph to say he expects Thompson to practice the rest of the week.

However, NU might not decide on Thompson’s status until game day. Joseph also ruled out Chubba Purdy, the starter in Thompson’s absence, who will undergo ankle surgery this week.

That leaves Logan Smothers as the next in line should Thompson be held out again. Joseph said Smothers has been “banged up” the past two weeks but played most of the second half at Michigan.

After that? Walk-on Jarrett Synek.

A 6-foot, 200-pound redshirt freshman from Hastings, Nebraska, Synek traveled to Ann Arbor and played the final series. 

Joseph said Snyek was ahead of other quarterbacks Heinrich Haarberg (who Joseph clarified was not hurt) and Matt Masker. The Huskers could also look at true freshman Richard Torres, who has not played a snap this season. 

If Thompson is out, Synek appears in line as the Huskers’ No. 2 against Wisconsin.

Most fans may have never heard of Synek before Saturday. But tight end Travis Vokolek said the walk-on caught everyone’s attention months ago with his play on the scout team.

“He’s a baller himself,” Vokolek said. “No one really knew of him until we started practicing, and he was doing some really good things on scout team. The coaches realized that and gave him an opportunity to travel with us this past week.

“He’s a great kid. Nebraska kid. Very humble, hard-working kid who’s really good and knows what to do in the right situations… It seems like every ball that man’s thrown is in the perfect spot every time. He knows the offense in and out, and he’s going to eventually be a great leader as well. He’s just a baller.”

Myles Farmer is back in the mix after suspension

Safety Myles Farmer was suspended last week after a DWI arrest the previous weekend. That left Nebraska without arguably its best tackler in the secondary at Michigan.

Joseph said Farmer was back on the field on Tuesday, though. The sophomore should again be in the starting lineup when the Huskers take on Wisconsin.

“Myles is back,” Joseph said. “He practiced today. He practiced well today.”

Despite missing last week’s loss, Farmer ranks second on the team with 62.0 tackles this season, including 31 solo stops. Nebraska missed 13 tackles against Michigan, which ran for 264 yards in the win.

Phalen Sanford, listed as the No. 2 safety behind Farmer on NU’s depth chart, was back at practice on Tuesday. Sanford left the Michigan game with an injury suffered on a special teams tackle.

Huskers will honor 12 players on Senior Day 

The transfer portal and additional years of eligibility from COVID-19 have changed the dynamics of Senior Days.

Joseph said Nebraska would honor 12 players during its pre-game Senior Day ceremony on Saturday. However, he did not name who all would walk, nor did NU put out a list of Senior Day participants.

“Well, you can have two senior days,” Joseph said. “You can walk this year and come back and have another senior day. You are going to have some kids that are going to walk, and then they are going to sit down and talk to you at the end of the year and say, ‘Coach, I want to come back.’ 

“And I am sure they are going to walk again next year. That is OK.” 

Two notable players listed with junior eligibility, receiver Trey Palmer and EDGE Garrett Nelson, would not be among those 12.

While Nelson won’t go through Senior Day, that doesn’t mean he’ll definitely be back at Nebraska next season.

“A lot of questions need to be answered with decisions,” Nelson said. “I can’t really tell you because I don’t really know.”

Wisconsin’s Braelon Allen is the latest ‘big’ test for NU’s defense

Nebraska must slow down one of the nation’s top running backs for the fourth time in as many games.

The Huskers have already faced the likes of Illinois’ Chase Brown, Minnesota’s Mohamed Ibrahim, and Michigan’s Blake Corum. Now they get Wisconsin sophomore Braelon Allen.

Listed at 6-2, 235, Allen ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 1,034 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns this season. Unlike the relatively smaller and shiftier backs Nebraska has seen the past three weeks, Allen presents a different challenge.

“He is a really, really good running back,” Joseph said. “He is probably one of the best running backs we have seen this year. We have been seeing some of the really good backs in the country. This kid is special. 

“Someone told me he is 18 years old. To be that big and to be 18, that’s special. But he is a really good back.” 

Brown’s big hit embodied grit Joseph says Nebraska needs

When Alante Brown tried to hurdle a Michigan defender and catapulted into the air, Joseph admittedly cringed momentarily.

After Brown got up and returned to the sideline, he explained what he was thinking on the play. 

“I am a fan of guys trying to get it done by any means necessary, and that is what he had to do,” Joseph said. “That is what you want in your football team. You know what he said after that play? ‘I am trying to win the football game.’ And that is what you want.”

That mentality instantly resonated with Joseph. He said Nebraska needed more determination and willingness to do whatever it took to win.

“That is what some teams – like what we are right now – that is what they are missing,” Joseph said. “That extra grit that, ‘I am going to lay my body on the line to help this team win a football game.’ And I like that in Alante. 

“That is why I always ride with Alante, because at the end of the day, I know he is going to go to battle, and he is going to give you 100 percent.”