Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule hits on a umber of topics during his Thursday media availability.

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule met with the media following Thursday’s spring practice in Lincoln, as the Huskers continue their spring practice schedule leading up to the April 27 Red-White game.

— Rhule said a couple of players went down with what appeared to be soft tissue issues on Thursday. He added that walk-on defensive lineman Leslie Black had a procedure to put a pin in his ankle.

“This is where the wear and tear of camp begins to affect you,” Rhule said. “Nothing long-term…most of the stuff is manageable.”

— Rhule likes the offensive line depth on his roster. He said players on the second team and third team offensive lines have proven that if given a chance, they can play. He said freshmen Grant Brix and Gibson Pyle are also doing a nice job in their first springs at Nebraska.

— Rhule said he’s looking for separation at the quarterback spot. He said if one player is able to pull away from the pack, it forces other players to raise their level of play as well. Rhule said the freshmen quarterbacks are doing some things in terms of understanding that he hasn’t seen in his college coaching career.

“We’re not here to pick the starter, we’re here to get them all good enough to be the starter,” Rhule said.

— Rhule said the quarterbacks are taking advantage of things in the teams’ offense that haven’t been taken advantage of as of yet. Rhule said he has emphasized to his quarterbacks and the team that their issue isn’t the highlights from spring practices, but minimizing the kinds of mistakes that are made like turnovers and self-inflicted wounds.

— Rhule said at running back, he’s eager to see what that picture looks like in the fall when Gabe Ervin Jr., and Rahmir Johnson are both full-go. Rhule said there have protection errors among the running backs — largely because players are still getting up to speed. Rhule said ideally they’ll get three backs on the field with regularity this season.

— Freshman Grant Brix is playing tackle and doing well, Rhule said — he just needs reps.

“Grant to me has a bright, bright, bright future at tackle,” Rhule said. “He can play tackle at this level.”

— Among the changes made behind the scenes on defense is graduate assistant Jack Potenza working exclusively with the JACK linebackers. Rhule said MJ Sherman and Chief Borders are both having strong springs.

— Rhule has had dinner a few times with athletic director Troy Dannen. Rhule said he’s “really pleased” with the way things have gone so far with Dannen.

— Rhule said Saturday’s scrimmage will be an assessment of where things stand. There will be a heavy focus on late-game scenarios before the team gets into a regular, unscripted scrimmage.