Nebraska’s offensive line is walking into the kind of test that can spoil a night fast.
Matt Rhule has already studied the tape, and one name kept jumping off the screen: Kenny Soares. The Nebraska coach pointed to a couple of rushes from Michigan State’s game against Notre Dame, and on both plays, he wasn’t even sure the Irish offensive lineman got a hand on the Spartan edge defender.
Soares explained the trick behind those clean wins against quarterback CJ Carr. He said he used what Michigan State calls the “ghost move.”
“You flash your hand, 'Oh, I'm there, and now I'm not anymore,'" Soares told reporters in East Lansing.
That’s the kind of thing Nebraska is preparing for as it heads into Saturday’s Big Ten opener in East Lansing. The Huskers have been confident up front, and with good reason.
Their run game is rolling well enough to rank 12th nationally. But this isn’t just about moving bodies in the run game.
It’s about surviving on the edge, where a defender can show up in one spot, disappear, and then arrive next to Anthony Colandrea before the play has time to develop.
“Respect all, fear none” has been a phrase around Nebraska’s camp, and this matchup fits that mindset. Rhule made it clear Monday that Michigan State’s edge group is going to ask serious questions of the Huskers’ tackles.
“Their edge rush and their edge players are as good as we'll see all year,” Rhule said Monday.
Rhule also brought up Michigan’s Jaishawn Barham, who gave Nebraska trouble last season, while talking through what Soares can do. His point was simple: there are multiple ways for an edge rusher to wreck a game.
“There's a lot of guys who can push the pocket. Soares can go speed to power, but he also has a quick inside move. He can dip the edge,” Rhule said.
And if Nebraska loses the battle there, Soares has already shown how quickly that can turn into a problem. He can disrupt a game if you let him.
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