Terrance Knighton updates the progress of Ty Robinson as he returns to the field

Nebraska Cornhuskers’ defensive line veteran Ty Robinson has sat out the spring as he recovers from shoulder surgery. But that has not stopped him from participating in practice in some form or another.

Nor has it prevented defensive line coach Terrence Knighton from challenging Robinson, who is expected to have a huge role on defense in 2023.

The team over at Husker Online caught up with the Cornhuskers’ D-line coach at a football camp held at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Texas, where he updated the progress of Robinson.

“He did a good job during the spring of staying involved, coaching the guys, and those guys look up to him,” said Knighton. “Those guys do their homework, and they know he’s a guy who’s played a lot and had some success.

“So for him, it’s just getting back into football shape, learning how we do things, leading the way we want him to lead, and getting back on the field and hitting the ground running and not starting from scratch and being able to pick up from where these guys put in all the work in the spring. So, he’s doing a good job of doing that, getting his conditioning up, and staying on top of the playbook. And we expect him to do a good job in camp.”

Robinson has played in 35 games for Nebraska over three years, recording 23 starts in the process. The six-foot-six interior defensive lineman has recorded 68 total tackles, 32 solo, 10 tackles for a loss, and four sacks in his collegiate career.

Knighton reveals what he wants to see from Nebraska players before camp

While Knighton might expect a lot out of Robinson, he is not the only player he’s expecting to take a leap during fall camp. He also revealed what he wants to see from all of his players before the start of camp.

“Right now, they’re just coming together, building that brotherhood. And you can see it day by day,” said Knighton. “The guys like hanging around each other and just generating that camaraderie before camp because camp is gonna get tough.

“And as long as those guys stick together and continue to work hard, we want to play eight guys. Play as many guys as you can and attack guys in waves. So, we need all our guys to be ready, all our guys to be locked in. Whether you’re a starter or backup, or a situational guy, you got to be on top of your game. It’s good that the guys are starting to hold each other accountable, and it’s not coming from the coaches.”

For Knighton, it’s all about building camaraderie while away from the field. And he believes his players are doing just that, consistently hanging out with each other. Along with that, the Cornhuskers players must be locked in and ready to go at a moment’s notice.

According to the Cornhuskers’ D-line coach, their plan is to row bodies at the opposing offense all season long.