Nebraska held its first scrimmage of fall camp on Saturday in Memorial Stadium, and afterwards, Nebraska head coach Mike Riley gave initial thoughts on the scrimmage, which provided significant reps for most players on Nebraska’s roster.

Riley said he felt Nebraska did enough of what he wanted to see in the first scrimmage.

“I think it was good for them to play football,” Riley said. “The defense got to tackle and finish plays. Our goal going in was to give our ones and twos 25 live plays, and we did that. Then we let the newer, younger guys play for quite awhile. We made sure all three quarterbacks got a shot — I think they all did good things. Overall we got accomplished what we wanted to.”

Riley later offered thoughts on a number of Nebraska’s position groups coming out of the scrimmage:

Quarterback: “I thought Tommy had some good plays and some plays that were real good Tommy plays — you saw the bootleg throw to Brandon. That’s clockwork stuff, beautiful,” Riley said. “I thought Ryker had a rough time with some blocking. He didn’t have a lot of time. He made some plays too. Ryker, I have to talk whole camp with him, and not just today. I don’t think today was indicative of how this has gone for him. He’s been real good.

“AJ (Bush) is elevating. Patrick (O’Brien) is talented. Tanner (Lee), you saw him, he’s pretty good.”

Linebacker: “I think there’s a lot of good leadership in that group,” Riley said. “Some of the players who were in it to start, guys like Marcus Newby, have elevated so far — a year ago to where he is now is awesome. Michael Rose-Ivey has always been in that group and he’s a good player.

“We’ve had some young guys step in, like Dedrick (Young). Now, his body is different than it was a year ago. Marcus’ is. Michael’s is. Josh Banderas and Chris Weber are solid in the middle. The depth, from what was a question mark from a year ago, is a strength.”

Defensive line: “For sure, our defensive line is on the rise,” Riley said. “For sure, we need a lot of work to game ready and to be a factor in the games. We’ve got to continue to develop so we develop the ability to have pass rushers in that picture. I think overall, that group looks solid.”

Offensive line: “This is a new interior. One experienced player moved positions — (Dylan) Utter — and then two new guards. I think these guys are going to be good, but obviously they don’t have it all down. We have to continue to work on that. I’m very encouraged by them. I like the look of them. I think (David) Knevel is going to be a good player. I think Nick Gates is. I think it was a real good move to move Utter to center.”

Cornerback: “Chris Jones and Eric Lee,” Riley said of two who stood out Saturday. “What we’re looking for at corner is being sound. I think one of our big deals is not giving up big plays over the corner’s head. That’s a big factor in us winning games. When I see those guys make plays and look like they’re sound down the field, that’s a good sign. We’re making progress there.”