As the 2016 season comes closer, Nebraska is getting ready by scrimmaging in addition to position-specific work. Sam McKewon of the Omaha World-Herald said head coach Mike Riley’s summary of the scrimmage was “efficient.”

That’s good news for a team that (put gently) struggled with efficiency in 2015, losing five of its first eight games in the final minute – before enduring one of Nebraska’s worst losses in a decade by dropping a game to Purdue. But what should we make of the news coming out of Nebraska camp? What are the most important takeaways?

Rule no. 1: Don’t put much stock in most of this

If there’s anything to take away from news coming out of fall camp, it’s this one. Any news coming out of camp should be viewed with suspicion, simply because all this is still just practice. This rule is especially true when it comes to good news, as at this point in the pre-season everyone is optimistic and hoping for the best. This is the sunshine-pumping season, and all the news coming from camp should be viewed through that lens.

An absence of turnovers is encouraging

Over 100 plays, Nebraska had no turnovers. No interceptions, no fumbles lost, none. Bill Connelly, master of the advanced statistics for SB Nation, said Nebraska can contend for the B1G West by making one fewer mistake per game. As anyone who watched Nebraska’s game last year against Iowa (or Northwestern, or Purdue, or Miami, or …) can attest, eliminating turnovers would make the difference in those contests.

But again, refer to Rule no. 1.

The secondary seems to be progressing

Over the course of the scrimmage, Nebraska’s quarterbacks never hit any home-run balls over the top. And, according to McKewon’s recap, it wasn’t because the quarterbacks were inaccurate, but because the receivers were well covered. Again, anyone watching Nebraska’s game last year against BYU (or Illinois, or Wisconsin, or Miami, or …) an ability to shut down the long pass. An improvement in that category can do nothing but encourage the Nebraska faithful.

But, again, refer to Rule no. 1.

Injuries are a concern

A number of players missed the most recent scrimmage, including Michael Rose-Ivey with a knee , Jordan Westerkamp with a groin, and Cethan Carter going through the concussion protocol.

Of the three, Westerkamp’s is probably the least concerning, as we knew he was coming back from injury already. Rose-Ivey missing time is always a concern given his injury history – and the kind of contributions he can make when he’s on the field.

Carter’s injury is more concerning, simply because of the nature of concussions. Hopefully Carter can get cleared and be able to participate fully, especially given the sky-high expectations for his 2016 campaign. But we won’t know until we see him back on the field.