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Booker remains confident in Pierson-El despite senior's 'bad decisions' on returns

Nebraska punt return man De'Mornay Pierson-El has looked shaky making decisions this season in his area of expertise.

If his confidence is wavering, it shouldn't be, said Scott Booker, the Huskers' special-teams coordinator.

"I'm not shaken, so he shouldn't be shaken," Booker said after Tuesday's practice at Hawks Championship Center.

Booker points to Pierson-El's history as a main reason the 5-foot-9, 190-pound senior should remain confident. After all, the Virginia native led the nation in punt-return yardage in 2014 with 596 while averaging 17.5 per attempt.

"He'd admit -- he made bad decisions," the coach said of Saturday's game, a 21-17 home loss to Northern Illinois in which Pierson-El returned five punts for a net of 13 yards, and seemed indecisive at times as to when to field the ball, or made a poor choice one way or the other.