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  • ***
    How many energy drinks has Miles consumed in getting all these recruits on campus?

    I say “all these” because I’ve lost track of the number of visitors Miles and his staff have hosted. In fact, I’m not sure I ever had track.

    I’m told Nebraska has had eight unofficial visits over the past two days. Most are from the 2014 class, although power forward Tory Miller from Kansas City, who was here on Tuesday, is a 2013 recruit.

    These visits come on the heels of a weekend visit from Florida transfer Walter Pitchford, who committed on the spot. As I mentioned earlier as a likely scenario, Pitchford will redshirt the coming season, and not seek an NCAA waiver for immediate eligibility. This was a Miles decision.
    We’ll have more from Miles when Pitchford’s paperwork is complete.

    ***
    So, Pitchford will redshirt. Incoming freshman center Sergej Vucetic will not.

    What about Deverell Biggs?

    Last I heard, there’d been no decision. That’s partly because Biggs, an Omaha native and transfer from Seward County Community College, still has a busy road ahead to get everything in line academically. Not an impossible road, but a busy one.

    ***
    What else going on with Nebraska basketball?

    Well, in addition to recruits, Miles and his staff are also hosting K-through-12 students this week in summer basketball camps.

    And newcomers Shavon Shields, Benny Parker and Terran Petteway have arrived on campus for summer classes. Beginning next week, they and returning players will begin workouts with Miles and his staff, per a new NCAA rule we mentioned earlier this spring.

    It allows basketball coaches to work with their players eight hours a day for eight weeks in the summer, although only two of those hours can be spent on skill instruction (i.e., with a basketball).

    Time for GATA.
    ***
    I’ll leave you with a bit of schedule news.

    I’ve confirmed through a couple of sources the teams Nebraska will face in an exempt tournament this coming season. The Huskers will host Kent State, Valparaiso, Tulane and UNO. Dates and times aren’t official.

    Nebraska, which is also playing Creighton, Oregon, USC and Wake Forest, has two spots left to fill on its 2012-13 schedule. Another tournament is possible.
    Grammar... The difference between feeling your nuts and feeling you're nuts.

    Comment


    • @Huskers: Nebraska faces Arkansas State on Sept. 15 at 11 a.m. on either ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU (will be determined later) #LNK #UNL

      @Huskers: Huskers will take on Southern Miss on Sept. 1 at 2:30 p.m. (CT) on ABC (carried on ESPN2 outside of region) #LNK #UNL
      Grammar... The difference between feeling your nuts and feeling you're nuts.

      Comment


      • Nebraska School Days on BTN Set for Wednesday
        Courtesy NU Media Relations
        Fri, June 08, 2012

        The Big Ten Network will air a full day of Nebraska programming on Wednesday as part of its "School Days" series. It will be the first of three times this summer that Nebraska will be featured on "School Days."

        Wednesday's programming will feature three different episodes of the Big Ten's Greatest Games as well as replays of the 2012 Big Ten Track and Field Championships and Women's Gymnastics Championships. In addition, Big Ten Icons: Tom Osborne will be featured as well as one Husker basketball win, looking back at Nebraska's first year as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

        Coverage of "School Days" begins at 7:30 a.m. (Central Time) as BTN will air Nebraska's 31-17 victory over Missouri during the 2010 season. Then-senior Roy Helu Jr. set a school record with 307 rushing yards against the Tigers, giving Head Coach Bo Pelini his first win over a top-10 team.
        At 9:30 a.m., the 2012 Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships will air. The Nebraska women produced three individual champions during the two-day meet en route to its first Big Ten title. The men finished third, falling five points short of Indiana's winning score.

        The 2012 Big Ten Women's Gymnastics Championships will be featured at 12:30 p.m. The Huskers took home the title with a 197.100 score and were led by Emily Wong, who won the all-around Big Ten crown. Following gymnastics, the Nebraska football team's thrilling come-from-behind victory over Ohio State in 2011 will be shown at 2:30 p.m. The Huskers, who trailed 27-6 in the third quarter, produced the biggest comeback in school history with their 34-27 victory over the Buckeyes.

        N'Side Nebraska Athletics is set for 4:30 p.m., before Nebraska basketball's 2012 upset win over No. 11 Indiana airs at 5 p.m. The Huskers overcame a 13-point second half deficit to win 70-69.

        At 7 p.m., BTN will feature the 1995 Orange Bowl, where Nebraska defeated Miami, 24-17 to give Coach Tom Osborne his first national title. At 9 p.m., the Huskers' 42-17 victory over Tennessee in the 1998 Orange Bowl will air. Led by running back Ahman Green, the Husker football team gave Osborne his third national title in his final game as head coach. Osborne will be featured at 11 p.m., as part of Big Ten Icons.

        The Nebraska edition of "School Days" will also air on July 5 and July 30.
        Grammar... The difference between feeling your nuts and feeling you're nuts.

        Comment


        • LJS

          With Year 1 of Big Ten competition in the books, it seemed a fitting time for an examination of Husker athletics.

          In a year of monumental change, how did Tom Osborne see things? What was the good, the bad and the in-between? And what does Nebraska’s athletic director envision going forward?

          Osborne likes the potential of many of the Husker teams but is also mindful that “people don’t usually judge you by potential.”

          Nebraska won three conference championships in its first year in the Big Ten. All of them came in women’s sports: volleyball, gymnastics and indoor track and field. Factor in a return to the NCAA Tournament by Connie Yori’s team, and for the most part, the Husker women showed well in the new league.

          On the men's side, however, no conference championships. And, of course, there was a coaching change in men’s basketball, which Osborne said was the most difficult decision he made all year.

          A wide array of topics were covered in the conversation with Osborne: from the direction of the football program, to the facility upgrades, to his thoughts on all the guesswork surrounding his time frame as athletic director.

          Kind of like an Irish wake, he quipped.

          As for what else was said, read on.

          LJS: With the exit fee to the Big 12 and then not receiving a full cut yet from the Big Ten, how is the athletic department doing financially? Do you feel as good about where you are as you did a couple years ago?

          TO: “I think we paid a $9.25 million exit fee. The university administration took $2 million of that. We paid $7.25 million. So, obviously, that’s something we will never recoup. Yeah, we are behind the curve in comparison with the other (Big Ten) schools, so I think we have to work hard and probably be somewhat efficient and use our resources wisely. We’re doing a lot of things here in terms of facilities and I think by the time we’re done in about 14 months or so, our facilities will compare very well with almost any facilities in the conference. But facilities alone don’t do it.

          “The things that we are fighting, which we had fought even in the Big 12, are distance and population. Obviously, if you’re situated in a state with 10 million people and your recruits can drive in on unofficial visits, it makes it a lot easier than if you’re in a state with 1.8 million people and the distance factor becomes much greater. But we’ve done it before. We’ve recruited nationally. We’ve always battled population and distance, and sometimes weather.”

          LJS: Jim Delany recently said the Big Ten distributed a record dollar amount ($284 million) to the league schools. What did Nebraska receive?

          TO: “I can (say) but I’m not going to.”

          LJS: Nebraska’s take escalates each year, correct? How does it work?

          TO: “There is an increase each year but ... it’s probably going to be about 2017 or 2018 before we get the full cut.”

          LJS: Some of the women’s sports excelled but the men did not win a conference title. As a whole, how would you rate how Nebraska did on the field?

          “I think we have good potential. But people don’t usually judge you by potential. For instance, baseball I think is well-positioned. We showed some improvement there. I think if we get a little bit of a boost in pitching, and if we have anywhere near the same hitting and fielding, it’ll be very, very good.

          “... Almost all of our coaches tell me that if we can get people to visit the campus, particularly with parents, with the academic support we have here and all the other amenities and facilities, we have a very good chance. The big issue is getting them here, getting them to visit."

          LJS: What's your view on the Big Ten’s level of commitment to baseball? I know Darin Erstad wasn’t thrilled with the setup at this year's conference tournament (in Columbus, Ohio). Did you talk to the league about that?

          TO: “Obviously, the fan numbers aren’t the same. There were times where we would draw in a three-game series as many fans here as they’d draw in all the other games in the Big Ten combined, which is kind of surprising. We did have some discussion about the conference tournament for baseball. There was a proposal submitted from TD Ameritrade Park (in Omaha) and also Werner Park in Sarpy County.

          "Because the Missouri Valley Conference had an agreement with TD Ameritrade, the Big Ten Conference was only going to be able to play (there) every other year. So rather than going to Werner Park, the Big Ten people decided that they would go first to (Target Field in) Minneapolis. And then in the first year that TD Ameritrade is open for the tournament, then they’ll host the tournament (in 2014)."

          Do you think Omaha could become an annual site for it?

          TO: “Well, I think it will open up some eyes. I think if we have really good attendance, which I think we will, better than what they’ve seen before, then certainly it will enhance our chances of getting the tournament here more regularly."

          LJS: Now that you’ve been in both Big 12 and Big Ten meeting rooms, how would you compare how each conference goes about making decisions?

          TO: "I think in the Big Ten there’s more collegiality. There’s probably a little bit greater concern for the overall welfare of the conference, whereas in the Big 12 there’s probably a little bit more emphasis on self-interest. And part of that stems from the way revenues are divided. In the Big 12, revenues were split unequally, depending on how many times you were on television and how well your teams did on the national stage, you got a bigger slice of the pie. From the Big Ten, it’s actually a little bit the reverse.

          “I think the four or five teams that have the best attendance record in football actually contribute a pool of money to the teams that are less well off. It’s not a huge amount, but it’s kind of a reverse perspective to what the Big 12 has been doing for many years.”

          LJS: A swimming question. It was once a proud program around here. Then it got cut down, lost the men's program. Is there any way for the women's program to build itself back to what it was? Any talk of adding a pool or facilities upgrades?

          TO: “There has been some discussion of a natatorium by private builders here in Lincoln. I don’t want to add a lot of fuel to that fire. We certainly would be willing to be a renter in that facility. I know that down the road the university intramural offices are talking about maybe building a natatorium on the campus here, but that would be several years away. So if we don’t get the private facility built, and it appears that that’s really iffy right now, we are at a disadvantage because most young people that want to enter into a swimming program are interested in an Olympic pool — a 50-meter pool, they want Olympic diving platforms — and we don’t really have either around here. So, probably, if you’re talking about facilities, that would be our one Achilles' heel, is the swimming facilities.”

          LJS: Facilities are certainly there now for men’s basketball. I think many people accept the possibility the team might take its lumps for a couple years while Tim Miles is building there. But what is your patience level as Tim tries to get that program going?

          TO: “Obviously, he needs some time. It’s not quick and easy. He’s got some players signed who I think are good players. But several of them will be redshirting and some of them are not even eligible to compete the first year. So you’re hoping for the best this next year, and then certainly the year after that you’re hoping to see some improvement. I think if you look at Tim’s record over the years, it hasn’t been instant success, but his general trajectory has always been upward. So I think as time goes on and on, you’ll see better basketball.”

          LJS: There was a minor stir created a few months ago when a booster publicly expressed that he didn’t feel there had been enough of a commitment to the basketball program previously. What’d you make of that? Do you feel the commitment was there before?

          TO: “I thought so. Right after I got here we started talking about a practice facility and, of course, a practice facility doesn’t go up overnight. It took us about 3? years to get it done. Also, it wasn’t long after that that there was discussion of an arena and we tried to do our part in the arena. So I think that the facilities will be certainly upper 5 or 10 percent nationally. We feel that we’ve given Tim the tools to be successful. People can say what they want, or perceive (what they want). I always thought we gave Doc (Sadler) whatever he thought he needed, whatever he felt was important. I think we’ve shown a good level of commitment to the sport.”

          LJS: Letting Doc go seemed like the hardest decision for you this past year. Is that accurate?

          TO: “Yeah, I would say so. Because Doc is a good friend, and he continues to be a good friend. And sometimes that’s a little unusual — when you fire somebody, that they’re still your friend. I don’t know how he feels, but I think he feels fairly good about me and I feel good about him. The problem was, some of it was injuries. But when you’ve lost a certain amount of momentum in the program and your trajectory is not trending upward, then it gets harder and harder to recruit. And sometimes, about all you can do is make a change because it’s going to be hard to dig yourself out of a hole. And some of that may not have been Doc’s own doing, but it’s one of those things that happened, it’s part of athletics. So I felt that after six years it was probably time to make a change in that direction and we did.”

          LJS: How do you feel about where the football program is at right now?

          “I feel good about it. It’s always a matter of not just how good you are but how good is everybody else. How good Michigan is. How good Wisconsin is, and Penn State, Ohio State, I don’t know. I assume they’ll be pretty good. It looks like we’ll have a pretty good offensive nucleus of players and if we get one or two defensive linemen to come through, which I think we will, we could be reasonably solid on defense. Good kicking. We’ll see how it goes. But you always have sometimes three or four games a year that come down to a turnover, a break, an official’s call, you just never know. But I think we’ll be very competitive.”

          LJS: Some people say, ‘Well, the program's hit a plateau, sitting on that nine-win perch.’ You heard some of that when you were a coach until you guys broke through in a big way. How close do you think this program is from reaching that elite level?

          TO: “I think the potential is there. I can’t predict at this point what’s going to happen. I think we have good enough athletes and good enough coaches to accomplish some very significant things this year. But I would hate to be one to predict exactly what’s going to happen because there’s just a lot of variables and you can’t control all of them.”

          LJS: Do you get tired, or perhaps amused, at the guessing game of when you might leave and who your successor will be?

          TO: "Well, yeah, it’s a little bit like being invited to an Irish wake or something and you’re supposed to be the body but you’re still walking around. Sometimes you wonder if people are mad that you’re not dead yet because they’d like to celebrate your demise. So it is odd. And I guess it goes with being 75. Obviously, I’m not going to go forever. I’m sensitive to the fact that you can outstay your usefulness, outwear your welcome. To some people, I may already have done so, I don’t know. But there’s certain things I wanted to get done, so those are things I’d like to see through.”

          LJS: Do you have an exit date in mind?

          TO: “I’ll announce it when the time’s right. I think any announcement at this point is obviously going to be counter-productive.”

          LJS: Besides some key coaching changes, so much has occurred since you came into this job in October of 2007 -- with the conference switch and all the facility projects. Surprised when you reflect on at all that's happened?

          TO: “You wouldn’t be able to do it if you didn’t have good people in place. And we were very fortunate in that we were able over the years to build a surplus in which we were able to do it financially. That doesn’t mean we’re flush with cash. We’d like to continue to do some fundraising, and need to do some fundraising. But we’re at least not jeopardizing the financial structure of the athletic department by doing this.”
          Grammar... The difference between feeling your nuts and feeling you're nuts.

          Comment


          • UNL doesn't have the 2012 donation levels out yet, but this is what a new donor would have to spend per ticket to get season tickets, assuming they were available in that section.
            Grammar... The difference between feeling your nuts and feeling you're nuts.

            Comment


            • All of the high-end seating options in the Pinnacle Bank Arena, except for one loge box, have been snatched up.

              The 36 suites and 19 of 20 loge boxes have been leased out by Ben Wrigley with Legends Hospitality Management.

              "Looking back at the original timeline, we're probably on par with where we thought things would be," he said.

              The loge boxes, described as modern-day opera boxes, go for $20,000 per year in five, seven or 10-year terms and include four seats with a counter, refrigerator and flat-screen TV.

              Loge box owners share a lounge and private bathrooms on the same level with suite owners and have parking in the adjacent garage.

              The suites, which lease for $45,000 to $65,000 per year and come with tickets for 12 people, have been leased to 30 individuals or businesses for private use.

              The University of Nebraska will have use of four suites, and the city and Pinnacle Bank each get one.

              A waiting list has been started for those wishing to get a suite.

              Later this summer, Wrigley expects to begin selling club seats, which are wider than normal seats and have their own bar/restaurant area.

              A rendering showing examples of loge boxes at Pinnacle Bank Arena. (Courtesy image)

              The 832 club seats are considered the third tier of premium seating and will be available only through Legends Hospitality Management for non-Husker events.

              The Husker ticket office is selling club seats and other regular seats for the Husker men's and women's basketball games.

              Ticket office Director Holly Adams said she's in a holding pattern for selling tickets until she gets an exact number of seats available.

              She expects ticket sales to begin mid-July with priority to high-level donors, then regular season ticket holders and then the general public.

              Although ticket prices have yet to be set for the arena, Adams expects season ticket prices to be similar to the current prices at the Devaney Center.

              "We don't intend to make an increase," she said.

              The Pinnacle Bank Arena is set to open in September 2013.

              ****


              Loge box lessees are:

              Bayer Family Partnership

              Jim and Sharri Baldonado

              Cameron Town Homes, LLC

              Duncan Aviation Inc.

              Infinity +1 (Kelly Erisman, Kara Kugler)

              JB and Associates Inc

              The J. Peters Company, Inc (ACW Law)

              Lincoln Chamber of Commerce

              M&M Trailer Sales Inc.

              Michael and Tricia Arps

              Terry Neemann and Sons Inc.

              NRG Media, LLC

              PCE Inc. (Plastic Companies Enterprises)

              Proaccess, (of Pioneer Hi-Bred International), LLC

              Resort Lifestyle Communities\

              *******


              Suites were leased to:

              Ameritas Life Insurance Co.

              Arena Partners (Bruce Wright of Cline Williams law firm)

              City of Lincoln

              Cloud 21 Entertainment LLC (Scott Strasburger)

              CRHS LLC (Justin D. and Kirsten Harris)

              East Ranch LLC. (Pius superintendent Rev. James Meysenburg)

              First National Bank of Omaha

              Galyen Petroleum Co.

              Grassland Partners LLC (address listed as Lincoln Industries, 600 W. E St., signed by Thomas E. Henning)

              HD LLC, (Thomas Damkroger, CEO of First State Bank)

              Hampton Enterprises Inc., the company that is partnering with Mortenson Construction as the construction manager for the arena.

              Hometown Banc Corp.

              In A Box LLC (Lincoln law firm Baylor Evnen)

              Lincoln 4 LLC (address listed as Ridge Development, 2001 Pine Lake Road, signed by Thomas White)

              MDK LLC, (Morrow, Poppe, Watermeier and Lonowski law firm)

              Nebco Inc.

              Nelnet Inc.

              One Vista LLC (Douglas B. Rath, chairman of Talent Plus)

              Pinnacle Bank

              Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc.

              Schwisow Construction Inc.

              Suite Corn LLC (Scott A. Krause, owner of Art Fx)

              Suite Grass LLC, (John R. Miller, president of Oxbow Pet Products, Murdock)

              Suite Smiles LLC (Daniel Duncan, Executive Director of Innovation Campus)

              Sweet Suite LLC (Lincoln law firm Harding & Shultz)

              Union Bank and Trust

              University of Nebraska (four suites)

              Wells Fargo Bank

              West Gate Bank

              Contracts were not filed for four loge box holders and four suite holders as of Friday.


              Suites:






              Loge Boxes:

              Grammar... The difference between feeling your nuts and feeling you're nuts.

              Comment


              • UNL's visitor list for this weekend:

                Stay up to date with all the Nebraska Cornhuskers sports news, recruiting, transfers, and more at 247Sports.com
                Grammar... The difference between feeling your nuts and feeling you're nuts.

                Comment


                • Kevin Gladney makes the 4th commitment from the state of Ohio for the huskers..
                  Grammar... The difference between feeling your nuts and feeling you're nuts.

                  Comment


                  • Figured he was Sparty bound, stopped following his recruitment when M found guys they liked better in York & Dukes.

                    Comment


                    • Haven't really followed him. Any thoughts?
                      Grammar... The difference between feeling your nuts and feeling you're nuts.

                      Comment


                      • Originally posted by entropy View Post
                        Haven't really followed him. Any thoughts?
                        Any thoughts? Well, I'm thinking that fence around ohio? Gone, to be replaced with a barbed-wire fence surrounding Columbus, complete with guard dogs...

                        Comment


                        • I wasn't particularly high on Gladney, he's B10 caliber but I don't see all B10 potential in him. He's rated about right where he belongs. Talent probably give you more insight on him than I can.

                          Comment


                          • The 6-foot-1, 182 pound Gladney took in Lincoln for the first time and after spending the last two days with Bo Pelini and his coaching staff he saw enough to make up his mind.

                            "After my visit and everything, I talked with Coach Pelini in his office and I basically told him thank you," Gladney said. "I made it sound like I wasn't interested, but thanked him for being interested in me. I told him it's a blessing, some kids would love to be in my shoes, then that's when I broke it down.

                            "I said to him that this is the best facility I saw and coming here it convinced me. I told him right now I want to be a Cornhusker, then he looked at me and gave me a big hug."
                            Grammar... The difference between feeling your nuts and feeling you're nuts.

                            Comment


                            • QB Johnny Stanton will be camping at Nebraska today
                              Offers from Utah, Washington, Navy, and Air Force (among others). 6'2, 220 pounds, 34 inch vertical.



                              [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQOCDxzHS0E"]6'2" Johnny Stanton class of 2013 Junior Highlight - YouTube[/ame]
                              Grammar... The difference between feeling your nuts and feeling you're nuts.

                              Comment


                              • LJS

                                Class started at 8:30 Tuesday morning. No tests, though there were a few verbal quizzes given.

                                “Is he doing a good job or a bad job?” Bo Pelini asked his pupils for the afternoon.

                                Nebraska’s football coach offered this question as the class cast its attention at the video screen, the focus on Terrence Moore battling against two Michigan State blockers.

                                Most in Nebraska's football auditorium decided Moore was doing a good job.

                                They were almost right.

                                “He’s doing a great job,” Pelini said, pointing out that Moore wouldn’t be recognized after the game for such a play despite the fact his taking on two linemen allowed linebackers the space to go be the playmakers.

                                And then the clicker moved to the next play, Pelini offering his observations about the good, the bad and the art of defensive football in general.

                                “The difference between a great defense and an average defense is this much,” said Pelini, his fingers an inch apart. “But that much is tough to get to.”

                                But Pelini is confident Nebraska's going to get there. And soon, at that.

                                "Coming out of this spring, we’re probably more multiple than we’ve been since I’ve been here," Pelini said.

                                The standard, as always, he assured the crowd is to be one of the best defenses in the country.

                                “We will be," he said. "You play to your strengths and offset your weaknesses."

                                Hearing from Nebraska’s head man was no doubt the highlight for many of the Husker fans who attended “Football 202,” a one-day clinic that offered anyone willing to pay $199 a peek behind the curtain of the program.

                                Before the 5 o’clock bell would ring, those who attended would learn that Nebraska has extended 213 offers so far in this recruiting class, that the program recently sent a football recruiting letter to LeBron James, that wide receiver Kenny Bell isn’t in favor of a playoff, and that Justin Blatchford is a good guy to have near if you can't swim.

                                They’d also watch offensive and defensive game film with Husker coaches, who did well at showing an average fan why certain plays end up in the end zone and others go for three yards.

                                “Look at the guard, he’s sticking his hat on the wrong side,” assistant offensive line coach John Garrison said of a failed short-yardage play that could have been a big play if blocked properly.

                                “Watch the guard here,” said O-line coach Barney Cotton later when that same player did it right this time, flattening a Buckeye, drawing an “oooooh” from the crowd.

                                If you are all about the details, "Football 202" is full of them.

                                Husker defensive assistants discussed the process of game-planning for an opponent each week.

                                Fans were shown a “tendency report,” which the defensive staff uses to help formulate its game plan. The report holds data on what an opponent is most likely to do on various down-and-distance situations.

                                On the tendency report shown, the opponent ran the ball 88 percent of the time on first down.

                                That’s useful.

                                “I could get a dude in Section 13 to call our defense if he had a 90 percent chance of being right,” joked Nebraska defensive coordinator John Papuchis.

                                He showed what a defensive call sheet looks like for a Husker game, and also an example of a "final reminders" checklist that is handed out to players just before a contest.

                                It's a lot to take in. It's why Papuchis shakes his head whenever he hears the “dumb jock” phrase uttered.

                                “Because (players) have to know all this stuff and decipher it in 10 seconds in front of 90,000 people,” he said.

                                The clinic began with recruiting talk, the fans hearing from Ross Els, recruiting coordinator; Austen Everson, director of football high school relations; and Sean Callahan of HuskerOnline.com.

                                Among the funnier stories: Everson showed an actual recruiting letter Nebraska sent to LeBron James — complete with Pelini’s signature at the bottom — about visiting Lincoln last year during the NBA lockout.

                                A joke, sure. But good publicity if James had decided to come for the fun of it.

                                As for more serious offers, it was said by Els that Nebraska has made 213 offers for the current recruiting class.

                                “We feel we have to offer about 10 kids for every one we sign,” Els said. In a demonstration of how Nebraska has to recruit nationally, he pointed out that only 24 of those 213 offers come from recruits within a 500-mile radius of Lincoln.

                                Big Ten Network analyst Howard Griffith also spoke at the clinic, breaking down the conference. And a panel of Husker players — 10 of them — came in to answer questions.

                                A popular topic with players was a two-day spring challenge they took on called “The Program." Led by ex-military leaders, it's full of physically and mentally demanding exercises.

                                Among those exercises was a trip to the pool, with players treading water in sweats.

                                P.J. Smith wasn't thrilled about doing it. He can't swim. The senior safety was holding the ledge of the pool until teammate Justin Blatchford told him to let go, he'd help him.

                                Smith let go. Got through it with help.

                                “It was cool to see the team come together and really gain trust,” Smith said.

                                All the coaches spoke, including the new guys Rick Kaczenski and Terry Joseph.

                                For all the planning that goes into a football game, Joseph smiled as he recalled a Bo story from a few years back.

                                This was when Pelini was the defensive coordinator at LSU. Joseph was a grad assistant at the time.

                                LSU's defense couldn't stop Arkansas running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones that day. Joseph remembers Arkansas had something like 270 yards rushing.

                                But what he remembers most is a third-and-4 late in the game.

                                "Double the X (receiver)," Pelini said into his headset.

                                Joseph thought the man had gone mad. "I'm a G.A. But I'm thinking, 'They're going to give it to McFadden and he's going to go right there.'"

                                No way Arkansas throws it. No way. And then Arkansas threw it.

                                Interception. And a lesson.

                                "It just goes to show," Joseph said, "sometimes you gotta go with your gut."
                                Grammar... The difference between feeling your nuts and feeling you're nuts.

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