Nebraska...not feeling Frosty anymore

[THE_WIZARD_]

fuckin' "odd year crap", "even year awesome" pattern

[entropy]

LJS

What is the ultimate goal of a long snapper?

Not your everyday question, but we ask it here, and a man named Chris Rubio is prepared with an answer.

The goal, Rubio thinks, is to get interviewed when you commit to a school and then never interviewed again during the next four years you play.

If you’re a long snapper being interviewed after a game, there’s a good chance you’re crying into your pillow that night. Ask Trey Junkin.

“My old story is that you want your long snapper to be kind of like a Honda Accord,” Rubio said. “It’s not the flashiest car, but you know it’s going to start every time.”

So the Huskers went and picked up a Honda Accord this past weekend, claiming a commitment from long snapper Gabriel Miller, a Rubio pupil for the last year-and-a-half, who runs camps around the country coaching the art of long snapping.

While some out there might question the decision to offer a scholarship to a long snapper, it’s becoming more common for schools to do so.

When Rubio started coaching snappers 10 years ago, he had three pupils earn scholarships. In the past recruiting class, he said he had 75 long snappers earn scholarships.

And already in this current recruiting cycle, such name programs as Alabama and Michigan have offered scholarships to long snappers taught by Rubio.

To more and more coaches, it’s a scholarship worth giving out if it means not having to worry about your punter fielding ground balls for the next four years.

"Have you ever seen a punt team when they can't snap it?" said Ross Els, Nebraska’s recruiting and special teams coordinator. "It's an absolute disaster. I've been through that. Long ago, back when I was at Hastings and Barney (Cotton) was the head coach, we didn't have a guy who could get it back 14 or 15 yards. So we used a guy who could get it about 12. Had to change our entire punt team, our entire punt protection, and every fourth down we just held our breath.

“You can't go through that. You have to have a guy. A lot of people might say that's a wasted scholarship. Try snapping a few over the punter's head and it just looks ridiculous. That's not how you win Big Ten championships. That's a huge, huge position, and that's why we're recruiting it."

In Nebraska’s case, the team has the services of soon-to-be four-year starter P.J. Mangieri for just one more season.

That's where Miller comes in.

“They said they’re offering me a scholarship expecting me to come in and win the job and be the starter as a true freshman,” Miller said. “And I know that’s what I’ve been working towards, to be the man as soon as I come in.”

A product of Mishawaka, Ind., the 6-foot, 235-pound Miller has been snapping since his dad showed him how in the third grade.

He used to practice snapping the ball through a tire swing. Then came the big challenge during a Pop Warner game in fourth grade.

His coach had heard he could snap it. Asked him if he could get it to the punter.

“It got back there,” Miller said.

In high school he started working with Rubio, who lives in Idaho but tours parts of the country running Rubio Long Snapping camps.

Miller was raw when Rubio first met him.

“But he listened extremely well,” Rubio said. “You tell him what to do and consider it done.”

Now Rubio ranks Miller as the third-best long snapper nationally in the 2013 recruiting class.

When timed, Miller can get the ball back to a punter standing 15 yards away in 0.65 seconds.

Nebraska was not on Miller’s radar until a couple weeks ago. That’s when he received an email from Husker coaches. Miller called them up. They told him he was the guy they wanted. Could he come in and snap in front of them?

Miller had a whole summer college tour planned out, but changes were made. He arrived for Nebraska’s “Big Red Weekend,” snapping for all the coaches on Saturday morning.

Intimidating? Not when you've been snapping as long as Miller. You just do.

“I look at it like snapping in front of a few coaches is nothing like what I’m going to be doing in college snapping in front of thousands of people,” Miller said. “I’m confident in my snapping abilities, so I wasn’t nervous. I knew what I could do and I showed them what I could do.”

An offer came shortly after. By Sunday morning, Miller was in Bo Pelini’s office telling him he was in.

Soon, media around the state of Nebraska was calling him for interviews.

Hopefully the last ones he’d be doing for some time.

[Tony G]

That's a lot of print for a long snapper

[entropy]

we like our football

[lineygoblue]

... and corn stalks ....

[Rob F]

...and especially their corn stalkers

[entropy]

...think you're wrong on that rob... Nobody likes wiz

[THE_WIZARD_]

heh

shaddup

[entropy]

Randy York

Chancellor Harvey Perlman and Nebraska Athletic Director Tom Osborne are changing the perception of Nebraska with a speed that almost astonishes news directors throughout the Big Ten Conference and beyond. In mid-June, Lincoln hosted the league’s university news directors (not sports media relations specialists), plus news managers from four other schools (Notre Dame, the University of Chicago, Rice and Washington University in St. Louis). Those four prestigious academic institutions joined 12 Big Ten member schools at their annual communications conference. Perlman was the keynote speaker at UNL’s Visitors Center and Osborne followed the next day with a luncheon speech that kept everyone on the edge of their seats inside the North Stadium’s Skyline Suite level.

Obviously, the speed of change is in the eye of the beholder, so please consider the following 10 observations as expeditious ways that Perlman and Osborne are changing the perception of Nebraska in the minds of writers and editors whose primary job is to influence students, alums and fans everywhere:

No. 1: Nebraska’s Big Ten leadership role in athletic research is enough to make even a Wolverine jealous. “I’m intrigued, amazed and looking forward to the concussion research that Coach Osborne was talking about,” said Deborah Holdship, editor of Michigan Today, an electronic magazine distributed monthly to 350,000 Michigan alumni. “It’s really impressive to combine the expansion of Nebraska’s football stadium with some really rigorous research. It goes well with the chancellor’s thoughts about agricultural research and his priorities in water and food production research. All seem to be very wise moves, and I found Chancellor Perlman and Mr. Osborne both to be really down-to-earth and amazing people. Their academic and research priorities are really impressive and when I found out what Nebraska’s up to, I was a little jealous, so I can’t wait to get this group to Michigan in two years and dazzle them with our brilliant advances.”

No. 2: Nebraska invests in what matters most and reinforces its priorities. “When I saw Nebraska’s academic center and everything in it, I thought of Andre Agassi and his camera ads where he says ‘Image is everything,’ said Richard Lewis, a Duke and Columbia grad and now a senior research editor at Iowa. “Nebraska supports what it says and makes it very evident to every student-athlete who walks in the door. They’re saying ‘When you do well here, we will glorify you and put you up on a wall to honor you academically.’ That feeds well into an educational mission, and it should be one of the pillars to every big university. I was a varsity athlete at Duke (fencing), and they didn’t have this kind of display for academic achievement. I think it’s very important when your academic accomplishments get equal treatment to your athletic accomplishments.”

No. 3: Every move Nebraska makes has each student-athlete at the focal point. “The first thing that comes through so clear is Tom Osborne’s sense of integrity and in this day and age, that’s a quickly disappearing concept,” said Bill Gilroy, the assistant director of public relations making his eighth straight Big Ten media tour (Yes, Notre Dame has been a longtime staple of this group). He (Osborne) is a living treasure that dates back to the days when coaching was instilled with people of integrity. What was so striking in his remarks is how genuinely concerned he is about student-athlete welfare. So many see players as movable pieces, almost as chattel. With Coach Osborne, you can see his view is reflective of a deep, genuine concern for what’s going to happen for these athletes when their playing days are over, and that is so refreshing.”

No. 4: The Big Ten Conference is the best cultural fit for Nebraska. “I thought both (Perlman and Osborne) were extremely knowledgeable and offered great insight into why Nebraska joined to Big Ten,” said Julie Christensen, an Arizona State graduate who worked five years in the Pac-10 Conference office and earned her master’s at Minnesota before becoming assistant director of Minnesota’s news service. “Coach Osborne has such a good grasp of all the issues, and I enjoyed hearing why he thought the Big Ten was a better cultural fit for Nebraska. He was honest with his opinions and explained how the Big Eight and the Southwest Conferences merged and how that affected Nebraska in the long run. I was also interested in what he thought about a football playoff and why he thinks the way he does. He’s very polished and so genuine.”

No. 5: Nebraska brings a strong national brand to the North, even to a Spartan. “Growing up in Gaylord, Mich., I was a huge Nebraska football fan,” said Andy Henion, a manager/writer on Michigan State’s communications staff. “I fell in love with Turner Gill, Mike Rozier, Irving Fryar and the option. That (1984) Orange Bowl loss was one of my lowest moments as a teenager because I loved Nebraska and hated Miami, so I was really invested in that national championship game. I just thought Tom Osborne was so gutsy then and hearing him now, he’s still so self-effacing and modest. He sees himself as another man on the street, someone you can talk to. He’s not full of himself, even though he’s been a Congressman, a national championship coach and has a doctorate degree. He’s such a down-to-earth man of the people, I could listen to him all day.”

No. 6: Nebraska’s facilities are second to none in the nation’s oldest intercollegiate athletic conference. Count Margie Smith-Simmons, director of news and media at Indiana, as one of those who came to Lincoln thinking one thing and left Nebraska’s Capital City thinking another. “I thought Lincoln would be very similar to Bloomington with a lot of green, rolling hills,” she said. “I wasn’t thinking cornfields, but what I found is definitely more urban than rural. The campus is very nice, and all of the athletic facilities are just completely overwhelming to me. Clearly, Tom Osborne is a very influential figure. He’s someone who obviously serves the university well, his students well and his athletes well. He’s a coach who became an athletic director and a great asset to the university. We can all take a note out of Nebraska’s book on academics.”

No. 7: Nebraska has a vision that can benefit the student-athlete like never before. As a media relations associate at the University of Minnesota, Matt Hodson was struck when Tom Osborne recognized the need for the safety of every athlete and the obligation each school has to prepare their students for life. “To listen to somebody who’s been such a large part of college football for so long and to hear him talk about the need now to do something really different for the student-athlete, including stipends, I just thought it was all right on point,” Hodson said. “Coach Osbornetalks about life skills and success in life with the same gusto and pride as athletics. It was fantastic. I wish every AD had that kind of emphasis. If they did, we wouldn’t be talking about what’s wrong with the NCAA. That was a genuine AD who wants student-athletes to come in and leave as better people.”

No. 8: Nebraska is just as proud of Perlman’s and Osborne’s leadership as the visiting Big Ten schools. Don’t think the schools visiting Lincoln for the first time were the only ones impressed with Perlman’s and Osborne’s leadership. “For this audience, I think Tom Osborne was just tone perfect, just like he always is,” said Steve Smith, the national news editor for UNL Communications. “He can adapt to any room, and that’s what makes him great. When he was talking, you could have heard a pin drop. Those people were that into it. They were just like a roomful of Nebraskans. He talked about things they wanted to hear. What was most stark to me was the escalating arms race in college athletics and how the student-athlete through the whole time has pretty much stayed the same in terms of the scholarship money they get. I didn’t realize that.”

No. 9: Nebraska tells it like it is, and everyone appreciates the honesty. Just about every media/communications manager attending the Lincoln conference mentioned Perlman’s and Osborne’s candor and how refreshing it is. Minnesota’s Hodson said: “They (Perlman and Osborne) go against the flow, and it’s good to see because I’ve always wondered when enough money is enough and why you have to have a 15-game season.” Notre Dame’s Gilroy said: “It’s really refreshing to see somebody like Tom Osborne stand up there and say how it’s time for colleges to step up and do the right things.” Iowa’s Lewis said: “Based on what I heard the chancellor say and what I heard the athletic director say, we need more kinds of folks who tell it like it is. That’s what everybody wants to hear. Nobody likes to hear people mince words. Nebraska doesn’t.”

No. 10: Standing up for what’s right often is a very lonely feeling. National columnists have every right to criticize Nebraska for being one of the few schools in the country to question the scope of a four-team playoff and the dangerous road that could create for the future of college football. “Nebraska shares our commitment to academic excellence and to overall student-athlete welfare,” Notre Dame’s Gilroy said. “The programs that Nebraska has instituted and the scope they’ve taken the student-athlete through speaks volumes. I was struck by Coach Osborne’s comments on how to prepare student-athletes for a job and for life and even for marriage. Their commitment to the individual is much deeper than what you’re seeing in college athletics. We try to do the same things at Notre Dame.

“To be honest, it’s often a lonely feeling in some sports, such as college football and college basketball,” Gilroy said. “For me, it was a real honor to hear Tom Osborne speak for the first time. I’ve been a college football fan all my life and particularly a Notre Dame fan. When he passed up kicking that extra point against Miami (in the ‘84 Orange Bowl), I think that spoke to the integrity he has. Honor was more important to him than the national championship and even though college football has changed today, I don’t think he would change his decision.”

Bill Gilroy is right on. Last fall, I asked Osborne if he would still go for a 2-point conversion if the situation was the same, and the overtime rule was not in effect. If he knew the almost automatic PAT kick would win the national title because Nebraska would finish as the only unbeaten team in the country, would he kick it? “No,” Osborne said. “We’d do the same thing. We’d try to win it the right way.”

[entropy]

Manning Joins Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Staff

Nebraska Wrestling Coach Mark Manning was named a volunteer Olympic coach for men's freestyle at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England on Wednesday.

"Coaching this team is a great privilege," Manning said. "I've been involved with USA Wrestling for quite some time, and I'm really looking forward to helping each athlete reach their goals and win a lot of medals in London."

Manning, along with Lou Rosselli of Columbus, Ohio, and John Smith of Stillwater, Okla., will serve as volunteer coaches alongside National Freestyle Coach Zeke Jones of Colorado Springs, Colo. Additional men's freestyle Olympic coaches will be named in the near future.

"We have a great staff. We are very fortunate to have John Smith, Mark Manning and Lou Rosselli. They bring a lot of experience and ability to the table," Jones said. "Mark Manning has put 30 years of time into this program. He deserves to be Olympic coach. He brings a lot of knowledge over time, and he brings Jordan Burroughs, who is perhaps the best wrestler in the world today."

The 2012 Olympics mark the third time Manning has coached an Olympic team as he served on the staff in 1996 and 2000. Manning helped coach the 2011 U.S. World Team, which took third place at the World Championships and produced two medalists. He was also a part of the 2009 U.S. World Team coaching staff, where he helped lead the team to a seventh place finish. Additionally, Manning was the head coach for the 2001 U.S. Freestyle World Team, head coach of the 1994 and 1996 Junior World teams and helped guide the United States to a team title at the 2000 Pan American Championships.

While coaching for Nebraska, Manning has guided the Huskers to five top-eight NCAA finishes in 12 seasons. He led the Huskers to their first Big 12 Championship in 2009, earning Big 12 Coach-of-the-Year honors in 2008 and 2009. Additionally, Manning has coached 30 All-Americans and four individual NCAA Champions.

Manning, Rosselli and Smith are pending final approval of the U.S. Olympic Committee Chief Executive Officer.





Post Extras: * * *

[entropy]

Sometimes inspiration socks you unexpectedly, like a blindside blitz.

Jerry Murtaugh can relate. The former Nebraska linebacker was taken aback nearly 10 years ago as he played host to a fundraising event in Omaha. He asked ex-Husker fullback Andra Franklin to attend. Franklin showed up and sat next to Murtaugh.

Franklin, in his early 40s at the time, was sweating profusely and had the chills.

What's more, "Andra told me he had to hitchhike from Lincoln to come to Omaha," Murtaugh said.

Murtaugh was startled. Who wouldn't be startled? He asked Franklin why in the world he would do such a thing.

"He said, 'Well, because I gave my word to a former Husker,'" Murtaugh said. "That hit me hard."

An All-America linebacker in 1970, Murtaugh hit ballcarriers with a ferocity that old-school Husker fans recall with fondness and wonder. Now, on this night in Omaha, it was Murtaugh who was knocked on his heels.

Franklin, a quiet and strong standout fullback at Nebraska, died a few years later, in 2006, from heart failure. According to his brother, Clyde, the NFL money Andra made from 1981-84 with the Miami Dolphins was long gone.

"I'm thinking, 'This man did this for me and I couldn't help him,'" Murtaugh said this week.

Murtaugh is determined that such a fate doesn't befall any other former Huskers. To that end, he recently created a nonprofit organization, the Husker Greats Foundation, to help former Husker athletes — men and women who lettered — with their medical needs.

"Our fans are the greatest in the country," said Murtaugh, who announced the foundation Wednesday at a news conference in Omaha. "The former Huskers in all sports are like family. ... We're all family, so we need to help family members."

Tom Osborne wrote the first check for the foundation — quite an endorsement.

You can visit huskergreatsfoundation.org for information. Murtaugh put together an impressive board of directors made up of former Nebraska athletes. He poured through names in all sports and came up with Joel Makovicka (football), Dave Hoppen (basketball), Karen Jennings (basketball), Denny Walker (track and field), Renee Poulos (gymnastics) and Shawn Buchanan (baseball).

Neither Murtaugh nor any of the board members will make a dime. Not one of the board members even asked for a dime, Murtaugh emphasized, a measure of pride in his raspy voice.

Osborne praised Murtaugh.

"He said, 'Murtaugh, all those hits to your head, and you still have something up there,'" Murtaugh told me, chuckling.

Murtaugh believes every university should have such a foundation. Given the passion of fans around the country, and the connection many athletes have with their alma mater, it only makes sense for them to help those who've fallen on hard times.

Sometimes life becomes brutally and inexplicably rough.

Murtaugh chooses words carefully as he discusses Dave Humm, the former Nebraska quarterback great. The 60-year-old Humm was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1988 at age 35. He's in a wheelchair and losing his voice. He had been under 24-hour care, Murtaugh said, but his money ran out. Insurance isn't an option. He's trying to fend for himself.

Murtaugh won't have it. However, one hurdle will be convincing some of those in need to accept help.

"I went to Dave and he told me no," Murtaugh said. "He said, 'I am a proud man. I do not need help. I am not taking charity. No way.'"

Murtaugh reasoned with Humm.

"I said, 'Dave, what do you always call me when we talk?'" Murtaugh said. "He calls me brother. He tells me he loves me. He says we're family. So I told him, if that's the case, doesn't family help family?

"Then he says, 'Murt, I'm sorry. What do you want me to do?' I told him I want him to help me help others.

"He said, 'Count me in.'"

Murtaugh doesn't regard Husker Greats Foundation as his enterprise. He regards it as the Husker family's foundation — fans, current Huskers, former Huskers, future Huskers, coaches, everyone.

"I think we need to work together as a family and help the memory makers," he said.

Before it's too late.

Reach Steven M. Sipple at 402-473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.

[entropy]

Sometimes inspiration socks you unexpectedly, like a blindside blitz.

Jerry Murtaugh can relate. The former Nebraska linebacker was taken aback nearly 10 years ago as he played host to a fundraising event in Omaha. He asked ex-Husker fullback Andra Franklin to attend. Franklin showed up and sat next to Murtaugh.

Franklin, in his early 40s at the time, was sweating profusely and had the chills.

What's more, "Andra told me he had to hitchhike from Lincoln to come to Omaha," Murtaugh said.

Murtaugh was startled. Who wouldn't be startled? He asked Franklin why in the world he would do such a thing.

"He said, 'Well, because I gave my word to a former Husker,'" Murtaugh said. "That hit me hard."

An All-America linebacker in 1970, Murtaugh hit ballcarriers with a ferocity that old-school Husker fans recall with fondness and wonder. Now, on this night in Omaha, it was Murtaugh who was knocked on his heels.

Franklin, a quiet and strong standout fullback at Nebraska, died a few years later, in 2006, from heart failure. According to his brother, Clyde, the NFL money Andra made from 1981-84 with the Miami Dolphins was long gone.

"I'm thinking, 'This man did this for me and I couldn't help him,'" Murtaugh said this week.

Murtaugh is determined that such a fate doesn't befall any other former Huskers. To that end, he recently created a nonprofit organization, the Husker Greats Foundation, to help former Husker athletes ? men and women who lettered ? with their medical needs.

"Our fans are the greatest in the country," said Murtaugh, who announced the foundation Wednesday at a news conference in Omaha. "The former Huskers in all sports are like family. ... We're all family, so we need to help family members."

Tom Osborne wrote the first check for the foundation ? quite an endorsement.

You can visit huskergreatsfoundation.org for information. Murtaugh put together an impressive board of directors made up of former Nebraska athletes. He poured through names in all sports and came up with Joel Makovicka (football), Dave Hoppen (basketball), Karen Jennings (basketball), Denny Walker (track and field), Renee Poulos (gymnastics) and Shawn Buchanan (baseball).

Neither Murtaugh nor any of the board members will make a dime. Not one of the board members even asked for a dime, Murtaugh emphasized, a measure of pride in his raspy voice.

Osborne praised Murtaugh.

"He said, 'Murtaugh, all those hits to your head, and you still have something up there,'" Murtaugh told me, chuckling.

Murtaugh believes every university should have such a foundation. Given the passion of fans around the country, and the connection many athletes have with their alma mater, it only makes sense for them to help those who've fallen on hard times.

Sometimes life becomes brutally and inexplicably rough.

Murtaugh chooses words carefully as he discusses Dave Humm, the former Nebraska quarterback great. The 60-year-old Humm was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1988 at age 35. He's in a wheelchair and losing his voice. He had been under 24-hour care, Murtaugh said, but his money ran out. Insurance isn't an option. He's trying to fend for himself.

Murtaugh won't have it. However, one hurdle will be convincing some of those in need to accept help.

"I went to Dave and he told me no," Murtaugh said. "He said, 'I am a proud man. I do not need help. I am not taking charity. No way.'"

Murtaugh reasoned with Humm.

"I said, 'Dave, what do you always call me when we talk?'" Murtaugh said. "He calls me brother. He tells me he loves me. He says we're family. So I told him, if that's the case, doesn't family help family?

"Then he says, 'Murt, I'm sorry. What do you want me to do?' I told him I want him to help me help others.

"He said, 'Count me in.'"

Murtaugh doesn't regard Husker Greats Foundation as his enterprise. He regards it as the Husker family's foundation ? fans, current Huskers, former Huskers, future Huskers, coaches, everyone.

"I think we need to work together as a family and help the memory makers," he said.

Before it's too late.

Reach Steven M. Sipple at 402-473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.

[entropy]

college football news

By Pete Fiutak

Head coach: Bo Pelini
5th year: 39-16
Returning Lettermen:
Off. 27, Def. 27, ST 3
Lettermen Lost: 27

Ten Best Nebraska Players

1. RB Rex Burkhead, Sr.
2. QB Taylor Martinez, Jr.
3. DT Baker Steinkuhler, Sr.
4. LB Will Compton, Sr.
5. S Daimion Stafford, Sr.
6. CB Mohammed Seisay, Jr.
7. TE Kyler Reed, Sr.
8. DE Cameron Meredith, Sr.
9. WR Kenny Bell, Soph.
10. TE Ben Cotton, Sr.


Now that all the thrill and novelty of joining the Big Ten has worn off, maybe Nebraska can get back to the business of being Nebraska again.

While head coach Bo Pelini didn’t seem to care a lick about the conference change, and the players said all the right things but didn’t appear fazed, it was a storyline each and every week. From kicking Big Ten life off with a thud in a blowout loss at Wisconsin, to the gut-check win over Ohio State the following week, to the surreal and utterly creepy first game after the explosion at Penn State, the team was tested time and time again.

The Huskers always took almost everyone’s best shot – Michigan State didn’t get the memo in a lifeless loss – and they’ll have to deal with that again with road trips to Ohio State, Michigan State and Iowa sure to jazz up the opposing fan bases, but unlike last year the team has to be on a more even keel. More importantly, they have to be able to show up against the better teams. They have to show the Big Ten that they deserve to be considered one of the league’s stronger programs.

The loss in Madison came to one of the nation’s top teams, while the Huskers can be forgiven for a letdown at Michigan the week after the circus in Happy Valley. But what has to be concerning was how inconsistent the team was during the second half of the season.

Just when it seemed like everything was on the right track with a dominant performance over Michigan State, next came the big clunker with the defense failing to do much of anything in a loss to a mediocre Northwestern squad. Yes, it was a draining, emotional win over the Nittany Lions, but the defensive front was miserable the week after, getting ripped to shreds by the Wolverines.

Worse yet, the offense that looked like a potential juggernaut with 25 rushing scores in the first seven games fell flat with just six touchdowns on the ground over the final five games. With a lousy passing game unable to pick up the slack, the O that scored 34 points or more over the six of the first seven games couldn’t come up with more than 25 over the final six.

The program has become everything that former athletic director Steve Pederson had feared it would be when he canned Frank Solich almost a decade ago: slightly above average. But it might not take too much tweaking to make the quick left turn into a division title and a shot at the Big Ten championship. It will take a slew of big breaks, though.

QB Taylor Martinez and RB Rex Burkhead have to stay healthy for a full season again. If either one of those two go down, the offense that sputtered and coughed way too much will be dead in the water. The O line needs a slew of decent players to be ready for primetime, and the receiving corps has to prove that all the athleticism and potential can translate into production.

The defense needs more from the front four and has to get by without star linebacker Lavonte David and corner Alfonzo Dennard, but there’s talent coming in from the JUCO ranks and the starting 11 should be good enough to win at least a division title. Throw in dual-threat kicker Brett Maher and kickoff returner extraordinaire Ameer Abdullah and the special teams will be a major plus to help out both sides of the ball.

No, this isn’t going to be 1997 Nebraska by any stretch and the expectations of the former superpower have slipped from national-title-or-bust to hoping for ten wins, but the program still matters. It’s still going to be a weekly story throughout the Big Ten season because, yeah, Nebraska is still in a new world and it does still seem new and exciting. Now it’s time to establish its territory as a Big Ten power instead of looking like a faded Big 12 program in a constant reloading mode.

What to watch for on offense: More from the passing game. Taylor Martinez was a good all-around playmaker in high school, but he’s a runner who makes the offense shine when he’s making things happen on the move. However, this offseason he spent time working hard on his mechanics – primarily getting the footwork right – to start adding more of a passing element to his game. He’ll never be a pro quarterback and he’ll never throw for 4,000 yards in a season as a Husker, but he should be able to do a bit more to boost up the nation’s 104th ranked passing game. The receiving corps is there with the loaded tight end duo of Ben Cotton and Kyler Reed and speedy wideout Kenny Bell leading a veteran group of pass catchers. All Martinez has to do is start hitting on around 65% of his throws and complete more third down throws. He can do that.

What to watch for on defense: Will there be a pass rush? In 2009, Nebraska finished second in the nation in sacks, averaging over three per game and coming up with 44 on the year. Getting behind the line against wasn’t a problem, either, but it helped to ha Ndamukong Suh collapsing things from the inside. Partly because of the team’s aggressiveness up front, the D finished first in the nation in points allowed and seventh in total defense. In 2010 the Huskers struggled up front, finishing last in the Big Ten in tackles for loss coming up with just 60 tackles for loss. Last year, the pass rush was even worse with even few hits on the quarterback while finishing dead last once again the Big Ten in tackles for loss. The defense won’t be more aggressive this season, but it needs Cameron Meredith and Baker Steinkuhler up front to start making more big plays.

The team will be far better if … the running game rocks. For all the talk of a more balanced attack and for all the hopes of more big plays from the passing game, it’s still Nebraska and it’s still at its best when the O line gets to line up and blast away for the ground game. Nebraska went 9-0 last year when running for 155 yards or more, and 0-4 when going under the 155-yard mark. In 2011, the Huskers went 9-0 when rushing for 155 yards or more, and 0-4 when going under. The Huskers need to run effectively to win.

The schedule: The Huskers can be forgiven to add Idaho State to the non-conference schedule. There aren’t any real breaks with a sneaky-tough pre-Big Ten slate with Conference USA champion Southern Miss to start, a huge game for the Jim Mora era at UCLA, and then a date with Sun Belt champ Arkansas State. And then the fun starts.

The Big Ten schedule couldn’t be harder getting the three best teams from the Leaders – Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin – and going on the road to face the Buckeyes, Michigan State, and Iowa. Coming off a showdown with Michigan, the trip to Northwestern could be a landmine.

While the Huskers won’t be at home once from October 6th to mid-November, there’s a decent late stretch of three home games in four weeks before closing out at Iowa. Holding serve in Lincoln will be a must to have any dream of winning the Legends.

Best offensive player: Senior RB Rex Burkhead. How much more effective is Nebraska when it’s running the ball well? It’s 11-0 over the last 30 games when Burkhead runs for 100 yards or more. With decent size, breakaway speed and unquestioned toughness, he’s a workhorse who can occasionally hit the home run from time to time. He helped carry the attack in wins over Penn State and Iowa, and he barreled his way to a tough 119 yards against Ohio State and 130 against Michigan State. He might not have to run for 1,357 yards and 15 touchdowns again for Nebraska to win, but he can’t be far off.

Best defensive player: Senior DT Baker Steinkuhler. Linebacker Will Compton and safety Daimion Stafford could also be the team’s best defensive players, and the new JUCO stars Zaire Anderson and Mohammed Sesay won’t be far off, but it’s Steinkuhler who needs to hold it all together. A steady performer over the last few years, he came up with 40 tackles with two sacks and five tackles for loss. This year he needs to be the anchor for an inconsistent defensive front that struggled after losing Ndamukong Suh a few years ago and wasn’t quite the same when Jared Crick was banged up. Steinkuhler is good enough to handle the work.

Key player to a successful season: The defensive JUCO transfers. There are only two, but they will be tremendously important. It’s always a risky proposition to ask for any newcomers to make a gigantic impact right away, but that’s exactly what’s expected from Zaire Anderson and Mohammed Sesay. Linebacker Lavonte David made 133 tackles as the heart-and-soul of the defensive front, while Alfonzo Dennard, despite not making a pick, was the team’s top corner. Anderson has all the tools and all the talent to help pick up the slack for a linebacking corps that needs a new David, while Sesay showed this offseason that he can step in for Dennard without skipping a beat.

The season will be a success if … the Huskers win the Legends. It will take at least a split against Michigan and Michigan State in back-to-back weeks, and it’ll take another split over Wisconsin and Ohio State from the Leaders, but the team is just strong enough to get through road games at Northwestern and Iowa and should be able to beat Penn State and Minnesota. There’s no reason to go anything less than 4-0 in non-conference play, and a ten-win season should be expected.

Key game: Nov. 3 at Michigan State. The game against Michigan the week before could be more important, but that’s in Lincoln. Going to Ohio State will be tough, but that’s an interdivisional game. If the Huskers can hold serve against the Wolverines, then the date in East Lansing will probably determine – in some way – the Legends title, and it’ll also be at the end of a key stretch of three road dates in four games.

2011 Fun Stats:
- Kickoff Return Average: Nebraska 25.5 yards – Opponents 24 yards
- Time of Possession: Opponents 31:30 – Nebraska 28:30
- Average Rushing Yards Per Game: Nebraska 217.2 – Opponents 158.5

[lineygoblue]

Pretty fair assessment. I hope that if we don't win the division, that the Huskers do. We don't need MSU in Indy again.

[entropy]

Scott qualifies for Summer Olympics

Jeremy Scott can add a new label to his collection.

The world’s tallest pole vaulter is now also an Olympian.

Scott — a 1999 Norfolk High graduate and the son of Hank and Rosie Scott of Norfolk — made first-attempt clearances at the first three heights Thursday at the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore. That was good enough to help him finish second with a final mark of 18 feet, 41/4 inches, making him an Olympian.

http://www.norfolkdailynews.com/sports/scott-qualifies-for-summer-olympics/article_0481c9a4-c1fd-11e1-b4aa-001a4bcf6878.html