Tweet
LJS
Keith Jackson had plenty of memorable lines while making his voice the soundtrack to many a Saturday afternoon, but there is one utterance in particular that's coming to mind.
He was announcing a Nebraska-Colorado showdown many years ago and the Huskers were starting to take ownership. The Buffaloes were sucking wind. Nebraska had the plow out and was starting to claim its yards in great chunks.
It was mostly coming between the tackles. Macho football.
"You want to run the football?" Jackson declared in that bouncing, folksy tune that could come only from him. "Be the I-back at Nebraska."
We are far removed from that day ? 17 years, if you want it exact. There is only one Husker coach on the staff now who was on it then, and Ron Brown wasn't coaching running backs at the time.
But Brown has seen up close what it means to be the running back at Nebraska.
So when the new running backs ? true freshmen recruits Ameer Abdullah, Aaron Green and Braylon Heard and transfer Mike Marrow ? arrived this summer to begin their Husker careers, Brown was prepared with a little history lesson.
"At Nebraska, one of the most prestigious positions in this program has been running back," Brown said. "I've talked to them about tradition and upholding not only a level of excellence, but the character that goes with it."
This is Brown's 21st season coaching at NU, but his first leading the running backs. And what a time to do it.
The Huskers have a veteran, reliable running back in Rex Burkhead and a steady, strong-willed fullback in Tyler Legate. But after that, the race is wide-open and it's quite likely a couple of kids who recently got done dancing at their proms will be needed to step before the bright lights come September.
So begins Brown's exciting, challenging assignment.
"What I've got to do is I've got to help pull out the God-given talent that they have through teaching them that it's about their character, it's about who they are inside," Brown said. "That's what makes a great running back."
Brown recently found himself talking to Marrow ? a 240-pound thumper who could be a fullback or running back ? about former Heisman winner Mark Ingram from Alabama. They found themselves discussing Ingram's mental makeup more than anything.
"A lot of what you hear about that young man is not just his physical talent, but who he is inside, that spirit that he has inside and that every great running back I know has," Brown said. "They have that ingredient inside that says, 'I will not be denied.' And I've got to coach the heart and soul of those running backs. ? Until you touch the heart and soul of them, you're just scratching the surface with a back."
Brown is keeping an open mind with not just the new backs, but also some veterans like Austin Jones, Collins Okafor, Curenski Gilleylen and Ty Kildow.
Coaches have to decide who to include on the 105-man roster when fall camp begins. But expect all those new arrivals to be out there, Brown said, "unless there's some crazy extenuating circumstance."
None of the freshmen recruits traveled a longer road to get to that moment than Heard. The native of Youngstown, Ohio, signed with Nebraska in 2010, but he had an academic hurdle that kept him from being in the program until this summer.
Brown soon will see what Heard the football player has to offer. But the perseverance the running back displayed to get to Lincoln showed him something.
"I'm still getting to know Braylon, but something tells me that's a competitive young man," the coach said. "Now we'll see how he responds to what we have here when we get going. I sense that he's got a little something to him."
Since coaches can't watch players work out in the summer, Brown has to wait to see how they'll respond when they get new concepts thrown at them in August.
Youth can't be an excuse. Maturity will have to be on display right away.
"We've watched a lot of film on them. We've spent time with them in the recruiting process. But the reality of it is we haven't been out there and experienced the same bloodstream yet," Brown said. "We're going to learn a lot about them. Right now there's a lot of projection and potential, and those are sometimes good words. But they also mean they haven't done it yet."
Fortunately, Brown has some veterans who can serve as mentors.
Before arriving in Lincoln, Abdullah talked about the connection he felt when he met Burkhead, even describing the junior as a role model. Brown said he feels Legate should also be of great value to the new faces.
"Those two guys will open their arms wide to those kids," Brown said. "And not only make them feel welcome, but they'll challenge them to go to a high level."
It's a competition that will carry on for the rest of their careers. And Brown reminds that winning a spot at the beginning of the season doesn't guarantee a player will hold that position in mid-October.
So settle in. The battle to lend Burkhead a helping hand figures to be one of the most intriguing storylines of the fall.
"The thing could go up and down throughout the season," Brown said. "There's so much ahead of us that we don't know. What I do know is that I think we have talent and if they get any kind of coaching at all, I think we could be good."
Keith Jackson had plenty of memorable lines while making his voice the soundtrack to many a Saturday afternoon, but there is one utterance in particular that's coming to mind.
He was announcing a Nebraska-Colorado showdown many years ago and the Huskers were starting to take ownership. The Buffaloes were sucking wind. Nebraska had the plow out and was starting to claim its yards in great chunks.
It was mostly coming between the tackles. Macho football.
"You want to run the football?" Jackson declared in that bouncing, folksy tune that could come only from him. "Be the I-back at Nebraska."
We are far removed from that day ? 17 years, if you want it exact. There is only one Husker coach on the staff now who was on it then, and Ron Brown wasn't coaching running backs at the time.
But Brown has seen up close what it means to be the running back at Nebraska.
So when the new running backs ? true freshmen recruits Ameer Abdullah, Aaron Green and Braylon Heard and transfer Mike Marrow ? arrived this summer to begin their Husker careers, Brown was prepared with a little history lesson.
"At Nebraska, one of the most prestigious positions in this program has been running back," Brown said. "I've talked to them about tradition and upholding not only a level of excellence, but the character that goes with it."
This is Brown's 21st season coaching at NU, but his first leading the running backs. And what a time to do it.
The Huskers have a veteran, reliable running back in Rex Burkhead and a steady, strong-willed fullback in Tyler Legate. But after that, the race is wide-open and it's quite likely a couple of kids who recently got done dancing at their proms will be needed to step before the bright lights come September.
So begins Brown's exciting, challenging assignment.
"What I've got to do is I've got to help pull out the God-given talent that they have through teaching them that it's about their character, it's about who they are inside," Brown said. "That's what makes a great running back."
Brown recently found himself talking to Marrow ? a 240-pound thumper who could be a fullback or running back ? about former Heisman winner Mark Ingram from Alabama. They found themselves discussing Ingram's mental makeup more than anything.
"A lot of what you hear about that young man is not just his physical talent, but who he is inside, that spirit that he has inside and that every great running back I know has," Brown said. "They have that ingredient inside that says, 'I will not be denied.' And I've got to coach the heart and soul of those running backs. ? Until you touch the heart and soul of them, you're just scratching the surface with a back."
Brown is keeping an open mind with not just the new backs, but also some veterans like Austin Jones, Collins Okafor, Curenski Gilleylen and Ty Kildow.
Coaches have to decide who to include on the 105-man roster when fall camp begins. But expect all those new arrivals to be out there, Brown said, "unless there's some crazy extenuating circumstance."
None of the freshmen recruits traveled a longer road to get to that moment than Heard. The native of Youngstown, Ohio, signed with Nebraska in 2010, but he had an academic hurdle that kept him from being in the program until this summer.
Brown soon will see what Heard the football player has to offer. But the perseverance the running back displayed to get to Lincoln showed him something.
"I'm still getting to know Braylon, but something tells me that's a competitive young man," the coach said. "Now we'll see how he responds to what we have here when we get going. I sense that he's got a little something to him."
Since coaches can't watch players work out in the summer, Brown has to wait to see how they'll respond when they get new concepts thrown at them in August.
Youth can't be an excuse. Maturity will have to be on display right away.
"We've watched a lot of film on them. We've spent time with them in the recruiting process. But the reality of it is we haven't been out there and experienced the same bloodstream yet," Brown said. "We're going to learn a lot about them. Right now there's a lot of projection and potential, and those are sometimes good words. But they also mean they haven't done it yet."
Fortunately, Brown has some veterans who can serve as mentors.
Before arriving in Lincoln, Abdullah talked about the connection he felt when he met Burkhead, even describing the junior as a role model. Brown said he feels Legate should also be of great value to the new faces.
"Those two guys will open their arms wide to those kids," Brown said. "And not only make them feel welcome, but they'll challenge them to go to a high level."
It's a competition that will carry on for the rest of their careers. And Brown reminds that winning a spot at the beginning of the season doesn't guarantee a player will hold that position in mid-October.
So settle in. The battle to lend Burkhead a helping hand figures to be one of the most intriguing storylines of the fall.
"The thing could go up and down throughout the season," Brown said. "There's so much ahead of us that we don't know. What I do know is that I think we have talent and if they get any kind of coaching at all, I think we could be good."
Comment