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CFB is supposed to played in stadia not in the cooling pool of a nuclear reactor.
Mission to CFB's National Championship accomplished. But the shine on the NC Trophy is embarrassingly wearing off. It's M B-Ball ..... or hockey or volley ball or name your college sport favorite time ...... until next year.
If ever there was a moment for Collins Okafor to step forward and count his name among the reliable, this appears to be it.
The running back has been in the Husker football program for three years now. He redshirted the first year. One carry for 9 yards the second. Another carry for 2 yards the third.
It's surely not what the studious Okafor envisioned when he announced he was going to Nebraska over Stanford on that February day in a crowded room at Omaha Westside High School.
But no sense dwelling in the past tense. The present brings possibilities. Okafor has an opening.
It's a spring where the Huskers are limited in bodies at the running back position. Coaches aren't going to take chances and give many reps to junior Rex Burkhead, a known commodity. And all those young freshmen recruits you've heard about -- Aaron Green, Ameer Abdullah and Braylon Heard -- aren't expected to arrive until the summer.
Given this, the junior Okafor and senior Austin Jones have become lead figures at running back in the early Husker spring practices.
It's a new year and Okafor has a new position coach in Ron Brown.
Opportunity stands on the porch. Now it's Okafor's move.
"This is his time now," Brown said. "So we're going to find out a lot about him. And he knows. He knows what's behind him. He knows what's ahead of him. And he knows what's breathing down his back -- those youngsters coming in."
He also knows the Huskers could use a thumper back.
Dontrayevous Robinson was a big back, but he transferred to Montana State in the offseason.
So cast your eyes toward the 6-foot-1, 225-pound Okafor.
Brown has told the running back he needs to be a "war daddy" running the football, the kind of bruiser who gives as many blows as he takes.
"I've talked to him about this, and I'm not saying anything that's a big secret: God, when he made Collins, he put him together," Brown said. "He's a well-built guy. He's fast. He had legitimate track times coming out of high school. He was a highly recruited kid. I think it's just smoothing him out."
Smooth is the word Brown comes back to. He doesn't want Okafor wasting any motion.
Brown uses a swimming analogy. The great swimmers don't make great commotion in the water. They glide.
Okafor, the coach said, is still kind of thrashing right now.
"So we just got to keep smoothing him out."
There are plenty of reps to work on doing just that. At last Wednesday's practice, the final practice before a 12-day layoff for spring break, the Huskers had just six players (counting running backs and fullbacks) participating in the backfield.
"They're pretty tired coming off this field," Brown said. "Nobody's complaining about playing time."
And why would they?
It's a chance for Okafor, a player who rushed for more than 3,300 yards his last two years at Westside, to make a statement before more competition arrives in a few months.
Knowing the game is no issue for the running back. Brown said Okafor is "a relentless studier" off the field.
Now he just needs to take advantage of his biggest asset -- his physique.
"I've told him, 'Look, as a big back like this, with the speed and physics you bring to the table, if you can be a pound-happy guy where you can just get your pads and rip them through people, you could be a great back in terms of speed and punching it in there,'" Brown said. "But it remains to be seen. He's got to go out there and he's got to do it."
Grammar... The difference between feeling your nuts and feeling you're nuts.
The progression is taking shape. It all makes perfect sense.
First step: Bo Pelini lands his first job as a head coach mostly because of his acumen as a defensive coordinator.
"I think he clearly has a brilliant defensive mind," says Joe Moglia, the ultra-successful chairman of TD Ameritrade who for the past two years worked as an executive adviser for Nebraska's head coach.
Now in his fourth year as Husker honcho, Bo has allowed Carl Pelini's role with the defense to expand. Carl is now a one-title coach, the defensive coordinator, period. That will allow Bo to better concentrate on the entire operation like, well, a typical CEO.
Carl says Bo has "really taken control, down to the small details of the program."
Has Moglia witnessed Bo make progress as a chief executive?
"I think everybody in a leadership position that is successful is genuinely able to ask the question 'Why?' and is genuinely able to learn from others," Moglia says. "Bo is a pretty young head coach at an elite program. I think he literally continues to grow into the job.
"There's not a question he's afraid to ask. He's intellectually curious. That's a key element to understand about Bo. He's a well-qualified head coach today. But every year, he'll wind up getting a little more mature and gain a little better understanding of what he's really trying to do with his job, and of the things that he really thinks matter."
Moglia is a fascinating study in his own right. During his eight years (2001-2008) as CEO of Omaha-based Ameritrade, the company grew exponentially. Long story short, Moglia also has a football coaching background and long wanted to scratch that itch, hence his recent involvement with Nebraska football.
He spent 70 hours per week at North Stadium, attending staff meetings, player meetings and practices, the gamut. It was the ultimate private tutorial, he says.
He recently became head coach of the United Football League's Omaha Nighthawks. The five-team league also features former NFL head coaches Dennis Green, Jim Fassel, Marty Schottenheimer and Jerry Glanville.
Was there anything about Pelini's day-to-day work that especially impressed Moglia?
"I think at the end of the day for Bo, it's about competing every single day," Moglia says. "It's about being a man. It's about standing on your own two feet and accepting responsibility. Those are all critical, critical parts of his philosophy that I very, very much and wholeheartedly believe in.
"No. 2, Bo has an incredible focus. His priorities are very, very simple: His family, his players, his coaches, the University of Nebraska. ... Regardless of the order, there's an incredible focus and intensity about making sure he's taking care of each of those constituents.
"I think, frankly, we sometimes spread ourselves too thin and focus on a lot of things that don't really matter."
The fact Bo is at Nebraska for a fourth season is relevant in this discussion, in that he had never stayed anywhere as a coach longer than three years. This just in: His motor runs hot and occasionally overheats. He wears thin on people, particularly after three years, he jokes (I always get the feeling he's only half-joking).
Successful CEOs stay calm under pressure, Moglia said.
Speaking of pressure, vultures are circling Jim Tressel at Ohio State, Bo's alma mater. For what it's worth, I've never gotten the sense from him, during interviews and conversations dating to 2003, that he has a deep yearning to take over the Buckeye program. It's just a gut feeling. Maybe I'm reading him wrong.
At any rate, Bo seems re-energized. He was loose and upbeat Friday in discussing the head coach-as-CEO topic. He gained plenty from his weekly discussions with Moglia.
"He'd give you a whole different perspective on a lot of topics," Bo says. "The same things that lead to success running an organization like TD Ameritrade aren't a lot different than what leads to success in a football program.
"That becomes clearer the longer you do it."
It's easy to forget Bo is only 43. His intellectual curiosities could bear fruit as a head coach for many years to come.
Grammar... The difference between feeling your nuts and feeling you're nuts.
Chicago, Ill. - The Nebraska volleyball team finished its spring trip to Chicago with an undefeated run through the Great Lakes Collegiate Challenge on Saturday afternoon.
"We had a great week in Chicago," Head Coach John Cook said. " The opportunity to train in the mornings and experience Chicago in the afternoons and evenings was special for our new staff and our 2011 team."
The Huskers opened Saturday with a 2-0 sweep of Toledo behind solid play from sophomore Hayley Thramer, who was seeing her first competitive action since last spring. Thramer missed the 2010 season while recovering from a shoulder injury she suffered during 2010 spring drills.
Nebraska then moved on to face future Big Ten foe Wisconsin, who had taken down Louisville in the first round. The Huskers made quick work of the Badgers with another 2-0 win.
The championship game featured another match-up with a Big Ten program in Michigan State. The Spartans were unable to halt the Huskers' run as NU stayed perfect on the day with a third 2-0 win.
"To end the week by winning the tournament was a reflection of the hard work our team has put in here," Cook said. "Our team is committed to using the spring as a time to establish our roles, improve, and learn how to compete!"
The Huskers will now turn their attention towards their April 9 meeting with Wichita State in Grand Island.
By STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Wednesday, March 23, 2011 11:00 pm
The coach felt a twinge of guilt.
That became clear as Nebraska offensive line coach Barney Cotton shared with reporters the gist of a recent discussion with Husker true freshman tackle Tyler Moore.
"I told him, 'I owe you an apology,'" Cotton said. "I go, 'We have been so busy with recruiting and then with putting in a new offense. I feel like I should have been spending a little bit more time with you. … How are you doing?'"
It was a worthwhile question. After all, Moore, of Clearwater, Fla., is one of three Nebraska freshmen who completed high school early to enroll at NU in January, in time to participate in spring drills. The others are quarterback Jamal Turner of Arlington, Texas, and defensive tackle Kevin Williams of Holland, Ohio.
Such an adjustment can be "overwhelming" for some players, Cotton said, especially once spring practices actually begin. The Huskers practiced last week before taking this week off for spring break. Practice resumes Monday.
"All of a sudden, it's like they're in-season here, and they could be going to high school for a couple of hours, they passed most of their classes, you know, going out for lunch, maybe coming back for track practice and having a great time this spring," Cotton said. "And they're here probably busy 55 hours a week with football and study hall, having to be on time and be early and be that disciplined. They've had to grow up in a hurry."
Moore and Turner are widely regarded as leading candidates among the true freshmen to play in 2011, especially since the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Turner may have the ability to play another position.
Meanwhile, the 6-6, 300-pound Moore is probably the most highly regarded of the five offensive linemen in Nebraska's 2011 scholarship class. Rated by Rivals.com as the No. 5 tackle in the nation as a senior, Moore was a three-year starter at Countryside High School in Clearwater. He committed to the Huskers as a junior and took no other campus visits.
His father, Brian Moore, played tight end for Nebraska, earning a letter in 1985. Tyler is a cousin of former Husker defensive end Jay Moore (2002-06).
Watch video of Tyler Moore, and you'll see a strong, lean and athletic lineman who certainly looks the part of a major-college player. The fact he chose to enroll in January indeed puts him in contention to play immediately, Cotton said.
"Absolutely, I mean, he's going to get 15 more practices than any other (first-year freshman), and he's going to learn more and have a shorter line than anybody else will have, as they come in in the fall," the coach said. "But it's not for everybody. I think Tyler has a personality, he can handle it.
"He decided a year ago that this is what he wanted to do. I don't think … I betcha 95 percent of high school seniors can't do this. I mean, because it's too hard on them, it's too much, and they're not ready. But he's a pretty mature kid. I think you have to have that maturity. Otherwise, there's no way you could pull it off."
Grammar... The difference between feeling your nuts and feeling you're nuts.
Sadler can’t comment on specific recruits, but sources involved in recruiting said the Huskers are interested in Anthony Hubbard, a 6-foot-5, 215-pounder from Woodbridge, Va. The combo guard averaged 20.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists for Frederick (Md.) Community College, which finished 24-5.
But the numbers that interest many in Hubbard are his age (25) and how much time he spent in prison (nearly four years) for involvement in a robbery when he was 17.
Hubbard already has visited Iowa and has interest from Louisville, Kansas State, Penn State, Oregon State, Rutgers and Iona.
Sources say Sadler also has strong interest in 6-5, 215-pound Dylan Talley from Blinn (Texas) CC. The combo guard finished as the No. 6 scorer in the National Junior College Athletic Association at 22.5 points a game.
Wing scoring is a focal point for the current recruiting period, Sadler said, especially after NU finished 291st nationally in 3-point shooting (31.4 percent).
“I was very disappointed in our perimeter shooting,’’ he said. “I thought that was going to be a strength heading into the year. So we’re looking at perimeter guys.
“But if there is some guy out there who is better than anybody we’ve got, we’ll take him, regardless of position. And we’re looking really, really hard at transfers. With a big junior class now, it wouldn’t hurt us to have a guy sitting out for the following year.’’
LINCOLN — Nebraska has offered a basketball scholarship to 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard Matt Glover, a freshman at Sheridan (Wyo.) College.
Glover was the fourth-leading scorer for 24-10 Sheridan at 11.8 points a game. He shot 39 percent from the field, 28 percent from 3-point range and 71 percent on free throws.
“He’s got a lot of things to work on yet,’’ Sheridan coach Steve Smiley said Friday. “But he’s got a good body and is strong.’’ Sweet, just what the program needs, another project player.
Glover is from Orange, Calif. Husker coach Doc Sadler offered him a scholarship on Tuesday, Smiley said. Glover is visiting Utah State this weekend and then Nebraska in two weeks. He also has interest from Iowa, Boston College and Rutgers.
At Tustin (Calif.) High School, Glover averaged 18.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.1 assists.
Sheridan College’s top scorer this season was former Bellevue East player Jarrell Crayton, a 6-7 forward who averaged 15.4 points.
Crayton held scholarship offers out of high school from Nebraska, Creighton, Colorado State and others but didn’t qualify academically. Now, Crayton has visits scheduled to Boise State and Minnesota.
“We’re really going to miss him,’’ Smiley said. “He’s a great guy.’’
Grammar... The difference between feeling your nuts and feeling you're nuts.
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