The 2009 preseason is officially here with the start of fall camp and the annual Fan Day.

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In the last part of our fall camp preview, we look at five position battles that will shape the Nebraska football team in 2009.

On with the list, which is by no means exclusive, but hits the high points.

Backup Quarterback

All things being equal, offensive coordinator Shawn Watson would probably prefer that Kody Spano take control of this spot for 2009 and let Cody Green (and potentially LaTravis Washington) redshirt. But Spano has to show he’s fully mentally and physically recovered from a torn ACL, and then, of course, he has stay healthy afterward.

I’ve stayed adamant: Green should redshirt. It’d help him to see one season from the sidelines, to work on his passing and give the Husker defense an honest look in practice.

Washington? Not so sure. He could fit in nicely as a Wildcat quarterback, or a guy in goalline situations. Redshirting Washington would gum up the quarterback wheels significantly over the next two years. I say find a role for the guy, utilize him there, and call it square.

The wildcard is Taylor Martinez, a more accomplished high school quarterback than even Green. Question is: Can Martinez fix that long, awkward throwing motion in a short amount of time? If so, throw his hat in the ring, too.

Middle linebacker

Senior walk-on Colton Koehler did a fair job in this role during the last half of 2008, but he’ll have Philip Dillard and Will Compton nipping hard at his heels during this fall camp. Linebacker was one of NU’s weak spots last year, at least until the final quarter of the year.

We still like Dillard, of course, provided he’s healthy, in shape, and not buried on the depth chart, in position coach Mike Ekeler’s proverbial doghouse. That’s a lot of “ifs,” but Dillard has enough raw talent to answer all those questions. He also can be a strong leader.

The future is Compton, but he’s still inching his way up the learning curve. But the kid from Bonne Terre, Mo., sure knows how to be around the ball – and that’s never a bad thing.

No. 3 and No. 4 receiver

Meno Holt and Niles Paul haven’t produced much in their careers, but it’s fair to say they are the starting X and Z receivers, respectively, unless one of them suffers an injury or Pelini decides to overly punish Paul for a minor brush with the law last spring.


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Chris Brooks is one of many receivers vying for playing time.
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Behind them, a whole host of candidates, all with their own story, line up for their shot: senior Chris Brooks, junior Will Henry, sophomore Curenski Gilleylen, Brandon Kinnie and Marcus Mendoza, and freshmen Antonio Bell, Tim Marlowe and Khiry Cooper.

How it plays out is anybody’s best guess. But Ted Gilmore, a notoriously tough grader and disciplined coach, has to put somebody out there. And two of the above names will be the guys.

Right guard

It’s really a battle to see whether sophomore backup center Mike Caputo progresses enough to surpass junior Ricky Henry at his position, right guard. Obviously the possibility has been brought up, because current center/former right guard Jacob Hickman talked about it at length at Big 12 Media Days.

Nothing against Caputo, the Millard North product whom I expect will be the starter in 2010 and 2010, but Nebraska’s better off keeping Hickman where he is, and Henry fulfilling his potential and tenacity. Reporters have been hearing stories about this kid since his arrival last August. Time for Henry to match up the playbook to his pugnacity.

Cornerback

You’ve got five candidates – juniors Anthony West, Prince Amukamara and Dejon Gomes, and sophomore Alfonzo Dennard and Anthony Blue – for two spots. For now, West and Amukamara are the favorites. But West didn’t earn any defenders when he was flat burned by Wes Cammack on a skinny post for a touchdown in the Red/White Spring Game. And Amukamara still has to be consistently good on every down.

Blue’s the best prospect if he trusts his previously shredded knee, but reports in spring suggested he has a ways to go in that department. Gomes wasn’t brought in from a JUCO to guard a Taco Bell, we know that. And Dennard shows excellent upside, with a tendency to get burned on pump fakes and double moves.

There’s plenty of talent here, however.

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The kids just keep back to school earlier and earlier it seems, doesn’t it? Strange that, right in the middle of the dog days of summer, you’ll have some 8-year-old trudging with his backpack into a hot school, hoping his lunch doesn’t melt in his metal lunchbox over on the food rack.

It’s really no different for college football teams, either, as Nebraska enters fall camp this Saturday, conducting nearly a month’s worth of practice before the first game, vs. Florida Atlantic, on Sept. 5.

Here’s five offensive questions as we enter the camp. For five more bonus questions, click here.

We know quarterback Zac Lee has the physical tools. Now – can he lead?

Lee presumably spent the summer cementing his relationship with Husker skill players and potentially treating his offensive linemen to a treat or two. In fall camp, does he emerge as a guy the offense looks to in tight spots, or does he defer to some of the more senior linemen? Clearly, the Husker offense no longer has Joe Ganz. But Lee has to leave his own imprint on the position.

Is [url=http://www.huskerlocker.com/blogs/browse/t/search/official/y/tag/niles paul]Niles Paul[/url] ready to step up and break out?

Our ears perked up a little when NU running back [url=http://www.huskerlocker.com/blogs/browse/t/search/official/y/tag/roy helu]Roy Helu[/url], Jr., mentioned at [url=http://www.huskerlocker.com/blogs/browse/t/search/official/y/tag/big 12 media days]Big 12 Media Days[/url] that Paul was Nebraska’s best receiverby far. Really? This wasn’t the guy we saw in 2008 running stop and curl routes, was it? Apparently, Paul’s going to be a deep threat this year, running the routes he wanted to run last year, and we’ll find out just how skilled and explosive a player he is.

Paul also has the ability to be a gifted leader, if he so chooses. He’s well-liked and has a strong personality. Does he become a vocal guy in 2009, or does he let the play do the talking?

Can Ricky Henry master the right guard position and win the job?
For Lee’s sake – and Nebraska’s sake – you’d hope so, as Henry’s emergence would allow Jacob Hickman to stay at center. Hickman probably projects to guard at the next level, but he should be much improved as the center this year – if Henry can win the job. Word is Henry’s plenty tough and physical – it’s just a matter of getting the offense and techniques down pat.

Two or three running backs?

Position coach Tim Beck seems to prefer three, but Helu and [url=http://www.huskerlocker.com/blogs/browse/t/search/official/y/tag/quentin castille]Quentin Castille[/url] are hungry for carries and plenty capable of carrying the load themselves. Will Beck and [url=http://www.huskerlocker.com/blogs/browse/t/search/official/y/tag/shawn watson]Shawn Watson[/url] allow for that to happen, or will the third running back see 5-10 touches per game, as was the trend in 2008? If so, who is the third running back? Lester Ward? Austin Jones? Collins Okafor? One of the freshmen?

Does the Wats Coast Offense change at all to fit the personnel?

Lee’s a fast guy, and a good runner. Nebraska now has more speed at the wide receiver position with [url=http://www.huskerlocker.com/blogs/browse/t/search/official/y/tag/marcus mendoza]Marcus Mendoza[/url] and Tim Marlowe. Does Watson try some wide receiver sweeps, more option, more zone read with QB keeps? Or does he keep what was ultimately a pass-heavy offense under Ganz? We suspect Watson has a few tricks up his sleeve, and we won’t see all of them until the Missouri game that opens Big 12 play.

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Husker Locker will be counting down and breaking down each of the teams in the conference. We hope you view this series as more interesting, comprehensive and definitive than what you may find elsewhere. Where we can make strong takes – we will.

We rank the teams 12 to 1 in overall strength. Then we’ll provide for you the North/South breakdown – and the preseason All Big 12 team, as well.

Enjoy!

Today: No. 7 Kansas State

Coach: Bill Snyder
2008 Record: 5-7 (under Ron Prince)

What’s Changed Since 2008: Heh – everything. Prince was fired – and deservedly so. Snyder was brought back to heal the family. Then, in the spring, it got really crazy, with secret deals to Prince and audits, and firings and resignations and turmoil. KSU is in a hurtin’ place as an athletic department.

2009 Non-Conference Schedule: Snyder worked a little magic, as UMass and Tennessee Tech worm their way onto the slate. A game at Louisiana-Lafayette shouldn’t be a sweat, and the game at UCLA, poor, no-offense UCLA, is winnable.

2009 Conference Schedule: Highly favorable. KSU hosts Texas A&M, Colorado, Missouri and Kansas, plays at Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas Tech (all losses there) and plays Iowa State in Kansas City, which will probably end up being a home game for the Wildcats. We see 4-5 wins in there.

Offense: Power/Spread

Coordinator: Del Miller and Dana Dimel. Don’t be surprised if Snyder’s imprints are all over the offense, though. Miller worked at San Diego State for the last three years, while Dimel was at Arizona. Both know their way around a spread passing offense; Dimel built a balanced attack at Zona last year. Preferably, Snyder would like a mobile QB who can run and pass, but he’ll settle for a guy who keeps the Cats out of bad situations.

Strength: Wide receiver Brandon Banks (1049 receiving yards, 126 rushing yards) is the kind of dynamic player Snyder loves, and he’ll get 10-15 touches per game. One way or another, Banks will be the team’s primary offensive weapon. KSU has intriguing running backs, too, in Logan Dold, Keithen Valentine and transfer Daniel Thomas, a JUCO guy who could play QB in a pinch.

Weakness: Quarterback. After the Josh Freeman show for three years, Coffman essentially takes over, and while he’s not terrible – he was actually decent in spot duty last year – he’s not a guy who can beat you by himself. On the offensive line, arguably KSU’s best lineman, Brock Unruh, was lost for the year to a weight room injury.

Defense: 4-3/4-2-5

Coordinator: Co-coordinators again, with Vic Koenning, Clemson’s former DC and Chris Cosh, the former DC at Maryland, which was one of the few teams to shut down California running back Jahvid Best. This was an awful defense in 2008. We sense that, at some point, KSU simply gave up on that side of the ball, especially the linebackers, who played with little overall discipline.

Strength: The defensive line could be very good, with super-soph defensive end Brandon Harold (45 tackles and 3 sacks as a freshman) and University of Virginia transfer Jeffrey Fitzgerald at an inside defensive tackle. But this bunch didn’t get great push last year. That part of it has to improve. With Fitzgerald, who started 25 games at UVA, we think it will. The secondary, led by cornerback Joshua Moore, might be, fair, too. Moore was the best pure cover guy on the team last year, and one of the best in the Big 12 outside of Norman, Okla.

Weakness: The linebackers are a little undersized, a little slow, and were really chewed up by the spread last year. Then again, they seemed to be getting some iffy coaching as the year went on (like when Nebraska ran the same zone read play over and over, and the Wildcats refused to adjust to it) so maybe that will change. The co-DCs may try to counteract that by getting an extra safety on the field.

Beyond that, the Wildcats are in need of a better pass rush.

Special Teams It was good under Prince, and it’ll remain good under Snyder. Banks is an excellent return man for kickoffs or punts. DJ Fulhage returns as punter, and freshman Ryan Doerr now becomes the kicker. KSU coverage units should be pretty good, too; Snyder likes to populate those units with JUCO guys.

Intangibles: By year two or three of the “Miracle in Manhattan,” Snyder found a way to keep his Wildcats in games where they were severely overmatched. A few years later, KSU was winning those games. Few coaches prepare like this guy. He never strays too far from the plan, his teams don’t often get blown out, and Kansas State will commit to a solid running game. You watch. The formula typically works.

Best-Case Scenario: Kansas State wins nine – all four non-conference games, and five more in the league. Long shot, but doable.

Worst-Case Scenario: Last in the Big 12 North.

Our Take: Same record as Kansas, with the tiebreaker going to the Wildcats on head-to-head matchup. The Wildcats simply get a favorable schedule this year. They’ll need it, and take advantage of it.

See other Big 12 Breakdowns: No. 12 ISU, No. 11 A&M, No. 10 CU, No. 9 BU, No. 8 KU, No. 7 KSU, No. 6 Texas Tech
Agree? Disagree? Tell us about it.

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Husker Locker will be counting down and breaking down each of the teams in the conference. We hope you view this series as more interesting, comprehensive and definitive than what you may find elsewhere. Where we can make strong takes – we will.

We rank the teams 12 to 1 in overall strength. Then we’ll provide for you the North/South breakdown – and the preseason All Big 12 team, as well.

Enjoy!

Today: No. 8

Coach:Mark Mangino
2008 Record: 8-5

What’s Changed Since 2008: KU lost its three starting linebackers. None of them were great, per see, but all of them were experienced, solid tacklers and skilled blitzers – 14 sacks among the three of them. The Jayhawks also lost three starters off an offensive line that wasn’t terrific in the first place.

2009 Non-Conference Schedule: Tougher – much tougher – than it seems at first blush. Kansas must host Southern Mississippi and travel to UTEP. Two Conference USA teams, sure – they’re also the best two teams in Conference USA. Throw in an improved Duke squad, and we see the potential for a loss in the non-conference slate.

2009 Conference Schedule: It’s brutal. No other word for it. Oklahoma, Nebraska at home, with Texas, Texas Tech, Colorado and Kansas State on the road. We see four losses in that bunch, maybe five, and there’s still a rival in Missouri to play in Kansas City at the end of the season.

Offense: Spread
Coordinator:Mangino and Ed Warinner run this together, it’s fair to say, and though the offense changes a bit from year to year, it’s was heavy on the zone read game in 2008 with a lot of downfield passing. KU made a killing on screen passes in 2007, but we didn’t see nearly as many of those last year. Kansas lacks a Jeremy Maclin type to effectively run a lot of wide receiver sweeps and fancy stuff. Fundamentally – the Jayhawks still aren’t that fast.

Strength: Todd Reesing. The kid’s small, smart, tough, and one amazing football player. Why? Because he improvises when plays break down. Where ordinary quarterbacks hit the panic button, Reesing is just getting started. A good portion of KU’s offense – and almost all of the action in that thrilling 40-37 win over Missouri – is because Reesing simply refuses to give up on a play. Kansas had no offensive line last year. Still won eight games. Kansas also has two good receivers in Dez Briscoe and Kerry Meier, but, aside from their chemistry with Reesing, they’re a little overrated. Well, check that – Briscoe, when he runs his route right, uses his height and leaping ability quite well.

Weakness:Reesing was sacked 31 times last year, and who knows how many sacks his scrambling ability saved. KU’s offensive line struggled to open holes for running back Jake Sharp, and KU only averaged 3.7 yards per rush. We don’t expect the line to be any better this year.

Defense: 4-3
Coordinator: Clint Bowen will run it with journeyman Bill Miller, who joins the staff in 2009. Expect KU to lean on its experienced secondary and get daring with its front seven.

Strength: The secondary is probably good enough in 2009 for KU to rely on them in man-to-man coverage at least some of the time. Strong safety Darrell Stuckey is a particularly good player in run and pass support. The pass defense was indeed fairly torched last year, but part of that was a so-so defensive line that didn’t get much pressure, and part of that was the teams KU played. Of course, the Jayhawks play those teams again this year.

Weakness:No linebacker experience, which Kansas fans brush off by pretending the departing three seniors weren’t very good. Well, poppycock. KU had to move one potential starter, Angus Quigley, from running back in order to cover the position. Much like Nebraska last year – do not expect excellence out of this group, especially when there isn’t a Cody Glenn-type athlete in the bunch.

Special Teams Jacob Bransetter made 9-of-12 field goal attempts last year, but the longest was only 34 yards. Kansas had the nation’s worst kickoff return unit last year, and we’re not sure Mark Mangino will risk using Dez Briscoe on it. Alonso Rojas was a fair punter in his year as a sophomore with a 40.7 overall average.

Intangibles: Kansas gets two key benefits from most pundits going into 2009 – beating Missouri in its wild regular-season finish, and drawing an easy assignment in the bowl game with Minnesota, which lost its last five games last year. Beware of the small sample size! KU is a team that was lucky to beat Iowa State, still the team that was badly outplayed by Nebraska in the second half, aside from a couple turnovers, still the team that was stoned by Texas Tech and Texas at home.

Best-Case Scenario: Kansas wins the Big 12 North by sweeping all five opponents in its division. That’s what it’ll take, too.

Worst-Case Scenario: A seven-loss season – which could happen. Two non-conference losses and five inside the Big 12.

Our Take: KU finishes 7-5 and 4-4 in the Big 12, losing the tiebreaker to Kansas State.

See other Big 12 Breakdowns: No. 12 ISU, No. 11 A&M, No. 10 CU, No. 9 BU, No. 8 KU, No. 7 KSU, No. 6 Texas Tech

Agree? Disagree?Tell us about it.

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How did Kansas fight its way into the Big 12 North picture after years of hum-drum under former coach Terry Allen?

Current KU coach Mark Mangino took dead recruiting aim in Texas. He learned those ropes from working as an assistant at Kansas State and Oklahoma, but Mangino made recruiting the Metroplex from afar an art form.

The Jayhawks currently have 21 players from the Dallas-Fort Worth area on their roster. And 11 of those 21 players were among the Rivals Top 100 players in Texas in the last four years.

Why does that matter? Well, because Baylor has 44 players from the Metroplex. But only three of those Bears were on the Top 100 list.

NU has nine players from DFW. Four of them are in the top 100. The Huskers are doing quite of bit work in the Metroplex again with assistant coach Tim Beck.

Here’s the whole Big 12. Unsurprisingly, the south does well, but look at the percentages of Top 100 players for OU and Texas:

Baylor 44 (3)
Texas Tech 29 14)
Texas 27 (24)
Texas A&M 24 (13)
Oklahoma 23 (19)
Kansas 21 (11)
Oklahoma State 18 (7)
Missouri 12 (4)
Iowa State 11 (0)
Nebraska 9 (4)
Kansas State (2)
Colorado 4 (1)

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Sometimes the benefits of Nebraska’s walk-on program are easy to recognize.

For years they came by way of dive plays from the Mackovicka brothers, who turned earning scholarships and punishing linebackers into a family business.

Other times the benefits are much more subtle. NET filmmaker Joel Geyer set out to capture all aspects of the walk-on program with his latest documentary on Nebraska football: “Walk-Ons: Huskers’ Edge.” The film debuts statewide on NET Aug. 4, at 7:00 p.m., but more than 100 Husker fans got a sneak peak Thursday at Village Point in Omaha.

“What Nebraska needs to know is that we’re one of the most connected places in the world,” Geyer said. “Football connects us all together.”

An example is how people from small towns throughout Nebraska show up in droves on game day just to see a local boy warm up, Geyer said. He might not ever play during a game or earn a scholarship, but he works hard for the scout team and the fans, coaches and players appreciate him for it.

Other times, the walk-ons win flat out win football games.

With just under two minutes to go and facing a fourth-and-25 on Colorado’s 40-yard line, senior walk-on T.J O’Leary, the long snapper, knew “one way or another I was going in.”

O’Leary did a double-take when the coach Bo Pelini opted for the field goal.

“I knew (Alex Henery) had the leg to get it there. The only question I had was if he could keep it straight,” O’Leary said. “Obviously he did.”

O'Leary was at Village Point on Thursday to see the film for the first time.

"I know what it means to me," O'Leary said. "to have someone visualize their idea of the walk-on program was pretty cool."

The film uses that kick as a symbol of a successfully revitalized NU walk-on program. The three main players involved in that play – O’Leary, Henery and holder Jake Wesch – were walk-ons. Henery, whom some believe may be the nation’s best kicker, is expected to receive a scholarship this fall as a junior.

Adrian Fiala, the analyst for the Husker Sports Network and former player in the Devaney era, said you can’t talk about Nebraska football without mentioning the fans and the walk-on program.

He said in the last two games of last year, if you add up all of Henery's field goals and extra points and Todd Peterson’s touchdown receptions, a good chunk of NU’s points came from players who started their careers as walk-ons.

“Probably without those guys doing what they did, we don’t win those games,” Fiala said.

Geyer also wanted to show the history of the walk-on program and to answer, “What went wrong?”

The film successfully does both with testimony from Husker coaches, former players and the sports journalists who follow the team.

Langston Coleman is credited as the starter of the NU walk-on program when he hitchhiked from Washington D.C., to Lincoln and eventually became the starting defensive end in 1964-66. The walk-on program became the backbone of Nebraska football after 1973, when the NCAA started decreasing the number of scholarship position allotted to each team with the hope of creating more parity in college football.

Then Steve Pederson and Bill Callahan, the film’s antagonists, deemphasized the walk-on program.

“There was a disconnect,” Geyer said. “They got the blue-chippers… Why didn’t it work? They didn’t have the chemistry and the spirit.”

Former athletic director Pederson hired former NFL coach Callahan with the hope of keeping NU at the top of college football. Successful teams around the country were developing more pro-style offenses and Pederson didn’t want Nebraska to miss the boat.

Callahan didn't like having 160 players, which is close to three times the number on a pro roster. So he made the team more manageable by doing away with some the excess players.

Who needs an eighth-string tackle anyway?

“Basically, they’re there to back those guys (scholarship players) up and say ‘if he’s not willing to do it I am’,” said Kelly Saalfield, a former Nebraska walk-on and current Big 12 referee.

Saalfield came to Lincoln in 1975 without a scholarship or even an invitation to walk-on, but he had heard Coach Tom Osborne was fair and willing to give everyone a shot.

He played on the freshmen team, redshirted his sophomore year and was the starting center by the end of his third year.

Like all walk-ons, he had to make sacrifices. To earn money he spent his first two years of college working as a bouncer at a bar. Instead of going home in the summer to help with his family’s farm in Columbus he was practicing and lifting weights every day; often till after the dorms had stopped serving food. Saalfield ate cheese sandwiches for dinner many times during those summers.

“There are all kinds of things you have to weigh,” he said. “Everybody has to do that in life.”

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The season may not bear it out – water has, after all, been turned into wine a couple times – but one should expect the Big 12 Media Days, starting Monday in Dallas, to be a three-day tour and discussion of the Great Divide between the dominant South Division and relatively bedraggled North.

For it’s no longer just a question of Texas and Oklahoma rising above the other ten teams of the Big 12. It is, now, Texas Tech doing so in 2008. And Oklahoma State, poised to do so in 2009. And Baylor, the permanent member of the Big 12 basement, the Gregor Samsa of the bunch, hiring the right coach in Art Briles, who recruited the right quarterback in Robert Griffin, and has the right Texas high school connections. Suddenly, when you check offer lists and comments from the best players in Texas, some of them have Baylor right at the top. That’s how quickly lightning can strike.

Now, it’s not just Mack and “Big Game Bob,” but that West Texas pirate, Mike Leach, getting headlines. Childish or not, OSU coach Mike Gundy’s rant two years ago about a newspaper column won his team attention, and, somewhat surprisingly, praise from other corners of the media. Even Texas A&M, which stunk last year, is putting together a Callahan-style monster class for 2010 – already 18 verbal commitments, many of them top-line players.

The South has the money, the organization, the commitment, and the Mojo.

The North isn’t exactly floundering – Missouri and Kansas have gained a foothold of success, while Nebraska seems to have returned back to its core values, if not that classic option style.

But it is still recovering from its Dark Ages, that period between 2002-2006 when only one Big 12 North team – that 2003 Kansas State squad with Darren Sproles and Ell Roberson – could even manage to compete with the South. Colorado – a team rocked by recruiting allegations and the Katie Hnida scandal – still managed to win three league titles in that span. It then lost its three Big 12 title games by a combined score 141-13. Iowa State blew two North titles on the last day of the regular season, in overtime. Nebraska mostly played Humpty Dumpty during that time, while Missouri couldn’t shake its inconsistency, and KU was in the earliest, ugliest years of what’s become the quite successful Mark Mangino era.

Nebraska had moderate success during this period, but know this: That was more attributable the mediocrity of the competition than the excellence of the Cornhuskers.

Since that awful era, CU hasn’t really moved out of the fog, Kansas State went back to the old master, Bill Snyder, and Missouri and KU gamely filled the vacuum. But the Jayhawks were thumped thrice last year by UT, OU and Tech, while Missouri took its lumps from OSU, Texas and Oklahoma. A game that symbolized the chasm the best was probably Mizzou’s trip to Baylor, a game won, just barely, by the Tigers, 31-28. Here was the most potent team in Missouri history, playing the basement boys in their half-empty stadium. Baylor only had a handful of really good players – maybe eight – and that was nearly enough to win. The best team in the North. The second-worst in the South. Nearly even.

Telling.

So was this: On the Big 12 media’s all-conference squad, just five of the 26 members were from the Big 12 North. Not even 20 percent.

And for good reason: The South has most of the big-name talent in 2009. Certainly four of the five best quarterbacks in Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford, Robert Griffin and Zac Robinson. Certainly the best offensive linemen. Certainly the best running backs (although I’d take Roy Helu over any one of them except Kendall Hunter).

This divide of talent and experience is big enough as to inform which team will win the Big 12 North. Kansas, presumably the strongest club with a crucial home game vs. Nebraska, has to face OU, Texas and Texas Tech in the same year. That alone may take the Jayhawks out of the race. Missouri probably has the best go of it, getting Texas and Baylor at home. Meanwhile, Iowa State harbors realistic hopes of a bowl season simply by avoiding UT, OU and Tech.

Do you see any pundits piecing together the Big 12 North games for Oklahoma, Texas and Oklahoma State?

So. How to fix it? We’ll look at both solutions both socialist – stuff the Big 12 can do to level the playing field - and free market-based – stuff the North teams can do to help themselves.

Close the Divide: An interesting argument, put forward most recently here, is to dissolve divisions and just go at it, much like the Big Ten and Pac 10 do. But, then, determining the contenders for a conference championship game becomes iffy, and some teams (you can bet it’ll be NU, OU and UT) will be penalized for being popular, and thus playing each other year in, year out. In turn some team – think Wisconsin in the Big Ten – will benefit from avoiding one or more of those teams. We’ll pass.

Better Revenue Sharing: The SEC recognized several years ago that in order to promote competition within the league – to spur schools to stay motivated – it had to make sure they all shared equally in the TV money pot, which, as many of you know, is getting sweeter for the SEC all the time. The Big 12’s structure effectively helps the stronger, more popular teams more.

Some capitalist-types cringe at this kind of socialism, but think of it more as a significant tax break to the Big 12’s smaller businesses, Iowa State, Colorado and Baylor. ISU, in particular, is inching toward morphing into the Big 12’s first MAC school. It doesn’t have the local fanfare in Iowa or the advertising opportunities to realistically get its name out there.

Do Something about Holding: Big 12 fans were confused when the high-powered offenses of Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas Tech suddenly looked “less than” in their bowl games. With the refs no longer jamming their hands in their pockets, like they did during the Big 12 season, it suddenly became a lot harder to stave off blitzes. Holding isn’t called nearly enough, but it was an epidemic in 2008. And all it does is help the better team.

Build at Home: There’s nothing wrong with hiring an assistant coach with great ties in Texas. But, sooner or later, all you’re doing eating the leftovers Texas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and, yes, Baylor don’t want. The Texas pipeline will never be closed. But the entrance is a little narrower than it used to be.

Which is why Big 12 North programs have to do a better job of reaching into the high school levels to begin integrating their style of play and telling the coaches specifically: This is the kind of guy we want. And not just preferred walk-ons. Guys who are worth giving a scholarship to.

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WASHINGTON DC - On any given Saturday, dozens of Nebraska football fans can be spotted doing pushups on Massachusetts Avenue in Washington D.C., after the Cornhuskers score a touchdown.

Jack Huerter, an intern on Capitol Hill from Omaha, is one of the many fans who watch Nebraska games at Union Pub at 201 Massachusetts Ave. Husker push-ups, one for each point Nebraska scores, is one of the traditions the fans there have taken up to make themselves feel more at home.

“The camaraderie there is really strong,” Huerter said of Union Pub. “There are a lot of temporary transplants in Washington who are either from Nebraska or went to school there - who are super homesick.”

Union Pub is the official Husker bar of the nation’s capital and it has been that way for almost 15 years, said bar manager Lance Cook.

Cook, who is from Iowa and a Hawkeye fan, said college fans, especially from the Midwest, are the most passionate followers. Big Red fans in the nation’s capital are no exception.

“I always followed (Nebraska) and I knew about the glory days,” Cook said. “You get caught up in the spirit whether you’re a fan or not.”

On most days, Cook said the Union Pub offers an easygoing atmosphere where staffers from Capitol Hill relax after work. On game days, there is a sea of red lined up outside before the bar opens that stays till closing.

“Every single TV is on the Nebraska game,” Cook said. “And there’s not one TV that isn’t being used. “

That’s the reason Union Pub became the official watch site for Husker fans said owner Matt Weiss. The pub offered to be exclusively Husker on game days.

“I consider it to be a year-round relationship,” Weiss said. “We have a real nice two-way street between both (Husker fans and Union Pub).

“It’s the closest thing to being at the game without being at the game,” he said.

See also: The Huskers In Hell's Kitchen

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You’re patched through, and you hear that low, brusque drawl that’s unmistakable.

The man of the 60-day warning. Howard Schnellenberger. The architect of one of the more significant wins in recent college football history – Miami’s 31-30 win over Nebraska in the 1984 Orange Bowl. The man who spent the last game of his worst season in Memorial Stadium, appreciating those warm-hearted Husker fans who applauded his bedraggled Oklahoma team as it left the field after a 37-0 loss in 1995.

“I remember them being very nice about it,” Schnellenberger said a few weeks ago over the phone. “They didn’t really want to see us get killed.”

Fourteen years later, in yet another decade, Schnellenberger faces Nebraska again. And, for the third straight time, the odds of his team winning are long and slim. Florida Atlantic, the team he built from the ground, upset Minnesota two years ago, and put a scare into a few more major conference opponents, but nobody really expects his Owls to engage NU in anything more than a short-lived track meet up and down the field, followed by a torrent of Husker touchdowns.
Nine times out of ten, it probably would come to that. But Schnellenberger’s been pretty good about throwing a rope around that single opportunity and making the most of it. He did that, of course, at Miami. More on that in a minute.

Right now, he said, he watches Nebraska film and tries to figure out a way to win. He doesn’t know NU head coach Bo Pelini, but on the tape he likes the effort, and the defensive line.

“They got better as the year went on,” Schnellenberger said. “You can see that. They will be one of the best defenses we face all year.”

But Schnellenberger likes his offense, too. He’s particularly fond of quarterback Rusty Smith, the 6-foot-5 senior who threw for 3,224 yards in Schnellenberger’s pro-style offense, which he makes clear is based on Don Shula’s old NFL attack – more versatile and complex, he said, than just about any offense. It often uses a fullback, but can morph into five wide receivers, too. Plus, FAU gets back from injury tight end Jason Harmon, one of the nation’s best in 2007.

Ask Schnellenberger to compare Smith to any of his former protégés, and, of course, the big ones come up.

“Oh, he’s right there with Bernie Kosar, Jim Kelly, any of the best guys I’ve had,” Schnellenberger said. Smith, he said, has a better arm than both.

“What’s really good about him,” Schnellenberger said, “is when he audibles, he gets us into the right plays. He knows our offense as well as anyone.”

FAU audibles a lot, too. At this point, Smith is like a coach on the field, and if his offensive line protects him – it only gave up 16 sacks last season – he’ll have the time to make throws.
What Schnellenberger worries more about is stopping Nebraska. His defense has only three returning starters, and, while it’s been fairly good against the pass, FAU has given an average of 184 rushing yards per game over the last four seasons.

“We’ve got to find a way to slow them down, get some turnovers,” Schnellenberger said. He reiterates this several times in the conversation. In 2007, for example, he had a defense that gave up a ton of yards – 416 yards per game - but picked off a lot of passes, too, leading to a +18 turnover margin.

It was two ill-timed Nebraska turnovers – and two oft-forgotten missed field goals - that helped Miami to that miracle win in 1984. Of course Schnellenberger remembers it; he gets asked
about it as much as anything.

Aside from all the superlatives that anyone provides about the game, Schnellenberger points out this: After leading the entire game, and controlling the pace of the action and forcing NU to play catch-up, Miami was on the verge of an extraordinary fourth-quarter debacle, having given up two touchdowns and missed a field goal that could have iced the game. Pundits would have pointed to the fact Miami began to collapse right around the time it knew a win would earn the Hurricanes a national title.

Nebraska fans remember their own disbelief after Ken Calhoun knocked away a pass from Turner Gill to Jeff Smith on that fateful two-point conversation.

“But we would have been just devastated,” Schnellenberger said.

My presumption was that Miami wouldn’t have blinked, rolled down the field in less than a minute, and at least had a shot at a field goal. Schnellenberger paints it differently. That two-point conversion was the game.

Well, almost.

“We all ran out on the field and got a 15-yard penalty for celebration,” Schnellenberger said. “Had Nebraska recovered that onside kick, they’re right there to score.”

Husker fans know too well that Miami recovered the onside kick.

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See also: The Huskers in Hell's Kitchen

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NEW YORK CITY - On Friday afternoon close to 25 men, most from the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, posted up at the bar or sat in leather chairs and drank Guinness and shots of Jameson at the Irish Rogue at 356 W 44th Street in New York City.

Most of the time, the Irish Rogue is a neighborhood bar, said manager/owner Liam Moore. But on certain Saturdays in the fall, the bar is standing room only with more than 300 patrons. Everyone, including the staff, is dressed in red and cheering on the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

The Irish Rogue is the official Husker bar in New York City.

“The majority of (Husker fans) live here,” Moore said. “But if they’re visiting from Nebraska they’ll find this bar...they let you know they’re from out of town.”

“We all have a good time,” he said.

The bar became the official Husker bar of the Big Apple five years ago, Moore said. There were a few NU alumni who would watch games there and the Nebraska Alumni Association eventually approved the place. Now the staff – half of whom is from Ireland and with accents to match – follows the Big Red too.

The bar is two stories and a cross between a soothing restaurant with comfy chairs and couches and quiet dining tables and a heavy-drinking Irish bar where curse words echo off the walls. Moore said it’s off the beaten path of most tourists who visit New York City, but it’s less than a mile from Times Square.

As far as the bars regulars are concerned, Moore said they were a little shocked at first when they showed up on a Saturday afternoon, expecting to grab a few relaxing beers but instead were met with “Goooo Big Red.”

“They think it’s funny,” Moore said. “They know to show up early now.”

When Moore first started working at the bar five years ago, he didn’t know much about the Huskers, but he checks the schedule now and knows when to expect a rowdy crowd for a big game.

“Very passionate and loyal,” Moore said of Husker fans. “It’s serious during the game, but win or lose they’ll still hang around after to have a good time."

What's you favorite bar, Husker fans? Post your comments and we'll try to write about that locale, too!

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For the state of Nebraska, football is not a just a game, it is a love that ties people from Scottsbluff to Omaha together. But for some fans, hunting is also a fiery passion and the two pastimes conflict throughout the fall.

Depending on the target, hunting season can last from mid September to the end of the year. If you’re an archer, deer season starts Sept. 15. Turkey hunting also opens that day. Duck hunters can hit the blinds Oct. 11. Pheasant and quail season begins on Halloween.

Dwight Wagner, a Sidney native who now lives in South Dakota, remembers how he spent game days as a boy: He would take a break from hunting with his father and brother and post up on a hay stack for a few hours and listen to the game on the radio.

Wagner’s father taught him how to hunt when he was five. That was in 1960, the same year Dwight and his brother started awakening before dawn on Saturdays to hunt waterfowl east of Scottsbluff along the North Platte River.

“When the game was over we went back to hunting,” Wagner said. “But nothing could stop us from listening to the Huskers.”

In 1968, Wagner and his family moved to Rapid City, S.D. Of his time in Nebraska, Wagner said he remembers “ducks, pheasant and Huskers.”

He remembers listening to the games, but the details are sketchy. He remembers some of the players, but not plays or specific wins. He remembers rushing down to grab the paper Sunday morning and flipping through it to see pictures of the plays he listened to the day before.

These days, fans don’t have to wait till the next morning to see the game. The Huskers are on TV more often and SportsCenter and the Internet provide up-to-the-minute updates.

“Lots changed since then…There’s a lot more negativity in sports,” Wagner said. “When I was a kid it wasn’t about if we won or lost.”

And most 5-year-olds today can’t shoot a .22 like Wagner could either.

Jason Carlin, a 22-year-old construction worker in Lincoln, is one Husker fan from a younger generation that learned to shoot a .22 at a young age. He makes it to one or two Husker games every year, but for most games he is deer hunting near North Platte with family.

“We get up early and always plan our hunt so that we’re back at the cabin to watch the game,” he said. “After the game we head back out.”

Mike Tynon, a hunting guide in Peru, knows all about how hunting and college football are often shared together.

Tynon has been a hunter all his life; in the past five years he has acted as a hunting guide. Ask him to share stories of when the two pastimes collide and you’ll be caught in a whirlwind of hunting and Husker stories.

When Tynon is out on a Saturday hunt, the Husker game is always on the radio. Last year, he guided two men from Florida and Georgia on a hunt during the Florida-Georgia annual rivalry game. The men asked their guide to turn on the game dubbed the World’s Largest Cocktail Party.

But Tynon’s dial never left the NU game.

One of Tynon’s hunts in the early 80s ended in a bit of a disaster. Tynon and his hunting buddies got caught up in listening to a Husker game after a long day of hunting, and Tynon’s brother’s dog was left at their campsite, never to be seen again.

“He’s still mad at me for that one,” Tynon said.


After getting the numbers for some of his closest hunting buddies who are also Husker fans – a list of people who live in Nebraska, Kansas and Texas – I heard that story repeated and plenty more that aren’t suitable to be reported.

“Did he tell you he was a poacher, make sure to put that Mike (Tynon) is a poacher,” Mike Mulvaney, a hunter from Beatrice joked as he passed his phone around a circle of his friends like it was a whiskey jug.

These men, like so many others in Nebraska, do not cheer the Huskers on in person more than once a year. But their fanhood is strong. To them, being a Husker isn’t about brooding over lost recruits and losing seasons, it’s about telling football stories – as well as hunting ones – to friends over beers at the end of the day.

“Most everybody I know is a Husker fan and a hunter,” said Gene Griffeth, a painter who was also in the circle of hunters. “That’s just the way it goes. Pretty much all the people I know all do the same.”

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So it's Nebraska's turn today in ESPN's "College Football Live 50 States" Tour. The show airs at 3:30 ET and 2:30 CT. The show recounts the history of football in the state - Nebraska's ought to be quite rich - and looks at the team in 2009.

Here is the place to vote for the best Husker players, teams and coaches in history.

We'll have a full recap later today.

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Just like the players, fans need to prepare for games. An ill-conceived game day can ruin a Saturday almost as much as a loss does. Well, not really, but it still makes sense to think ahead and make sure your Saturdays go smoothly and you’re not scrambling around Lincoln 15 minutes before kickoff.

Alex Dye, who will graduate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a business degree in August, has the type of game day behavior that gets some people in trouble, but it works out well for him, he said. He starts the day off “hard liquor mixed with some kind of stimulant, like Red Bull.”

But that’s it for the hard stuff, at least for a while. His custom is to go to a tailgate for a solid two hours of beers and brats. Then, most importantly, Dye said, he goes to a gas station and buys the biggest water they have and one 5-hour energy and chugs them on his way to the gates.

Kyle Webster, an education major who is a senior in the fall, tailgates in the North Bottoms and does things a little differently.

“I like to start off slow and gradually get into it,” he said.

For a 2:30 game, Webster is up at 8:00 and eats a big breakfast. He’s able to get up early, by taking it easy on Friday night. Instead of going out, he waits tables.

Throughout the day, he drinks more water than beer until about two hours before the game.

Whether you’re an early or late starter or even if you don’t drink at all, there are still a few things you need to be prepared for.

Fortunately it doesn’t take much for us to get ready for the game, here are a few rules you should adhere to.

Know your limits. For those of you who don’t already know, it’s not cool to be the drunkest guy in the stadium on game day. Nothing wrong with getting a little loose before or after kickoff, but Memorial Stadium is not the place to lose control. Don’t drink more than you’re used to. It’ll embarrass you and anger those around you.

Game day starts on Saturday. If you want to be the up-at-dawn, breakfast, lunch and dinner tailgater, take it easy or find a part-time job on Friday night. It’s for your own good if you want to last through the postgame celebration.

Stay hydrated and eat throughout the day. A good rule would be to chase every beer with a water or sports drink, at least during the heat of the day. And tailgate food is awesome, so get something from off the grill.

Be mindful of the weather. They have played in rain, snow and sleet at Memorial Stadium and will likely do so next season. Unless you want to go to the hospital after the game, don’t show up with nothing but paint on your chest. Dress in layers and bring something waterproof if rain is in the forecast.

Bring at least $20 in cash. Even if you already have a ticket, you’re still going to need to eat something. If a stranger ends up giving you a beer and a brat it’s at least nice to have a $5 bill to offer. And remember that you’ll need to pay for parking too.

Wear red. A gray shirt with Nebraska on it doesn’t count. Black is acceptable.

Don’t be a vulture. Everyone knows someone who knows someone who has a tailgate. But tailgates are expensive and groups of five or more shouldn’t stumble up to as many as possible and wolf down all the food and drink. Make sure your wanted before you dig in to the food.

A tailgate isn’t a pick-up joint. This is Nebraska, not College Station, so don’t make out at the game. There sort of an unwritten code throughout Nebraska on game day that makes blue jeans, tennis shoes and red sweatshirts acceptable apparel for both sexes for all social gatherings. Don’t spoil the atmosphere with new your khakis and polo and leave the cologne and hair gel for another night.

Go ahead and stand all game if you’re a student. The student seating section moved to the back Memorial Stadium last year – main reason being that students would stand up all game and the season ticket holder behind them were upset. If you’re seats are elsewhere, it isn’t an issue; you sit for most of the game and stand for the crucial plays. But if you somehow end up in the student section you’re going to have to watch the game from your feet. Because the only thing dumber than standing up for an entire four-hour football game would be sitting down for it after you lost your good seats because you stood up for the whole game.

Don’t disrespect the opposing team’s fans. This isn’t Colorado or Penn State, and this is probably one of the most important rules on the list. Whenever fans travel to Memorial Stadium, they should leave thinking they just saw a game in the best environment for college football.

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Colorado isn’t exactly synonymous for “hospitality” when it comes to Nebraska football fans, who have seen the intensity when NU and CU get together the day after Thanksgiving and lived the horror stories after venturing into Folsom Field.

Add that to the contrasting landscapes, and Colorado and Nebraska sometimes seem like polar opposites.

Until you stumble down a Rocky Mountain trail and into a store that sells practically nothing but Husker gear, that is.

Big Red of the Rockies is doing just that in Estes Park, Colo. - a quaint mountain town of 6,268 people that gets about 3 million visitors per year, thanks to its skiing resorts.

Colorado may seem like an unlikely spot for a Husker shop, but there is enough support to fuel the business, which has been open for more than ten years.

Former Nebraska punter Jesse Kosch is the proud owner of Big Red of the Rockies and three national championship rings. One of the best punters in NU history – Kosch started for the 1995, 1996 and 1997 teams - he moved to Colorado in 2002 to live in the mountains and bought the store in 2006.

“It’s been fun,” Kosch said. “You meet people from all over the place,” Kosch said.

Originally from Columbus, Kosch took family vacations to Estes Park growing up and noticed Nebraska license plates all over the town. So he knew going in a lot of Nebraskans vacation and move to Colorado.

But what surprised him was the Husker fans that visit his store from other states.

“Those are the fun ones,” he said. “The (fans) with no ties to the state.”

Husker nation definitely has a pulse in Colorado.

Tim Carrothers, the president of Coloradans for Nebraska, said no similar association for Husker football in the country – including those in Lincoln and Omaha – share the popularity of the Colorado chapter.

More than 180,000 people saw at least one game at one of the six Coloradans for Nebraska watch parties last year, Carrothers said.

The organization also raises money for the NU scholarship fund and will be sending 24 Colorado high school students to the University of Nebraska next year.

Everybody remembers the bad stories, Carrothers said, like the one from 2005 when frustrated Colorado fans started launching trash onto their own field and the student sections had to be removed. But Coloradans for Nebraska have brought some respect to the rivalry, he said.

“We’re working with Colorado (alumni) chapters to kind of calm it down,” Carrothers said. “We want to bring both fan bases together to calm this thing down so it isn’t so nasty.”

Kosch still has to deal with being a Husker fan behind enemy lines. But it's not Buffalo fans who ridicule him the most.

“The doors are always open and there are always a few knuckleheads that yell,” Kosch said. “’They say ‘Go Sooners’ or ‘Go Longhorns’ more than anything.”

It’s important to have a place to get Husker gear when your living in Colorado said Katie McLeay, an Omaha native who recently graduated from Colorado State University.

McLeay has a boyfriend from Boulder, “and on game days or when I want to make (my boyfriend) mad I always put on my Nebraska sweatshirt.”

But more important than that, McLeay said she enjoyed running into people with Husker clothes on as she tried to get accustomed to living away from home. She said she remembered her roots, and always tried to say hello.

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Here's the next installment of our 50 Husker Fans, 50 States Series!

Today we go to, well, tomorrow! On the other side of the international date line and Guam, where Husker fan genotee lives. Read how he got there, how long it's been since he's lived in Nebraska and how he follows the Huskers today!

Check out the entire archive here.

And remember - if you want to be a part of the series...or you know someone who would llike to...just shoot us an email at sam@ne.statepaper.

Q: Tell us a little bit about your history as a Husker fan? Were you born into it? Family? Friends? Did you attend UNL? Did you grow up in Nebraska? How long have you been a Husker fan?

A: I was born a Husker fan basically cause all my family were husker fans. (4 sisters, 2 brothers and parents). I grew up just down the road from Lincoln in Ashland. We used to say just down Highway-6 from Memorial Stadium. All my friends in those days were husker fans and I think most of us still are and we were from the time we were born.


How did you come to live in Guam? Military? And where in Guam do you live? What's the general ethnic makeup of Guam? What side of the international dateline are you on? Sunrises and sunsets must be something to behold. And for Nebraskans who probably don't know, talk about Super Typhoons and the risk Guam faces from them, if you could.

I graduated from Ashland-Greenwood High back in 1969 and joined the Navy shortly after high school. I spent 21 years and retired from the Navy and my last tour was on Guam and back then things were going pretty well for me on Guam so I chose to stay here.

Basically Guam is made up of Chamorro people and nowadays they are outnumbered because there are a lot of other groups on the Island and a lot of the Chamarro people have migrated to the states and elsewhere. They are very patriotic people and are US Citizens and most of them join the military or the national guard at one time or another. A lot of Chinese, Phillipino and Korean people here a long with quite a few of us statesiders, sprinkle in some people from Thailand and that’s about it.

We are on the side of the dateline that puts us a day ahead and a few hours besides.

Sunrises are not that big a thing but the sunsets, when it isn't cloudy, are some of the most beautiful I have laid eyes on and I have seen a few. Typhoons, I could talk all day about them but they are similar and have tornado type winds in them. The big difference is they begin way out at sea and we start getting warnings days in advance. We just move everything inside and put up shutters on the windows and get ready. Most all houses here are cement so the winds don’t bother too much. Big problem is we lose power and sometimes water for days. Everyone owns a generator here. I’ve been through some pretty bad both here on Guam and elsewhere in the Pacific since I spent my entire naval career over here in the area. Closest I got to the states was Hawaii for awhile after training camp.


How often, if ever, do you get back to the United States? How often, if ever, do you get back to watch a Nebraska football game? And how long, from Guam, does it take to get back? What's the last game you've seen in person?

Haven't been back to the states since 1981. Me being the youngest I only have one sister and one brother left back there, one in Ashland area and the other in California. Went to a Husker game back in about 1964 I believe but can't remember for sure. Would love to come back and see them one time at least but don’t know if I could take that cold weather during football season anymore.


How do you keep track of Nebraska sports from Guam? I'm guessing the games aren't on there, so do you have the videos of them sent to you in the mail? Obviously, you're on the Internet...is the Internet connection expensive on the island? Or is there a place where the games are available via satellite? Are there a bunch of Husker fans on the island?

I keep up with the Huskers through every sports magazine I can get my hands, three different Newspapers here and the TV. We get a Nebraska game every year at least one and sometimes two either on ESPN or ABC. We have a pretty good satellite TV system here so we get a lot of coverage. There are a few Husker fans here because there are a lot of Air Force people here that have been stationed in Omaha before and there are a few local people who have been there and they know me so they root for the Huskers too. I’ve been here on the Island since 1988 so I know a lot of people. Some harass me about all the red I wear and my red car, but they know why.


What's the most popular sport on Guam? Is there a national team for that particular sport? Does Guam identify more with American athletes or Filipino athletes or Australian athletes or whomever? Is sport a big part of the culture in general?

As for the most popular sport on Guam it is pretty close between football and Soccer. However they have some good baseball players here and basketball is getting bigger all the time. They have national teams that play in soccer, rugby and a few other sports and the little league boys here have been to Williamsport for the Little League World Series a couple times in the last four or five years. They have a junior league team going to South Carolina for that tournament next month. Sports of all kinds are big here.


Guam's a somewhat popular vacation spot for people who know about it. Ever run across any Husker fans on the island? What kind of conversations are you able to strike up with them?

There are a lot of people come here for vacation and a lot of people come through here going other places and I run into a lot of military also and I do meet a lot of people who are Husker fans or know a little about the history of the Huskers. I run into people all the time with a shirt or hat with the Husker logo or something like that and it becomes quite a talking piece. I’ve got plenty of Big Red shirts and hats and love to wear them around because I am proud of the Huskers.


What's your favorite Husker memory? Feel free to list as many as you wish.

One of biggest memories was when I was in California on a training mission and we beat Alabama and I was running around with my head in the clouds and another great memory was when Johnny "The Jet" Rodgers ran all over Notre Dame.


What other sports, besides Husker football, do you like to follow?

I follow everything just about. Have seen that great girls Volleyball team on TV a few times. Saw the basketball team a few times also. Don't see much college baseball but try to keep up with it as much as I can. I think they had a little down year in baseball but they will be back. You can't lose all the players to pro ball and expect to field great teams all the time.


Is there was one Nebraska food you could have from the mainland...what would it be?

We get about anything we want here as for food. Some is shipped in so isn't like getting it fresh off the plant but I sure would love to have some Pheasant under glass or some real deer meat. We have deer here but they are small and don't taste the same. I was spoiled years ago. Would love to have some fresh water fish too.



Feel free to add anything you wish.

I could babble all day but just wanted to add that while I was in the Navy friends back there used to tape the radio Broadcast of Husker football and send it out to me and some of the other guys so got to listen to some great games and will never forget people like Lyle Bremser and Jack Payne and a few others. I have quite a few VCR tapes of games and a couple of DVDs now.

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