It was the fans’ turn to take the field on Saturday, Aug. 8.

Fan Day 2009 gave way to thousands of Big Red fans with posters, programs, jerseys, helmets and T-shirts, trying to get autographs from Husker players and coaches. The fans were from all over Nebraska and beyond. The lines were already meandering well into the university’s campus an hour before the event started. Once the gates opened and the fans got inside the stadium, they plotted out which lines to wait in and which to pass. It was crowded, and they had to hurry to get the most out the afternoon.

One common reaction, from both the young kids playing catch with the footballs they just got signed and the adults who have been coming to fan day year after year, was to take a knee and rub their hand back on forth on field turf, leaving a brief impression of their hand on the turf that owns the state’s attention during football season.

Here's the first of Fan Day Dispatches...we'll run them throughout the next week!

Karen and Greg Doffin woke up at 5:30 on Saturday morning to make the drive from Stanton to Memorial Stadium with their sons.

Karen said she’s been impressed with the way the Nebraska players spend time with the younger fans that look up to them.

Her nephew, Seth Lange of Fullerton, was diagnosed with transverse myelitis last year and spent months paralyzed from the waist down. When he was at his worst, she said, players such as Nate Swift befriended him on Facebook, gave him his game gloves and went to a fundraiser for Lange’s behalf. He's walking fine without crutches now.

“I’m very impressed with the guys giving their time to the community and the fans,” Karen said.

Zachary Doffin, 14, had a football for the Huskers to sign and was hoping to “talk a little bit about football” with some players. Trevor Doffin, 10, said he wanted to congratulate Roy Helu Jr., on being named a contender for the Doak Walker award.

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The NFL Draft is set to begin Saturday in New York at 2 p.m.; the first two rounds should take the long day’s journey into late night, while Sunday brings rounds 3-7.

While a number of Huskers could be selected in the Draft, none are expected to land on that first day; it could be argued that tackle Lydon Murtha or defensive end Zach Potter stand a rare outside chance of it, be we doubt it. But NU should be well-represented on day two, with as many as five or six players getting drafted, and several more finding free agent contracts, if the chips fall the right way.

Here’s where we at Husker Locker see the former Nebraska players fitting in over the weekend:

Position rankings, in order, are by NFLDraftScout, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated (out of a 6.0 scale)

Offensive tackle Lydon Murtha: 6-7, 309 4.78 40-yard
Ranked: No. 19, No. 14, and 3.39 (“fence player”)
Round Projection: 4th-7th

Our take: Murtha missed the equivalent of a whole season of football, and maybe more, to injuries and illnesses. For a tackle, he plays a little high in the running game, and is better chipping a defender and going to the next level than he is clearing out a single guy. Murtha’s draft workouts, especially at the NFL Combine, were terrific, showing off the athleticism and speed that made him a solid pass blocker at NU. It’s a tackle-heavy draft, which may cause Murtha slide into the middle part of day two. We think, by the end of the fourth round, he’ll be gone.

Defensive end Zach Potter: 6-7, 280, 4.79
Ranked: No. 15, No. 27, 3.39 (“fence player)
Round Projection: 3rd-7th

Our take: Potter is an intriguing prospect that could, one day, become a pretty good offensive tackle if he so wished. Potter’s biggest advantage – and in some ways a slight disadvantage – is his height, which helps him bat down passes and become a general backside nuisance for smallish quarterbacks. That height, though, could make it hard for him to play inside at a defensive tackle position in a 4-3 defense. Potter is plenty tough and technically sound against the run. He’s not a great pass rusher, but if he can keep contain, he collapses a pocket pretty well. We also imagine Potter interviewed well; he’s a natural leader with a good sense of humor, and he’d fit well in an NFL locker room. We think Potter may drop below Murtha, but the fourth or fifth round is a pretty good guess.

Running back Marlon Lucky: 6-0, 215, 4.52
Ranked: No. 26, No. 18, 3.34 (“fence player”)
Round Projection: 6th-7th

Our take: If used correctly, Lucky could make some NFL team pretty happy. He’s an NFL third-down back from the minute he enters the league, and arguably the most gifted pass-catching running back in the draft. Lucky makes tough catches, runs well in the open field, and generally doesn’t fumble in the open field, either. Lucky is also a polished enough pass-blocker to stay in for protection. Where Lucky struggles is the carry-for-carry grind that is running the football. He doesn’t attack holes, and in the NFL, you need to. He doesn’t break a lot of tackles. He can seem indifferent, as well, to his play on the field. He can get little, nagging injuries, too, like toe problems or chronic headaches. Lucky’s a bit too fine-tuned, sometimes. But when he’s plugged in, he’s pretty good, and we think a team could nab him as early at the fifth round, if the fit is right. Or he could go undrafted.

Offensive guard Matt Slauson: 6-6, 313, 5.14
Ranked: No. 19, No. 10, 3.21 (“practice squad”)
Round Projection: 6th-free agent

Our take: Whether or not Slauson gets drafted, we predict he’ll make a team’s final roster come fall, because he’s burly, aggressive and not afraid to mix it up. He can move earth on a short-yardage play, if nothing else, and had the versatility to fit in at guard or tackle. He’s not the fastest guard and probably isn’t your first pick to pull, but Slauson can fill in capably should a starter get hurt. The free agent route may suit Slauson better, for then he can pick his team.

Quarterback Joe Ganz: 6-0, 212, 4.84
Ranked: No. 44, No. 23, 2.80 (“free agent”)
Round Projection: Free Agent

Our take: Ganz doesn’t have a lot of the physical tools you’d like in an NFL QB, but he knows how the play the position, and for a short guy with only a decent arm, he makes quite a few big plays. Excellent leader, learns and knows the offense, rarely audibles into the wrong plays, and has a sixth sense when he’s scrambling outside the pocket. Ganz occasionally makes bad decisions when rolling to his right, and needs to find a rhythm early in the game, or he struggles. He could fit as a third quarterback somewhere. We think he’s better than Zac Taylor, though, for what it’s worth.

Linebacker Cody Glenn: 6-0, 244, 4.78
Ranked: No. 34, No. 27, 3.30 (“practice squad”)
Round Projection: 7th-Free Agent

Our take: Had Glenn been a linebacker under Bo Pelini for four years, he would possess the seasoning and smarts he’ll need to overcome his average speed and lack of height in the NFL. But Glenn only got one year, and that was cut short by injuries and a still-mysterious suspension. He’s a natural playmaker who instinctively plays the run pretty well, especially on outside edge plays. Decent pursuer of the ball. Likes playing defense. Glenn remains raw and unpolished, and will need to prove himself, for at least one year, on special teams.

Receiver Nate Swift: 6-2, 203, 4.64
Ranked: No. 62, No. 46, 3.10 (“free agent”)
Round Projection: Free Agent

Our take: With a couple years of learning some crafty moves on how to get open, Swift could become a decent NFL receiver, because he’s excellent after the catch and pretty comfortable making the tough grab, too. Swift runs solid routes and blocks well. His weakness is simple: As a slot receiver – and that’s what he’ll have to be in the NFL it’s all about slipping into space and getting open. Can Swift beat an NFL cornerback or linebacker doing that?

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One whole month, a team sits around waiting for a New Year’s Day bowl game. That might be as good an argument as any for playoff system, that teams gaining momentum at the end of the year keep it, and don’t lose it through the course of what amounts to a second fall camp.

That said, bowl season tends to bring most teams full circle. Hurt guys get healthy. Healthy guys polish up mistakes. Offenses, with a full season of knowing what works and what doesn’t, perfects the plays that do work. Defenses hone in on weaknesses and work on becoming more exotic, more dangerous.

The preparation and relaxation period tends to favor a team’s best players – the big names, if you will. Bowl games often become a spotlight – or just the opposite – for quarterbacks, who shine or fail to shake off the rust. Nebraska’s bowl history is full of such memorable QB games – Tommie Frazier in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl, Scott Frost in the 1998 Orange Bowl, Steve Taylor in the 1987 Sugar Bowl – and a couple not-so-memorable ones, too.

Bowl games also provide that defensive player who had been nursing injuries for half of the season the chance to dominate an opponent, the way Nebraska defensive end Mike Rucker did, for example, in the 1998 Holiday Bowl. Or the way NU’s entire defense did against a pretty good Michigan State offense in the 2003 Alamo Bowl.

So here are eight players – you know em and love em – from Nebraska and Clemson who should play the biggest roles in Thursday’s Gator Bowl. How they’ll play, we’ll just see. But these are the luminaries, so to speak.

Nebraska quarterback Joe Ganz: Clemson might not be the fastest defense Ganz plays this year, but it’ll be very close. There are three or four legitimate NFL guys on the Tigers side, and they’re not going to play the “ole!” defense of Iowa State or even Texas Tech. Ganz will have to be precise. And smart. He can’t get cute when he’s under pressure, either. Just throw it away, Joe.

Clemson running backs CJ Spiller and James Davis: The more you watch of these two, the more their skillset says “ten-year NFL vets.” Both of them square their shoulders to the line of scrimmage. Both of them know how to gain five yards – which is a greater attribute than always trying bust one for 50. And neither make a lot of negative plays. Davis, in particular, is a tough-nosed dude, the kind of player you see gashing through holes in an NFL West Coast Offense.
Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh: I’m not sold this kid is coming back for his senior year. Sorry. Suh has enough size and burst to be an effective NFL pass rusher right now, if he’s placed in a good scheme. Suh was always smart and nasty enough; now, he has the confidence that he can dominate a game. When a defensive lineman gets that mentality – yeesh.

Clemson safety Michael Hamlin: Prototypical size – 6-3, 225 – good brains, sure tackler. Hamlin is the quarterback of CU’s defense, solid in run support and he’s got a good nose for the football. Like most safeties, he’s quick enough to the trigger on running plays that he can beaten by a tight end or receiver at the right moment.

Nebraska running back Roy Helu, Jr: Here’s the real question surrounding Helu: Will Nebraska use like it should, or will offensive coordinator Shawn Watson shuffle through his I-Pod of plays and find equal time for Marlon Lucky and Quentin Castille? We should hope not. Helu is a guy who gets better as the game progresses, a durable, well-conditioned running back whose best attribute is his creativity in the open field. Helu should get the ball 25 times, at least. Will he?

Clemson linebacker Kavell Connor: Active weakside linebacker who will be out there lurking in Joe Ganz’s blind spot. Cleans up on running plays. The Huskers will struggle to run wide, and the bubble screens won’t be a walk in the park, either.

Nebraska receiver Nate Swift: He’ll get challenged in this game as much as he has been all season. Clemson has two good corners, and I suspect the Tigers will try to take Swift away and make Ganz find secondary receivers. Swift will just have to be crafty and use his size against the skilled – but shorter – CU secondary. Once upon a time, you’d expect Nate to disappear in a game like this. Not anymore. The kid fights for five or six catches, and he doesn’t drop anything.

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