JUNE/JULY 2008 • VOLUME 28 • NO.

Columns
15 state of the huskers
Head coach Bo Pelini tours the state of Nebraska to visit fans.

117 from the beat

The Big 12 could play a major role in deciding who plays in the BCS
Championship.

120 final word The Nebraska football helmet is recognized throughout college
football. But the Husker helmets underwent a number of changes
before reaching its current look.

Special features
17 nebraska’s all-time greats
22 greatest walk-ons

29 father figure

32 Todd & Tyler

Position Breakdown 34 pride of the blackshirt

46 62
Quarterbacks Defensive Line
nebraska
38 Predictions On the Cover
40 season preview Running back Marlon Lucky,

50 66 44 Nebraska roster
photographed by Scott Bruhn, passed
on the NFL draft and has a new outlook
entering his senior season. He is featured
Running Backs Linebackers
on page 51 of this edition. This marks the

opposition first edition featuring the new cover design

for Huskers Illustrated Magazine.
84 Missouri

54 70
86 Kansas
88 Colorado
Wide Receivers Defensive 90 Kansas State
Backs 92 Iowa State
94 Oklahoma
96 Texas

58 74
98 Texas Tech
100 Oklahoma State
Offensive Line Kickers 102 Texas A&M
104 Baylor
108 Non-Conference

w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 1
 From the Editor
CHANGE
IS IN THE AIR
huskers, magazine
sport new look
in 2008
Change can be scary.
Change can expose fear of the unknown.
Typically change does not come without risk.
For Husker fans, however, change has never
been better. After a tumultuous four years, it
feels like a giant weight has been lifted off the
back of Husker Nation.
Going to Memorial Stadium over the past
four years has been like going to a stranger’s
house. While it was only the spring game,
it felt good to be home with 80,000 of your
closest friends this past April.
That’s the calming presence Athletic
Director Tom Osborne and new head coach
Bo Pelini have brought back to Nebraska.
Huskers Illustrated has also undergone
significant changes for the first time in nearly
a decade. While this marks the 28th year for
Huskers Illustrated and this yearbook marks
our 474th issue, it marks my first as General
Manager and Editor.
I am thrilled to be back in the midst
of Husker athletics after working for the
University of Nebraska sports information
office from 1998-2000.
I proudly take over for Brian Hill, who has
delivered a quality publication to our readers
for the past nine years.
Brian has played a key role in my transition
and I appreciate his help. I know I will
continue to lean on him in the future as well.
I am especially thankful for contributing
editor Mike Babcock (and by the way, we’re
not related), who is a walking encyclopedia
of Husker history. Mike has been a source
of guidance and inspiration during my first
issue. Mike has been the driving force behind
Huskers Illustrated for each of its 28 years and
2 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
by aaron babcock
I’m glad to know that will not change.
As you can see, Huskers Illustrated has
undergone a significant transformation over
the last few weeks. I am excited to unveil
our new design, including a new look for our
cover, with the 2008 Football Yearbook.
We have big plans for the magazine this
coming year and will introduce a number of new
features, many at the request of our readers.
The pages in this year’s Football Yearbook
are packed with great features, including some
very entertaining lists. You can read our list
of the greatest walk-ons in the Osborne Era
beginning on page 22.
We have also compiled a team of what we
believe are the five greatest players at each
position in the post-Devaney era (see page 17).
I hope you have as much fun examining these
lists as we did preparing them.
You will also find features on Pelini,
Zach Potter, Todd Peterson, Tyler Wortman
and of course our annual predictions for the
Husker season from local and national media
members (see page 38).
We want to involve our readers in
future issues, so we are also bringing back
something our fans have enjoyed in the past –
the Big Red Mailbag, where we feature letters
from Husker fans. Send us your letters about
the magazine or Husker athletics and you
may see it in a future issue.
Change can bring uneasiness and it doesn’t
guarantee success. But this year, change
brings hope. We hope you enjoy the new
Huskers Illustrated.
Send us your comments or story ideas to
huskersillustrated@gmail.com
JUNE/JULY 2008 • VOLUME 28 • NO. 6
Editor,
General Manager
Aaron Babcock
Contributing Editor
Mike Babcock
Contributing Writers
Terry Douglass, Bob Hamar, Curt McKeever,
Steve Sipple, Brent Robinson, Brian Rosenthal,
Rick Shaw, Sean Stevens, Rivals.com
Contributing Photographers
Scott Bruhn, NU Sports Information,
Randy Hampton, Digital Camera Workshop,
Rivals.com
Sports Marketing
& Advertising Director
Tim Francis
(800) 524-9527, ext. 111
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 2MinuteDrill
SIDELINES

SEINFELD NERD
When he’s not studying video of
zack bowman opponent defenses, quarterback
Joe Ganz might be watching

Bowman tops NU draft picks

re-runs of the television comedy
series Seinfeld, his “favorite show of
all time. My mom got me started
on it,” he said. “I’ve been addicted to

S
oon after he arrived in 2005, early in
his first preseason of practice, Zack
Bowman was asked if he planned to
leave for the NFL after one season.
selected in the sixth round, No. 197 overall, by
it. I’ve seen every episode probably
the New England Patriots.
20 times. It’s a sickness.” Among his
To put this year’s draft into a Nebraska
perspective, the last time a Cornhusker wasn’t favorite episodes is the “Soup Nazi.”

Such were the expectations.
Bowman had the size and speed (4.36) of
an NFL cornerback. He was a five-star, can’t-
miss prospect in former Cornhusker coach Bill
Callahan’s second and highest-ranked recruiting
class. The question wasn’t whether he would
play in the NFL; the question was when.
Three years and two major knee surgeries
later, Bowman has the opportunity as a fifth
round draft pick of the Chicago Bears. He was
the first Cornhusker selected, No. 142 overall.
Offensive lineman Carl Nicks
followed 22 picks later, going
to the New Orleans
Saints. Before the
second day
of the draft
ended,
linebacker
Bo Ruud’s
name also
was called.
He was
selected until the fifth round or later was 1970,
when tight end Jim McFarland and middle
guard (drafted as a linebacker) Ken Geddes
were taken in the seventh round.
The 6-2, 200-pound Bowman almost
certainly would have been drafted higher if not
for the injuries. His first was a torn anterior
cruciate ligament in his left knee on the third
day of fall practice before what would have
HUSKERS PHONE HOME
been his senior season. He rehabbed and came
Already a HuskersIllustrated.com
back for practice in the spring, after looking
into the possibility of declaring for the draft. subscriber and want to get the
Even though he was held out of contact most out of your subscription?
in the spring, he suffered a ruptured patellar If you are at the game or would
tendon in his right knee, requiring more rather spend your weekend away
surgery and rehab. from the computer, text alerts
Bowman started four games last season, nine are a great way to quickly get any
in his Cornhusker career after earning junior breaking news items surrounding
college All-America honors at New Mexico
Husker sports. They are free with
Military Institute. He broke up 20 passes,
an annual membership, which you
including 14 as a junior, and intercepted three.
can upgrade to by clicking the Text
Greg Gabriel, Bears director of college
Alerts link next to your username at
Continued on page 7
the top left hand of the page. If you

“I don’t want to speak for other clubs, but I’d be already have an annual membership,
you can to set up your text alerts
surprised if his playing grades weren’t that of a
following that same link.
second-rounder or better.”

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS HEAD COACH

carl nicks SEAN PAYTON ON CARL NICKS
AS QUOTED ON TEAM’S OFFICIAL WEB SITE

4 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
 TH E V E RY

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 2MinuteDrill
Khiry Cooper weighing options after MLB draft
S
cholarship recruit Khiry Cooper, a 6-2, 180-pound wide
carl crawford
receiver with 4.4 speed from Shreveport, La., was selected by
the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the fifth round (169th
pick overall) of the Major League Baseball Draft in early June. Cooper,
a center fielder, led Calvary Baptist Academy to a second consecutive
state championship. If Cooper doesn’t sign with the Angels, he’ll
play both football and baseball at Nebraska. He could sign with the
Angels and still play football for the Cornhuskers. Or he could sign and
focus on baseball. “I really don’t know right now,” he told the Omaha
(Neb.) World-Herald immediately after being drafted. “Each one is a
tremendous opportunity.”
Cooper is not the first Husker recruit to make such a decision. Carl
Crawford, an option quarterback from Houston, signed a letter of
intent with the Cornhuskers in 1999 but was selected by Tampa Bay in
the second round of the Major League Baseball Draft and decided to
sign and focus on baseball. He is a two-time all-star outfielder for the

Tampa Bay Rays/Skip Milos

Rays. Ross Pilkington, a wide receiver from Fort Collins, Colo., was a
Cornhusker scholarship recruit in 2000 but signed with the Colorado
Rockies as a 20th-round draft pick and spent two years in the Rockies’
farm system before returning to Nebraska. He earned letters in 2002,
2003 and 2004 (when he was a co-captain) before leaving the team.

Nicks, Ruud join Bowman among Husker draftees

Continued From page 4
scouting, was quoted on the team’s official
Web site: “Bowman had a great combine. He’s
100 percent recovered now. He just wasn’t 100
percent during the season. He’s ready to go.”
Writing on chicagotribune.com, David
Haugh reported that Bears defensive
coordinator Bob Babich “raved” about
Bowman, “a cornerback with first-round talent
limited by two knee injuries.” According to
Babich, Bowman probably wouldn’t step in as a
starter his rookie season but he would have an
impact on special teams and “provide depth at
one of the outside corner spots,” Haugh wrote.
Nicks, like Bowman a junior college transfer,
earned second-team All-Big 12 recognition
from the conference coaches (AP honorable
mention). He started 11 of 12 games at left
tackle, helping to clear the way for Marlon
Lucky to rush for 1,019 yards.
The 6-5, 343-pound Nicks, who could play
guard with the Saints, might have the ability of
a second-round draft pick, according to Saints
coach Sean Payton, who was quoted on the
team’s official Web site: “I don’t want to speak
for other clubs, but I’d be surprised if his play-
ing grades weren’t that of a second-rounder or
better. There are some inconsistencies and there
are some questions about why he didn’t play at
a high level more consistently. He’s a guy that
has some maturing to do and is going to need
to take on some responsibilities.”
Nicks’ draft place was the highest for a
former Cornhusker offensive lineman since
2000, when Toniu Fonoti was selected in the
second round. However, the NFL’s all-time
draft list includes Richie Incognito as a former
Nebraska player – third round, 2005.
Ruud, who received a call from Patriots
head coach Bill Belichick on draft day, has an
opportunity to follow his dad Tom and brother
Barrett as NFL linebackers. Tom, a first-round
pick of the Buffalo Bills in 1975, played five
professional seasons, while Barrett was a
second-round pick in 2005 of the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers, for whom he now starts.
Bo started 33 of 46 games in which he
played during four seasons at Nebraska, earn-
ing first-team All-Big 12 recognition from the
conference coaches as a junior. His best season
statistically was as a sophomore, when he had
14 tackles-for-loss and 10 quarterback hurries.
He’ll be trying to earn a place on a New
England team with four linebackers 30-years-
old or older: Tedy Bruschi, Larry Izzo, Mike
Vrabel and Adalius Thomas. A fifth, T.J.
Slaughter, was released soon after the draft. But
the Patriots also drafted linebackers in the first
and third rounds, Tennessee’s Jerod Mayo and
Michigan’s Shawn Crable.

w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 7
 2MinuteDrill Maurice Purify

the outsiders
M
aurice Purify expected to be suffering a season-ending shoulder injury, he the draft but weren’t signed: Frantz Hardy
drafted. He wasn’t, even though completed 205-of-325 passes for 2,422 yards (Philadelphia Eagles), Brett Byford (New York
he had the credentials. In just two and 14 touchdowns. His completion percentage Jets), Tierre Green (Green Bay Packers), Corey
seasons at Nebraska he caught 91 (63.1) is a school record. He also holds the McKeon (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Lance
passes for 1,444 yards and nine touchdowns. school single-game record for completions, Brandenburgh (San Francisco 49ers).
He caught seven passes for 158 yards and three with 36 against Southern California. Like
Rivals.com All-Undrafted Team
touchdowns against Kansas last season, often Purify, he wasn’t drafted.
OFFENSE DEFENSE
with Jayhawks’ cornerback Aqib Talib covering Purify eventually signed as a free agent with
QB Paul Smith, Tulsa DE Bryan Mattison, Iowa
him. Talib was a first-round draft pick of the the Cincinnati Bengals. Keller attended tryout RB Yvenson Bernard, DT Eric Foster, Rutgers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the 20th player selected. camps with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oregon State DE Darrell Robertson,
Purify showed he could compete with the best. Oakland Raiders, before signing with the Los RB Dantrell Savage, Georgia Tech
Oklahoma State LB Vince Hall,
And at 6-4 and 220 pounds, he has the size of an Angeles Avengers in the Arena Football League.
WR Davone Bess, Hawaii Virginia Tech
NFL receiver. But he also had off-field issues, or Purify and Keller weren’t alone in not being
WR Adarius Bowman, LB Erin Henderson,
at least the perception of issues according to his drafted. Rivals.com released an All-Undrafted Oklahoma State Maryland
agent. So he had to go the free agent route. Team, in fact, and the two Cornhuskers were TE Dorien Bryant, LB Ali Highsmith, LSU
Sam Keller also hoped to get drafted. When included among the “reserves.” Purdue LB J Leman, Illinois
OT Pedro Sosa, Rutgers CB Marcus Walker,
he transferred to Nebraska from Arizona Like Purify, former Cornhuskers Cortney
OT Eric Young, Tennessee Oklahoma
State, he was hailed by the media as a sure-fire Grixby and Steve Octavien signed free agent
OG Robert Felton, Arkansas CB Jonathan Zenon, LSU
NFL quarterback. Then-coach Bill Callahan contracts. Grixby signed with the Carolina OG Adam Kraus, Michigan S Marcus Griffin, Texas
reinforced that belief. Like Purify, Keller had Panthers, while Octavien signed with the C Fernando Velasco, S Jamie Silva,
pro-quarterback size, 6-4 and 230 pounds. Kansas City Chiefs. Several other former Georgia Boston College
K Art Carmody, Louisville P Brett Kern, Toledo
In nine starts as a Cornhusker, before Cornhuskers attended tryout camps following

8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
 2MinuteDrill
NU’S RUN OF FIRST ROUNDERS
These things go in cycles, of course, and the
balance of power changes. But from 1979 through
1998, Nebraska consistently produced first-round
NFL draft picks. During that 20-year stretch, 19
Cornhuskers were first-round selections.
Three of those were in the 1984 draft. Irving
Fryar was the first player selected overall, Dean
Steinkuhler the second, while Mike Rozier was
the first player picked in a supplemental round,
established in response to the short-lived United
States Football League.
Rozier signed with the USFL’s Pittsburgh
Maulers.
Nebraska has produced only two first-round
NFL draft picks since 1998, when Grant Wistrom
and Jason Peter were both first-rounders. Adam
Carriker was a first-round pick of the St. Louis
Rams a year ago, Fabian Washington of the
Oakland Raiders in 2005.
The NFL draft was established in 1936.
Nebraska has produced 31 first-round picks
beginning with Sam Francis, Lloyd Cardwell and
Les McDonald in 1937. The 1936 Cornhuskers
finished with a 7-2 record and No. 9 national
ranking in the first Associated Press poll.
D.X. Bible coached the team. It was his last at
Nebraska. Texas hired him away.
TRAINING CHANGEs TO FOOTBALL SPEED
New strength and conditioning
coach James Dobson has
emphasized speed in the team’s
workouts, according to offensive
tackle Lydon Murtha.
That’s in contrast to the past,
when “it was more geared toward distance running,”
said Murtha. Dobson’s “philosophy is game speed
and that’s what he wants. He doesn’t care if you
can run two miles. He also doesn’t care if you can
run short sprints fast. He cares what you do on the
football field. So all his workouts are geared toward
football, everything from our stretches to running to
conditioning.”
CLASS IS IN SESSION
Coaching is teaching. Coach Bo Pelini is “always talking about the teaching progression,”
says linebackers coach Mike Ekeler. “That’s all we are; we’re just teachers. I call him a
mad scientist. He’s just a professor, a professor of football.” Pelini’s emphasis on teaching,
and on players getting an education, is based on his own experience. He was a three-time
Academic All-Big 10 honoree at Ohio State. His major was business marketing. He also has
a master’s degree in sports administration from Ohio University.
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 9
NEBRASKA’S ALL-TIME
FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICKS
1937 – Sam Francis, B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Philadelphia
SIDELINES
Lloyd Cardwell, B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Detroit
Les McDonald, E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chicago
1964 – Bob Brown, G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Philadelphia
Lloyd Voss, T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Green Bay
1972 – Jerry Tagge, QB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Green Bay
Jeff Kinney, RB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kansas City
Larry Jacobson, DT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New York Giants
1973 – Johnny Rodgers, WR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . San Diego
1974 – John Dutton, DT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baltimore
1975 – Tom Ruud, LB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Buffalo
1979 – George Andrews, LB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Los Angeles Rams
BIG 12 BREAKDOWN
Kelvin Clark, OT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Denver
1980 – Junior Miller, TE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlanta The Big 12 produced only one first-
1982 – Jimmy Williams, LB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Detroit round pick in this year’s NFL draft,
1983 – Dave Rimington, C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cincinnati
Kansas cornerback Aqib Talib. He was
1984 – Irving Fryar, WR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New England
Dean Steinkuhler, OT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Houston the 20th player selected. The last Big
(Supplemental) 12 player to be drafted was Kansas
Mike Rozier, RB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Houston
State’s Rob Jackson. He was taken in
1987 – Danny Noonan, DT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dallas
1988 – Neil Smith, DT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kansas City the seventh round at No. 242.
1989 – Broderick Thomas, LB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tampa Bay Seven conference players followed
1991 – Bruce Pickens, DB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlanta
Talib in the second round, with 29
Mike Croel, LB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Denver
being selected overall. Texas and
1992 – Johnny Mitchell, TE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New York Jets
1994 – Trev Alberts, OLB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Indianapolis Texas A&M each had five players
1996 – Lawrence Phillips, RB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . St. Louis drafted. Kansas and Oklahoma
1997 – Michael Booker, CB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlanta
1998 – Grant Wistrom, DE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . St. Louis
had four apiece. No Texas Tech,
Jason Peter, DT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carolina Oklahoma State or Baylor players
2005 – Fabian Washington, CB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oakland were drafted.
2007 – Adam Carriker, NT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . St. Louis
EARLY OUT
The Big 12 lost eight juniors in 2007 to
the NFL draft, with Oklahoma taking
the biggest hit with three. Kansas and
Texas lost two players each.
ROUND 1
Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas
No. 20, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
ROUND 2
Curtis Lofton, WR, Oklahoma
No. 37, Atlanta Falcons
Malcolm Kelly, WR, Oklahoma
No. 51, Washington Redskins
Martellus Bennett, TE, Texas A&M
No. 61, Dallas Cowboys
ADAM CARRIKER ROUND 3
Jamaal Charles, RB, Texas
No. 73, Kansas City Chiefs
Reggie Smith, CB, Oklahoma,
No. 75, San Francisco 49ers
Jermichael Finley, TE, Texas
No. 91, Green Bay Packers
ROUND 4
Anthony Collins, OT, Kansas
No. 112, Cincinnati Bengals
 2MinuteDrill
SIDELINES

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

Ty Steinkuhler hasn’t done
Barney cotton
many media interviews during his

‘Five heads are better than one’

time at Nebraska. Like his father
Dean, the 1983 Outland Trophy and
Lombardi Award winner, he’s not
Offensive line coach and associate head coach
PROPER PERSPECTIVE much on talking about himself. And
Barney Cotton had to do some adjusting during
Beau Davis is among by his own admission, he’s quiet. If
the spring. “For the last 20 years, I’ve been a
the Cornhusker seniors. That not for football, “I wouldn’t have any
coordinator,” he said. “My first job in Division II,
he is still in the program and friends, probably, the way I talk,” he
I was a coordinator. So it’s a little bit different. On
competing is a tribute to his said with a smile. “I’ve always been
the other hand, it’s probably going to help me be a
character, according to Senior
little bit more detailed as a position coach because quiet.” Not that quiet, though. “Naw,
Thomas Lawson. The two were roommates as
you’re worried about five guys rather than worried I’m sure I’d have friends,” he said. He
freshmen, when Davis was pulled from a redshirt
about all 50 guys (on offense), although I still catch also has a sense of humor.
to finish the fifth game of the season at Texas Tech.
myself looking at routes and tight ends and backs
He threw four interceptions and lost a fumble in the
and stuff like that.” Most recently, he was offensive ONE MORE THING, TY
70-10 loss. “To just be thrown out there and have a
coordinator at Iowa State (2004-06) after one Dean Steinkuhler, a 6-3, 270-pound
good attitude . . . it was messed up,” said Lawson.
season as offensive coordinator for Frank Solich at guard, scored Nebraska’s first
“The way he’s been approaching things the last four
Nebraska. touchdown in the 1984 Orange
years, that’s a lot of character. He’s really genuine
Cotton still wants to be “a big-picture guy,” Bowl game against Miami, running
in that, a good person.” He also understands “we
and offensive coordinator Shawn Watson allows 19 yards after picking up an
came here to go to school. I think that’s one thing
that. He has “ownership” in the offensive meeting
Beau took advantage of, ‘I’m going to get my intentional fumble. The play, known
room, Cotton said, as do running backs coach Tim
degree.’ ” Davis is a sociology major. as the “fumbleroosky,” was in coach
Beck, wide receivers coach Ted Gilmore and tight
Tom Osborne’s bag of tricks until the
ends coach Ron Brown. “Shawn’s good with that.
Bo wants that, too,” said Cotton. “Five heads are “From the outside looking in NCAA changed its rules to prevent
it. The last Cornhusker to run it was
better than one. I’ll tell you what, our GA (graduate
you don’t understand it. From Outland Trophy winner Will Shields
assistant Curt Baldus) has some ownership in the
room. It’s a comfortable, very workable situation in in 1992. Ty Steinkuhler has watched
the inside looking out you can’t
the offensive staff room.” his dad’s touchdown run “a hundred
explain it. Nebraska football’s times” and the 1984 Orange Bowl
OTHERS WHO RETURNED the culture here. They can
game beginning to end “probably 10
Matt Donahue, who transferred from Ohio times.” Osborne elected to attempt
University, will have company as a transfer redshirt laugh at us if they want. But a two-point conversion rather than
in the fall. Two other in-state athletes transferred after kicking an extra-point, which would
that’s the way we live.”
their freshman seasons elsewhere and participated have produced a tie and an almost-
in spring practice. Jim Ebke, an option quarterback Todd Peterson to certain national championship. Few
from Lincoln, transferred from South Dakota State, Sports Illustrated on what questioned Osborne’s decision to
and Tyler Legate, a fullback from Neligh, transferred football means to the state.
go for the victory then. What about
from South Dakota. Legate is a cousin of former
that, Ty? “They should have gone for
Cornhusker fullback Billy Legate (1995-98).
two,” he said.

1 0 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
 2MinuteDrill
Helu came to Lincoln as a man on a mission
DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
Thomas Lawson was excited by the coaching
change. “Coach Pelini and his staff, I wish they
had been here my whole time,” he said. Even
so, he won’t bad-mouth Bill Callahan. Quite the
contrary. “I love Coach Callahan,” Lawson said.
“It wasn’t really him. I think it was the people
under him. Coach Pelini and the people under
him, Coach (Tim) Beck and Coach (Marvin)
Sanders, Coach ‘Ek’ (Mike Ekeler) and his
brother Carl (Pelini), they try to meet you on a
level plane. They don’t talk down to you. They
talk to you as a coach should. Coach Callahan
helped keep me here as a walk-on. He was a good
person. I just wish people would have seen that.”
MILLARD NORTH ALUM
Mike Caputo must deal not only with
the anonymity of an offensive lineman but
also with the anonymity of a walk-on. The
redshirted freshman from Millard North
established himself as the second-team center
in the spring, behind junior Jacob Hickman.
Caputo, who is listed at 6-1 and 270 pounds, is a
“hard-working, coachable, blue-collar guy,” said
Cotton. The biggest adjustments Caputo had
to make, Cotton joked, were playing with only
one hand down and not being able to wrap tape
around his helmet. Linemen have both hands
down in Millard North’s option offense, and the
Mustangs wrap tape around their helmets. freshman year and will figure in the rotation at
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 1 1
W
hat makes a high school athlete choose
one scholarship offer over another? In
the case of Roy Helu Jr., it’s not clear.
In part, Nebraska offered an opportunity to play
running back, while California recruited him as a
safety. But there was more to it than that. “I’ve lied
before and said it was the fans, I said it was facilities
and all that other stuff, but I really don’t know,” he
said. “I think it was just what God had planned for
me, and that’s probably to evangelize a lot of kids
over here.” He came to the realization late in his
freshman year that he had a responsibility to “talk to
kids about what God has done in my life and dreams
that are coming true.”
tackle this fall. He got an opportunity late last
season, primarily on plays that required a pulling
tackle. The 6-6, 275-pound Smith, who also has
worked at center, runs like a tight end, according
to offensive line coach Barney Cotton. When
he pulls, fans might notice No. 65 wiping out
a defender. But as an offensive lineman, “you
don’t get any glory at all. Basically, you have to
do all the hard work in the trenches but nobody
knows your name,” said Smith.
ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Cornhusker scholarship recruit John
Levorson was named the Lincoln (Neb.)
TAKING CHARGE
Journal Star boys Prep Athlete of the Year.
Phillip Dillard, a junior, was among
Levorson, whom Nebraska recruited as a
those who stepped up as leaders during the
defensive back, is from Crete, Neb. He was the
spring. His position, middle linebacker, requires
honorary captain of the Journal Star Super-State
it. On defense “you’re always working together,”
football team and excelled in basketball as well
he said. “But the MIKE (backer) has to speak the
as in track and field. The list of Journal Star
loudest. If someone doesn’t hear the call, doesn’t
boys Prep Athlete of the Year award-winners
get the call, it’s your fault. It’s all on the MIKE
is replete with former Cornhusker football
backer, no one else. That’s just the responsibility
players, among them Kurt Mann (2002),
you’ve got to have.” The Baltimore Ravens’
Barrett Ruud (2001), Matt Davison (1997) and
Ray Lewis is his model. “I love watching Ray
Ahman Green (1995). Last year’s co-winners
Lewis,” he said.
are both at Nebraska now. Niles Paul saw
action at wide receiver as a true freshman.
IN THE TRENCHES
Matt Donahue transferred to Nebraska after
Sophomore Mike Smith came to Nebraska
seeing limited action, also as a wide receiver, at
expecting to be a defensive end. But he was
Ohio University. He’ll have to sit out the 2008
moved to the offensive line in the spring of his
season because of the transfer.
 2MinuteDrill
RecruitingNotebook
Huskers pick up four more pledges
S
oon after wrapping up spring practice
drills, the Nebraska football coaching
staff directed its attention towards
building the 2009 recruiting class.
The Huskers added four pledges in the month
following the spring game, bringing the total
number of known commitments to five.
Bo Pelini and his staff made strides in
building up the talent pool at the defensive
tackle position, gaining the commitment of
talented Texan Thaddeus Randle in early
May. Randle became the second interior
defensive line pledge of the Nebraska class,
joining in-state standout Cole Pensick (6-2,
250 pounds) of Lincoln (Neb.) Northeast.
“I really like Nebraska because it’s a Big 12
school and because of their tradition,” Randle
said. “I was really surprised that they offered
me so quickly. They are really the perfect fit for
me. Coach Pelini is defensive-minded and he
can help me develop quickly. I plan on visiting
the school early this summer.”
1 2 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
by Rick Shaw
Though the Huskers were first to offer a
scholarship, the 6-1, 255-pound athlete out
of Galena Park (Texas) North Shore was
also receiving heavy recruiting interest from
Texas A&M, Houston and others. North
Shore coach David Aymond said he expects
Randall to do big things once he gets to
Lincoln.
“What the Nebraska coaches love about
Thad is his pad level and leverage at defensive
tackle and the fact that he never stops moving
his feet,” Aymond said. “That reminds them
of a young Glenn Dorsey.
“The fact that coach Pelini is a defensive-
minded head coach makes Nebraska very
attractive. It will be great for Thad to learn
from him.”
Nebraska also dipped into the Lone Star
state to land the May pledge of running
back Dontrayevous Robinson. Like Randle,
david oku
the 6-1, 215-pound Robinson out of Euless
(Texas) Trinity, committed to the Huskers
sight unseen.
“Man, this is like a marriage to me,”
Robinson said. “I’m not looking any more.
All I’m worried about now is my grades,
passing my classes and having a good season
next year.”
Robinson was named first-team all-district
as a junior, rushing for 886 yards and 17
touchdowns and adding 226 yards and an
additional score on 16 receptions. With
4.5-second speed in the 40-yard dash, the
Texas running back has the size to get the
tough yards inside and the quickness to break
the big play.
“He really had a good spring, and college
coaches that have been down all wanted
to know who he was,” Trinity coach Steve
Lineweaver said. “He was on the sprint relay
team that went to regionals and has really
good hands.”
 RecruitingNotebook
2MinuteDrill
Scholarship offers from other schools had
already come in and more looked to be on the way
before Robinson opted for Nebraska. New Mexico,
Tulsa and Utah had also extended early offers and
TCU was showing a great deal of interest.
Shawn Bodtman traveled all the way from
Scranton, Pa., to be part of the 80,000 plus
crowd at the Nebraska spring game in April. Just
days later, the 6-0, 205-pound linebacker out of
West Scranton High School decided to formally
join the Husker fold.
“It was amazing,” Bodtman said. “I mean
people were telling me I was going to be blown
away, but I had no idea. When we got to the
stadium and walked in and I saw all those people
there at the spring game, sold out, it was just
SIDELINES
“You know, he felt really comfortable with the
coaching staff,” DeAntona said. “He liked how
he was able to interact with the players and the
team. He liked what the players and the team
were saying about the coaching staff out there.
The players out there really made a big impact
on Shawn with their comments on Bo Pelini and
the rest of the coaching staff. He just couldn’t see
a reason not to pull the trigger.”
C.J. Zimmerer, a 6-1, 215-pound fullback
out of Omaha (Neb.) Gross Catholic, was also
quickly convinced that Nebraska was the best fit
for him. After grabbing a Husker offer in mid-
May, he committed just two days later.
“Growing up in Nebraska, I’ve always been POSITION SWITCHING
a Husker fan and it’s always been a dream to Sophomore Latravis
play with that ‘N’ on the side of my helmet,” Washington played quarterback

“Growing up in Nebraska, I’ve always
been a Husker fan and it’s always been
a dream to play with that ‘N’ on the
side of my helmet.”
c.j. zimmerer - nebraska
commit from omaha gross
incredible. Just the people there are amazing.
“I got a really good feeling from the players,”
he said. “They all said the same thing, that it’s
Zimmerer said. “Their facilities are amazing and
I really like the coaching staff there now. I think
in high school in Bradenton, Fla. Ohio
State, West Virginia, South Florida
they’re headed toward the right direction.” and Central Florida were among
The athlete out of Omaha rushed for 701 the schools that recruited him as a
yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior, earning
quarterback. But he picked Nebraska,
first-team Class B all-state honors. He also added
expecting to play defense – just not
123 tackles and five sacks from his linebacker
weakside linebacker. Before coming
slot on defense. It’s on the offensive side of the
to Lincoln, he worked with his
ball, however, where Zimmerer will focus his
cousin Fabian Washington, a former
attention in Lincoln.
Cornhusker and first-round NFL draft
“They were recruiting him as a fullback the
pick, on defensive back techniques,
whole time,” Gross coach Tim Johnk said.
“They liked his physical play on film, they liked figuring he would be a safety. He

like the greatest thing to play for Nebraska. They
love the coaches, and they love the fans. They
really are dedicated to their program.”
The two-way prospect ran the ball for West
Scranton as a junior, rushing for more than
1,500 yards and 24 touchdowns. He also tallied
98 tackles on defense, picking up all-region and
all-conference honors.
Bodtman utilized good athleticism
(4.58-second 40-yard dash) and an aggressive
demeanor on the field to earn the early
recruiting interest of a trio of Division I
programs. In addition to the Huskers, Syracuse
and Army also extended scholarship offers to
the Pennsylvania standout.
“I’m known for being a tough player,”
Bodtman said. “I’m real hard-nosed and I’m real
durable.”
West Scranton coach Michael DeAntona said,
from talking with his star linebacker, the comfort
level with the Nebraska program was evident.
his blocking ability, and they liked how he can
catch the ball out of the backfield. Really, they
liked everything about him.
“This is a big deal for our school and our
program. We are all proud of C.J. and he’s
worked hard for everything he’s gotten.”
With approximately 20 percent of
its recruiting class already in place, the
Nebraska staff was looking to add a few more
commitments during its summer camp sessions
in June. Prospects like Omaha Creighton Prep
offensive lineman Jon Lechner, who currently
holds a Husker offer, will be in attendance.
“I’m real excited about getting the Nebraska
offer,” Lechner said. “Coach (Barney) Cotton
seems very high on me and I’m excited to get the
chance to work with him at camp in June.”
Nebraska hopes to continue to build on the
recruiting momentum that was kick-started with
the hiring of Pelini and a new staff and ratcheted
up by a nation leading spring game attendance.
spent one practice at safety and was
moved to linebacker.
BACK AT SAFETY
The arrival of Bo Pelini and staff has
given Major Culbert a new lease on
football life. He returned to safety in
the spring, the position he planned
to play when he committed to the
Cornhuskers. He played safety his
first season but was moved to I-back
because of injuries there. And he
finished last season playing outside
linebacker. “He’s a real good kid,” de-
fensive backs coach Marvin Sanders
said. “He talks team first. I told him,
‘Do you feel good at safety? He says,
‘Coach, I want to play. I want to play
wherever I can help the team.’ He’s a
total team player.”

w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 1 3
 RecruitingNotebook
Nebraska continues search for big back
W
hile Nebraska has received
an oral commitment from
its targeted “big back” in
Dontrayevous Robinson and
a fullback in C.J. Zimmerer, Cornhusker
coaches remain in pursuit of a multi-faceted
back to both tote the rock and swing out of
the backfield into the passing game. Three
prospects are currently at the top of their list.
David Oku (5-10/186/4.49) of Midwest
City, Okla. is among that group. The
nation’s top all-purpose back according to
Rivals.com, Oku rushed for 1,628 yards on
182 carries and 20 touchdowns as a junior.
That followed up his sophomore year when
he topped 1,400 yards and had 19 scores.
Oku currently holds scholarship offers
from around the country but recently
narrowed his list of schools under
consideration to seven and then to six,
eliminating USC. The Huskers made the
cut, along with Florida State, Illinois,
Michigan, Ohio State, and Tennessee.
“I feel like with Coach Bo (Pelini) back
and the AD (Tom Osborne) back, who was
the coach when Nebraska was down right
by Sean Stevens
ruthless, I feel like they’re going to get back
to that kind of style of football,” Oku said.
He plans to visit Lincoln in the near
future.
Another speedster from the Southwest
is Rex Burkhead (5-11/191/4.5) of Plano,
Texas. Burkhead is being courted by schools
in the SEC, Big 12, and Pac 10. He visited
Lincoln for the Red-White spring game.
“Nebraska was awesome,” Burkhead
said. “A big crowd for the spring game…
everything was amazing up there, facilities,
coaches, people, all of it.”
Burkhead, who followed up a sophomore
year where he was District 9-5A offensive
newcomer of the year with 1,768 yards
rushing and 29 touchdowns as a junior, is in
no hurry to make a decision.
“Right now, I want to still see what comes
my way and try to start narrowing things
down,” he said. “It’s kind of open. I never
had a favorite college team growing up.”
Sioux City, Iowa all-purpose back
Brandon Wegher (5-11/190/4.42) also has
NU on his short list. The four-star prospect
sports offers from schools such as Auburn,
Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Penn State, and
Wisconsin.
He was unable to make it to NU’s spring
game due to a scheduling conflict, however he
did visit Lincoln in March and enjoyed the trip.
“Oh, it went really good,” Wegher
said. “We met with the whole coaching
staff from the trainer to the strength and
conditioning coach, to the running backs
coach, and Coach (Marvin) Sanders the
defensive backs coach.
“We also met with Coach (Bo) Pelini, and
we met with Coach (Tom) Osborne, too.”
Although he rushed for over 2,700 yards
and 34 touchdowns as a junior, Wegher can
play multiple positions.
“They said they were projecting me to
either running back, slot receiver, outside
receiver, defensive back or safety,” he said.
“My position’s always been running back.
That’s always been my main position, but
I’m also willing to go play wherever I’d
get on the field soonest or where a college
program believes my best position will be.”

Husker 2008 Scholarship Recruits

Name, Position Ht. Wt. Hometown
Antonio Bell, WR 6-2 180 Daytona Beach, Fla.
Will Compton, LB 6-2 230 Bonne Terre, Mo.
Khiry Cooper, WR 6-2 180 Shreveport, La.
Ben Cotton, TE 6-6 230 Ames, Iowa
Alfonzo Dennard, DB 5-10 190 Rochelle, Ga.
Sean Fisher, LB 6-6 225 Omaha, Neb.
David Grant, OL 6-6 295 Killeen, Texas
*Ricky Henry, OL 6-4 305 Omaha, Neb.
*#Tyson Hetzer, TE 6-6 245 Redding, Calif.
Micah Kreikemeier, LB 6-3 210 West Point, Neb.
John Levorson, DB 6-3 190 Crete, Neb.
Tim Marlowe, WR 5-10 160 Youngstown, Ohio
Cameron Meredith, DL 6-4 225 Santa Ana, Calif.
Collins Okafor, RB 6-1 195 Omaha, Neb.
Courtney Osborne, ATH 6-3 175 Garland, Texas
Name, Position Ht. Wt. Hometown
Steven Osborne, WR 6-4 185 Garland, Texas
Kyler Reed, HB 6-3 220 Shawnee, Kan.
Justin Rogers, DB 5-11 180 Birmingham, Ala.
P.J. Smith, DB 6-2 205 River Ridge, La.
#Kody Spano, QB 6-2 205 Stephenville, Texas
Baker Steinkuhler, OL 6-6 290 Lincoln, Neb.
Brandon Thompson, OL 6-6 295 The Woodlands, Texas
Quentin Toailoa, DL 6-4 300 Highland, Calif.
Mason Wald, DB 5-11 205 Birmingham, Ala.
Lester Ward, RB 6-3 215 Brenham, Texas
Alonzo Whaley, LB/FB 6-1 225 Madisonville, Texas
David Whitmore, DB 6-2 185 Port Arthur, Texas
Josh Williams, DL 6-4 225 Denton, Texas
*junior college transfer #mid-year signee

1 4 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
StateoftheHuskers
Pelini Humbled to be Home
I
n the months since being named
Nebraska’s head football coach, Bo
Pelini certainly hasn’t been a stranger to
Cornhusker fans.
Not only has Pelini taken on numerous
speaking engagements in the Lincoln and Omaha
areas, but he’s also visited several less-populated
areas. His trips have taken him from South Sioux
City to Mullen, connecting with members of
Husker Nation all along the way.
On several occasions, Pelini has brought his
entire coaching staff with him to the meet-and-
greet events, including a late February stop for
the Central Nebraska Big Red Luncheon in the
Heartland Events Center. In Grand Island Pelini
re-emphasized many of the points he made
the day he was named as the Huskers head
coach, speaking to a crowd of more than 1,100,
including Athletics Director Tom Osborne.
Pelini has told fans repeatedly that he’s
“humbled” by the opportunity to be the head
coach at Nebraska. The 40-year-old Youngstown,
Ohio, native also said he considers his job a
tremendous responsibility and that he’s here to
serve the football program, his players and the
people of this state.
“When Coach
Osborne presented this
opportunity to me
and we talked about
it, it became obvious
that this was where
I needed to be and
this was where my
family needed to be,”
Pelini said. “Because
what I’ve learned
over the
by terry douglass
years that I’ve been coaching is this: It’s about
the people.”
Osborne, who fired former coach Bill
Callahan after Nebraska’s 5-7 season in 2007,
said the fiery Pelini and his strong defensive
resume simply seemed like the right man at the
right time for the program.
In visiting with coaches and players who had
associated with Pelini in the past, Osborne said
he failed to find anyone with a negative opinion
of Pelini. A winner of 255 games and three
national titles during his 25-year head coaching
career, Osborne said he liked Pelini’s ability to
communicate, motivate and the way Pelini’s
defenses have had a knack for creating turnovers.
The low-key Osborne said he also likes
Pelini’s passion.
“That was a problem throughout my
coaching career,” Osborne said. “I was
presumed to be too bland, too nice and wouldn’t
be able to win the big one, but we’ve got a guy
now who won’t be too bland and too nice.
“We have rectified that problem.”
Nebraska linebackers coach Mike Ekeler,
who worked with Pelini at LSU, said he has no
doubt that the Husker players will soon take on
the personality of their new head coach.
“There’s not a more fierce competitor in the
sport,” Ekeler said. “You want to talk about
somebody who hates to lose, hate isn’t the right
word. That man despises it.”
With Nebraska having suffered through
two losing seasons in the past four years under
Callahan, Pelini has told fans that he wants the
program to return to its roots.
“I heard somebody talking about the new
tradition, and I don’t believe that,” Pelini
said. “I believe it’s back to
THE tradition that’s the
old tradition.
“There’s nothing new
that I’m bringing here.
I want to lean on what
this place has been
built on for a long
time.”
Throughout
his travels around
the state, Pelini has
stressed that rebuilding
Nebraska’s football program is going to be a
process.
“Things don’t happen overnight and there
are no quick fixes in life,” Pelini said. “You have
to build a foundation, you have to do things
the right way, you have to get everybody on the
same page, you have to develop relationships,
you have to build trust, you have to develop
accountability in all areas, and that takes time.”
However, Pelini said he’s encouraged that
things are already headed in the right direction.
He said he’s been impressed with the players
the Huskers already have in the program and is
excited about the program’s new recruiting class,
which includes 30 walk-on players.
“It’s a tremendous group of young men with
high character and a lot of talent,” Pelini said.
“Our job is to develop that talent.”
Pelini thinks he has the coaching staff to do
just that.
“They’re not only good football coaches we’re
going to be on the cutting edge X- and O-wise,
but they are men of great character, they’re great
communicators and great teachers,” Pelini said.
“At the end of the day, our players are going to
know that we care about them.”
Pelini has been very open about his
expectations for a winning culture he plans to
build at Nebraska. The main objective for the
Huskers? Do things the right way in every aspect
of life and be accountable for everything, from
the minute they wake up in the morning until
they go to sleep each night.
“Everything counts,” Pelini said. “You can’t
let one part of your life slip and expect to make
up for it later in the day. We’re not just preparing
them to win on Saturday afternoon, we’re
preparing them for life after football as well
because it all goes hand in hand.”
As for the upcoming season, Pelini has
typically said that he’s not one to make
predictions in terms of wins and losses.
However, he has promised Nebraska fans one
thing they can count on this fall.
“When our team takes the field, you’re going
to have a group of men out there who will go out
there and play with their hearts, and they’re going
to play with passion,” Pelini said. “That’s what
football is all about, and how that translates into
wins and losses, that will take care of itself.”
J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 1 5
1 6 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
5 All-Time Greats
at each position (POst-devaney era)
Naming Husker greats no easy task
B
o Pelini’s coaching philosophy
involves eliminating the gray,
teaching concepts that are clearly
understood, black and white. In this
case, however, gray is the order of the day.
There is no black and white with such lists, no
certainty in ranking players.
The game evolves as do athletes, making
definitive comparisons impossible. A few players
mentioned here went both ways, offense and
defense. The game was much different in the
early 1960s when Bob Devaney arrived from
Wyoming to lay the foundation for Cornhusker
Quarterback
Tommie Frazier . . . . . . . . . . . (1992-95)
Turner Gill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1981-83)
Eric Crouch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1998-01)
Jerry Tagge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1969-71)
Scott Frost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1996-97)
Often overlooked:
Dennis Claridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1961-63)
Arguing with Frazier’s inclusion at the top
of the list is difficult. He was a consensus All-
American and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm
Award winner in 1995, and he finished second
in voting for the Heisman Trophy. He also was
the United Press International “Player of the
Year” and a finalist for the Davey O’Brien
Award and Maxwell Trophy. Sport magazine
Runningback
Mike Rozier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1981-83)
Lawrence Phillips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1993-95)
Ahman Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1995-97)
Calvin Jones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1991-93)
Jarvis Redwine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1979-80)
Often overlooked:
Ken Clark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1987-89)
Like Frazier, Rozier belongs at the top of
the list. He remains Nebraska’s career-rushing
leader with 4,780 yards in three seasons. He
was the second player in NCAA history to
rush for 2,000 yards in a season, gaining 2,148
in 1983. He averaged 7.8 yards per carry that
season and 7.2 yards per carry for his career. He
was a two-time consensus All-American (once
unanimous). He won the Heisman Trophy
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football’s modern tradition. Players went both
ways until the NCAA changed its rules to allow
for two platoons in 1964. The game also was
different in 1974, 1984, 1994 and 2004.
In addition, football is played 11 on a side.
So the accomplishments of individual players
are influenced by those around them. A team’s
quality affects how those on it are perceived.
These rankings include those who played at
least one season for Devaney and after, so you
won’t find those such as Tom Novak, Bobby
Reynolds, Ed Weir and Guy Chamberlin on
any of the lists, even though they’re just as
rated him among college football’s 10 greatest
players. Beyond the awards, however, he was
the definitive quarterback in Tom Osborne’s
option offense, in a progression that began with
Gill and culminated in back-to-back national
championships. He was 33-3 as a starter. Don’t
Forget: Dennis Claridge was a key factor in
Nebraska’s dramatic turnaround under Devaney.
and Maxwell Award in 1983 as well as being
the Walter Camp Player of the Year. He also
was a two-time Big Eight Offensive Player of
the Year. He was durable and tough, playing
on teams that were national championship
contenders. He is a member of the College
Football Hall of Fame. Don’t Forget: During
his final two seasons, Ken Clark rushed for 2,693
yards and 24 touchdowns.
important to Nebraska’s rich tradition.
Finally, many deserving players aren’t
mentioned. Only five are included at each
position and not only can their order be
debated but also their inclusion over others.
For example, does Roger Craig belong in the
top five I-backs? Even though he was slowed by
injuries his senior season, his enthusiasm and
selflessness made him the definitive Husker. If
he is to be included, however, which of the five
should be replaced?
There are no right or wrong answers, no
black and white, only gray.
Fullback
Joel Makovicka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1995-98)
Andra Franklin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1977-80)
Tom Rathman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1983-85)
Dan Schneiss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1968-70)
Bill Thornton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1960-62)
Often overlooked:
Dick Davis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1966-68)
The top three could be in any order here. Makovicka
gets the nod. He still holds the school career record for
touchdowns by a fullback with 13 and he’s third in school
history among fullbacks in rushing yards with 1,447.
Franklin tops the list with 1,738 yards. Makovicka was
the starter on the 1997 national championship team and
was named to the Sports Illustrated All-Walk-on Team
that season. He earned All-Big 12 honorable mention
from the conference coaches twice and was a co-captain
as a senior. He also was a two-time, first-team Academic
All-American and a National Football Foundation and
College Hall of Fame Postgraduate Scholarship winner,
the definitive student-athlete. Don’t Forget: Dick Davis is
second among Husker fullbacks in career-rushing yards
with 1,477.

Wide Receiver
Johnny Rodgers . . . . . . . . . . (1970-72)
Irving Fryar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1981-83)
Maurice Purify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2006-07)
Terrence Nunn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2004-07)
Matt Davison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1997-00)
Often overlooked:
Freeman White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1963-65)
No dispute here. Nebraska’s first Heisman
Trophy winner was the difference-maker in
back-to-back national championships. The
Cornhuskers were a combined 32-2-2 during
his career. He was first-team All-Big Eight
in each of his seasons and a consensus
All-American his last two, including a
unanimous selection as a senior. He set
41 school records, seven Big Eight records
and four NCAA records. Freshmen were
Offensive Guard
Aaron Taylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1994-97)
Dean Steinkuhler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1981-83)
Will Shields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1989-92)
Bob Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1961-63)
Brendan Stai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1991-94)
Often overlooked:
LaVerne Allers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1964-66)
The top five here could be arranged in
just about any order. Taylor, whom most
schools considered too short for a lineman,
is the only player in school history to earn
All-America honors at two positions, center
as a junior (consensus), stepping in for the
departed Aaron Graham, and guard as a
senior (unanimous).
He was first-team all-conference three
times and the Outland Trophy winner in
Center
Dave Rimington . . . . . . . . . . . (1979-82)
Dominic Raiola . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1998-00)
Rik Bonness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1973-75)
Jake Young . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1986-89)
Mark Traynowicz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1982-84)
Often overlooked:
Aaron Graham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1992-95)
Rimington is the most-decorated offensive
lineman in college football history, much
less Cornhusker history. He was a two-time,
unanimous All-American, the only two-time
Outland Trophy winner in history and the
Lombardi Award winner in 1982. He was
first-team All-Big Eight three times and the
conference Offensive Player of the Year as
a junior, the only time in conference history
1 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
5 All-Time
Greats
ineligible for varsity competition when he
played, limiting him to three seasons, in
which he caught 143 passes for 2,479 yards
and 25 touchdowns. Also, his records did
not include bowl game statistics, a book-
keeping procedure that was changed by
the NCAA in 2001. Don’t Forget: Freeman
White played on teams that were a combined
29-4, and he earned consensus All-America
recognition as a senior.
1997. He also was a semifinalist for the
Lombardi Award. He played on three national
championship teams, including two as a
starter, and the Cornhuskers were a combined
49-2 during his career. He was a co-captain on
the 1997 national championship team. Don’t
Forget: LaVerne Allers was a consensus All-
American as a senior and played for teams
that won three Big Eight championships, with
a combined record of 28-5.
a lineman was so honored. Teammate Mike
Rozier was the conference offensive player
of the year when he was a senior. Rimington
also was a two-time, first-team Academic All-
American. He has been inducted into both
the College Football Hall of Fame and the
Academic All-American Hall of Fame. Don’t
Forget: Aaron Graham was the starter on the
1994 and 1995 national championship teams.
Tight End
Junior Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1977-79)
Todd Millikan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1985-88)
Johnny Mitchell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1990-91)
Jamie Williams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1979-82)
Tracey Wistrom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1998-01)
Often overlooked:
Jerry List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1970-72)
At 6-4 and 242 pounds, Miller was a physical presence.
Former Kansas State coach Jim Dickey once remarked,
“If that’s ‘Junior’ Miller, I’d hate to see ‘Senior’ Miller.”
Dickey had a way with words, and tremendous respect
for Miller, a consensus All-American in 1979, when he
caught 23 passes for 435 yards and seven touchdowns.
He was a two-year starter and two-time, first-team All-
Big Eight selection, and when he finished his career, he
held all of the school receiving records for tight ends.
Millikan wasn’t as physically imposing as Miller, but he
was a remarkably efficient receiver. He caught 40 passes
during his career, 14 for touchdowns. List was the best
during the Devaney era, starting on back-to-back nation-
al championship teams.
Offensive Tackle
Zach Wiegert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1991-94)
Bob Newton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1969-70)
Kelvin Clark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1976-78)
Daryl White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1971-73)
Larry Kramer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1962-64)
Often overlooked:
Eric Anderson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1994-97)
Wiegert is among only six Cornhusker linemen (20
Cornhuskers overall) to earn first-team all-conference
recognition in three consecutive seasons. He was a
second-team All-American in 1993 and a consensus
first-team All-American in 1994, when he won the
Outland Trophy. Nebraska led the nation in rushing
that season, and, of course, won Tom Osborne’s first
national championship. Wiegert also was the United
Press International Lineman of the Year. He finished
ninth in voting for the Heisman Trophy. And he was
a finalist for the Lombardi Award. During his three
seasons as the starting right tackle, he allowed only one
quarterback sack. Don’t Forget: Eric Anderson was a
three-year starter, earning first-team all-conference
recognition twice and third-team All-America honors
on the 1997 national championship team.

Defensive Tackle
Jason Peter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1994-97)
Larry Jacobson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1969-71)
John Dutton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1971-73)
Walt Barnes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1963-65)
Neil Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1985-87)
Often overlooked:
Jim Skow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1983-85)
It’s a toss-up between Peter and
Jacobson. Both were starters on two national
championship teams. Peter played sparingly
as a redshirted freshman in 1994, but he was
a key contributor in 1995 and 1997, when he
was a co-captain. He was overshadowed to
some extent by teammate Grant Wistrom, but
earned first-team all-conference recognition
twice and was a consensus All-American as a
senior. The two of them were driving forces
behind the 1997 national championship team
OLB/Rush End
Grant Wistrom . . . . . . . . . . . . (1994-97)
Broderick Thomas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1985-88)
Willie Harper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1970-72)
Trev Alberts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1990-93)
Jared Tomich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1994-96)
Jimmy Williams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1979-81)
Often overlooked:
Derrie Nelson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1978-80)
Six are listed here instead of five because of
the number of players who deserve consideration
at what arguably has been the showcase position
on defense at Nebraska. Even so, Wistrom
deserves to be at the top of the list, if for no
other reason than his contributions to three
national championships. He was in the regular
rotation as a true freshman on the 1994 national
championship team and a starter and first-team
all-conference selection the next three seasons.
He was a two-time, first-team, consensus All-
Cornerback
Ralph Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1996-99)
Dave Butterfield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1974-76)
Tyrone Williams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1993-95)
Fabian Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2002-04)
Bruce Pickens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1988-90)
Often overlooked:
Barron Miles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1992-94)
Brown set a school record by starting
52 consecutive games, every one during his
career. And he played as a true freshman. He
also set school records for pass break-ups in
a game (seven), season (15) and career (50).
The 50 break-ups were 29 more than the
previous record.
He was the Associated Press Big 12
Defensive Newcomer of the year and a
Freshman All-American in 1996. He was a
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 1 9
5 All-Time
Greats
after both had given serious consideration to
leaving for the NFL following the 1996 season.
Jacobson won Nebraska’s first Outland Trophy
as a senior on the 1971 national championship
team. He also won the Knute Rockne Award
as the nation’s outstanding lineman. Don’t
Forget: After starting only three games his
first two seasons, the undersized Jim Skow
earned All-America honors as a senior, with
25 tackles for loss, including 15 sacks for 139
yards in losses.
American and the Lombardi Award winner
in 1997, when teammate Aaron Taylor won
the Outland Trophy. Wistrom also was a two-
time, first-team Academic All-American and an
NCAA Top Eight Award winner. He holds the
school career record for tackles for loss (58.5, 260
yards) and ranks second in sacks (26.5). Don’t
Forget: Derrie Nelson, who walked on and had
a well-deserved reputation for toughness, was the
Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year and earned
All-America honors as a senior co-captain.
three-time, first-team all-conference selection
and a consensus All-American in 1999,
when he was a co-captain. He completed a
degree in seven semesters and left Nebraska
(as a fifth-round NFL draft pick) with a
national championship ring. Don’t Forget:
Barron Miles was a two-time, first-team all-
conference selection on teams that were 24-1
and played for the national championship
twice, winning it his senior year.
Linebacker
Jerry Murtaugh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1968-70)
Marc Munford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1984-86)
Barrett Ruud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2001-04)
Ed Stewart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1991-94)
Steve Damkroger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1979-82)
Often overlooked:
Clete Pillen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1974-76)
Ruud has replaced Murtaugh as Nebraska’s career
leader in tackles. But Murtaugh, whose reputation for
toughness is legendary, remains the definitive Cornhusker
linebacker. He was credited with 142 tackles in 1970 and
earned All-America recognition from the Walter Camp
Foundation and the Associated Press. He was a two-time
first-team All-Big Eight honoree and a co-captain for the
1970 national championship team. Prior to the season,
during the Big Eight Skywriters’ stop in Lincoln, he
predicted a national championship, brash words for the
time and not something to make Bob Devaney happy.
When all was said and done, however, Murtaugh and
fellow co-captain Dan Schneiss were at the podium with
Devaney and President Richard Nixon, accepting the
Associated Press national championship plaque. Don’t
Forget: Clete Pillen was the Cornhusker tackles leader in
1975 and 1976, with a combined 271.
Middle Guard
Rich Glover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1970-72)
Wayne Meylan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1965-67)
Danny Noonan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1984-86)
Kerry Weinmaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1976-79)
Ken Geddes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1967-69)
Often overlooked:
Ed Periard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1968-70)
When the Cornhuskers went to a 4-3 alignment,
the middle guard was eliminated. The 6-1, 234-pound
Glover set the standard at the position, with Meylan
a close second. Glover emerged as a junior starter
on the 1971 national championship team, earning
consensus All-America recognition and gaining
national attention with 22 tackles in the “Game of
the Century.” He was a unanimous All-American as
a senior, when he became the first Cornhusker to win
both the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award in the
same season. He was credited with a combined 192
tackles his final two seasons, including 22 for losses,
evidence of his quickness. Don’t Forget: Ed Periard
was only 5-9 and 201 pounds. But he earned first-
team all-conference recognition in his only season as
a starter on Nebraska’s first national championship
team.
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Safety
Mike Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1996-99)
Josh Bullocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2002-04)
Dana Stephenson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1967-69)
Mike Minter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1993-96)
Daniel Bullocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2002-05)
Often overlooked:
Bill Kosch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1969-71)
Brown was a back-up corner as a true
freshman then started 38 consecutive games
as a rover and free safety, earning All-
America honors from the Football Writers
and Associated Press in 1999. He was a two-
time, first-team all-conference selection and
finished second to Jerry Murtaugh on the
Cornhuskers’ career-tackles list with 287.
He was the team’s leading tackler for three
Kick Returner
Johnny Rodgers . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1970-72)
Tyrone Hughes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1989-92)
Dana Brinson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1985-88)
DeJuan Groce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1999-02)
Irving Fryar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1981-83)
Often overlooked:
Joe Walker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1997-00)
Among the most memorable plays in
Cornhusker history was Rodgers’ 72-yard
punt return for a touchdown to open the scor-
ing against Oklahoma in the 1971 Game of
the Century. He also returned a punt 77 yards
for a touchdown in the 1972 Orange Bowl
game against Alabama, another match-up of
No. 1 versus No. 2. In all, Rodgers returned
seven punts for touchdowns during his career,
Place Kicker
Kris Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1995-98)
Josh Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1999-02)
Byron Bennett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1990-93)
Gregg Barrios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1986-90)
Dale Klein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1984-86)
Often overlooked:
Paul Rogers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1968-70)
Brown is Nebraska’s career-scoring leader
with 388 points. He was the Cornhuskers’
place-kicker for four consecutive seasons,
beginning as a true freshman in the 1995
national championship season. He finished
his career with an NCAA record 217 extra-
point kicks, in an NCAA record-tying
222 attempts, and ranked seventh all-time
in scoring. He made 57-of-77 field goal
attempts, including 13-of-20 from 40 yards
2 0 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
5 All-Time
Greats
consecutive seasons, something only two
players before him had done, Jerry Murtaugh
and Marc Munford – both linebackers. He
intercepted nine passes during his career and
forced six fumbles. He also was a three-time,
first-team academic all-conference selection.
Don’t Forget: Bill Kosch was a first-team
all-conference selection on Bob Devaney’s
back-to-back national championship teams.
a total that is tied for the NCAA record. He
also returned 35 kickoffs during his career, for
847 yards and one touchdown – a 98-yarder
against Texas A&M in 1971. Rodgers is in the
College Football Hall of Fame. Don’t Forget:
Joe Walker, a rover who played as a true fresh-
man, tied an NCAA record by returning a
kickoff, a punt and an interception for touch-
downs in the same season, 1998.
or more, with a long of 51 yards. He was a
semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award as a
junior. His numbers would be even higher
if official NCAA statistics included bowl
games during the time he played. Don’t
Forget: Paul Rogers kicked four first-
quarter field goals in a 45-6 victory against
Georgia in the 1969 Sun Bowl to set the
stage for the national championship run in
1970.
Punter
Dan Hadenfeldt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1998-00)
Kyle Larson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2001-03)
Sam Koch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2003-05)
Jesse Kosch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1995-97)
Mike Stigge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1989-92)
Often overlooked:
Darin Erstad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1994)
Put the first three names in a hat and pick one. Ha-
denfeldt holds the school career record, averaging 44.54
yards on 104 punts, and ranks third in single-season aver-
age, 44.98 on 65 punts in 1999. Larson is the only punter
in Cornhusker history to earn first-team All-America
honors (AFCA, 2003). He ranks second on the single-
season average list, 45.12 yards in 2003, and third on
the career average list, 43.67 yards on 195 punts. Koch is
atop the single-season list, averaging 46.51 yards on 71
punts in 2005, and second on the career list, 44.04 yards
on 134 punts.
Erstad came from the baseball team to average 42.6
yards on 50 punts for the 1994 national championship
team. He also was 10-for-10 on extra-points and 3-of-8
on field goals, including a 48-yarder and a 46-yarder.
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 Greatest Husker Walk-ons

Nebraska walk-on tradition

Players walked on at Nebraska continued as sophomores. necessarily been reflected in how
before Tom Osborne became Osborne quickly began much playing time they earned.
head coach. But when Bob saving a handful of scholarships The team includes players who
Devaney was head coach, they for walk-ons. As the NCAA paid their own way to Nebraska
were more or less incidental. reduced scholarship limits, they as freshmen. Players who trans-
Any player the Cornhuskers became an important part of the ferred from other four-year
wanted had a scholarship, and program. In 1981, more than 90 schools and paid their own
until 1964, when NCAA rules players walked on; in 1982, more way their first season also are
were changed to allow for two than 70. part of the walk-on tradition.
platoons, the roster included By the early 1990s, the num- For
fewer players, anyway. The bers had dropped. The NCAA
freshman team might have some legislated freshman programs
non-scholarship players. But few out of existence with the
elimination of three graduate as-
Greatest Husker sistants and one restricted-earn-
Walk-ons During ings coach. And the end of the
Osborne Era
freshman program was reflected
OFFENSE
in the number of walk-ons. In
WR – Todd Brown (1979-82)
1990, Nebraska recruited nearly
WR – Brendan Holbein (1993-96)
50 walk-ons. Two years later, it
OL – Joel Wilks (1992-94)
recruited about half that many.
OL – Matt Hoskinson (1995-97)
OL – Kelly Saalfeld (1977-79)
Still, Osborne understood

OL – Keven Lightner (1985-87) the value of walk-ons, for

OL – Adam Treu (1994-96) a variety of reasons, and
TE – Matt Shaw (1992-94) he and his staff evalu-
QB – Matt Turman (1994-96) ated and recruited simplicity’s sake,
IB – Isaiah Hipp (1977-79) them. Some showed however, they haven’t
FB – Joel Makovicka (1995-98) up and asked to been included.
PK – Dale Klein (1984-86) walk on, Mitch Jarvis Redwine, for
Krenk and example, isn’t on the team
DEFENSE Isaiah Hipp even though he paid his own
DE – Jimmy Williams (1979-81)
among way while he sat out a manda-
DT – Tim Rother (1986-87)
them. tory redshirt after transferring
DT – Toby Williams (1980-82)
But most from Oregon State. Neither is
MG – Mike Murray (1987-89)
walk- John Parrella, whom Colorado
DE – Derrie Nelson (1978-80)
ons were promised a scholarship and then
RE – Jared Tomich (1994-96)
encouraged pulled it. Jim Scott deserves
LB – Clete Pillen (1974-76)
LB – Bruce Dunning (1977-78)
to do so. consideration, but he transferred

LB – Mark Daum (1982-84) What follows is an Osborne from Kearney State – now

DB – Charles Fryar (1986-88) Era all-walk-on team. It is not Nebraska-Kearney. On and on

DB – Ric Lindquist (1979-81) meant to be the definitive walk- the list goes.
DB – Rodney Lewis (1979-81) on team for those 25 seasons, In addition, players need to
DB – Mark Blazek (1986-88) only representative. The con- have spent the majority of their
P – Jesse Kosch (1995-97) tributions of walk-ons haven’t careers under Osborne.
joel makovicka

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 Greatest Husker Walk-ons
dates back to Devaney era
WR – Todd Brown
(1979-82), Holdrege, Neb.
Brown drew interest from Nebraska because of his abilities in track and
field. He won state Class B titles in the long jump, triple jump and 100-yard
dash. But he turned his attention to football, after not playing his first fall,
effectively redshirting. He finished seventh on the school’s career-receptions
list with 65, for 1,092 yards (third) and 12 touchdowns (tied for fourth). He
was a three-year starter and rare four-year letterman at the time.
WR – BRENDAN HOLBEIN
(1993-96), Cozad, Neb.
Holbein caught 47 passes for 592 yards and seven touchdowns
but he worked his way up the depth chart because of his tenacity
as a perimeter blocker, an absolute necessity under then-receivers
coach Ron Brown, and his versatility; he could play both wide
receiver and wingback. He was a high school teammate of Corn-
husker offensive lineman Chris Dishman.
OL – Joel wilks
(1992-94), Hastings, Neb.
Wilks, a three-year letterman, was the forgotten man on
the 1994 national championship team’s “Pipeline.” He
started at left guard and led the “Pipeline” in pancake,
or knockdown, blocks with 142, an average of 11.8
per game. He missed the first five games in 1993
with a severe ankle sprain but came back to play in
the last six, starting once.
OL – Matt hoskinson
(1995-97), Battle Creek, Neb.
Hoskinson, a high school linebacker and fullback, was
named to the Sports Illustrated All-Walk-on Team in 1997. Though
he never started (he appeared in 33 games) during his Cornhusker
career, he was considered a starter, the sixth man, on the 1997 national
championship team, rotating at center as well as both guard positions.
OL – KELLY SAALFELD
(1977-79), Columbus, Neb.
A two-year starter at center, the 6-4, 249-pound Saalfeld was
among former Cornhusker offensive line coach Milt Tenopir’s fa-
vorite walk-ons. He was first-team all-conference and a first-team
Academic All-American as a senior, also earning third-team
All-America honors from The Football News.
OL – ADAM TREU
(1994-96), Lincoln, Neb.
Treu was a recruited walk-on, based on his athleti-
cism as displayed during a high school basketball game
Tom Osborne attended. He started 12 games at left
tackle and was the deep-snapper as a senior, after
playing in 12 games in 1995 and five games in 1994.
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OL – keven lightner
(1985-87), Hastings, Neb.
The 6-2, 285-pound Lightner earned first-team All-Big Eight recogni-
tion from United Press International as a senior, starting at tackle,
after alternating as a junior. He set a school record on the strength
index, based on clean, bench and squat lifting ability, after arriving as a
230-pound walk-on. His 40 time dropped from 5.37 to 4.98 at Nebraska.
TE – Matt shaw
(1992-94), Lincoln, Neb.
Though Shaw didn’t catch a pass during his varsity career (he caught
two touchdown passes for the junior varsity in 1990), he was the epitome
of a walk-on, working his way up after redshirting. He was a tenacious
blocker, starting all but three games in a rotation with Mark Gilman
and Eric Alford on the 1994 national championship team. He also was
an Academic All-American that season. Among others who deserve
serious consideration at tight end are Mitch Krenk (1981-82) and Gerald
Armstrong (1991-93), both Nebraskans – Krenk from Nebraska City,
Armstrong from Ponca.
QB – matt turman
(1994-96), Wahoo, Neb.
With Tommie Frazier sidelined by blood clots and Brook Berringer
slowed by the effects of a collapsed lung, he started the Kansas State game
at Manhattan in 1994 and immediately became a fan favorite. That game
was his only start. The “Turmanator” was the son of a high school football
coach. He rushed for five touchdowns and passed for four during his career.
IB – isaiah hipp
(1977-79), Chapin, S.C.
Sports information director Don Bryant promoted Hipp by using his
initials, I.M., and referring to him as “college football’s most famous
walk-on.” He finished as the school’s career-rushing leader, with 2,814
yards and 21 touchdowns, gaining at least 100 yards 10 times. Hipp
had to borrow money for a plane ticket to get to Nebraska. He was
hampered by a “turf toe” his senior year.
FB – JOEL MAKOVICKA
(1995-98), Brainard, Neb.
The second of four Makovicka brothers to walk on, Joel rushed for
1,447 yards and 13 touchdowns, still tops among Cornhusker fullbacks.
He was a two-year starter, two-time Academic All-American, co-captain
and member of two national championship teams.
PK – DALE KLEIN
(1984-86), Seward, Neb.
Klein is best remembered for the Missouri game in 1985. After twice
losing the starting job that season, he tied an NCAA record by kicking seven
field goals (in seven attempts) in a 28-20 victory against the Tigers on a wet
field in Columbia. Five of the field goals came in the first half, an NCAA
record. He also kicked an extra point for a Big Eight record 22 points by kick
scoring. The kicks were from 32, 22, 43, 44, 29, 43 and 43 yards.
 Greatest Husker Walk-ons

DE – jimmy williams LB – clete pillen

(1979-81), Washington, D.C.
The 6-3 Williams weighed 180 pounds and ran the 40-yard dash in
4.8 seconds when he and his brother Toby walked on. By his senior year,
Jimmy weighed 215 pounds and ran the 40 in a team-best 4.34 seconds
during spring testing. He was the UPI Big Eight “Defensive Player of
the Year” as a senior and earned first-team All-America recognition
from the Associated Press and Walter Camp Foundation. He also was a
co-captain.
(1974-76), Monroe, Neb.
The 6-foot, 206-pound Pillen was the Cornhuskers’ leading tackler as
a junior (134) and senior (137), when he was a co-captain. He was the
United Press International Big Eight “Defensive Player of the Year” in
1976 and consensus first-team all-conference. He also earned second-
team All-America recognition from both the Associated Press and UPI.
He finished second on Nebraska’s career-tackles list, behind only Jerry
Murtaugh (1968-70).

DT – tim rother lb - bruce dunning

(1986-87), Bellevue, Neb.
The 1987 Nebraska media guide described him as possibly the best
second-string defensive lineman in the country, after backing up Lee
Jones in a front that also included Neil Smith at tackle. With Jones ham-
pered by injury, Rother shed the second-team status as a senior, leading
the team with 10 sacks and earning first-team All-Big Eight recognition.
DT – toby williams
(1980-82), Washington, D.C.
Jimmy Williams’ older brother redshirted his second season at
Nebraska, then earned Big Eight “Defensive Newcomer of the Year”
recognition from the Associated Press as a sophomore, starting part-time.
He was hampered by injuries and illness as a junior but came back strong
as a senior, earning second-team all-conference recognition despite miss-
ing two games late in the season because of a knee strain.
(1977-78), Arvada, Colo.
Dunning lettered twice but he played essentially just one season,
evidence of the perseverance and determination of walk-ons. He played
on the freshman team in 1974, redshirted in 1975 and didn’t see action
in 1976. As a junior, he contributed on special teams. As a senior, he was
the starting strongside linebacker and finished second on the team with
113 tackles, 52 unassisted. He also recovered two fumbles and inter-
cepted a pass for a team that defeated Oklahoma for the first time under
Osborne and might have played for a national championship if not for
a loss against Missouri in the final game of the
regular season.

MG – mike murray
(1987-89), Chicago, Ill.
The 5-10, 240-pound Murray didn’t have the size of a major col-
lege middle guard. But he had the heart and determination that have
characterized Cornhusker walk-ons. He backed up Lawrence Pete for
two seasons then earned the starting job as a senior. He started at middle
guard on the freshman team, was the second-leading tackler and didn’t
redshirt.

DE – derrie nelson
(1978-80), Fairmont, Neb.
The athletic Nelson was second to none in intensity. He was a three-
year starter, two-time, first-team All-Big Eight honoree, the Big Eight
“Defensive Player of the Year” in 1980 and a co-captain. He also earned
first-team All-America recognition from both the Football Writers of
America and The Football News as a senior. His high school coach was
Matt Turman’s dad.

RE – jared tomich
(1994-96), St. John, Ind.
Tomich, who played opposite Grant Wistrom, earned first-team
All-America recognition twice, from the Walter Camp Foundation as a
senior and from the Associated Press as a junior, when he led the 1995
national championship team in sacks with 10. He finished his career
with 26 tackles-for-loss, including 16 sacks, caused seven fumbles and
recovered three.

clete pillen

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 Greatest Husker Walk-ons

Continuing the
LB – mark daum
(1982-84), Dix, Neb.
An eight-man player at a western Nebraska high school, Daum was the
team’s second-leading tackler in 1984. His toughness wasn’t questioned.
He suffered a knee injury against Iowa State as a junior and eight days after
arthroscopic surgery, he was back on the practice field. He missed only one Walk-on Tradition
game and finished the season with 93 tackles, including nine for losses.
RECRUITED WALK-ONS, 2008
DB – charles fryar
Bo Pelini supplemented his first recruiting class with a large
(1986-88), Burlington, N.J.
The cousin of former Cornhusker wingback Irving Fryar was a three- group of walk-ons. The names of those who have been accepted
year starter at right cornerback. He broke up four passes as a senior to for admission by the university can be released.
tie the school career record, shared by three other players. Fryar tied the
Most are from Nebraska. But there are a couple of Thomas
school single-season record for pass break-ups with eight as a sophomore.
Lawsons on the list, including David Pillen from Stephen F. Austin
He earned first-team all-conference honors as a senior.
High School in Sugar Land, Texas. His dad, Clete, earned a place on
DB – ric lindquist
the Huskers Illustrated Tom Osborne Era All-Walk-on team.
(1979-81), Plattsmouth, Neb.
The 5-9, 180-pound Lindquist was a three-year starter at left cor-
nerback. He earned all-conference recognition as a senior, when the Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown
Cornhuskers led the nation in pass defense, and was a first-team Academic Kenny Anderson DE 6-2 235 Omaha, Neb.
All-American with a pre-law major. He tied the school record for intercep- Damon Bechtold TE 6-4 215 Omaha, Neb.
tions in a game as a sophomore, with three in a 48-14 victory against Jase Dean FS 6-0 180 Bridgeport, Neb.
Kansas State. Taylor Dixon DB 5-11 170 Wauneta, Neb.
Tanner Foxhoven LB 6-3 210 Crofton, Neb.
DB – rodney lewis
(1979-81), Minneapolis, Minn. Matt Holt RB/LB 6-0 200 Lee’s Summit, Mo.
Lewis came to Nebraska along with high school teammate Russell KC Hyland WR 6-6 195 Lincoln, Neb.
Gary, a scholarship recruit and first-team All-Big Eight safety in 1980. Justin Jackson DL 6-3 255 Roca, Neb.
Lewis redshirted. Gary did not. Lewis started his final two seasons at Jordan Makovicka RB 5-10 170 Ulysses, Neb.
cornerback. He also competed for the Cornhusker track and field team, Matt Manninger LB 6-1 225 Omaha, Neb.
qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 330-yard dash in Mychael McClure LB 6-5 210 Wisner, Neb.
1980. Lewis was a third-round draft pick of the New Orleans Saints. He
Colin McDermott LB 6-2 225 Omaha, Neb.
and Gary were teammates with the Saints as well.
Conor McDermott DE 6-2 230 Omaha, Neb.

DB – mark blazek Sam Meginnis LE 6-2 210 Lincoln, Neb.

(1986-88), Raymond, Neb.
Blazek’s best season was as a junior, when he started at free safety and
led the secondary in tackles (45) and the team in interceptions (three). He
was a two-time Academic All-American and a co-captain in 1988, when
he backed up both safety positions and started once. He missed the 1985
season to go through basic training with the Army National Guard.
P – jesse kosch
(1995-97), Columbus, Neb.
The son of former Cornhusker defensive back Bill Kosch (1969-71) also
earned letters on two national championship teams. His best season was
as a junior in 1996, when he averaged a school-record 44.7 yards per punt.
Bill Lafleur, also an Osborne Era walk-on from Norfolk, broke that record
in 1998. Kosch finished his career with the best punting average in school
history, 41.92 yards. Lafleur would have broken that, too, but didn’t have
sufficient punts. Neither mark still stands. Both are held by walk-ons, Sam
Koch and Dan Hadenfeldt.
Derek Meyer OL 6-5 300 Silver Lake, Neb.
Josh Molek DE 6-3 235 Omaha, Neb.
Brent Moravec FB/LB 6-0 180 Grand Island, Neb.
David Pillen FB/LB 5-11 230 Sugar Land, Texas
Zach Ruiz QB/ATH 6-3 210 Beatrice, Neb.
Marcus Smith LB 6-1 195 Crete, Neb.
Steve Spratte WR 5-11 180 Waukesha, Wis.
Graham Stoddard LB 6-2 215 Lincoln, Neb.
Brian Thorson OL 6-3 280 Omaha, Neb.
Jeremy Wallace RB 6-1 220 Omaha, Neb.
Brandon Brown RB/DB 5-10 205 Lincoln, Neb.
Seung Hoon Choi OL 6-2 320 Lincoln, Neb.
Ronnell Grixby DB 5-10 205 Omaha, Neb.
Brett Maher K 6-0 170 Kearney, Neb.

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 Walk-on Wonder
You’ve dreamt of being a Husker your entire life. season, figuring the more weight he
carried, the more effective he would be
Would you drop whatever you’re doing when you finally get the as a blocker. “I was just kind of eating
call? Thomas Lawson did and now he’s reaping the benefits. whatever,” he said.

W
Not so now. He expects to play at
alk-on? No way. Surely, by Mike Babcock
between 240 to 245 his senior season.
you’re on scholarship.
Even during his third season, when
Thomas Lawson
running backs coach Randy Jordan. Was he was no longer practicing on the scout
often got such a response
he interested in walking on? squad, he wondered if he would ever
during his freshman year at Nebraska. A
Was he interested? Lawson couldn’t see significant action. Dane Todd was a
teammate would meet him for the first
believe his good fortune. He returned to fixture at fullback, in his second season
time and assume he was on scholarship.
the dorm, wrapped his belongings in a as the starter, with walk-on Matt Senske
After all, why would someone from
sheet, tied it up, tossed it in the trunk of as the top back-up.
Parker, Colo., walk on at Nebraska?
his car and headed west to Lincoln. He Lawson’s dad kept encouraging him,
Walk-ons were supposed to be in-state
told no one he was leaving. He didn’t as did Todd, “who took me under his
athletes who grew up wanting to play for
want to jeopardize the opportunity. wing when I first got here. We hit it off.
the Cornhuskers.
That was a positive about being Everything I had a question on, he had
Except for the in-state part, that
a walk-on. Classes hadn’t begun at an answer,” said Lawson. “It’s always
described Lawson. He grew up a
Colorado State, so he wasn’t bound to good to have someone there to lean on
Cornhusker fan from watching them
remain in Fort Collins. He didn’t need a since you’re away from home.
on television. They were always in the
scholarship release. “He’d always tell me, ‘Man, just keep
national rankings, always playing in
Though he’d like a scholarship, of your head up. I know what you can do,
bowl games. And Lawson wanted to
course, another positive of being a walk- just keep pushing.’ I can give it up to
play for them, “to be part of something
on is what it has taught him, “to stick Dane Todd. It’s like, ‘Look at me now.’”
big,” he said.
with it, to keep my work ethic up,” he Lawson alternated with Andy Sand
During his senior year at Ponderosa
said.“You get one chance and if you mess last season, starting twice and catching
High School, he thought
up, you get put to the back of the line.” three passes, all of them for touchdowns.
he might have that
Lawson started from the bottom, as The first came against Iowa State (as did
opportunity. He was
he expected he would. He played on the second). Sam Keller threw the pass,
a running back in a
the scout squad his first two seasons, on a “pivot” play. Lawson held on that
wing-T offense on a state
beginning as an I-back and then moving time, after dropping one against Nevada.
championship team. He
to fullback after he gained weight. “It was cool. I’m never going to forget
rushed for 1,800 yards that
He played at 263 pounds last it,” Lawson said.
season. And he earned the
He has the ball in his apartment,
most valuable player award in
signed and dated.
the state title game.
Despite wondering if he would get
Frank Solich was Nebraska’s
an opportunity, “I always knew I could
coach at the time. And the
play. I knew I had the ability. I just didn’t
Cornhuskers talked to him about
know when my card was going to be
walking on. After Solich was fired,
pulled,” he said.
however, the interest disappeared.
It was pulled. And he was
Lawson set aside his dream of playing
prepared.
for Nebraska and committed to walking
His story isn’t much different
on at Colorado State. In the late summer,
from that of most walk-ons, except
he moved into the dorms in Fort Collins
that he’s from Colorado. He’s paying
and began preparing. The Colorado
his own way, playing for love of
State coaches told him they planned to
the game and earning a degree in
play him at linebacker. And if things
communications. Typically, walk-ons
worked out, he would be able to earn a
understand the importance of an
scholarship, they assured him.
education.
Then one day on the way to a pre-
“I wouldn’t change it for the
season workout, Lawson got a call on
world,” he said.
his cell phone from then-Nebraska

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 Father
Figure
Bo Pelini has worked with some
of the biggest names in football.
But none of them can match
the influence of a retired
pharmaceutical salesman in
Youngstown, Ohio.

b y S te v e S i p p le
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 Father
A
long list of coaches – a
lot of people, period
– have influenced Bo
Pelini’s development
as a coach since his start in the
Figure by Steve Sipple
Nike in sales and marketing and
was looking to start a career. It
seemed a good fit. “At that time,
I didn’t see myself wanting to be
a graduate assistant somewhere
business in 1991. There have been Iowa, then spent a year as an probably would appreciate such for eight years and waiting for my
too many influences to list. And assistant at Cardinal Mooney diligence from a coach. opportunity,” he said.
anyway, Pelini wouldn’t want to High in Youngstown. Then came In addition to his father’s But San Francisco called, and
leave out anybody. his big break – a chance to work influence, Pelini’s coaching he seized the opportunity. He was
However, the new Nebraska head as an assistant for the NFL San style was shaped in part by in his mid-20s. He originally was
football coach doesn’t mind listing Francisco 49ers. He ended up his experiences as a youth in hired to be part of the scouting
one of his primary influences - his working a total of nine years as Youngstown, where he was a department. Whatever. He was
father Anthony Pelini. an NFL assistant before landing multi-sport star at Cardinal just thrilled to get a chance to get
Bo Pelini said his father’s a job as the Huskers’ defensive Mooney. his foot in the door. He almost
impact began to take hold when coordinator in 2003. “I always go back to my high immediately was promoted to
Bo was a kid playing a variety Stints as a co-defensive school days as a key period,” Pelini assistant secondary coach and
of sports in his hometown of coordinator at Oklahoma (2004) said. “We had good talent, don’t wound up spending three seasons
Youngstown, Ohio. Anthony and defensive coordinator get me wrong. But I saw how with the franchise.
Pelini taught his five sons to play at Louisiana State (2005-07) the commitment part of things “How many times does an
sports with a sense of pride and preceded his return to Nebraska and the sacrifice and the team- opportunity like that come
respect for the game. as a first-time head coach. building and the stresses from the around?” Pelini said. “I figured
“That meant acting the right I’d put my time in and see where
way, which I didn’t always do,” it went. Fortunately, I was given a
said 40-year-old Bo Pelini, the
youngest of five brothers. “But I “My dad would never criticize me for unique opportunity to move into
coaching really quickly.”
heard about it when I didn’t.” Nebraska fans have long since
His father’s tenets help guide
how I played. But if I got a technical or gotten a feel for Pelini’s aura of
Pelini to this day. Play hard.
Play with sportsmanship. Be a
threw my helmet or something like that, confidence. Tim McDonald got a
taste of it in 1994, as a Pro Bowl
team player. Don’t worry about
individuality. Represent your
there was hell to pay when I walked in strong safety with the Niners.
McDonald was a 29-year-old NFL
team the right way all the time –
my home.” veteran when Pelini arrived on the
not only in your play, but also in Bo Pelini scene in San Francisco. McDonald
your conduct. recalls Pelini being assertive in
“My dad would never criticize meeting rooms and practices.
me for how I played,” Bo Pelini In some ways, Husker fans coaches to do things the right way “That’s why Bo is where he is
said. “But if I got a technical or are still getting to know their and be committed to team - all right now,” said McDonald, now
threw my helmet or something new head coach. Since being those things are what I thought 43. “He was never afraid to test the
like that, there was hell to pay formally hired Dec. 2, Pelini has separated us from everybody else waters. If something didn’t sound
when I walked in my home. He worked hard to instill a disciplined and enabled us to overachieve. right, if something didn’t feel right,
wouldn’t scream and yell, but he’d approach on and off the field. He’s “It sticks with you.” Bo would step up and say, ‘Hey,
say, ‘If you want to play, you’re been known to show up at Lincoln Those close to Pelini will tell let’s work our way through this.’
going to do it the right way.’ downtown taverns to check if you that he’s found his calling, “He would work with the
“Believe me,” Bo Pelini said, players are abiding by team rules. that he’s a natural leader. But players and listen to the players.
“that went a long way.” He also shows up in campus Pelini at one point actually But at the same time, he was
Nebraska fans by this time classrooms on occasion to make considered another profession. strong enough to say, ‘This is
probably have a good feel for sure players are attending. In the months before he was right and this is the way we
Pelini’s football coaching Anthony Pelini, a retired hired by the 49ers in 1994, Pelini should go about it.’”
background. He got his start in pharmaceuticals salesman was considering getting out of Pelini’s coaching foundation
1991 as a graduate assistant at who still lives in Youngstown, coaching. He had a job offer from was fortified by teaching the likes

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of McDonald, free safety Merton Hanks and
cornerback Deion Sanders. Pelini also speaks
of the influence of former Niners head coach
George Seifert and assistants Pete Carroll and
Ray Rhodes.
“I saw how they attacked the job
psychologically and found ways to reach guys,”
Pelini said. “I saw how they communicated with
people. When you’re at the pro level when you
start (as a coach), you see at a young age the
levels you need to coach at and how much the
psychological part of the game comes into play.
I believe I was exposed to the right things early
on, and it really helped
shape me.”
In the NFL – he later
had stints as a linebackers
coach at both New
England (1997-99) and
Green Bay (2000-02) –
Pelini also was struck
by the commitment of
certain players.
“You see how they
practice and how hard
they work,” he said. “So
you try to stress to the
college guys that, ‘Hey,
if you have any aspirations to get to the NFL
level, you can either wait to try to adapt to that
level when you get there, or you can start to
approach the game that way right now and put
yourself that much further ahead.’ ”
The psychological part of coaching is “huge”
at every level, Pelini said.
“It’s a matter of finding ways to reach guys,”
he said. “The thing is, everybody’s different.
That’s what you learn. Every single guy is
different. Players have different hot buttons,
different cultural backgrounds, different family
backgrounds. You have to find a way to reach
all different sorts of people. The bottom line is,
you can’t treat everybody uniformly.”
In terms of reaching different types of
players, his extensive coaching resume to this
point in his career “is a huge benefit,” he said.
But his coaching style actually began to take
shape during all those days on the playgrounds
and gyms around Youngstown (pop. 80,000),
competing with and against neighborhood kids
hand with athletics. It all relates.”
Football became Pelini’s best sport. But
he also excelled as a basketball player in high GETTING TO
school (he was Mooney’s first 1,000-point
scorer). Playing point guard and off-guard, the
6-2 Pelini was talented and polished enough
KNOW BO
to be recruited by “a number of” Division I
programs, he said, most notably Missouri and
head coach Norm Stewart.
“I had chances to commit to some schools
early,” Pelini said. “I don’t know how it would
have played out. When I didn’t commit early,
schools knew I was going to play football.
It was pretty much
assumed.”
Pelini played free
safety at Ohio State,
where he was a three-time
Academic All-Big Ten
selection and team captain
as a senior in 1990. All
willie stargell
those lessons learned at So, Bo Pelini was a heck of a high school
Cardinal Mooney paid basketball player. In fact, he was the only
dividends. athlete ever from Cardinal Mooney High
His father was School to play in the Ohio North-South all-
watching all the while – star game in football and basketball.
mainly to make sure his
Who knew former Missouri basketball coach
sons were working hard to
Norm Stewart recruited Pelini?
improve. Anthony Pelini instilled work ethic in
his sons before they could shave. Pelini has been known to keep a basketball
“It was never about stats,” Bo Pelini said. in his office at Memorial Stadium. He grew
“Going 3-for-3 in a baseball game, he didn’t up idolizing NBA players such as Dennis
care about that, as long as I was giving my Johnson and Elvin Hayes.
best effort. He stressed that if you want to be
Is Bo a LeBron fan? Not especially, he said.
good, you have to do more than the next guy.
If you’re a basketball player, you have to be out As a baseball fan growing up in Youngstown,
there shooting balls. If you miss free throws, Ohio, Pelini followed the Cleveland Indians
you’d better shoot 100. You had better practice and Pittsburgh Pirates (Pittsburgh is about 65
your trade at home.” miles southeast of Youngstown).
Pelini could even practice batting in his
"I didn't really get caught up in the teams as
home’s garage, where his father hung a baseball
much as I liked certain players," Pelini said.
from the ceiling on a cable. He even mapped
out a batter’s box. Pelini remembers liking Pirates such as Willie
“He didn’t sit there and watch me do it, Stargell and Omar Moreno. His favorite
but he’d have things to say like, ‘This is how Indians included Duane Kuiper and Rick
you practice. This is what you do. You’re Manning.
not just going to show up and be good,’ ” Bo
Pelini obviously was a fan of the Cleveland
Pelini recalls.
Browns and followed the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Pelini’s four older brothers – including Carl,
the Huskers’ defensive coordinator – also had a Indeed, Mark "Bo" Pelini's nickname came

and his brothers.
“I just had such a good experience with
sports growing up,” Pelini said. “I was into the
strategic parts of all sports. Coaching’s kind of
in my blood, I guess.
“You have to understand, where I grew up
was blue collar. That kind of work ethic, and
those kinds of values, I think it all goes hand-in-
huge impact on his development as an athlete
and person. Bo listened to his brothers’ wisdom.
“They would take me to the playground and
I’d play basketball against the older kids,” Bo
recalls. “Even though I was a little over my
head, they would take care of me.
“I learned a lot of lessons doing that stuff.”
Lessons that guide him to this day.
from Bo Scott, a former hard-nosed Browns
running back.
Pelini's also a boxing fan. Sugar Ray
Leonard and Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini
– a Youngstown native – were among his
favorites.
– Steven M. Sipple

w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 3 1
 Todd&Tyler
W
by Terry Douglass
hen Tyler Wortman of recognition for the game that
and Todd Peterson he put up.
agreed to walk on to of a crazy set of events,” said practice as a true freshman and “All the hard work that he’s
the Nebraska football Peterson, a senior wide receiver. found himself stacked behind a been putting in behind the
team in 2003, neither knew quite “It has been kind of a wacky, large group of more experienced scenes the past few years is
what to expect. winding road.” linebackers the past three starting to pay off for him, and I
As it turned out, that was There certainly have been seasons before finally seeing know that he’ll continue to work
probably a good thing because plenty of twists and turns. playing time in 2007. hard to make the most of this
as the two Grand Island Central “This has been something After a standout performance opportunity.”
Catholic graduates prepare that you would never have been in this year’s Red-White Spring

I
for their final season with the expecting, going into it,” said Game, it appears Wortman’s n turn, Wortman said
Cornhuskers, both said they Wortman, a senior linebacker. determination is on the verge of he’s always taken
could never have imagined the “You just kind of have to roll finally paying off. great inspiration from
almost surreal path their careers with the punches and keep “There were a lot of situations watching Peterson’s career.
have taken. From having contact going.” in the past where I was working Peterson, who started
with three different coaching If there’s a constant thread hard, but just seemed to receiving playing time as a
staffs to experiencing Nebraska’s through the college football be staying under the radar,” redshirt freshman in 2005,
first two losing seasons in the careers of Peterson and Wortman said. “Now, I hope heads into his senior season
past four decades, it has indeed Wortman, it would have to be to be able to get out there in with 46 career receptions for
been a wild ride. perseverance. As roommates and the fall and get quite a bit of 816 yards for an average of
Peterson and Wortman were friends, Wortman and Peterson playing time.” 17.7 yards per catch. The 6-4,
asked to walk on by Frank Solich’s have encouraged each other No one has been happier to 215-pounder is 184 receiving
staff. They then spent four years to press on, especially during see Wortman’s emergence than yards shy of becoming the 17th
under Bill Callahan and now, Bo troubled times. Peterson. player in school history with
Pelini is Nebraska’s head coach. Wortman’s path to a potential “Tyler has been through a 1,000 receiving yards and has a
“I don’t ever look back on it spot in the starting lineup has lot,” Peterson said. “It was very chance to move into NU’s career
too much, but when I do, you been filled with many hurdles. He gratifying for him in the spring receptions and touchdown
realize that it has just been kind suffered a severely broken leg in game. I was glad that he got a lot receptions list.

3 2 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
Grand Island natives have no regrets
“I have been really proud that
Todd was able to do as well as he
has been doing,” Wortman said. “I
remember watching him on TV in
away games and thinking that he
was doing really well, and it just
made me think that I could be
doing the same. I just had to keep
working at it.”
Even though Peterson saw the
field much earlier than Wortman,
the former high school basketball
standout said that early in his
career, he sometimes questioned
his decision to try and play at
Nebraska. He even wondered if
he’d picked the wrong sport.
“There were times when I
wondered if it wouldn’t have been
a good idea to transfer somewhere
smaller and play college basketball,
but I just kept with it,” Peterson
said. “I always tell people that if
you’re going to come here and try
to play at this level, you’ve got to
love football and you’ve got to love
competition.
“It’s so time-consuming and
so demanding that if you don’t
love it and want to do it every
day, then you’re going to be
miserable.”
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 3 3
M
iserable is probably
the best word to
describe the all-too-
common feeling for the Huskers
last year as they endured a 5-7
season.
nderstandably, Peterson and
Wortman said they try not to
spend much time looking back at
last season. That’s especially the
case on defense where Nebraska
set numerous records — not the
good kind — including allowing
a program-worst 76 points in a
loss at Kansas.
“It’s over with and it’s gone.
We’re not focusing on anything
from last year at all,” Wortman
said. “I think a lot of guys want
to improve greatly from that. We
want to focus on this season and
not waste our time on last year.”
Moving on was one of the
central themes brought to
Nebraska by Pelini and his
coaching staff.
“I think the morale of the
team is up a lot, which is good
because it was getting down
really bad, especially toward the
end of last season,” Wortman said.
“Everybody’s excited now and
Coach Pelini does a really good
job of just getting everybody
pumped up.”
Peterson agreed.
“So far, these coaches have
just been extremely upbeat
and positive and trying to keep
that positive energy around,”
Peterson said. “Obviously, that’s
easier when you haven’t gone
through any real adversity yet,
but I think that was something
they could probably sense in us
when they came is that we had
a lot of negative energy left over.”
While there are new coaches
and a new attitude on the team,
Peterson said Pelini’s decision
to retain offensive coordinator
Shawn Watson and wide receivers
coach Ted Gilmore gave a major
boost to the offense. Instead of
starting over, Peterson said he
feels like an experienced unit
that includes fifth-year senior
quarterback Joe Ganz, senior
running back Marlon Lucky,
senior receiver Nate Swift and a
veteran offensive line, can hit the
ground running.
“I can’t even tell you how
excited I was when I heard that
both of those guys were going to
get to stick around,” Peterson said.
Ever after starting from
scratch in the spring, Wortman
said there are also positive
feelings on the defensive side
of the ball. He said the system
installed by Pelini allows players
to do more reacting and less
thinking.
“It’s not simple in a bad way,
but the concepts are easier to
grasp,” Wortman said. “Everything
we do is predicated on a couple
of base defenses and that makes
it a lot easier than before.
“Before, we would put in new
defenses every week and they’d
just be really difficult for us to get
the hang of right away and that
kind of hurt us.”
All the changes have Wortman
and Peterson looking forward to
seeing how their careers finally
play out.
“I’m just excited to see where
this team can go, not only this
year, but in the future because
I think this program is going to
have a bright future,” Peterson
said. “I’m biased, of course, but
that’s what I think.”
 Zach Potter

3 4 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
 And th e

pride
of the
blackshirt
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 3 5
Zach Potter
And th e

pride
of the
blackshirt
A
specialist, that’s what defensive end. “I play defense.
by Mike Babcock
Zach Potter was as a I take pride in being a Blackshirt,
freshman. He was known being on the d-line here.”
in the residence hall, Cummings’ left and deflected attempt in a 27-25 victory against Technically, Potter isn’t a
where he roomed with grayshirt the ball. At the same time, a Kansas State. Blackshirt right now, though Carl
Jacob Hickman, as the guy who leaping Potter extended his right That was nearly three years Pelini has indicated the tradition
blocked kicks. arm above everyone else’s. If ago. Much has changed. Potter is will be restored in the fall. And
He earned the designation three Ickes hadn’t deflected the ball, more mature, probably 25 pounds barring the unforeseen, Potter is
games into his freshman season. Potter might have, as the cover heavier. He’s wiser for having certain to get one again.
Here’s how. of Huskers Illustrated the next backed-up Adam Carriker, who He was a Blackshirt for fewer
Less than 5 minutes into the week showed. Potter and Turner left as a first-round draft choice of than 50 days last season. He
Pittsburgh game with no score, probably deserved assists on the St. Louis Rams a season ago. received a black practice jersey
Panthers’ coach Dave Wannstedt, the play. The Panthers were so And he’s learning the philosophies with his name and number (98)
perhaps anticipating the defensive on the Tuesday before the 2007
battle the game would be, sent opener against Nevada. He was
All-Big East place-kicker Josh among 15 players to earn them,
Cummings onto the field to including five others for the first
attempt a 42-yard field goal. time.
Cummings’ kick had no chance. The first thing he did was call
Potter blocked it from the middle his dad. Then he called his mom.
of the line. Getting the Blackshirt was a
The block would have rush. Less than two months later,
implications at game’s end. he called his parents to say the
With 1 second remaining and Blackshirt was gone.
Nebraska clinging to a 7-6 lead, After a 45-14 loss against
Wannstedt sent Cummings back Oklahoma State, in which the
onto the field to attempt a fifth field Cowboys passed for 234 yards
goal. In addition to the one Potter and rushed for 317 yards, the
blocked, Cummings had missed Blackshirts were taken away.
once and been successful from “They stripped the whole
38 and 27 yards during the third defense and said we could earn
quarter. them back,” said Potter, who
This time, the attempt would made a career-high-tying six
be from 46 yards. If successful, tackles that day. “But none of us
Pittsburgh would win. earned them back.”
Pittsburgh knew it had to Some might have, Potter among
account for the 6-7 Potter and 6-3 them. After all, he did earn All-Big
Barry Turner, also a freshman. 12 honorable mention from the
Turner lined up over the middle on conference coaches. “But it’s a
the field goal block team, too. team effort,” he said. “We tried
The Cornhuskers knew to play as much as a team as we
Pittsburgh’s blocking scheme on concerned about accounting for of a third position coach, John could. Stripping the Blackshirts
field goals, not only because they them that they allowed Ickes to Papuchis, and a second defensive was the only thing to do.”
had seen it four times in the game break through. coordinator, Carl Pelini. Potter understands the
already but also because it was the In any case, Potter’s reputation Once known as a kick- Blackshirt tradition in a
same as theirs. as a kick-blocker was set. And it blocker, “now I can look in the special way, having grown up
As the final second went off the was solidified seven games later, mirror and honestly say I’m in Nebraska. Although as a
clock, Adam Ickes lunged from when he blocked an extra-point a Blackshirt,” said the senior youngster, basketball was his

3 6 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
favorite sport. Even though he first
played organized football when he
was a sixth-grader, he didn’t get
serious until after his sophomore
year at Omaha Creighton Prep.
That’s when Nebraska offered a
scholarship.
Frank Solich was the head
coach then. After Solich was fired
and Callahan hired, Potter was
uncertain about his status as a
Cornhusker scholarship recruit.
He also was considering, among
other schools, Notre Dame, which
took a serious interest in him and
vice versa. “I liked Notre Dame
a lot,” he said. But distance was
a factor. Attending games would
have been more difficult for his
parents. His dad lives in Omaha,
his mom in Fremont, Neb. And,
of course, growing up in Nebraska
meant something, too.
Plus, Notre Dame was going
through a coaching change.
Charlie Weis was replacing Tyrone
Willingham. Potter figured that
since Nebraska had already
gone through such a change and
Callahan had been in place for a
year, there would be stability.
“Obviously, that backfired on summer workouts, Carriker without redshirting. And defensive against Iowa State, he suffered a
me,” said Potter. showed him how to use his hands, line coach John Blake gave him the stinger in his left shoulder. He lost
Nebraska’s coaching change how he couldn’t rely only on his opportunity, indirectly. strength in his left arm. From that
had been “nerve-wracking.” Potter size and athleticism, as he had By the end of preseason point on, he practiced on the scout
had the scholarship offer from done in high school. practice, Blake had decided that team and was used only as a kick-
Solich, but nothing in writing, In high school, players Potter would be included on block specialist.
no certainty Callahan would be of Potter’s ability don’t need the travel roster. He could travel “I was still doing what I was
interested. His concern was quickly technique. without giving up a redshirt. basically brought in to do,” he said.
alleviated, however. A couple of “You just go,” said Potter. If he was going to travel, In retrospect, Potter would like
days after becoming head coach, “I think that was the biggest assistant Dennis Wagner told to have that season back.
Callahan visited Creighton Prep adjustment I had to make my Potter, then he, Wagner, was “Even though we won those
and watched basketball practice. freshman year down here. You going to use him on special teams, games, it would be nice to say
The offer was still good. have to keep your pads low and including the field goal team and right now, ‘Hey, I’m going into my
Potter moved to Lincoln during use your hands. In high school, the field goal block team. “I was redshirt junior season. I still have
the summer to begin preparing you can just stay high and not use like, ‘Hey, that’s fine with me. two years left,’ especially now that
for a freshman season in which he your hands, just use swim move I just want to get out and play, Coach (Bo) Pelini is here and how
hoped to play despite the presence after swim move after swim move contribute,’” Potter said. I could transform in his type of
of Carriker, a returning starter and and you’ll be fine because you’re “At the time, I was saying, ‘This defense,” said Potter. “I regret not
dominating presence at base end, bigger than everybody else.” is sweet.’ ” redshirting, but at the same time, I
the position Potter planned to play. He wasn’t bigger than Carriker, He even got to play a down on think, ‘I had a part in two victories
Carriker immediately that’s for sure. And he didn’t have defense here and there in the first for our team that year.’
befriended him. Potter even hung illusions about earning a starting couple of games. But the week “It seems like forever ago I
out at Carriker’s apartment, position as long as Carriker was after the Pittsburgh game, a bye was blocking field goals, that’s for
playing video games. During healthy. Even so, he wanted to play week before the conference opener sure.”

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 HuskerPreview
2008 Predictions
Huskers Illustrated pestered some of Nebraska’s most notorious
media members as well as a number of national names, and forced
them to give us their predictions for Nebraska’s first season under
head coach Bo Pelini. Answers ranged across the board, but every
prognosticator picked a bowl appearance for the Huskers. Check out
the logic behind everybody’s picks:
TREV ALBERTS (9-4)
CBS College Sports Network
I think when you look at Bo
Pelini heading into his first year at
Nebraska, there are a lot of things
you have to like. There is such a
familiarity with his coaching staff
and I think that’s really going to
help them in year one with the
overall transition. Then you factor in
that Shawn Watson is back, so the
offense really isn’t going to change
that much. You look at what they are
going to run and I think they’ll show
some remarkable improvement from
a year ago.
I think Nebraska is going to
compete for the Big 12 North and
I think they’ll win nine games. I
think the Virginia Tech game is a
huge game in terms of momentum,
because it comes right before the
Missouri game. If they can win that
Virginia Tech game, I think it can
really get the momentum ball rolling
and lead to a nine-win season.
When you look at Nebraska, it’s
always been about nine wins or
better. Hopefully they can win more
in 2008, but I think this team has
the ability for a nine-win season in
year one under Bo Pelini.
John Bishop (9-4)
KLIN 1400 AM
Some may think this crazy, but
I was this close to picking 10-3.
I am going with the mild upset
at home of the Hokies before
eventual Big 12 champ (yes, I
said it) Missouri hands Bo Pelini
his first defeat as a head coach.
I see other losses at Texas Tech,
at Oklahoma and vs. Kansas (I
believe Mark Mangino is no fluke).
There should be a respectable bowl
trip to a nice location like San
Diego in Nebraska’s future. The
offense should be really good with
a defense that will build confidence
under a coaching staff that breeds
hard work.
3 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
Olin Buchanan (8-5)
Rivals.com
Bo Pelini’s defensive expertise will
ensure the Cornhuskers are better,
but how much is the question. I’d
look for them to prevail in games
in which they would obviously
be favored, but the schedule isn’t
very forgiving with games against
Virginia Tech, Missouri, Kansas,
Oklahoma, Texas Tech and
Colorado. I’m betting the Huskers
will improve enough to pull off an
upset, maybe two.
SEAN CALLAHAN (9-4)
HuskersIllustrated.com
What I like about 2008 for first year
Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini is
the schedule. Never before has NU
opened the season up with five home
games in a row. This should allow
the Huskers to build up some early
confidence and momentum before
the meat of the Big 12 Conference
schedule. Nebraska obviously wins
its first three games pretty soundly,
and I think with a bye week and
Bo Pelini and Carl Pelini’s previous
knowledge of Virginia Tech from
the 2007 season, the Huskers beat
the Hokies in Lincoln. However, the
following two weeks, I see losses to
both Missouri and Texas Tech.
The Iowa State and Baylor games
should both be wins, but I see NU
losing at Oklahoma and losing one
of their final three games to either
Kansas or Colorado to finish a very
respectable 8-4, after last season’s
disappointing 5-7 year. As for a bowl
game, I’ll say the Huskers will head
to the Insight Bowl in Tempe and
beat Illinois to finish 9-4.
Brian Christopherson (8-5)
Lincoln Journal Star
I believe Nebraska’s offensive
output will be similar to last
year’s. Combine that with even an
average defense (which would be a
significant step up from last season),
and I think you add a couple of
2008 Nebraska Football Schedule
Sat., Aug. 30 Western Michigan Memorial Stadium TBA
Sat., Sept. 6 San Jose State Memorial Stadium TBA
Sat., Sept. 13 New Mexico State Memorial Stadium TBA
Sat., Sept. 27 Virginia Tech Memorial Stadium TBA
Sat., Oct. 4 Missouri Memorial Stadium TBA
Sat., Oct. 11 Texas Tech at Lubbock, Texas TBA
Sat., Oct. 18 Iowa State at Ames, Iowa TBA
Sat., Oct. 25 Baylor Memorial Stadium TBA
Sat., Nov. 1 Oklahoma at Norman, Okla. TBA
Sat., Nov. 8 Kansas Memorial Stadium TBA
Sat., Nov. 15 Kansas State at Manhattan, Kan. TBA
Fri., Nov. 28 Colorado Memorial Stadium 2:30 p.m. (ABC)
Sat., Dec. 6 Big 12 Championship at Kansas City, Mo. 7 p.m. (ABC)
(Arrowhead Stadium)
wins to the regular season, putting There are too many swing games
them right around 7-5. They’ll win on the schedule, too many to expect
one people don’t think they will and Pelini to perform miracles. Unless
lose one people think they won’t, the talent gets a whole lot better real
and probably end up in a place like
quick expect a third- or fourth-place
Shreveport in a winnable bowl game.
finish in the Big 12 North.
And as Husker fans know after last
year, there are worse things than
Shreveport. TERRY DOUGLASS (8-5)
Grand Island Independent
Tom Dienhart (8-5)
The Sporting News A home-friendly schedule gives
Nebraska an opportunity to get
I think Nebraska will go 8-5. I off to a good start under first-year
don’t expect miracles in Pelini’s first coach Bo Pelini. While Virginia
season, but there still is enough for Tech stands out on the non-
Big Red to be a bowl team thanks to conference slate, the Cornhuskers
what should be a strong offense. And had better watch out for that season
I expect the defense to compensate opener against Western Michigan.
for a lack of talent with a renewed With a salty Big 12 schedule
passion inspired by Pelini. Consider awaiting, a winning season and a
2008 a transition year as the program return to a bowl game would be
takes its first step back to greatness a solid accomplishment for this
under Pelini. year’s team.
Dennis Dodd (7-5) Tim Griffin (8-5)
CBS Sportsline.com ESPN.com
This is a borderline bowl team. Bo’s influence is immediate.
Husker Nation has been too wrapped Mainly because I can’t believe
up in the coaching change to see the the Cornhuskers’ defense can be
reality of Bo Pelini’s first season. In anywhere as bad as it was last year.
the short term, changing coaches is Look for Nebraska to challenge for
rarely a good thing. Remember Bill second place in the North Division
Callahan’s first year, how did that go and finish the season in San Antonio
for you Huskers? Here’s a reminder: or El Paso on their bowl trip with an
8-5 record.
From 10-3 to 5-6. I’m actually
predicting a two-game improvement
so no whining about Husker hate.
 HuskerPreview
2008 Predictions
LANE GRINDLE (8-5)
Husker Sports Network
The 2008 football season is a
pretty big mystery. While everyone
expects a faster, more aggressive
defense, how much faster and more
aggressive will the Huskers be?
That’s a question that few have
answers to right now. I see this team
playing it’s best football late. Five
chances for big wins (Virginia Tech,
Missouri, Texas Tech, Oklahoma,
and Kansas) and I see this team
winning 1 or 2 of them. If they can
do that then an eight-win season
with an Alamo berth is likely.
Things that need to happen: (1)
Anthony Blue recovers from ACL
surgery (2) A young receiver steps
up (Paul, Gilleylen, etc.), (3) Phillip
Dillard emerges as a play-making
linebacker (4) Ndamukong Suh
realizes his potential. If these things
happen, the Huskers far exceed
anyone’s expectations.
Bob Hamar (8-5)
Grand Island Independent
Everybody is a Bo Pelini fan,
at least until the Huskers step on
the field. The schedule is brutal to
say the least. Virginia Tech has its
problems, but the Hokies are still
an elite program. Oklahoma and
Missouri are easily top 10 teams
while Texas Tech isn’t far off.
Don’t forget a tough Kansas team
and don’t count that opener against
Western Michigan as an automatic
victory. A 7-5 regular-season record
and a bowl appearance they could
win would make the Huskers 8-5 for
the year. That wouldn’t be bad for
Pelini’s first year as a head coach.
Ken Hambleton (7-6)
Lincoln Journal Star
The Cornhuskers will finish 7-6
with a win in a bowl game.
New coach, new attitude should
be refreshing. But same old lack of
depth or experience in the offensive
line, receivers, means it will take some
time for the offense to load and fire.
Defense will have verve and vibrancy,
but no depth at linebacker, or
cornerback. I predicted 7-6 last year
and was hooted at for being negative.
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 3 9
DAVE HUNT (8-5)
KLKN-TV
This is a team that I think will get
better each week. The Big Red lose
to Virginia Tech, Mizzou, Texas
Tech, and Oklahoma, but make
enough strides to take down Kansas
at home late in the year. Nebraska
finishes second or third in the Big 12
North, then loses to Penn State in
the Alamo Bowl.
Rich Kaipust (8-5)
Omaha World-Herald
I really believe a major key is at
least splitting those back-to-back
home games with Virginia Tech
and Missouri, with the latter more
important for obvious reasons. NU
won’t win at either Texas Tech or
Oklahoma, but also won’t lose by
a combined 100-13 as in 2004. I
don’t think it would be optimistic
calling for an 8-4 regular season but
more a statement on last season’s
underachieving.
merlyn klaus (8-5)
WOWT-TV Sports
The Huskers will be improved on
defense, but there are way too many
unknowns for this team to move any
higher. I like Joe Ganz, but I think he
will really miss Maurice Purify – don’t
see any gamebreakers on offense
except Marlon Lucky. Schedule is
the best thing the Huskers have going
for them – 5 home games to start the
season. I think Bo and company will
ultimately succeed, but I don’t see the
talent to overtake Missouri and Kansas
(and perhaps Colorado) this season.
Kevin Kugler (9-4)
1620 The Zone/NET Sports
I’m predicting a 9-4 record this
season for Nebraska. I think the
Huskers will start the season with
three straight wins. After they sneak
by a tough test from Virginia Tech,
the Missouri Tigers will grab their
first win in a generation at Memorial
Stadium in Lincoln. A loss in
Lubbock puts the Huskers at 4-2,
before back-to-back wins against
Iowa State and Baylor.
A closer than expected loss in
Norman gives Nebraska a 6-3
record. The Huskers then surprise
Kansas in Lincoln, swamp K-State
by terry douglass
in Manhattan and eke out a close
win in the finale vs. Colorado. A
5-3 finish in the Big 12 is good for a
2nd place tie behind North Division
champ Missouri. A loss in the bowl
game ends Bo Pelini’s first year.
Brian Rosenthal (7-6)
Lincoln Journal Star
It’s logical to think the defense will be
better in 2008. (It can’t get any worse,
right?) An improved defense, although
not a rock-solid one, will mean at
least two more victories than last
season. Nebraska won’t win the Big 12
North, but will return to a bowl game.
Shreveport isn’t the most coveted
destination, but it will do for now.
chris schmidt (10-3)
ESPN Radio 1480 KLMS
I’m predicting a 10-3 season, a win
over Oregon in the Holiday Bowl
and a tie for second in the Big 12
North.
Nebraska will be a much better
and passionate team in 2008. I like
the offensive firepower returning for
NU, which will keep them in most
games. The key game for the Big
Red happens early in the year against
Virginia Tech. If Nebraska can win
that game, it will provide momentum
for the rest of the year. If the
running game can be dependable,
it will help keep the defense off the
field until they find their way. Coach
Pelini will do a great job getting this
group to play with high intensity.
Nebraska is probably a couple years
away from being able to win tough
road games. Kansas State is the one
game I see as a trap game, late in the
season, and pressure on Ron Prince
to perform. A victory over Nebraska
could take some heat off of him.
Jon Schuetz (9-4)
KETV Newswatch 7
Nebraska, under new coach Bo
Pelini and staff. will be much, much
better. If they win all of the games
they should win, the team will go
7-5. I think they will pull at least one
surprise for an 8-4 regular season
finish, and let’s make it 9-4 with a
Holiday Bowl win.
The three-game stretch of Virginia
Tech, Missouri and Texas Tech will
tell us a lot about this team. (I have
all of them in my national top 10.)
The defense will be better, but with
the offenses in the Big 12, better may
not be good enough.
Mike’l Severe (8-5)
1620 The Zone
Nebraska starts the season with
a very tough mid-major team.
Western Michigan has a lot of talent
including quarterback Tim Hiller
and one of the best wide receivers
NU will see all year in Jamorko
Simmons.
Nebraska continues its great start
against two very beatable teams in
San Jose State and New Mexico
State. Virginia Tech doesn’t have
enough playmakers to hurt NU in
the secondary, but being at home
helps the Huskers to the close win.
Missouri and Texas Tech throw
the ball too well for NU’s young and
inexperienced secondary. ISU and
Baylor are two of the worst teams
in the Big 12 with Kansas State a
close third. Oklahoma will run for
200-plus yards against the Huskers.
NU returns with a double-overtime
win against Kansas. Kansas State
can’t stay with Nebraska as long as
they play the 3-4, and NU’s O-line
will man-handle the Wildcats. The
season will end on a sour note
against the Buffs, leaving the Huskers
with a, invite to the Holiday Bowl
where they will fall to Arizona State.
GREG SHARPE (8-4)
Voice of the Huskers
The one prediction that I’m
confident in for the 2008 Huskers
is that this team will play hard and
determined all season long. Now
trying to figure out how a first year
head coach will fare with a group
that was deflated by the end of
last season is difficult. I see four
games that are “swing” games for
the Huskers in 2008. That equates
to one third of the season. Now the
good news is that all four of those
games are at Memorial Stadium.
Virginia Tech, Missouri, Kansas,
and Colorado are the games that
will decide how good a season the
Huskers will have in 2008.
If NU can split those four games
I can see an 8-4 year, putting the
Huskers back into a bowl game
and back competing with the upper
echelon of the Big 12.
 HuskerPreview
Seniors look to finish careers on winning note
T
here’s a sense of urgency. Seniors
always feel it.
“This is my last season,” said Lydon
Murtha. “Even though last season was
frustrating, it was more so for the seniors. It
was frustrating for us (non-seniors), too, just
because we contributed to the losses. But we
look to this as the year we need to get it done.”
Matt Slauson was more definitive. “I have
to put on the best show I can so I can get a
ring,” he said. “We have to win the Big 12
championship. It’s going to happen. And we’re
going to go to a BCS (bowl) game. I have to
make sure I tie up all the ends on my side.
“Last year’s done. This is a whole new era
here.”
Whole new era, yes. But Big 12
championship? BCS bowl? Players have to
believe in themselves and their potential,
4 0 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
by Mike Babcock
certainly, though how realistic Slauson’s goals
are remains to be seen. The process of restoring
tradition and developing a culture has just
begun.
“There’s talent here,” Coach Bo Pelini said
following spring practice. “They’re eager and
they’re learning every day. What I’ve seen is
guys getting better. How that’s going to equate
to wins and losses, that’s not something we’re
focused on right now.
“I haven’t even had much time to evaluate
who we’re going to play against and what their
strengths and weaknesses are, how good of
talent they have. But I think there’s talent on
this football team. Our job is to get the most
out of that talent as we possibly can.”
Murtha and Slauson are among two dozen
marlon lucky
seniors on Pelini’s first team. And those
seniors must provide leadership to allow the
Cornhuskers to maximize their potential.
From the news conference to introduce
him as head coach, Pelini has emphasized
developing a culture. “I think the key is
having a culture that runs throughout your
football team and finding the right guys to
enforce that culture and promote it,” he said.
“If there’s a crack built in the foundation,
they seal it real quick. I think that’s what’s
happening.
“I think guys are buying in. We’re
developing better relationships and trust that’s
going to help us be successful and stay together
for a long period of time, through good times
and bad, because no matter what, you’re going
to have rocky times and you’re going to have
good times, and you need to have leadership to
 HuskerPreview
offset the bad times.”
Nebraska endured its share of bad times
last season, particularly on defense. It ranked
112th nationally in total defense, 114th in
scoring defense, 116th in rushing defense
and 117th in turnover margin. And the
Blackshirts were pulled after the Oklahoma
State game. “The way we were playing, we
didn’t deserve the (black) jerseys,” senior
defensive tackle Ty Steinkuhler said. “It
didn’t have anything to do with coaching or
anything. It was just bad play.”
Steinkuhler is among six returning starters
on defense. The others are nose tackle
Ndamukong Suh, who missed spring practice
following knee surgery, ends Zach Potter and
Barry Turner, cornerback Armando Murillo
and strong safety Larry Asante.
Despite the defensive deficiencies last
season, there’s reason for optimism. difference in the end. The effort, that comes
As former Cornhusker defensive
coordinator Charlie McBride used to say,
if something doesn’t kill you, it will make
you stronger. Players who endured last
season’s frustrations should be better for the
experience. Perhaps the best illustration was
Nebraska’s ranking first in the nation in total
defense in 1984 after struggling with many of
the same players in 1983.
Also, Pelini’s background is defense, and his
resume is impeccable.
When he was Frank Solich’s defensive
coordinator in 2003, the Cornhuskers
ranked first in the nation in pass efficiency
defense, first in turnover margin, second in
scoring defense and 11th in total defense.
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 4 1
by terry douglass
They produced a school-record 47 turnovers,
including 36 interceptions.
Last season, they managed only 11
turnovers, including eight interceptions.
Pelini spent one season as co-defensive
coordinator at Oklahoma then three seasons
as defensive coordinator at LSU. The Tigers
ranked third in the nation in total defense in
each of those seasons, and they produced 36
turnovers last season, third-most nationally.
The teams for which Pelini has been
defensive coordinator have been a combined
56-10. His system works. “We obviously have
a different system than what they played here
before,” he said. “But it’s not about the system.
It’s not what you do. It’s how you do it.
“It’s how . . . the passion you play with, the
discipline, the technique, the fundamentals,
the little things that are going to make the
joe ganz
first in our defense, how they run to the
football, how we go about our daily business
in every aspect of being football players. What
we’ve tried to do is enforce that every day.”
Pelini and his assistants have tried to leave
no room for interpretation. “We talk about
taking the gray out of it. It’s pretty black and
white what we’re asking them to do,” he said.
“Then the schemes, the X’s and O’s, that
stuff will come in time. But the foundation
has to begin with effort, discipline, trust and
playing team defense, and within that, playing
with the best fundamentals and techniques
possible. The scheme, that comes later.”
Schemes will be addressed “once we start
game-planning,” he said.
Pelini’s philosophy is multiple but simple,
according to linebackers coach Mike Ekeler.
“We’re teaching concepts so once you
understand a concept, you should be able
to build on that. It’s not just a bunch of
memorization,” said Ekeler. “They might do the
same concept in 50 different defenses. Bo’s big
thing is ‘same as.’ That’s what it’s based on.”
I
n addition to learning “same as”
concepts, the defense swarmed to the
ball in the spring with an enthusiasm
that appeared to be missing by the end
of last season.
Even so, defensive breakdowns weren’t the
only reason for a 5-7 record and staying home
from a bowl game for the second time in four
seasons, after 35 in a row.
“There were stupid comments made here
and there, but nobody really thought that one
side of the ball was the reason (for the losing
record),” Slauson said. “There were times
where the defense played great and the offense
didn’t get it done. Just because numbers wise it
didn’t look very good on defense, it wasn’t just
them. It was everyone. Our offense kept putting
the defense in bad positions with turnovers and
all that. So everyone was at fault.”
Actually, the turnovers often were a result of
forcing things in an effort to overcome deficits.
Still, Slauson’s point is well-taken. Success
depends on a team effort.
Nebraska ranked ninth nationally in total
offense, averaging 468.3 yards, and 28th in
scoring, averaging 33.42 points. So sweeping
changes weren’t needed on that side of the ball.
Shawn Watson was retained as offensive
coordinator, and though he had that title last
season, the offense was Bill Callahan’s. Now it
will have his imprint.
Watson’s credentials are solid, too. He
served as offensive coordinator at Colorado
from 2000 through 2005 and during that time
the Buffaloes won four Big 12 North Division
titles and one Big 12 championship with a
system that incorporated the run as well as
the pass. Their ability to run was never more
apparent than during Nebraska’s visit to
Boulder in 2001.
The Buffaloes rushed for 380 yards that day,
averaging more than 7 yards per carry. Chris
Brown rushed for 198 of those yards and six
touchdowns in a 62-36 victory.
Watson’s system is based on the West Coast
 shop ad

4 2 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
 HuskerPreview
offense principles of the last four years under
Callahan. But West Coast offense is just a label,
and a not-very-good one at that.
“Everybody wants to put a name on it
around here,” an exasperated Watson said
after a practice in the spring. “It’s the Nebraska
offense. How’s that? Sounds good to me.”
The foundation of any offense is the line,
and that figures to be a strength. Four of six
returning starters on offense are linemen, and
the Cornhuskers finished spring with two-deep
across the line, with an infusion of talented
young players.
In addition to Slauson (right guard) and
Murtha (left tackle), the likely starters will be
senior Mike Huff (left guard), junior Jacob
Hickman (center) and sophomore Jaivorio
Burkes (right tackle). Huff and Hickman also
are returning starters, and Burkes was pulled
from a redshirt and got an opportunity to
start when Murtha was injured late in the
season.
T
he second unit will include sophomore
Mike Smith and redshirted freshman
Marcel Jones at the tackles,
sophomores Keith Williams and D.J.
Jones at the guards and redshirted freshman
Mike Caputo, the only walk-on in the group,
at center.
In addition, there is position flexibility
within the group. “I think we can be as good
as we want to be,” Murtha said. “We want to
be one of the best lines in the nation. We have
that cohesiveness a lot of lines don’t have when
they incorporate other (young) players. There
are some young kids, and we accept them as
if they’ve been playing for three or four years.
ndamukong suh
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 4 3
by terry douglass
It’s not one of those things that we’re kind of
stand-offish if a new kid’s coming in.”
The standard for offensive line play is high
at Nebraska. Most notable were the Pipeline
and the Pipeline II, which cleared the way for
national championships in 1994 and 1995.
But there were others, including the national
championship lines in 1970, 1971 and 1997, as
well as a sometimes forgotten group in 1982,
build around center Dave Rimington.
I-back Marlon Lucky and wide receiver Nate
Swift are the other returning starters on offense.
That quarterback Joe Ganz isn’t considered a
returning starter is a technicality. He started
the final three games after Sam Keller was
sidelined by a shoulder injury.
Ganz put up remarkable numbers in those
three games, passing for 1,399 yards and 15
touchdowns, including school records of 510
yards and seven touchdowns against Kansas
State. “Everybody always
knew Joey was good, but
they didn’t know he had that
in him,” said Slauson. “He
was just throwing the ball so
strong and making such great
decisions.”
Because of his versatility,
he’s going to be a dual-threat
quarterback, Slauson said.
Ganz has dealt with his
share of frustrations during
four years at Nebraska.
“He just needed to have
a chance to get out there
nate swift
and play,” said Murtha. “He could have easily
transferred, quit. But he stayed here. This is his
senior year now, and he’s going to go out there
and just dominate, period. There’s no question
about it.”
Lucky, who also is versatile, could have
gone to the NFL. He considered leaving early,
following a junior season in which he rushed
for 1,019 yards and nine touchdowns and
caught a school-record 75 passes for 705 yards
and three touchdowns.
During spring practice, “I thought we
accomplished a lot,” Pelini said. “We started
laying the foundation for where we want the
program to be headed.
“Offensively, we’re probably a little ahead
of where we are defensively, just because we’re
introducing new things. But I thought we
accomplished a lot and set ourselves up to have
a productive summer and fall camp to get ready
for the season.”
Whether the Cornhuskers can challenge for
the Big 12 North Division title, much less make
a trip to the Big 12 championship game in
Kansas City on Dec. 6 remains to be seen.
Nebraska won the North Division two
seasons ago, but it hasn’t won a Big 12
championship since 1999 and it hasn’t played
in a BCS bowl since the 2001 season.
Those are Slauson’s goals, however. As a
player, “you’re always optimistic,” he said.
“You’re always hoping you’re going to be great,
expecting to do great.”
Seniors in particular have that sense of
urgency. It’s their last opportunity.
 HuskerPreview2008 Roster
Alphabetical Roster
Numerical Roster
* - Indicates Letters Earned
* - Indicates Letters Earned
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown (High School/College)
No. Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Position
95 *Allen, Pierre DE 6-5 265 So. Denver, Colo. (Thomas Jefferson)
1 Chris Brooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WR
21 *Amukamara, Prince DB 6-1 195 So. Glendale, Ariz. (Apollo)
2 Patrick Witt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . QB
4 *Asante, Larry S 6-1 210 Jr. Alexandria, Va. (Hayfield/Coffeyville CC)
3 **Rickey Thenarse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . S
56 *Barfield, Shukree DT 6-4 300 Sr. Camden, N.J. (Garden City CC)
3 Zac Lee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . QB
66 Barrett, Cruz OL 6-4 325 So. Daytona Beach, Fla. (Mainland)
4 *Larry Asante. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S
56 Baumgartner, Justin LS 6-2 250 Sr. Cheyenne, Wyo. (Chadron State/Laramie County CC)
5 ***Marlon Lucky. . . . . . . . . . . . . . IB
14 *Blue, Anthony CB 5-10 180 So. Cedar Hill, Texas
5 *Armando Murillo. . . . . . . . . . . . CB
1 Brooks, Chris WR 6-2 210 Jr. St. Louis, Mo. (Hazelwood East)
6 *Major Culbert. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S
72 *Burkes, Jaivorio OL 6-5 325 So. Phoenix, Ariz. (Moon Valley)
7 Kody Spano. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . QB
42 Joseph Camarata LB 5-10 225 Fr. Overland Park, Kan.
8 *Will Henry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WR
82 **Cammack, Wes WR 5-11 195 Jr. DeWitt, Neb. (Tri-County)
8 Austin Cassidy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S
58 Caputo, Mike OL 6-1 270 RFr. Omaha, Neb. (Millard North)
10 *Roy Helu Jr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IB
8 Cassidy, Austin S 6-1 205 RFr. Lincoln, Neb. (Southwest)
11 Curenski Gilleylen. . . . . . . . . . . . WR
19 *Castille, Quentin IB 6-1 245 So. LaPorte, Texas
12 **Joe Ganz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .QB
31 Covey, Nick LB 6-2 240 Jr. Glendale, Ariz. (Mountain Ridge)
12 *Blake Lawrence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . LB
94 Crick, Jared DE 6-6 270 RFr. Cozad, Neb.
14 *Anthony Blue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CB
6 **Culbert, Major S 6-0 205 Jr. Harbor City, Calif. (Nathaniel Narbonne)
15 Beau Davis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . QB
15 Davis, Beau QB 6-4 180 Sr. Venice, Calif.
16 Jim Ebke. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . QB
52 **Dillard, Phillip LB 6-1 245 Jr. Tulsa, Okla. (Jenks)
17 ***Todd Peterson. . . . . . . . . . . . WR
97 *Dixon, Kevin DT 6-3 285 Sr. Sebring, Fla. (Sebring/Garden City CC)
18 **Menelik Holt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WR
83 Donahue, Matt WR 6-2 175 So. Fremont, Neb.
18 Shawn Sullivan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DB
16 Ebke, Jim QB 6-0 205 So. Lincoln, Neb. (East/South Dakota State)
19 *Quentin Castille. . . . . . . . . . . . . . IB
74 Escamilla, Taylor DT 6-1 270 RFr. Fremont, Neb. (Archbishop Bergan)
20 *Adi Kunalic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PK
92 Fahie, Tyrone DE 6-3 250 So. Virginia Beach, Va. (Ocean Lakes)
21 *Prince Amukamara. . . . . . . . . . DB
27 Ford, Ryan DB 5-11 175 Jr. Winfield, Ala.
22 *Anthony West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CB
12 **Ganz, Joe QB 6-1 210 Sr. Palos Heights, Ill. (Amos Alonzo Stagg)
23 *Latravis Washington . . . . . . . . . LB
41 Gillaspie, Aaron FB 6-2 240 So. Littleton, Colo.
24 *Niles Paul. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WR
11 Gilleylen, Curenski WR 6-0 210 RFr. Leander, Texas
24 Adam Watson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DB
34 ***Glenn, Cody IB 6-0 230 Sr. Rusk, Texas
27 Ryan Ford. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DB
41 *Grove, Thomas LB 6-2 220 So. Arlington, Neb.
27 *Kenny Wilson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IB
28 *Hagg, Eric DB 6-1 200 So. Peoria, Ariz. (Ironwood)
28 *Eric Hagg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DB
80 Harvey, David DE 6-4 260 Jr. LaPlata, Md. (McDonough)
30 Mike Hays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FB
30 Hays, Mike LB 6-1 230 RFr. Papillion, Neb. (Papillion-LaVista)
31 Nick Covey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LB
10 *Helu Jr., Roy IB 6-0 215 So. Danville, Calif. (San Ramon Valley)
31 Austin Jones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IB
90 *Henery, Alex PK/P 6-2 170 So. Omaha, Neb. (Burke)
32 Marcus Mendoza . . . . . . . . . . . . . IB
8 *Henry, Will WR 6-5 215 So. El Paso, Texas (J.M. Hanks)
33 **Matt O'Hanlon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S
85 Hetzer, Tyson TE 6-6 250 Jr. Redding, Calif. (Anderson/Citrus College)
34 ***Cody Glenn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IB
67 **Hickman, Jacob OL 6-4 290 Jr. Bakersfield, Calif. (Centennial)
35 Austin Stafford. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LB
80 Hill, Ryan TE 6-3 245 RFr. Arvada, Colo. (West)
36 **Thomas Lawson . . . . . . . . . . . . FB
18 **Holt, Menelik WR 6-4 220 Jr. San Diego, Calif. (St. Augustine)
36 Matthew May. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S
61 ***Huff, Mike OL 6-4 300 Sr. Ralston, Neb.
37 ***Jake Wesch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PK
69 Iske, Cory OL 6-4 280 Fr. Omaha, Neb. (Millard West)
37 Kevin Thomsen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FB
31 Jones, Austin IB 5-10 200 RFr. Aurora, Colo.
39 Lance Thorell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DB
73 *Jones, D.J. OL 6-5 305 So. Omaha, Neb. (Central)
41 Aaron Gillaspie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FB
78 Jones, Marcel OL 6-7 310 RFr. Phoenix, Ariz. (Trevor Browne)
41 *Thomas Grove. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LB
85 Faron Klingelhofer DE 6-2 250 Fr. Amherst, Neb.
42 Joseph Camarata . . . . . . . . . . . . . LB
54 Koehler, Colton LB 6-1 230 Jr. Harvard, Neb.
43 ***Ty Steinkuhler . . . . . . . . . . . . DT
20 *Kunalic, Adi PK 6-0 185 So. Fort Worth, Texas (North Crowley)
44 *Mike McNeill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TE
12 *Lawrence, Blake LB 6-2 225 So. Shawnee Mission, Kan. (Shawnee Mission West)
45 Justin Makovicka. . . . . . . . . . . . . . FB
36 **Lawson, Thomas FB 6-0 250 Sr. Parker, Colo. (Ponderosa)

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 HuskerPreview2008 Roster
No. Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Position
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown (High School/College) 46 Ben Tasa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TE
3 Lee, Zac QB 6-2 210 So. San Francisco, Calif. (St. Ignatius Prep/San Francisco City College) 47 William Yancy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DE
48 Legate, Tyler FB 5-10 220 So. Neligh, Neb. (Neligh-Oakdale/South Dakota) 48 Tyler Legate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FB
88 Lester, Ben WR 5-10 165 RFr. Tecumseh, Neb. 49 *Dreu Young. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TE
75 Lingenfelter, Luke DE 6-4 250 RFr. Plainview, Neb. 52 **Phillip Dillard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LB
5 ***Lucky, Marlon IB 6-0 215 Sr. North Hollywood, Calif. 53 *Tyler Wortman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LB
45 Makovicka, Justin FB 6-1 240 So. Ulysses, Neb. (East Butler) 54 Colton Koehler. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LB
63 *Martin, Ben DT 6-4 270 So. Lincoln, Neb. (Southwest) 54 Max McShane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OT
59 Martin, Jay LB 6-2 210 RFr. Waverly, Neb. 56 *Shukree Barfield. . . . . . . . . . . . . DT
71 Masin, Mike OL 6-6 330 RFr. Lincoln, Neb. (Southeast) 56 Justin Baumgartner. . . . . . . . . . . . LS
36 May, Matthew S 6-1 195 RFr. Imperial, Neb. (Chase County) 57 Jeff Sayre. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LB
44 *McNeill, Mike TE 6-4 240 So. Kirkwood, Mo. 58 Mike Caputo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OL
54 Max McShane OT 6-6 290 Fr. Elkhorn, Neb. 59 Jay Martin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LB
32 Mendoza, Marcus IB 5-10 185 RFr. Houston, Texas (Spring Woods) 61 ***Mike Huff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OL
90 Moore, Terrence DT 6-3 270 RFr. New Orleans, La. (McDonogh 35) 63 *Ben Martin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DT
5 *Murillo, Armando CB 6-0 190 Sr. Tampa, Fla. (Robinson/Eastern Arizona CC) 65 *Mike Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OL
76 ***Murtha, Lydon OL 6-7 315 Sr. Hutchinson, Minn. 66 Cruz Barrett. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OL
33 **O’Hanlon, Matt S 5-11 195 Sr. Bellevue, Neb. (Bellevue East) 67 **Jacob Hickman . . . . . . . . . . . . . OL
82 **O’Leary, T.J. LS 6-1 235 Sr. Omaha, Neb. (Millard North/New Mexico State) 68 *Keith Williams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OL
24 *Paul, Niles WR 6-1 210 So. Omaha, Neb. (North) 69 Cory Iske . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OL
17 ***Peterson, Todd WR 6-4 215 Sr. Grand Island, Neb. (Central Catholic) 70 ***Matt Slauson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OL
98 ***Potter, Zach DE 6-7 280 Sr. Omaha, Neb. (Creighton Prep) 71 Mike Masin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OL
89 Santin, Jonathon DE 6-3 225 RFr. Fullerton, Neb. 72 *Jaivorio Burkes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OL
57 Sayre, Jeff LB 6-3 215 RFr. Barrington, Ill. 73 *D.J. Jones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OL
88 ***Sievers, Clayton DE 6-4 255 Sr. Elkhorn, Neb. 74 Taylor Escamilla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL
70 ***Slauson, Matt OL 6-5 325 Sr. Colorado Springs, Colo. (Air Force Prep) 75 Luke Lingenfelter. . . . . . . . . . . . . DE
65 *Smith, Mike OL 6-6 285 So. Las Vegas, Nev. (Palo Verde) 76 ***Lydon Murtha . . . . . . . . . . . . . OL
7 Spano, Kody QB 6-2 205 Fr. Stephenville, Texas 78 Marcel Jones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OL
35 Stafford, Austin LB 6-2 205 RFr. Hayward, Calif. 80 David Harvey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DE
43 ***Steinkuhler, Ty DT 6-3 280 Sr. Lincoln, Neb. (Southwest) 80 Ryan Hill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TE
93 **Suh, Ndamukong DT 6-4 300 Jr. Portland, Ore. (Grant) 82 **Wes Cammack. . . . . . . . . . . . . . WR
18 Sullivan, Shawn DB 5-10 190 RFr. Brenham, Texas 82 **T.J. O’Leary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LS
87 ***Swift, Nate WR 6-2 200 Sr. Hutchinson, Minn. 83 Matt Donahue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WR
46 Tasa, Ben TE 6-4 240 So. Humphrey, Neb. (St. Francis) 85 Faron Kungelhoffer . . . . . . . . . . . DE
89 ***Teafatiller, Hunter TE 6-3 235 Sr. Kingsburg, Calif. (San Joaquin Memorial) 85 Tyson Hetzer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TE
3 **Thenarse, Rickey S 6-0 195 Jr. Los Angeles, Calif. (Jordan) 87 ***Nate Swift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WR
37 Thomsen, Kevin FB 6-2 240 RFr. Elkhorn, Neb. 88 ***Clayton Sievers . . . . . . . . . . . . DE
39 Thorell, Lance DB 6-1 190 RFr. Loomis, Neb. 88 Ben Lester. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WR
97 **Titchener, Dan P 6-0 200 Sr. Cheyenne, Wyo. (East) 89 ***Hunter Teafatiller . . . . . . . . . . . TE
99 ***Turner, Barry DE 6-3 260 Sr. Antioch, Tenn. (Brentwood Academy) 89 Jonathon Santin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . DE
23 *Washington, Latravis LB 6-3 225 So. Bradenton, Fla. (Bayshore) 90 *Alex Henery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PK
24 Watson, Adam DB 6-0 190 So. Lincoln, Neb. (Niwot [Colo.]) 90 Terrence Moore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DT
37 ***Wesch, Jake PK 6-1 205 Sr. North Bend, Neb. 92 Tyrone Fahie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL
22 *West, Anthony CB 6-0 200 So. San Diego, Calif. (Point Loma) 93 **Ndamukong Suh. . . . . . . . . . . . DT
68 *Williams, Keith OL 6-5 310 So. Florissant, Mo. (McClure North) 94 Jared Crick. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DE
27 *Wilson, Kenny IB 6-0 225 Sr. Liberal, Kan. (Butler County CC) 95 *Pierre Allen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DE
2 Witt, Patrick QB 6-4 225 RFr. Wylie, Texas 97 **Dan Titchener. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P
53 *Wortman, Tyler LB 6-3 235 Sr. Grand Island, Neb. (Central Catholic) 97 *Kevin Dixon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DT
47 Yancy, William DE 6-4 245 RFr. Glendale, Ariz. (Ironwood) 98 ***Zach Potter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DE
49 *Young, Dreu TE 6-4 240 So. Cozad, Neb. 99 ***Barry Turner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DE

w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 4 5
 joe ganz

4 6 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8

Ganz rides record-setting finish into 2008
Quarterbacks
T
hey’d just watched their son, Joe
Ganz, shatter several Nebraska single-
game records in his first career start at
Memorial Stadium.
Mike Ganz and his wife, Debbie, the proud
parents of the Huskers’ newest quarterback,
were traveling home to Chicago. They stopped
at a truck stop along Interstate 80 in Nebraska.
Both entered the store. Mike
headed back to the car first, but
“I was ready for the last three years.
Debbie stayed a little longer.
When she reached the counter
to pay for her purchases, she
overheard another woman in line I finally got my number called, and I
talking to the clerk.
“Oh my God, that was Joe didn’t want to be one of those guys who
Ganz’s dad!” cried the customer.
Debbie could only shake her
wasn’t ready.”
head in amazement. Mike had
been interviewed by the local
television stations earlier that day.
Already, Nebraska knew him.
Even the parents of the Huskers’ top signal
caller will find themselves in the spotlight.
“They like it,” Joe Ganz said. “They like it a
lot. They’re happy for me.”
Mom and Dad weren’t the only ones who’d
traveled to see Ganz play that day against
Kansas State. Three high school friends also
came. They watched Ganz complete 30-of-40
passes for a school-record 510 yards and a
school-record seven touchdown passes. His 528
yards of total offense also set a school record.
Nebraska won, 73-31.
After the game, fans in the parking lot
outside the stadium greeted Ganz with various
congratulatory messages.
“My friends were like, ‘People know who
you are when you’re walking down the street?’ ”
Ganz said. “I’m like, yeah … Well, I guess now
they do.”
True, it hadn’t always been this way for
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 4 7
Quarterback Preview
Ganz. But maybe the years of obscurity finally
worked to his advantage. After all, when was the
last time a record-setting Nebraska quarterback
didn’t have his own jersey for sale in area athletic
apparel stores?
“They’ve been wearing old Joe Dailey jerseys
and passing them off as mine,” said Ganz, who
wears the same No. 12 as Dailey, Nebraska’s
JOE GANZ
quarterback in 2004. “Hopefully I can get a
jersey before I leave.”
It’s the least that could be done for Ganz,
who enters his senior season in sole possession,
at long last, of Nebraska’s starting quarterback
position. A new coaching staff, with offensive
coordinator Shawn Watson returning, figures
to tweak the offense to suit Ganz’s dual-threat
abilities. That could mean more zone reads and
option plays.
“I’d rather run the ball than just sit and hand
off every time,” Ganz said. “I kind of like
having the decision be in my hands. Kind of
like it was in high school; we hardly ever turned
and handed off. It was either option or zone
read, or we were throwing the ball. I like having
the decision rest on my shoulders rather than
handing off and hoping for the best.”
Ganz proved that with a remarkable stretch
of play late last season. When Sam Keller
suffered a season-ending shoulder injury at
Texas, Ganz, finally presented an opportunity
to prove himself, delivered masterfully in
Nebraska’s final three games.
“I just went out there and had fun,” Ganz
said. “I was kind of sick of sitting on the bench,
and all of the sudden, I got my shot. I kind of
went out there and made the most of it.”
In November alone, Ganz accounted for three
of the five 400-yard passing games in school
history, and three of the top five games in total
offense. Nebraska averaged nearly 600 yards of
offense in the three games Ganz started. His
15 touchdowns in a three-game stretch were a
school record.
“I’m glad I was prepared and
ready,” Ganz said. “There are a lot
of people who get their shot and
they’re not ready. They don’t take
advantage of it. And then they’re
back to where they started.
“I was ready. I was ready for
the last three years. I finally got
my number called, and I didn’t
want to be one of those guys who
wasn’t ready.”
Now, is Ganz ready to help
Nebraska’s program get back on
track? The one statistic Ganz points out from
last season is 1-2 – the Huskers’ record in the
three games he started.
“It would’ve been a lot better if we were 2-1
or 3-0,” Ganz said. “I share my success with
how well we do as a team.”
“If I have a good year and we’re 6-6, I won’t
really be happy. But if I have an OK year, where
I help the team win a couple games and we
finish 9-3, I’ll be a lot happier.”
G
anz has only one season, under new
coach Bo Pelini, to help turn things
around. It’s pressure he welcomes.
“It’s normal for the quarterback
to be under pressure,” he said. “Every team, if
you don’t have good quarterback play, you’re not
going to win. That’s how it is. I’m used to that
pressure and I understand it. It is a lot of pressure,
but I’d rather it be on me than anybody else.”

In high school, Ganz was lightly recruited,
somebody who seemed destined for Eastern
Michigan. He was a late addition to former
Nebraska coach Bill Callahan’s hastily arranged
recruiting class of 2004.
As Ganz puts it, “I was a last-second grab.”
He then watched as the previous coaching
staff trotted in quarterback after quarterback
after quarterback, each one destined to take
Nebraska to greatness. The message to Ganz
always seemed to be something about better
competition or the need for depth.
“I don’t know how many ‘saviors’ I’ve had
in my time. Four?” Ganz said. “I think the only
one to pan out was Zac.”
That, of course, was Zac Taylor, who became
Nebraska’s all-time passing leader in only two
seasons.
Others didn’t live up to their hype. Jordan
Adams. Harrison Beck. Last season’s “savior,”
Keller, had strong moments, but the season-
ending injury, with three games remaining,
put his Husker career in the disappointment
category.
“It may hurt kids, coming in with all that
pressure,” Ganz said. “It was probably a little
easier for me. Nobody really expected anything
from me. Nobody really thought, ‘This kid’s
going to be the savior of the program,’ like they
did with Harrison, like they did with Sam.
“I’ve seen my fair share of saviors. Hopefully
dub me the next one.”
Ganz then second-guessed
statement.
“Actually, don’t dub me as the next savior,
please. It will just be a curse.”
POSITION OUTLOOK
Unlike last season, there’s no uncertainty
about Nebraska’s starting quarterback as fall
camp approaches.
It’s Joe Ganz. The senior started the final
three games of 2007, shattering several Nebraska
single-game records along the way, and did
nothing in the spring to lose the confidence of a
new coaching staff.
In other words, Ganz, at long last, is the man.
There is, however, an important question
regarding the quarterback position.
Who’s the backup to Ganz? Patrick Witt?
Zac Lee?
4 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
Quarterback Preview
“Up to this point, Patrick has had a little
edge,” Nebraska offensive coordinator and
quarterbacks coach Shawn Watson said after
the spring game.
Witt, the sophomore from Wylie, Texas,
started for the White team in the April spring
game and saw snaps for both teams. Combined,
Witt was 8-of-15 for 78 yards.
In leading the White team on a 75-yard
scoring drive, Witt completed all four of his
pass attempts.
“I think the confidence is a big part of it,”
Witt said after the game. “Knowing the plays,
being able to step in the huddle and really take
command of it. I think the guys in the huddle
respect me a lot more, knowing that I know
what I’m supposed to do.”
Lee, the junior college transfer who redshirted
last season, was 6-of-11 for 87 yards and a
touchdown in the spring game. He played as a
backup to Ganz on the Red team.
A sophomore, Lee was named Nebraska’s
offensive scout team MVP last season. He
played the 2006 season at San Francisco City
College and threw for more than 3,400 yards
and 35 touchdowns while completing 64 percent
of his passes, but a knee injury sidelined him in
the spring of 2007 at Nebraska.
Lee has built a reputation as a player with a
strong arm who possesses good mobility in the
pocket.
“What I’ve seen so far, he’s got a ridiculously
his own strong arm,” senior receiver Nate Swift said.
“He can make any throw.”
Swift told of how one day in spring practice,
Lee threw the ball some 50 yards off his back
foot.
“Didn’t even look like he was throwing it at
all,” Swift said.
Said Lee of his abilities: “I like to think that
I’m somebody that drops back, and then, when
needed, can create a play or extend a play and
get receivers time to get open.”
Witt, though, in addition to his strong
physical traits, appears to have a better grasp of
the offense.
“You’ve got to remember, this is the first time
Zac has been asked to run the offense,” Watson
said, “and he’s gotten better every week of the
spring.”
Senior Beau Davis shouldn’t be counted out,
although he had only five pass attempts in the
spring game. True freshman Kody Spano got
a jump start on his Husker career by enrolling
early and participating in spring practices. He
was 4-of-6 for 47 yards in the spring game, but
barring injury to those in front of Spano, it’s not
likely he’ll be a major factor come fall.
AT A GLANCE
Returning Quarterbacks
Beau Davis 6-4 180 Sr.
Joe Ganz 6-1 210 Sr.
Zac Lee 6-2 210 So.
Patrick Witt 6-4 225 RFr.
Incoming Quarterbacks
Kody Spano 6-2 205 Fr.
#12 • Joe Ganz
Sr., Quarterback, 6-1, 210
Palos Heights, Ill. (Amos Alonzo Stagg)
Ganz completed 58.6 percent
of his passes for 1,435 yards and
16 touchdowns in 2007. He also
rushed 20 times for 93 yards and
three touchdowns. He finally got
his chance at the end of the season,
filling in for injured QB Sam Keller.
Ganz started the final three games (Kansas, Kansas State,
Colorado) and accounted for three of the five 400-yard
passing days in school history, in addition to three of the
top five games in total offense. He is the Nebraska single-
game record holder for passing yards (510), total offense
(528) and passing touchdowns (7), all in last year’s 73-31
rout of Kansas State.
#2 • Patrick Witt
Redshirt Freshman, Quarterback, 6-4, 225
Wylie, Texas
Witt has good size and has
exhibited a strong arm and solid
all-around skills. He joined the
Huskers at mid-year last year and
participated in 2007 spring drills.
He has continued to learn the NU
system and adds depth at the
quarterback position. As a senior at Wylie, Texas, High
School he threw for 1,846 yards and 17 touchdowns
while completing 57 percent of his pass attempts. He
has adjusted well to the college classroom as he sports
a 4.0 grade point average.
#3 • Zac Lee
So., Quarterback, 6-2, 210
San Francisco, Calif.
(St. Ignatius Prep/San Francisco City College)
Lee continues to add depth at
the quarterback position. He
came to Nebraska with some
impressive numbers compiled at
San Francisco City College during
the 2006 season. He led his team
to a 10-2 record while throwing
for better than 3,400 yards and 35 touchdowns while
completing 64 percent of his passes. He was ranked as
the nation’s top junior college quarterback by Rivals.com
and SuperPrep Magazine. Lee has a strong arm and good
mobility.
 Coaches Call-in Quarterback Preview

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 marlon lucky

5 0 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8

Lucky brings fresh outlook to senior season
RUNNING BACKS
T
he rain fell steadily one day last spring
in Lincoln, Neb. It was cold rain – the
kind that makes you feel thankful you
brought your umbrella.
Unfortunately, the wise old man’s umbrella
was broken.
OK, so Marlon Lucky isn’t exactly ready for
retirement. He recently turned 22.
However, “seeing all the young fellas on the
team, you feel old,” the Nebraska
senior I-back says.
By the way, grandpa Lucky
wasn’t grousing about his broken
“I guess I’ve learned that life has a lot
umbrella. Lucky rarely complains
at all these days. After all, he’s
to offer.”
weathered his share of storms
since his much-anticipated arrival
on campus in 2005. He seems
much more at peace these days.
“I remember when I first got here (to
Lincoln), I about lost my mind,” says the native
of North Hollywood, Calif. “I got homesick
and everything. You look back on some of those
things, and it’s kind of funny.”
Lucky says Nebraska feels like home now. His
homesickness gradually subsided and basically
disappeared in the spring of 2007, he says. He’s
no longer the shy and struggling student, the
unsure and hesitant rusher, who so often tried to
bounce inside running plays to the outside. He
no longer feels engulfed by the pressure of being
a five-star recruit.
In 2005, he was ranked by Rivals.com as the
nation’s No. 2 running back.
“To please the fans, I had to come out and just
rip up the field,” he says. “I learned you can’t do
that just coming into college football. The game is
much faster. You have to come in and learn first.”
Now, however, “that’s all way past me,” he
says.
He smiles a lot more than he used to, friends
say. In short, the homesick kid from California
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 5 1
Running Back Preview
has matured into a confident adult before our
eyes. He’s on track to complete his sociology
degree in December of 2009.
He also seems on track for a big senior season.
“I really didn’t have a great season last year
– at least not the season I wanted to have,” he
said. “But I finished it off great.”
Now Lucky hopes to carry that momentum
into the 2008 season. Continuing his late 2007
marlon lucky
surge – he topped 100 all-purpose yards in each
of the final five games to finish with 1,743 – was
the impetus behind his decision to remain at
Nebraska instead of opting for the NFL.
He still wants to become a stronger runner
both mentally and physically.
Bottom line: He was unsure if he was ready
to make the big jump.
Nebraska first-year head coach Bo Pelini was
happy to keep Lucky in the fold. Lucky discussed
the NFL with Pelini about a week before the
mid-January deadline for underclassmen to
declare for the draft. That meeting was the first
time Lucky and Pelini visited at length.
“Bo keeps it really simple,” Lucky says with a
chuckle. “He said if you’re not going in the first
or second (round), you shouldn’t leave.”
The 6-0, 215-pound Lucky was projected
as a third-round selection in an NFL pre-draft
evaluation.
“(Pelini) wanted me to help our team out,”
Lucky said. “I’ve heard great things about him.
I liked his attitude when I talked to him, so I was
like, ‘I’ll stay.’ ”
When last season started, Lucky was leaning
strongly toward skipping his senior season.
However, “as the season went on and we
were losing, and we didn’t have that team spirit
anymore, I made the decision to stay,” he said.
But he reversed field once again after the
season.
“A lot of people put pressure on me, and I
started thinking about leaving again,” he said.
“Friends at home were saying I should go to the
NFL. Everybody was putting in their 2 cents,
and it was getting down to the nitty-gritty.”
“I’m just like any other player,” he adds. “I want
to go out with a winning season and get back to a
bowl game, because bowl games are fun. I want to
have fun my last year.”
So, Lucky no longer is holding
back. Not only has he matured off
the field, he evidently has grown
up on it. He raised eyebrows last
November when he admitted
he paced himself at times last
season, if ever so slightly, mindful
of the injury bug that slowed him
as a sophomore.
The thing is, Lucky knows he can’t afford to
hold back now, what with sophomore Roy Helu
Jr. enjoying a breakout spring and 6-1, 235-pound
Quentin Castille saying he’s determined to be an
every-down back. What’s more, redshirt freshman
Marcus Mendoza also flashed big-time speed a
few times in the Red-White Spring Game.
L
ucky says he was surprised when senior
Cody Glenn told him he was moving
from I-back to linebacker. However,
Lucky says, Glenn handled the transition
well during spring ball.
“He’s already like a leader over there,” Lucky
said. “He’s always talking. He’s really happy.”
Lucky can relate.
Some college kids hit a rough patch and drop
out, while others persevere even when the hard
and cold rain falls and it feels like it’ll never end.
At the end of the day, Lucky is thankful he
stayed in Lincoln.
“I guess I’ve learned that life has a lot to
offer,” he said.

POSITION OUTLOOK
Bottom line: Marlon Lucky stands atop the
Huskers’ I-back depth chart entering preseason
practice in early August. After all, he’s the Big
12 Conference leading returning rusher.
However, Roy Helu Jr. generated quite a
buzz in spring practice. To be sure, Lucky
and Helu will get a large share of the carries
in 2008, with Quentin Castille and Marcus
Mendoza also ready for a significant amount
of action.
Lucky, a senior from North Hollywood,
Calif., last season averaged 84.9 yards rushing
in 12 games while also catching a school-record
75 passes for 705 yards. The 6-foot, 215-pound
speedster led the nation in receptions by a
running back.
“It’s a tribute to Marlon that he doesn’t let the
ego get to him,” said Nebraska running backs
coach Tim Beck. “He’s ultimately the senior,
and he’s ultimately the guy who’s had a lot of
success and the guy we’re going to ride. But I
think he realizes we need those other guys, too.
The more success they have, the more success
he’s going to have.”
Beck said during spring ball that Lucky was
playing very well.
“He’s working on the things he needs to
work on,” the coach said. “You know, it’s easy
for him to catch a toss or screen pass or run an
option play. We’re working on him blocking.
He’s really done a better job of sticking his face
in there and doing those types of things – the
things we felt like he needed to improve in his
game to be an all-around back. So he may not
be really flashy out there in practice because
I’m not always using him in that (flashy type of)
manner, because I want him to be the guy pass
protecting, I want him to block that linebacker
or defensive end.”
Lucky played his best football late last
season, topping 100 all-purpose yards in each
of the final five games. Meanwhile, Castille
and Helu, competing as true freshmen,
finished with 343 yards and 209 yards rushing,
respectively. Cody Glenn, hobbled by a foot
injury, added 78 yards rushing. Glenn, a senior,
moved to linebacker during spring ball, helping
pave the way for Helu, Castille and Mendoza
to get increased repetitions.
Helu, of Danville, Calif., opened the coaches’
5 2 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
Running Back Preview
eyes with impressive play early on in spring drills.
“He does everything,” Beck said. “He’s a
physical presence blocking. He can run the ball
inside, outside. He has good vision and quick
feet in the hole. He’s catching the ball well for
us. He’s understanding (the offense) better, so I
think he’s playing faster. You put a young kid in
an offense like they had . . . That’s a lot of stuff,
man. Your head’s swimming.”
A standout at San Ramon Valley High
School, Helu finished his senior season with
1,085 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns while
adding 300 receiving yards on 20 catches. He
wasn’t nearly as ballyhooed coming out of high
school as Castille, a 6-1, 245-pounder who has
sneaky speed. As a senior at La Porte (Texas)
High School, Castille rushed for more than
1,800 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Castille’s tendency to fumble last season at
Nebraska caused nervousness. He was working
hard during the spring to break the habit.
At any rate, Beck is glad to have quality
depth.
How does he plan to rotate his backs?
“I think you go with who’s hot,” he said.
“(But) I think it matters which team you’re
playing and what your game plan is. But I
definitely think you need to have three. You
look at teams that have that, they are probably
more successful. When you play 12, 14 games,
someone’s going to get hurt. And it’s not
always an injury – sometimes it’s just getting
beat up.
“That happened to us at Kansas last season a
little bit. Both (Jake) Sharp and B Mac (Brandon
McAnderson) were beat up. They were day-to-
day, and we really didn’t have a third.”
AT A GLANCE
Returning Running Backs
Marlon Lucky 6-0 215 Sr.
Roy Helu Jr. 6-0 215 So.
Quentin Castille 6-1 245 So.
Marcus Mendoza 5-10 185 Rfr.
Returning Fullbacks
Thomas Lawson 6-0 240 Sr.
Justin Makovicka 6-1 235 So.
Kevin Thomsen 6-2 240 Rfr.
Aaron Gillaspie 6-2 240 So.
Tyler Legate 5-10 220 So.
Incoming Running Backs
Collins Okafor 6-1 195 Fr.
Lester Ward 6-3 215 Fr.
#5 • Marlon Lucky
Sr., I-Back, 6-0, 215
North Hollywood, Calif.
Lucky is one of the top returning
offensive players in the Big 12
Conference after earning Second
Team All-Big 12 honors a year ago.
He is the league’s top returning
rusher after averaging 84.9 yards
per game in 2007. In addition to
rushing for over 1,000 yards, Lucky
also had a record-setting season as a receiver. He caught
a Nebraska single-season record 75 passes for 705
yards and three touchdowns. The 75 catches bettered
the previous Nebraska season record by 20 and he led
the nation in catches by a running back. Overall, Lucky
totaled 1,743 all-purpose yards in 2007, seventh in
school history and the most by a Husker in 10 seasons.
#10 • Roy Helu Jr.
So., I-Back, 6-0, 215
Danville, Calif. (San Ramon Valley)
Helu played a significant role
in the Husker offense in 2007
despite just being a freshman.
He finished as Nebraska’s third-
leading rusher with 45 carries for
209 yards. He also caught five
passes for 40 yards. His season-
best was 56 yards on nine carries
against nationally-ranked Kansas.
#32 • Marcus Mendoza
Redshirt Freshman, I-Back, 5-10, 185
Houston, Texas (Spring Woods)
Mendoza redshirted last season
and is hoping to work his way
into the mix at the I-Back position
this fall. He was also a dangerous
return threat during his prep
career at Spring Woods High
School in Houston, Texas. Coming
out of high school, Mendoza was a
four-star prospect by Rivals.com, which ranked him the
No. 12 all-purpose running back in the country.
#19 • Quentin Castille
So., I-Back, 6-1, 245
LaPorte, Texas
Castille, a true freshman, served
as Marlon Lucky’s top backup
at I-Back in 2007. He was used
heavily in short yardage and
goal-line situations. He was
Nebraska’s second-leading rusher
with 76 carries for 343 yards and
four touchdowns. He had four
games with 50 or more yards and he lost only four yards
on his 76 rushing attempts. His top game was against
Oklahoma State as he rushed 20 times for 102 yards.
#27 • Kenny Wilson
Sr., I-Back, 6-0, 225
Liberal, Kan. (Butler County CC)
Wilson is trying to work himself
back into the mix at I-Back for
the Huskers. He missed the entire
2007 season because of injury
and redshirted. Wilson was a key
part of a four-man running back
rotation in 2006. He rushed for 335
yards and four touchdowns.
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 nate swift

5 4 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8

Swift survives many changes over career
WIDE RECEIVERS
A
redshirt season, for many players, is a
challenging, exhausting, unrewarding
period that doesn’t exactly conjure
joyful images.
For some, the following season doesn’t get
much better.
It wasn’t that way for wide receiver Nate Swift.
A fifth-year senior, Swift enters his final season
with Nebraska with fond memories of his early
Husker years.
Swift, a native of Hutchinson,
Minn., came to Lincoln with the
mindset of redshirting. He figured
“Five years here, it’s quite a long time
he wouldn’t grasp the offense
with the redshirt and everything. But
immediately. And running on the
scout team really wasn’t all that I’ve had a lot of excitement and a lot of
bad. In fact, Swift enjoyed it.
“I was going up against playing time.”
Fabian Washington and Lornell
McPherson and all those guys.
They made it a lot of fun,” Swift said. “They
went hard every time, and I went hard.
“I beat them every once in a while, and that
makes you feel good when you beat a senior.”
Swift felt even better when he started beating
opposing defensive backs the following season.
His 45 receptions in 2005 led the team and set a
Nebraska freshman record.
Since then, Swift has been a key cog in
Nebraska’s offense. Don’t expect that to change,
even as a new coaching staff tinkers with former
coach Bill Callahan’s West Coast offense.
“If there is a difference, I think it’s going to be
instead of basing the run off the pass, it might be
basing the pass off the run – establishing the run
a little bit more in the game early on, and then
going to the pass,” Swift said.
“We kind of said we used to do that a lot, but I
think it was a little bit more pass-oriented the last
couple of years.”
Swift still envisions a balanced offense.
Whether it’s balanced enough to give Swift a
chance at making more dents in the Nebraska
record books remains to be seen.
Swift, who’s played in all 38 games over the
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 5 5
Wide Receiver Preview
past three seasons, enters his senior season with
103 career receptions. That ranks fourth on
Nebraska’s all-time charts, and is 40 receptions
shy of Nebraska’s all-time record, held by
Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers.
Swift has always played the “X” position,
and sometimes the Zebra, or slot receiver. He’s
playing under his same receivers coach, Ted
Gilmore, and his same offensive coordinator,
Nate swift
although Shawn Watson will be solely in charge
of play-calling.
“Every year there’s going to be new routes
here and there, but mostly it’s the same thing,”
Swift said. “There are different concepts every
year. They throw a couple new plays here and
there. It doesn’t really change that much.”
The biggest wrinkle to the offense appears to be
more option and zone read plays, something that
suits the abilities of senior quarterback Joe Ganz.
“It’s not that bad to block for him out there
on the end,” Swift said of running option plays.
“But I don’t think we’re going to be doing it 15,
20 times a game.”
Ironically, this offense could be more similar to
the one Swift expected to run when he committed
to Nebraska in 2003. He was being recruited by
head coach Frank Solich, offensive coordinator
Barney Cotton and assistant coach Turner Gill.
That staff, though, was replaced by Callahan.
Only Gill remained, and that for only one season.
Swift said he reconsidered his decision to
come to Nebraska.
“Yeah, there was a little doubt in there,” he
said. “I didn’t really know if I wanted to stay,
who the coach was going to be for that two- or
three-week period.”
When Callahan came to Lincoln, bringing the
West Coast offense with him, Swift knew he was
going to remain a Husker.
The decision seemed a good one almost
immediately. After a productive redshirt season
in 2004, Swift entered 2005 penciled in as
the starting “X” receiver. But he sprained his
shoulder in fall camp, sat out nearly two weeks,
and lost his starting spot.
He still played in every non-conference game,
entering the game for a play here and there, but
didn’t catch a pass.
“I had a couple thrown to me,” Swift said,
“but didn’t catch ‘em.”
That changed immediately
when Nebraska began conference
play. In the Huskers’ Big 12
Conference opener against
Iowa State, Swift turned in a
breakthrough performance. He
recorded his first five career
catches, for 81 yards, helping
Nebraska to a 27-20 double-
overtime victory over the
Cyclones in Lincoln.
“Once I got that chance, it felt good,” Swift
said. “I felt right, I guess.”
S
wift hasn’t missed a game since. His
numbers weren’t as impressive in 2006
– when Maurice Purify came to Lincoln
– with a mere 22 catches in 14 games.
But Swift had 36 receptions last season, and as
one of only two veteran receivers returning,
figures to have solid numbers again this season.
Nebraska will also count upon Swift for
leadership – he’s a member of the Unity Council,
something new coach Bo Pelini has returned to
the program.
“It seems like my time here has gone fast, but
it also seems like it’s taken a long time,” Swift
said. “Five years here, it’s quite a long time with
the redshirt and everything. But I’ve had a lot of
excitement and a lot of playing time.
“Everyone I’ve talked to who’s done with
football said the biggest thing they miss isn’t really
the game, it’s being in the locker room and being
around the team. It’s going to be tough when it’s
over, not having those guys with you.”

POSITION OUTLOOK
When Menelik Holt catches a pass in practice,
teammates call it a “Mo” catch.
That’s a good thing.
The comparison is to Maurice Purify, the
big, tall, physical receiver who caught 91 passes
for 1,444 yards and 16 touchdowns in his two
seasons with Nebraska.
Holt, who will be a junior, has only four career
catches. But when looking at the 6-4, 220-pound
Holt, it’s hard not to think of Purify.
Holt seems OK with that.
“My thing is, I’m just as big as him. I’m just
as strong,” Holt said. “I’ve just got to work on
playing just as big.”
Holt is one of many young or unproven
receivers in Nebraska’s offense who has a chance
to make his name known this fall.
In fact, the emergence of new players will
be somewhat of a necessity for Nebraska’s
passing game. The Huskers lose four seniors
who combined for 293 career receptions and 34
touchdowns – most notably, Purify.
In Purify, the Huskers lose their big-body
receiver. In Terrence Nunn and Frantz Hardy,
they lose speed.
That’s where Curenski Gilleylen has his
chance. A redshirted freshman from Leander,
Texas, Gilleylen ran the 100 meters in 10.22
seconds in high school, breaking a school
record.
Husker fans saw that speed in the spring game,
when Gilleylen beat cornerback Anthony West
for a 77-yard touchdown pass from Joe Ganz.
“It’s nice to have somebody like that who can
stretch the field vertical,” Ganz said.
After the game, coach Bo Pelini said Gilleylen
“could be a big weapon in our offense.”
Other players with opportunities to shine
include sophomore Niles Paul, sophomore Will
Henry and junior Chris Brooks. Combined, they
have two career catches – one each by Paul and
Brooks.
“We all look at it as it’s our time,” Brooks said.
“We have to step up. We have to fill a lot of shoes
and we’re going to fill them.”
Keep an eye on Paul. He wasn’t used as much
last season as many anticipated – Paul had a
reception in the first game against Nevada. He
had none thereafter.
Receivers coach Ted Gilmore said after the
5 6 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
Wide Receiver Preview
Spring Game that the battle for playing time is
wide open.
The youngsters will be able to lean on a couple
of veterans, Nate Swift and Todd Peterson. Ganz
said they’ll be his go-to receivers, his “security
blanket.”
Youth could also be served at tight end, where
Nebraska loses three players, including Sean Hill,
who had 18 catches and three touchdowns last
season.
Hunter Teafatiller is the most experienced of
the returning tight ends, although sophomores
Mike McNeill and Dreu Young proved during
the spring they could be a valuable part of the
offense.
“I think there’s some guys who can get
downfield and make some plays,” said Ron
Brown, the longtime Nebraska receivers coach
who’s returned to coach the tight ends. “We’re
not the largest tight ends in the world. We’ve got
to work real hard in the blocking phase, but that’s
going to come.”
Junior college transfer Tyson Hetzer hopes
to return for fall practice; he injured his knee
early in the spring and missed the rest of spring
practice. Redshirted freshman Ryan Hill could
also be a factor.
AT A GLANCE
Returning Receivers
Chris Brooks 6-2 210 Jr.
Wes Cammack 5-11 195 Jr.
Curenski Gilleylen 6-0 210 RFr.
Will Henry 6-5 215 So.
Menelik Holt 6-4 220 So.
Ben Lester 5-10 165 RFr.
Niles Paul 6-1 210 So.
Todd Peterson 6-4 215 Sr.
Nate Swift 6-2 200 Sr.
Returning Tight Ends
Ryan Hill 6-3 245 RFr.
Mike McNeill 6-4 240 So.
Ben Tasa 6-4 240 So.
Hunter Teafatiller 6-3 235 Sr.
Dreu Young 6-4 240 So.
Incoming Receivers
Antonio Bell 6-2 180 Fr.
Khiry Cooper 6-2 180 Fr.
Tim Marlowe 5-10 160 Fr.
Steven Osborne 6-4 185 Fr.
Incoming Tight Ends
Ben Cotton 6-6 230 Fr.
Tyson Hetzer 6-6 245 Jr.
#44 • Mike McNeill
So., Tight End, 6-4, 240
Kirkwood, Mo.
McNeill is in line to make a
significant jump in playing time
in 2008. The sophomore has great
receiving skills and has worked
hard in the weight room to build
on his 6-4 frame. He played in
eight games as a redshirt freshman
in 2007, serving as a reserve behind J.B. Phillips, Josh
Mueller and Sean Hill. McNeill’s lone catch was a
25-yarder against Nevada in the season-opener.
#89 • Hunter Teafatiller
Sr., Tight End, 6-3, 235
Kingsburg, Calif. (San Joaquin Memorial)
Teafatiller has played a key role
among Husker tight ends the
past two seasons. He was used
primarily as a blocker, seeing
action in the final 11 games of
2007. He caught four passes for
34 yards and also contributed on
special teams, running back four kickoffs for 37 yards.
His biggest season came as a sophomore as he caught
five passes for 78 yards, but four of those catches went
for touchdowns. Due to off the field problems, his status
for the upcoming season was uncertain at press time.
#49 • Dreu Young
So., Tight End, 6-4, 240
Cozad, Neb.
Young may be in line to see a
significant increase in playing
time after seeing limited action
as a reserve tight end last season.
However, with the departure of
three seniors and the questionable
status of Hunter Teafatiller, Young
could be getting a chance this fall. Originally a walk-on
from Cozad, NE, Young earned his way in the tight end
rotation with a strong showing in fall camp last year.
He played in eight games and had a 14-yard reception
against Nevada in the season-opener.
#24 •Niles Paul
So., Wide Receiver, 6-1, 210
Omaha, Neb. (North)
With the loss of four senior wide
receivers, Paul is one of a handful
of talented young wideouts who
will be looking to work their
way in the receiving rotation in
2008. He played in seven games
last season, serving as a reserve
receiver and also assisting on kickoff coverage. He had
one catch in the season-opener against Nevada. The
Omaha native was one of the top recruits in Nebraska’s
2007 class and was one of 11 true freshmen to see
action last fall.
 Wide Receiver Preview

#17 • Todd Peterson #11 • Curenski Gilleylen #8 • Will Henry

Sr., Wide Receiver, 6-4, 215 Redshirt Freshman, Wide Receiver, 6-0, 210 So., Wide Receiver, 6-5, 215
Grand Island, Neb. (Central Catholic) Leander, Texas El Paso, Texas (J.M. Hanks)
Peterson has 46 career catches Gilleylen hopes to take advantage Henry’s size is what makes him
for 816 yards, an average of 17.7 of opportunities provided with such an attractive target for
yards per catch, entering the the departure of four experienced the Husker passing offense. At
2008 season. The Grand Island wide receivers from a year ago. 6-5, he has the stature to create
native needs 184 receiving yards He redshirted a year ago but mismatches against opposing
this season to become the 17th made some favorable impressions defenders. He appeared in two
player in school history with 1,000 in spring practice. He could games last season, seeing action
receiving yards. He could also move into the top 10 on challenge for playing time with a good showing this fall. against Ball State and Iowa State. Henry developed a
Nebraska’s career receptions and career touchdown reputation as one of the hardest workers on the squad
lists. In 2007 he finished the year with 18 receptions for #18 • Menelik Holt during his redshirt year in 2006.
359 yards and five touchdowns. He is also a standout in Jr., Wide Receiver, 6-4, 220
the classroom, three times earning First Team Academic San Diego, Calif. (St. Augustine) #3 • Wes Cammack
All-Big 12 honors. Holt saw action in all 12 games last Jr., Wide Receiver, 5-11, 195
season. His playing time increased DeWitt, Neb. (Tri County)
#87 • Nate Swift late in the season and he made the Cammack has provided great
Sr., Wide Receiver, 6-2, 200 most of his opportunity. He caught depth for the Huskers at the
Hutchinson, Minn. four passes for 97 yards in the wide receiver position and has
Swift has played in all 38 games season’s final four games, the first also found a way to get onto the
over the past three seasons and catches of his career. playing field via special teams
enters his senior year in position work. He played in 11 of 12 games,
to challenge the Huskers’ all-time #1 Chris Brooks primarily on special teams. He has
receptions record. For his career, Jr. Wide Receiver 6-2, 210 also been a key contributor in the classroom as he has
Swift has 103 receptions good St. Louis, Mo. (Hazelwood East) three times been named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s
for 1,535 yards. The 103 catches Brooks has seen limited action at Fall Academic Honor Roll. In 2007 he was First Team
ranks fourth on the Husker career charts, 40 receptions Nebraska, after a heralded prep Academic All-Big 12.
behind Johnny Rodgers’ school-record total. Swift’s career. Rivals.com ranked him
yardage total is third on the NU list, trailing Rodgers the No. 2 prospect in Missouri
and former teammate Terrence Nunn, while his 12 following a senior season in which
career touchdown receptions place him within striking he caught 66 passes for 1,200 yards
distance of second on that list. He played in all 12 and 14 touchdowns in the state’s
games last year with 36 catches for 520 yards. He holds large-schools classification. He played in four games as a
the freshman records for receptions (45), receiving yards true freshman in 2005 then redshirted. He played in only
(641) and touchdowns (7). one game last season, with one reception.

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w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 5 7
 mike huff

5 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8

Huff nearing end of life-long journey as Husker
OFFENSIVE LINE
W
hen Omaha native Mike Huff says
he was set to be a Husker at an
early age, he means it.
His parents made certain of it.
“When they took me from the delivery
room,” Huff said, “they brought me home in
a Huskers onesie.”
No wonder, then, that Huff believes he
was bred “to be a Nebraska boy,” or, more
specifically, a member of the Husker football
team.
That dream came true. And, like most
dreams, it’s gone fast for Huff, who’s entering
his senior season as a member of Nebraska’s
offensive line.
“I’m a senior now, and I still don’t think
it’s set in that I’ve accomplished something I
wanted to do since I was a little kid,” Huff said.
“One day I’ll sit back and think about it all.”
He’ll have much to ponder.
Huff could begin by reflecting
on his reunion, of sorts, with
Barney Cotton, and what could
be the resurgence of Nebraska’s
“I know what Nebraska fans think of
pipeline. Both are key storylines the program, and I know what it means
in Huff ’s fifth and final season in
Lincoln. to be a player here.”
Huff, the Huskers’ starting
left guard, is one of four players
returning who made at least six starts last
season on the offensive line. He’s started 19
games over the past two seasons.
“I’ve always thought that we had talent, but
now we have a lot of experience coming back,”
Huff said. “In past years, I wouldn’t be able to
say that about our two-deep.”
And then there’s Cotton, the Nebraska
coach who recruited Huff, a standout at
Ralston High School, throughout the 2003
season. That was Cotton’s first go-round with
Nebraska’s coaching staff. It lasted one year
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 5 9
Offensive Line Preview
before the staff overhaul of 2004 that brought
in Bill Callahan as head coach and Dennis
Wagner as offensive line coach; Cotton landed
at Iowa State as offensive coordinator, the same
position he’d held at Nebraska.
“When he went to Iowa State, he actually
talked about me going there, too, but I decided
to stay here,” Huff said. “We had some
really good conversations, and we built that
relationship up, which made it really hard,
but I wanted to go to Nebraska, and I think he
understood that.”
Huff felt more comfortable with his decision
after meeting Nebraska’s new coaching staff.
“They told me right away, when they got the
whole staff in, that I was a good fit,” Huff said.
“Coach Callahan and Coach Wagner actually
came to my house and said I was a good fit for
their system, too, and they hoped that I’d stay
with them.”
mike huff
Huff ’s dream, though, had become reality
long before Callahan and Wagner stepped
through his front door. It began – and,
appropriately, will end – with Cotton.
“It’s really weird,” Huff said, “but I’m really
excited to work with him for at least a year.”
Huff, now 6-4, 300 pounds, began turning
heads as a high school freshman. That’s when
his coach, Tyler Zahn, a former Husker walk-
on who lettered in 1991, inserted Huff into the
starting lineup.
By the time he was a junior, recruiters were
Returning
Cruz Barrett
Jaivorio Burkes
AT A GLANCE
6-4
6-5
325
325
So.
So.
Mike Caputo 6-1 270 RFr.
Jacob Hickman 6-4 290 Jr.
Mike Huff 6-4 300 Sr.
D.J. Jones 6-5 305 So.
Marcel Jones 6-7 310 RFr.
Mike Masin 6-6 330 RFr.
Lydon Murtha 6-7 315 Sr.
Matt Slauson 6-5 325 Sr.
Mike Smith 6-6 285 So.
Keith Williams 6-5 310 So.
Incoming
David Grant 6-6 295 Fr.
Ricky Henry 6-4 305 Fr.
Baker Steinkuhler 6-6 290 Fr.
Brandon Thompson 6-6 295 Fr.
telling Huff to stick to the mentality of being
an offensive lineman; that’s what he would
play in college, they told him.
No problem. That’s where Huff had always
played; even in Pop Warner football, he was
deemed too big to play any other position but
offensive line.
The lone exception in Huff ’s career came
when he lined up as the fullback
in a jumbo pro-set in high school
– “I scored a touchdown once,”
he said.
It’s one of those rare times
Huff remembers receiving glory.
That’s OK. It comes with the
territory of being a lineman.
“You’re going to know if
you’re doing a good job, and everybody else is
going to know if you’re doing a bad job,” Huff
said. “It’s a funny deal, because nobody knows
about us until we mess up.”
The offensive line, at times, received such
notoriety during the Callahan era, especially
early, as Nebraska transitioned to the West
Coast offense. At that same time, Huff was also
transitioning to college football.
“When you come in as a freshman, you’re
so used to firing off the ball and just hitting
the guy in front of you,” Huff said. “You’re
 Offensive Line Preview

not worried about, ‘Well, on this play, I need injury to his Achilles following the season was Those are usually comments heard
to take this footwork, or on this play I need a bit of a setback, although Huff still started six when discussing a position that performed
to have a wide landmark instead of a tight games at right guard last season, including four extraordinarily well the previous season.
landmark.’ ” of the last six games. That’s not entirely true with Nebraska’s
Huff made the most of his scout team work That has set the stage for what Huff believes group of big men.
in 2004, going against the likes of Le Kevin can be a memorable senior season. The Huskers, in 2007, averaged a mere 120
Smith and Adam Carriker, a couple of future “I know what Nebraska fans think of the rushing yards per game over the final 11 games.
NFL Draft picks. program, and I know what it means to be a For the season, nearly 70 percent of Nebraska’s
A lot of guys can just show up on the scout player here,” Huff said. “Me being a Nebraska yards came through the air.
squad and just go through the motions,” Huff kid, I know what kind of tradition’s here, and The general theory, of course, is that
said. “You’re not making yourself better, and all of the players that have played here. I’m Nebraska, with its porous defense, was always
you’re not making your teammates better. The actually doing it. I’m strapping on the uniform playing from behind, trying to keep pace with
coaches see that. Even if you think they’re they put on.” the quick-striking offenses of Kansas, Missouri,
not watching you on the scout team, they’re Colorado, etc.
watching you.” POSITION OUTLOOK Pass, pass, pass, and pass some more. That
Huff had a solid spring in 2006 and started The offensive line is deep, and it’s talented. meant passing on the run.
all but one game that fall. A winter conditioning Experience abounds. Expectations are high. Now, Nebraska’s new coaching staff wants
to return to the Husker ways
of old.
“We’re going to be as
physical as we can,” said
Barney Cotton, who’s returned
to Nebraska as offensive line
coach. “We’re going to play as
hard as we can.”
Don’t misunderstand
Cotton. Being versatile, he said,
is still key.
“But the big thing is, we
have a chance to be physical,”
Cotton said. “Coaches always
talk about wanting players to
play until the whistle. You’d
better finish one step after the
whistle if you really want to be
the best.”
Cotton, Nebraska’s offensive
coordinator for one season in
2003, has returned to Lincoln
and inherited what figures to
be Nebraska’s biggest team
strength in 2008.
“(Coaches) always say that
our offensive line is one of the
best they’ve seen talent-wise,”
Matt Slauson said. “Now, we
just need a little direction.”
matt slauson

6 0 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8

Slauson, who’s bounced between guard
and tackle throughout his career, will focus
on right guard. The rest of the starting lineup
will probably look like this: Lydon Murtha
at left tackle, Mike Huff at left guard, Jacob
Hickman at center and Jaivorio Burkes at
right tackle.
Slauson, Huff and Murtha are seniors, giving
the Huskers ample experience. Nebraska, in
fact, returns a total of 67 career starts along the
offensive line, including 32 from last season.
(Gone are Brett Byford at center and Carl Nicks
at tackle.)
B
ut it’s the players behind the starters
that make this unit perhaps the
team’s strongest. Sophomores Keith
Williams, D.J. Jones and Mike
Smith have game experience and were among
those promising Callahan recruits.
Williams plays primarily left guard, Jones
can play either tackle or guard, and Smith
has dabbled at all positions, including center
during the spring. Smith has since begun to
settle at tackle, probably as a backup to Murtha.
Sophomore Cruz Barrett could see more time,
too, as a backup at guard.
A couple of redshirted freshmen could also
make an impact, including Marcel Jones at
tackle, and walk-on Mike Caputo at center.
Caputo, a Millard North graduate, was
particularly impressive during the spring.
Don’t forget, either, about the arrival of
highly touted freshman Baker Steinkuhler,
although coaches haven’t confirmed he’ll play
offense; he could give the thin defensive line
some help.
Should Steinkuhler follow in the footsteps of
his father, former Husker and Outland Trophy
winner Dean Steinkuhler, and play offensive
line, look for the younger Steinkuhler to
contribute immediately.
Then, of course, there’s Cotton, who Slauson
said will rally the troops.
“I think he’s going to be a great leader for us,”
Slauson said. “He’ll motivate us in productive
ways, and I’m excited about it.”
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#61 • Mike Huff
Sr., Offensive Line, 6-4, 300
Ralston, Neb.
Huff, a Ralston, Neb., native, has
started 10 games at guard the
past two seasons. He suffered
an Achilles injury during winter
conditioning in 2007, but returned
in time to start six games at right
guard, including four of the last six
contests. He is being counted on to anchor an offensive
line that figures to be a strength for this year’s Huskers.
#76 • Lydon Murtha
Sr., Offensive Line, 6-7, 315
Hutchinson, Minn.
Murtha anchored the right side
of the Husker offensive line for a
majority of last season. He missed
the final four games of 2007
with a foot injury. He is one of
four returning offensive linemen
who made at least eight starts
last season. He has 14 career starts entering his senior
season. His play earned him 2007 Honorable Mention
All-Big 12 status among the league’s coaches.
#70 • Matt Slauson
Sr., Offensive Line, 6-5, 325
Colorado Springs, Colo. (Air Force Prep)
Slauson is one of Nebraska’s most
experienced performers on either
side of the ball. He has been a
regular on the Husker offensive
line since late in his freshman
campaign in 2005. He has started
22 games over the past three
seasons and brings a physical presence to the O-line.
Slauson made eight starts last season at three different
positions, both tackle spots and right guard.
#72 • Jaivorio Burkes
So., Offensive Line, 6-5, 325
Phoenix, Ariz. (Moon Valley)
Burkes is one of five returning
offensive linemen who made at
least three starts during the 2007
season. He earned his first start
against the Texas Longhorns. He
played in the final four games of
the season, also starting against
Kansas and Kansas State. He earned first-team freshman
All-Big 12 honors from The Sporting News.
#66 Cruz Barrett
So. Offensive Lineman 6-4 325
Daytona Beach, Fla. (Mainland)
Barrett was a heralded member
of the 2006 recruiting class,
which included two other
similarly publicized offensive
linemen – Keith Williams and D.J.
Jones. Oklahoma, Florida, Florida
State and West Virginia were
among the schools interested in Barrett. He redshirted
as a freshman, as did Williams and Jones, but hasn’t
developed as quickly as they have. He didn’t see action
last season.
#73 • D.J. Jones
So., Offensive Line, 6-5, 305
Omaha, Neb. (Central)
Jones saw extensive action as a
redshirt freshman in 2007 and
hopes to make a push for a
starting spot this fall. He has the
ability to play both guard and
tackle. Jones sat out his first season
in Lincoln as a redshirt.
#78 • Marcel Jones
Redshirt Freshman, Offensive Line, 6-7, 320
Phoenix, Ariz. (Trevor Browne)
Jones sat out last fall as a redshirt
but figures to work his way into
the mix this fall on the offensive
line. The big 6-7, 320-pound
product of Trevor Browne High
School was a three-star prospect
by Rivals.com and was ranked as
the 13th best prospect overall in the state of Arizona
after his senior year.
#65 • Mike Smith
So., Offensive Line, 6-6, 285
Las Vegas, Nev. (Palo Verde)
Smith originally came to
Nebraska as a defensive end but
has established himself on the
offensive line and figures to battle
for playing time this year for the
Huskers. He earned valuable
playing time last year as a reserve
tackle and helps make the offensive line a strength for
the 2008 Nebraska squad.
#68 • Keith Williams
So., Offensive Line, 6-5, 310
Florissant, Mo. (McClure North)
Williams is a key figure in a
Nebraska offensive line that
returns eight lettermen for the
2008 season. He has all the
physical tools and last season
gained valuable game experience.
Williams played in 10 games last
season at guard. He also saw action as a blocker on PAT
and field goal units.
#67 • Jacob Hickman
Jr., Offensive Line, 6-4, 290
Bakersfield, Calif. (Centennial)
Hickman has seen action at guard
the past two seasons, but could
also be a candidate to take over
at center in 2008. After missing
spring ball because of a knee
injury, Hickman played in all 12
games in 2007, including starting
the final nine games at offensive guard. His steady play
earned him honorable-mention All-Big 12 status among
the league’s coaches.
 ty steinkuhler

6 2 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8

Steinkuhler more than a name to Nebraska
DeFENSIVE LINE
Y
es, Ty Steinkuhler is often asked about
his No. 43 jersey. And no, he isn’t about
to ask for a different one, even though it
isn’t a defensive tackle’s number.
There’s significance to 43 but not, as is often
the case, because he wore it in high school. His
number was 55 at Lincoln (Neb.) Southwest. He
was a linebacker.
If he could have had 55 when he got to
Nebraska, he’d be wearing it now. But Wali
Muhammad had 55, and he was a senior. Plus,
he played defensive end. Two players can have
the same jersey number, as long as they’re not
on the same side of the ball.
So Steinkuhler, who was recruited as a
defensive end, picked three numbers from those
available for incoming players at his position.
And he was assigned 43.
“Is this just a coincidence?” he wondered.
Sure, he had worn 43 in the Nebraska
Shrine Bowl all-star game. But the coincidence
went well beyond that.
Specifically, his dad, Dean,
once wore 43.
“I was like, ‘Geez, I’m not ever going
Dean wore 71 at Nebraska,
to play here,’ when I was on the scout
of course. He earned All-
America honors, the Outland team.”
Trophy and Lombardi Award
as an offensive guard on the
1983 “Scoring Explosion” team.
But he wore 43 as an eight-man player at
Sterling (Neb.) High School, where he was a
fullback and a linebacker, and any other position
he wanted to play.
Dean’s success was such that a lady in
Sterling, Neb., painted a bobblehead doll with
a “43” and “Steinkuhler” on it and presented
it to him. The bobblehead was kept in a trophy
case at home. Ty asked his dad one day why 43?
Because he wore it in high school, his dad said.
Ty thought about the bobblehead the day he
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was assigned 43.
“I was like, ‘This is really weird. I’ve got to
keep this number,’ ” he said.
So even when he was asked if he would be
interested in moving from defensive end to
defensive tackle before his sophomore season,
he didn’t give it up.
Playing inside appealed to him, but not
changing jersey numbers. “I kind of looked at
it like, ‘These guys are fast.’ The defensive ends
are guys that are speed rushers,” he said. “I’m
not that type of guy at all. When they asked me,
I was like, ‘That would almost be better.’ ”
Nebraska was thin at defensive tackle, while
Adam Carriker and Jay Moore were established
defensive ends. Plus, Steinkuhler was competing
with Zach Potter, who had played as a true
freshman, and “I knew Potter needed to get a lot
more reps,” Steinkuhler said.
Initially, he thought the move inside “would
be a huge adjustment.” But that wasn’t the case.
ty steinkuhler
The biggest difference was, “outside, you’re just
farther from the center,” he said.
“You pretty much get the same reads.”
Steinkuhler had already dealt with a significant
adjustment as a Cornhusker freshman. Not only
was he a linebacker in high school but also he
was a better athlete than most of those against
whom he played. He just ran to the ball, never
concerning himself with technique.
He never used his hands and never read
blocks because high school offensive linemen
usually blocked only one way. Besides, they
AT A GLANCE
Returning End
Zach Potter 6-7 280 Sr.
Barry Turner 6-3 260 Sr.
Pierre Allen 6-5 265 So.
Clayton Sievers 6-4 255 Sr.
William Yancy 6-4 245 RFr.
David Harvey 6-4 260 Jr.
Luke Lingenfelter 6-4 250 RFr.
Faron Klingelhoefer 6-2 250 Fr.
Jonathon Santin 6-3 225 RFr.
Tyrone Fahie 6-3 250 RFr.
Returning Tackles
Ty Steinkuhler 6-3 280 Sr.
Ndamukong Suh 6-4 300 Jr.
Kevin Dixon 6-3 285 Sr.
Shukree Barfield 6-4 300 Sr.
Ben Martin 6-4 270 So.
Terrence Moore 6-3 270 RFr.
Jared Crick 6-6 270 RFr.
Taylor Escamilla 6-1 270 RFr.
Incoming
Cameron Meredith 6-4 225 Fr.
Quentin Toailoa 6-4 300 Fr.
Josh Williams 6-4 225 Fr.
rarely got to him, anyway.
“It was a big transition,” said Steinkuhler.
He made the transition during a redshirt
season, playing on the scout team. For some,
a redshirt season drags. For him,
however, it went by fast. Redshirts don’t
have the pressures of preparing to play.
And scout squad players just read off
cards and go as hard as they can.
Even so, “I wouldn’t want to do it
for two years. I was like, ‘Geez, I’m
not ever going to play here,’ when I
was on the scout team. But you get over it in the
spring. That’s when you get a glimpse of what
you’re going to be able to do,” Steinkuhler said.
His time at Nebraska has gone quickly, which
isn’t surprising. He grew up a Cornhusker,
attending his first game at Memorial Stadium
during the 1994 national championship season,
and he never saw himself playing college football
anywhere else.
He began playing organized football in
Syracuse, Neb., moving to Lincoln before
his junior year in high school. He considered

enrolling at Southeast High, but settled on
Southwest, which played its first season of varsity
football that year. Southeast had a tradition of
success, and Steinkuhler figured he would have
a better chance to play at Southwest.
He got his chance, all right, on a team that
went 0-9. Playing for a winless team didn’t affect
Nebraska’s recruiting him, however. He had a
scholarship offer before his senior year.
He has compared his junior season to
Nebraska’s 5-7 finish last fall.
“After the USC game, I don’t know, it
just went downhill,” he said. “At Southwest,
everybody knew we were going to lose, and by
the end of (last) year, we had the same mindset,
‘We’re not going to win,’ ” he said. “We never
gave in physically, but mentally, I think some
people had a lot of doubts. I think that’s what
6 4 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
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kills you, the mental thing.”
His senior season, Southwest went 5-5 and
qualified for the state playoffs.
Three years ago, the Silver Hawks reached
the Class A state championship game, and a
year ago, they were ranked No. 1 through much
of the season, finishing 10-1. They also had the
player regarded by recruiting analysts as the best
in the state – Ty’s brother Baker, a lineman.
The two will be Cornhusker teammates in
the fall, possibly on the defensive line, although
that’s a longshot. Baker did play defense in the
U.S. Army All-American Game, to the surprise
of his brother. But he is projected as an offensive
lineman at Nebraska.
Wherever Baker plays, “it’s going to be
fun,” Ty said. “I’ve never played with him
because he was always too young. I think it’ll
be pretty cool.”
Presumably, Baker will pick a jersey number
appropriate to his position.
Mike Masin, a redshirted freshman offensive
lineman, wore 71 in the spring, by the way. But
no one wore 55, which was Baker’s number in
high school, too.
POSITION OUTLOOK
The defensive line has something to prove.
Though last season’s defensive problems can’t all be
placed on the line, it starts up front, and “I think we
underplayed for the talent we have,” Ndamukong
Suh said. “We want to come out and prove to
everybody that, ‘Oh yeah, we’re still Nebraska and
we still can play defense and…stop people.’ ”
The line is experienced. The top eight return,
with six of them seniors. Suh, the only returning
zach potter

starter who isn’t a senior, missed spring practice
following knee surgery, but he is expected to be
full-speed in the fall, and trimmed down from the
300 pounds at which he’s listed.
Everyone has been energized by the arrival of
coach Bo Pelini and staff.
“Personally, I think our defensive line is in
a great mindset,” said Suh. “We don’t have
anything to lose. Coming off a not-very-good
season, you can only go up.”
Zach Potter was the leading tackler among
defensive linemen with 45, including 12 for
losses and 2.5 sacks to earn All-Big 12 honorable
mention from the conference coaches.
Barry Turner became an every-down player
after being primarily a pass rusher his first two
seasons, the best of which was in 2005 when he
earned Freshman All-America recognition with
six sacks for 46 yards in losses. He was credited
with three sacks last season.
Ty Steinkuhler is the other returning starter
and has the versatility to move outside, after
beginning his career at Nebraska as a defensive
end. Kevin Dixon started three games and
Shukree Barfield one, after transferring from
Garden City (Kan.) Community College.
The linemen have had to adjust to a third
position coach in the past three seasons, with
defensive coordinator Carl Pelini and John
Papuchis (ends), following John Blake and
Buddy Wyatt. “It wasn’t a huge difference
between Coach Blake and Coach Wyatt,” said
Steinkuhler. “But there’s a lot of new stuff with
Coach (Carl) Pelini.”
He has adjusted well. “It makes a lot of sense
how he’s (Pelini) coaching certain blocks and how
you play them. It’ll be great,” Steinkuhler said.
Carl Pelini was satisfied with what he saw in
the spring.
“I’m excited about the progress of the
defensive line. I think they’re really taking to
the new techniques,” he said. “They’re asking
good questions. The want-to is there, which is
the biggest thing. When you talk about defensive
line play, you talk about process. It is a process
because it’s so reactional. You can’t think and
play defensive line. Repetition is the key. So
we’re not nearly where we want to be come
opening game next year. But that’s going to take
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repetition over the course of the summer, to
where their reactions are split-second.”
When it reaches that point, “you can really
evaluate where we are,” he said.
Bo Pelini also was satisfied with what he saw
from the defensive linemen during the spring.
They’re “not even close to where they were
when we started,” he said. “We’ve made great
progress there.”
#98 • Zach Potter
Sr., Defensive End, 6-7, 280
Omaha, Neb. (Creighton Prep)
Potter is part of the Nebraska
defensive line that returns intact
for the 2008 season. He had a great
season in 2007, finishing second
on the team in tackles for loss. He
played in all 12 games, starting 11
at base end. He finished with 45
tackles, the most among defensive linemen. His play
earned him honorable-mention All-Big 12 honors from
the conference coaches.
#43 • Ty Steinkuhler
Sr., Defensive Tackle, 6-3, 280
Lincoln, Neb. (Southwest)
Steinkuhler had a rough year,
battling injuries during the first half
of the 2007 season. Nevertheless, he
played in 10 games with eight starts.
He finished the year with 13 total
tackles and had four tackles for loss.
Steinkuhler figures to be one of the
leaders of this year’s Husker defensive line.
#93 • Ndamukong Suh
Jr., Defensive Tackle, 6-4, 200
Portland, Ore. (Grant)
Suh had knee surgery in early March
but figures to be full speed for the
start of fall camp in August. He is
one of four returning starters on
the defensive line. He played in all
12 contests last year with 11 starts.
He finished the year with 34 tackles,
including 20 solos and had six tackles for loss. He was
First Team Freshman All-Big 12 as selected by The
Sporting News in 2006.
#99 • Barry Turner
Sr., Defensive End, 6-3, 260
Antioch, Tenn. (Brentwood Academy)
Turner is the most experienced of
the four returning starters along
the Nebraska defensive line. He has
been in the Huskers regular rotation
at defensive end since bursting
onto the scene as a true freshman in
2005. He has great speed and uses
that to pressure quarterbacks on the outside. He enters
his senior season with 10.5 career sacks and 17 career
tackles for loss. He missed spring ball after shoulder
surgery, but played in all 12 games with 11 starts at the
open end spot in 2007.
#97 • Kevin Dixon
Sr., Defensive Tackle, 6-3, 285
Sebring, Fla (Garden City CC)
Dixon saw considerable playing
time in his first year in the Nebraska
program. He eventually worked
his way into the regular rotation at
defensive tackle. He played in all
12 games in 2007, earning starts
against Wake Forest, USC, Ball State
and Oklahoma State. The Sebring, FL product, by way
of Garden City Community College, finished the season
with 19 tackles, including 11 solo stops.
#95 • Pierre Allen
So., Defensive End, 6-5, 265
Denver, CO (Thomas Jefferson)
Allen has high hopes of earning
more playing time this season after
a solid redshirt freshman season in
2007. He saw significant action as
a reserve end last fall, playing in 11
games as the No. 2 base end behind
Zach Potter. He finished the year
with 16 total tackles, including three tackles for loss. He
showed improvement late in the year as 15 of his 16
tackles came in the final six games.
#56 • Shukree Barfield
Sr., Defensive Tackle, 6-4, 300
Camden, NJ (Garden City CC)
Barfield had a respectable first
season in the Husker program in
2007. He served as the top backup
behind Ndamukong Suh in the
middle of the defensive line and
played in all 12 games, with a start
against Oklahoma State. He finished
the year with 15 total tackles, including seven solos, and
had one tackle for loss.
#88 • Clayton Sievers
Sr., Defensive End, 6-4, 255
Elkhorn, NE
Sievers began his Husker career on
the offensive side of the football
before moving to the defensive
side two years ago. He has spent
the past two seasons splitting
time between defensive end and
linebacker. Sievers played in 11
games in 2007, serving primarily as Barry Turner’s top
backup at open end. He finished the season with seven
total tackles. He also served on several Nebraska special
teams units.
#63 • Ben Martin
So., Defensive Tackle, 6-4, 270
Lincoln, NE (Southwest)
Martin’s versatility made him
valuable to last year’s Nebraska
team. He earned playing time as
a redshirt freshman. He has the
ability to play either defensive end
or defensive tackle for the Huskers.
Martin played in seven games in
2007, serving as a backup defensive tackle behind
fellow Lincoln Southwest graduate Ty Steinkuhler, and
Kevin Dixon. He finished the year with three tackles.
 cody glenn

6 6 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8

Glenn completes switch to linebacker
linebackers
T
o say former Cornhusker Broderick
Thomas wasn’t a fan of Bill Callahan
and his staff would be understating.
That influenced Thomas’s attitude,
without a doubt.
Still, the two-time All-America linebacker
did see it coming.
“He saw before everything happened how
they ran stuff and how it was going to go,”
Cody Glenn said. “He used to tell me, and I’d
go, ‘OK.’ Then I saw he was right.”
Glenn and Thomas are cousins. They talk
regularly. And had Glenn taken his cousin’s
advice when he was a sophomore, he probably
wouldn’t be at Nebraska now.
He remained optimistic, however, believing
his time would come. And when it came, he
needed to be ready. He prepared accordingly. “It
just never came,” said Glenn.
Last season, he finally realized Thomas was
right, that his time wasn’t going to come as long
as Callahan was the coach. If not for
the arrival of Bo Pelini, “I wouldn’t
be here now,” Glenn said. “If Coach “I really didn’t think it was going to
Callahan and all of them would have
stayed, I’d be gone.”
work. I was real skeptical.”
That’s moot now, unpleasant
history as far as Glenn is concerned.
Pelini’s his coach, and he has a new
lease on football life – not as a running back, as
a linebacker.
Glenn’s move to linebacker was a major story
during the spring, how he asked Pelini if he
could try linebacker and if it didn’t work out,
return to running back.
Initially, “I really didn’t think it was going to
work,” said Glenn. “I was real skeptical. But I
just kind of stuck with it, and it started getting
easier and easier, and a lot of fun.”
Glenn hadn’t had that much fun since his
first year at Nebraska, when he was among 13
true freshmen who played on Callahan’s second
team. He was realistic about his situation then.
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Cory Ross was the veteran running back,
and he was going to be used in short-yardage
situations.
He scored four touchdowns in seven games.
But he didn’t want to be labeled a short-yardage
back. He was more versatile, as he showed
during the spring. Or so he thought.
“After that spring, I just knew I was going
to be the starter. It was going to work out,”
Glenn said. “I felt like I was pretty much the
best player we had at the position at that time
and that there was no way I wasn’t going to
be the starter. The next three years were going
to be great.
“But things changed. Things don’t always
happen the way you think they will.”
Despite his play during the spring, Glenn
found himself in an I-back committee with
Marlon Lucky, Kenny Wilson and Brandon
Jackson in 2006. Lucky started the first five
games before giving way to Jackson, who rushed
Cody glenn
for 989 yards and eight touchdowns.
Glenn also rushed for eight touchdowns,
but never got to start. And after suffering a foot
injury scoring a touchdown at Texas A&M, he
was effectively shelved. He carried 27 times in
five games last season. He said he was healthy.
The coaches said he wasn’t.
That’s when his thoughts of leaving were
strongest. “But I was fortunate enough and
blessed to have them (Pelini and staff) come in
here and have a clean slate,” he said.
Glenn wrote “linebacker” on that figurative
slate, something he never imagined he would do
when he signed a letter of intent with Nebraska.
Phillip Dillard
Cody Glenn
Tyler Wortman
AT A GLANCE
Returning Linebackers
6-1
6-0
6-3
245
230
235
Jr.
Sr.
Sr.
Blake Lawrence 6-2 225 So.
Latravis Washington 6-3 225 So.
Colton Koehler 6-1 230 Jr.
Nick Covey 6-2 240 Jr.
Thomas Grove 6-2 220 So.
Austin Stafford 6-2 205 Rfr.
Mike Hays 6-1 230 Rfr.
Jeff Sayre 6-3 215 Rfr.
Joseph Camarata 5-10 225 Fr.
Incoming Linebackers
Will Compton 6-2 230 Fr.
Sean Fisher 6-6 225 Fr.
Micah Kreikemeier 6-3 210 Fr.
*Alonzo Whaley 6-1 225 Fr.
*could play fullback
Coming out of high school in Rusk, Texas, he
had scholarship offers from schools interested in
him as a defensive player.
Texas was among those schools. “But I
wanted to play running back. That was one of
the big reasons I came to Nebraska,” Glenn
said. “But, I mean, things change.”
The physical aspect wasn’t difficult, “just
the mental part, being able
to read things I’m not used
to reading. On offense I read
things differently than I do on
defense,” he said.
Blake Lawrence helped,
going over the defense with
him the day after he moved.
The two sat in linebackers coach Mike Ekeler’s
office while Ekeler was in a meeting.
Glenn had joked with Ekeler about his
switching to defense long before spring practice
began. Ekeler told him he needed to be on
defense. His response was, “Yeah, right.”
When Ekeler learned he really was making
the switch, “he was all kind of fired up and
happy,” said Glenn. “You know Coach ‘Ek.’
You can imagine how happy he was.”
Thomas was happy about the switch to
defense, too. “He was like, ‘Welcome to the
family. You’re one of us now. We need to get
you one of those Blackshirts,’ ” Glenn said.
 Linebackers Preview

Having played offense his first three years at
Nebraska, and being from out of state, Glenn
didn’t fully understand the Blackshirt tradition.
But he has learned quickly.
Thomas has told him about it, as have former
defensive players who have been welcomed
back into the program by Pelini. Glenn talked to
Demorrio Williams the weekend of the Spring
Game, and “you can just see the passion he has
about it,” said Glenn.
He has been compared to Williams, who
emerged as a dominant linebacker during Pelini’s
one season as Cornhusker defensive coordinator.
Glenn is flattered by the comparison.
“I’ve heard that a lot, just because of how he
was,” Glenn said.
“He was fast, a really good athlete and kind
of how they used him at defensive end and
different things like that. I guess only time will
tell. He was a great player here.”
Comparisons aside, Glenn is just happy for
the opportunity to get on the field and contribute
in any way he can. He’s even looking forward to
playing on special teams, something he hasn’t
done during his time at Nebraska. In the spring,
he was on all of them.
Even though he’s a linebacker now, the
running back hasn’t been taken out of him.
“I know I could be an every-down back for
anybody,” he said.
Thomas always told him that. Thomas also
told him how it would be. And it was.
#52 • Phillip Dillard
Jr., Linebacker, 6-1, 245
Tulsa, Okla. (Jenks)
Dillard is the most experienced of
Nebraska’s returning linebacker
corps. He played all 12 games at
the MIKE linebacker spot in 2007,
splitting time with senior Corey
McKeon. Dillard finished the year
with 37 tackles, including 22 solo
stops. He was one of the nation’s
top linebacker prospects after earning Oklahoma
all-state honors for two consecutive seasons at Jenks
High School.
#34 • Cody Glenn
Sr., Linebacker, 6-0, 230
Rusk, Texas
Glenn will be leaving the Husker
offense in an attempt to solidify
the linebacker position on defense
for this year’s team. He had a
respectable spring and hopes
are high that he can be a key
contributor this year. In 2007,
Glenn was slowed by injury and
saw limited action. Early in his career, Glenn made his
mark as a short-yardage back. The Rusk, Texas native
has all the tools to be a contributor if he can avoid
further injuries.

#53 • Tyler Wortman

Sr., Linebacker, 6-3, 235
Grand Island, Neb. (Central Catholic)
Wortman had served as a scout
team player through his first three
years in the Husker program but
finally got his chance on the field
in 2007. He played in nine games
during his junior season, including
each of the final eight contests.
Wortman finished the year with
nine total tackles, including three solo stops. He also
had three tackles for loss. He is hoping to play even a
bigger role for the Huskers this fall.

#23 • Latravis Washington

So., Linebacker, 6-3, 225
Bradenton, Fla. (Bayshore)
Washington saw limited action as
a true freshman in 2007, playing
primarily on special teams. He
played in six games, both on
kickoff coverage and as a reserve
linebacker. He finished the year
with two tackles, both coming in
Nebraska’s win over Kansas State.
Washington is the cousin of former Husker standout
Fabian Washington.

#12 • Blake Lawrence

So., Linebacker, 6-2, 225
Shawnee Mission, KS (West)
Lawrence played in eight games
as a true freshman in 2007. He was
a backup to senior Bo Ruud at the
SAM linebacker spot. He also was
a regular member of the Huskers
kickoff coverage unit. Lawrence
saw his most extensive action of
the season against Texas A&M
when Ruud went out with a knee injury. He made his
first career tackle against the Aggies.
Latravis washington

6 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8

POSITION OUTLOOK
Linebackers coach Mike Ekeler stepped
into a difficult situation. Last season’s top four
linebackers are gone: Bo Ruud, Corey McKeon,
Steve Octavien and Lance Brandenburgh.
They were four of the top seven tacklers, and
Brandenburgh was even sidelined by injury
the final three games. Octavien led the way
with 92 tackles, including 15 for losses, also
a team high.
Even so, Ekeler was undaunted when spring
practice began. “We’ve got plenty of guys.
We’ve got guys who are sharp. We’ve got guys
who are going to be great players,” he said.
“Anywhere you’re at, you’re always going to
have turnover. You’re always going to have guys
graduating, every single year. It’s no different
for us.”
That attitude hadn’t changed by spring’s end,
quite the contrary.
A trimmed down Phillip Dillard is the most
experienced of the linebackers and figures to
hold down the middle. He started twice last
season and was credited with 37 tackles.
Walk-on Tyler Wortman, who got an
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Linebackers Preview
opportunity late last season, was among the
surprises of the spring, while Cody Glenn made
a successful transition from running back.
Wortman played the strongside, primarily,
and Glenn the weakside. But linebackers could
line up differently depending on the situation.
“If you want to talk about BUCK linebacker
or MIKE linebacker or WILL, I hate to do that
because we’re moving guys around,” defensive
coordinator Carl Pelini said. “We’re looking at
them in different positions.”
Like Ekeler, Pelini isn’t concerned about
inexperience. “We’re fine at the linebacker
position,” he said late in the spring. “We’ve got
a lot of guys. They understand multiple roles.
They understand the different positions and that
whole corps is coming around.”
Communication is essential at linebacker,
and Pelini saw that communication developing
during the spring. “It’s a demanding,
intellectual position in this scheme,” he said.
“You have to understand what’s going on in
front of you. You have to understand what’s
going on behind you. There is constant
communication involved. You can really judge
tyler wortman
the success or failure of that unit as they start
to hear communication. You know they’re
beginning to understand.”
For Wortman, getting an opportunity has
been a dream come true.
“I knew it was going to take time and my
hard work would pay off,” he said. “At times,
I was getting down on myself, but in the end,
it paid off.”
Wortman has a near-perfect grade-point
average in mechanical engineering, a quality
required of what Ekeler considers a perfect
linebacker, a “guy who is sharp.” A perfect
linebacker also has to play “with fanaticism,
his hair on fire, a guy who’s just going to be
relentless, refuses to get blocked,” said Ekeler.
“That’s perfect for me. There’s a balance.”
#41 • Thomas Grove
So., Linebacker, 6-2, 220
Arlington, Neb.
Grove was one of 11 true
freshmen to see action in 2007
– and he did it after walking on
from Arlington, Neb., High School.
He participated on special teams
for the Huskers and this fall looks
to make a push at linebacker. Grove has also got off to
a good start in the classroom, as he was named to the
2007 Big 12 Commissioner’s Fall Academic Honor Roll.
#54 • Colton Koehler
Jr., Linebacker, 6-1, 230
Harvard, Neb. (Nebraska Wesleyan)
Koehler is hoping to battle for
playing time at the linebacker
position this fall for the Huskers.
He joined Nebraska in January
of 2006 and worked as a fullback
initially. He began his college
career at Nebraska Wesleyan University after an
outstanding prep career at Harvard, Neb.. High School.
#45 • Nick Covey
Jr., Linebacker, 6-2, 240
Glendale, Ariz. (Mountain Ridge)
Covey is hoping to work his way
into playing time this year as a
junior linebacker for the Huskers.
He missed the entire 2006 season
with a knee injury, after missing
spring drills in 2006 following
shoulder surgery. Covey had a great prep career at
Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale, Ariz.
 matt o’hanlon

7 0 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8

O’Hanlon takes risks, accepts challenges as walk-on
Defensive backs
I
t was a risk, one Matt O’Hanlon wishes
he would have taken immediately
following his senior year in high school
instead of doing what was reasonable.
Reasonable was accepting a football
scholarship from South Dakota. And in the
late summer of 2004, O’Hanlon headed to
Vermillion, S.D., for two-a-day practices.
He spent three weeks there, earning a job as
the starting nickel back. But he wasn’t happy. So
he returned to Nebraska, intent on walking on,
an uncertain proposition at best.
Bill Callahan was in his first year as
Cornhusker coach, and he was downsizing the
roster. In particular, he was eliminating walk-ons,
or so it seemed. That was never made specific.
But it was a hot rumor among Cornhusker fans,
given credence early in the season.
South Dakota’s roster included some former
Nebraska walk-ons who had left after Callahan
was hired. O’Hanlon tried “to steer
clear” of them. He was considering
transferring soon after two-a-days
began and “didn’t want any negative
“You kind of have to be (a risk taker)
effects on my confidence,” he said. to be where I’m at right now. If I wasn’t
If Callahan didn’t embrace walk-
ons, O’Hanlon didn’t want to hear
a risk-taker, I’d still be in South Dakota.
about it. I wouldn’t be here.”
During the football season his
senior year at East High in Bellevue,
Neb., O’Hanlon was recruited as a walk-on by
then-coach Frank Solich and his staff. O’Hanlon
was a running back and defensive back, starting
at safety in the Nebraska Shrine Bowl All-Star
Game.
He might have lacked the size for which
Callahan was looking, with a philosophy
based on recruiting service rankings and NFL
potential. But he was athletic, having also
earned four letters in high school soccer, and
exceptionally strong. He was a power-lifter.
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He won a state power-lifting title in 2003 and
was a runner-up in 2004.
Beyond those qualities, however, O’Hanlon
had something that couldn’t be measured,
the passion for Cornhusker football that has
characterized its walk-ons. Coach Bo Pelini has
placed a premium on that passion, and walk-ons
are again an essential part of recruiting.
“I wanted to be here since I was 6-years old,
since I saw all those guys running through the
tunnel (at Memorial Stadium),” O’Hanlon said
following a practice late in the spring.
“But that scholarship at South Dakota kind
of drew me there.”
Again, it was the reasonable thing to do. So
when he decided to give up the scholarship,
some who knew him well were skeptical. Maybe
most were skeptical, in fact, but they didn’t say
anything. If that’s what he wanted to do, they
were going to support him.
matt o’hanlon
His parents supported him “completely.
Everything I do they always support me,” he
said. “There are always the people who are like,
‘You’re not going to be able to do that.’ But
thank God, I have two great parents. Without
them, I probably wouldn’t be here.”
Without former Cornhusker assistant Bill
Busch, O’Hanlon might not be at Nebraska,
either. Leaving South Dakota didn’t ensure he
would make the team as a walk-on.
In January of 2005, he survived cuts in
Armando Murillo
Anthony Blue
Anthony West
AT A GLANCE
Returning Cornerbacks
6-0
5-10
6-0
190
180
200
Sr.
So.
So.
Prince Amukamara 6-1 195 So.
Returning Safeties
Larry Asante 6-1 210 Jr.
Rickey Thenarse 6-0 195 Jr.
Matt O’Hanlon 5-11 195 Sr.
Major Culbert 6-0 205 Jr.
Austin Cassidy 6-1 205 Rfr.
Matthew May 6-1 195 Rfr.
Others
Eric Hagg 6-1 200 So.
Shawn Sullivan 5-10 190 Rfr.
Adam Watson 6-0 190 So.
Ryan Ford 5-11 175 Jr.
Lance Thorell 6-1 190 Rfr.
Incoming Defensive Backs
Alfonzo Dennard 5-10 190 Fr.
John Levorson 6-3 190 Fr.
Justin Rogers 5-11 180 Fr.
P.J. Smith 6-2 205 Fr.
Mason Wald 5-11 205 Fr.
David Whitmore 6-2 185 Fr.
a tryout for walk-ons. Then he had to avoid
getting lost in the shuffle. “I got to know Coach
Busch well,” said O’Hanlon. Busch coached
special teams and “gave me
my shot. I’m grateful for the
opportunity he gave me.”
After a mandatory redshirt
because of the transfer,
O’Hanlon earned playing time
on special teams. He has been
on the kickoff, kickoff return
and punt return teams.
He was never given an
opportunity at safety, however. And that was
discouraging. All he wanted was a chance,
which he got during the spring. Now it’s up to
him.
“When the new coaching staff came in,
I knew I was going to get a chance at least.
It’s definitely true. Guys like me, like Tyler
Wortman, who have been walk-ons for four or
five years, are finally getting a chance our senior
year,” O’Hanlon said.
Like Wortman who climbed to the top of the
 Defensive Backs Preview

depth chart at linebacker, he’s a solid student, a “I prayed about it and luckily, I got my Marvin Sanders. The secondary is young.
fact that alleviated some of the risk of leaving a chance.” “I’m ‘Pops,’ ” said the quiet Murillo. “That’s
sure thing at South Dakota. Earning a degree He has no regrets . . . well, maybe one. what they say.”
is important to O’Hanlon. He was first-team “I wish I would have just come straight here,” Murillo started every game last season in a
Academic All-Big 12 in 2006 and second team he said. four-cornerback rotation that included Cortney
in 2007, with a secondary education-social Grixby, Andre Jones and Zack Bowman. He was
sciences major. POSITION OUTLOOK fourth on the team in tackles with 71 (including
O’Hanlon is a risk-taker. “You kind of have Armando Murillo and Larry Asante are the 43 unassisted and three for losses) and seven
to be to be where I’m at right now,” he said. “If only returning starters in the secondary, and pass break-ups.
I wasn’t a risk-taker, I’d still be in South Dakota. they represent most of the experience there Asante, who earned All-Big 12 honorable
I wouldn’t be here.” besides. Murillo and Matt O’Hanlon are the mention from the conference coaches, was
He also is persistent, “definitely,” he said. only seniors under new defensive backs coach second on the team in tackles with 78, including
“There have always been those doubts in
my mind, ‘I’m never going to get to play.’
But as time goes on, you realize that you
love being here, not just for the playing
time but for the experiences and being
with the guys.
“I look at it as a blessing to even be
here with my teammates.”
Spring practice can often be drudgery
for veteran players. But that wasn’t the
case for O’Hanlon, and not just because
of the coaching change – though that was
a part.
He was eager to go to practice every
day, to fix mistakes and improve. His
being a senior, there was a sense of
urgency. He had to make up for lost time.
He didn’t want it to end.
Even if his contributions are limited
to special teams again this season, he
had a chance. And he appreciates being
at Nebraska. “It’s amazing to be in one
of the greatest programs in the country,
really not even being given a shot out of
high school,” he said.
“It’s amazing I have this opportunity
to play in front of 85,000 on Saturdays.”
The first time he took the Tunnel Walk,
he was “so nervous.” But the nervousness
quickly subsided after he made a tackle
his first time on the kickoff team.
Giving up the scholarship at South
Dakota and coming to Nebraska required
“a leap of faith,” said O’Hanlon. “I had
no idea if I was going to make the team
or not.
larry asante

7 2 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8

a high of 10 against Texas A&M. Both he and
Murillo are being counted on for leadership. He
gained confidence every day during the spring,
according to coach Bo Pelini. “He has good
understanding,” Pelini said.
Tierre Green, the only defensive player
besides Murillo to start every game last season,
is gone, along with Bryan Wilson and Ben
Eisenhart, creating opportunities at safety.
Most prominent among the candidates is
Rickey Thenarse, a two-time special teams
MVP with a penchant for making big hits.
Major Culbert appears to have found a home at
safety after beginning last season as a running
back and finishing as a linebacker.
“I feel real great at safety,” Culbert said.
“Hopefully, I’ll stay there.”
O’Hanlon had to be force-fed during
the spring, according to Pelini, because his
experience the past two seasons has been limited
to special teams.
Anthony Blue had an immediate impact as a
true freshman, including starting the final two
games against Kansas State and Colorado. But
he suffered an ACL injury during a seven-on-
seven passing drill during winter conditioning
and missed spring practice.
With Blue sidelined, Anthony West stepped
up in the spring. He played primarily on special
teams last season, after redshirting. Prince
Amukamara and Eric Hagg will figure in the
mix somewhere after seeing action as true
freshmen on special teams.
It appeared both Amukamara, who worked
as a nickel back in the spring, and Hagg would
redshirt last season. However, Amukamara
was pulled from a redshirt three games into the
season and Hagg was asked to shed his redshirt
one week later.
The secondary has room for improvement.
Nebraska ranked 84th in the nation in pass
defense and 75th in pass efficiency defense,
allowing 20 touchdown passes with only eight
interceptions – and only three were by defensive
backs. Grixby had two, Bowman one.
The eight interceptions were tied for the
fewest in the Big 12. During the past four seasons,
Nebraska’s cornerbacks have intercepted 11
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Defensive Backs Preview
passes total. By comparison, cornerbacks
intercepted 12 passes in 2003, when Pelini was
the defensive coordinator.
The Cornhuskers allowed 21 pass plays of 25
yards or more last season.
#4 • Larry Asante
6-1, 210, Jr., Safety
Alexandria, Va. (Hayfield/Coffeyville CC)
Asante had a good first
season for the Huskers after
transferring from Coffeyville
(Kan.) Community College. He
earned the starting job at strong
safety and played in all 12 games,
including 10 starts. He finished
second on the team with 78 tackles, including 38 solo
stops. Asante was named to the honorable mention
All-Big 12 team by the conference coaches.
#14 • Anthony Blue
5-10, 180, So., Cornerback
Cedar Hill, Texas
Blue worked his way up the
ladder last season as a freshman
in the defensive secondary.
He earned playing time at the
start of the season and went
on to start the final two games.
He played in all 12 games and
recorded 18 tackles, including nine solos. He also
saw extensive action on special teams. Blue had
the misfortune of suffering a knee injury in winter
conditioning and had surgery in early March. It is
hopeful he will be ready for the beginning of fall drills
in early August.
#5 • Armando Murillo
6-0, 190, Sr., Cornerback
Tampa, Fla. (Robinson/Eastern Arizona CC)
Murillo is the lone returnee from
a four-player cornerback rotation
in 2007. He started all 12 games
last year and is being counted on
to be a leader with the departure
of six regulars from last year’s
secondary. He was one of only
two defenders to be in the starting lineup in every
game. Murillo finished fourth on the team in tackles
with 71 stops, including 43 solo tackles. He had a
season-high seven pass breakups.
#22 • Anthony West
6-0, 200, So., Cornerback
San Diego, Calif. (Point Loma)
West served as a reserve
cornerback throughout the 2007
season and also saw time on
special teams. He finished the
year with six tackles, including
four solo stops. West had
prepared to play in an injury-
plagued secondary in 2006, but he ultimately sat out
the season as a redshirt. This could be the year the
Point Loma High School product out of San Diego
gets his chance.
What the defensive backs lack in experience,
they make up for with enthusiasm. The return
of Pelini has energized them. “Last year, guys
were passionate,” Murillo said.
“It’s just a better attitude.”
#33 • Matt O’Hanlon
5-11, 195, Sr., Safety
Bellevue, Neb. (East)
O’Hanlon saw action in 10 games
last year, primarily working on
the Huskers special teams units.
He finished the year with three
tackles, including solo stops
against Nevada and Iowa State.
In 2006, O’Hanlon played in all
14 games and contributed on one of the nation’s
best kickoff coverage units. He had eight total tackles
that year.
#21 • Prince Amukamara
6-1, 195, So., Defensive Back
Glendale, Ariz. (Apollo)
Amukamara saw limited action
in 2007 as a true freshman.
Nevertheless, after losing
a majority of the defensive
secondary, he will have an
opportunity to step into
considerable playing time this
fall. He has the versatility to play both cornerback and
safety. After not playing in 2007’s first three games,
he saw action in eight of the final nine contests. He
was a regular on the Huskers kickoff coverage unit. He
recorded four tackles last season.
#6 • Major Culbert
6-0, 205, Jr., Safety
Harbor City, Calif. (Nathaniel Narbonne)
Culbert landed on the defensive
side of the football after
beginning 2007 as a reserve
I-back. He carried the ball
five times for 35 yards and a
touchdown against Nevada. His
move to defense came midway
though 2007. He recorded eight tackles in the season’s
final five games as a reserve linebacker. He also
participated on the Huskers special teams. This fall,
look for Culbert to try to land the starting safety job.
#28 • Eric Hagg
6-1, 200, So., Defensive Back
Peoria, Ariz. (Ironwood)
Hagg is like several of Nebraska’s
young defenders – licking his
chops at a chance to replace
the six outgoing regulars in the
defensive backfield. He saw
limited action as a true freshman
last fall. He has the athletic ability
to compete for playing time at both cornerback and
safety. Hagg played in seven games last fall as both
a reserve in the secondary and on special teams. He
recorded two assisted tackles.
 dan titchener

7 4 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8

Titchener aims for the sky as a senior
kickers
D
uring the team breakfast before the Texas
A&M game last October, Tim Cassidy,
Nebraska’s former associate athletic
director for football operations, motioned
for Dan Titchener to come over to the table at
which he and then-coach Bill Callahan sat.
Former Cornhusker Mike Minter also was
among those at the table. Callahan introduced
Titchener to Minter, who retired in 2007 after
10 seasons in the NFL.
“This is our ‘scholarship’ punter,” Callahan
told Minter.
Titchener looked at Callahan as if to say, Uh,
Coach, I don’t have a scholarship.
Callahan read the look and smiled. He hadn’t
misspoken.
“You’re on scholarship,” he said. “We put
you on scholarship.”
That’s how Titchener learned,
with five games remaining in his
junior season, he had achieved a goal
he brought with him as a walk-on
“Then I got here and saw how huge
from Cheyenne, Wyo.
Even better, the scholarship was
everybody was at this level and I
retroactive to the beginning of the
season. The next Monday, he signed
realized there was no way I could play
the paperwork and was reimbursed
for the semester’s tuition as well as
another position at this level.
for the cost of textbooks. “For my
parents, it was nice,” Titchener said.
It also certified his
accomplishments over two seasons, though
“with or without the scholarship, it still
would have been worth coming here, just for
the experiences. Getting to play in front of
80,000-plus people every game is worth any
amount of money,” he said.
Four years at Nebraska, including one as a
redshirt and another spent watching Sam Koch
set the school single-season record for punting
average (46.51 yards), haven’t diminished the
excitement of playing in front of sellout crowds
at Memorial Stadium.
Emerging from the Tunnel Walk into a
stadium packed in red is the “one moment that
will never get old,” said Titchener. “It was nice
to experience it in the stands when I came as a
recruit, but it’s completely different as a player.
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It’s something that can’t be described.”
Titchener experienced it in the stands when he
was in high school. Former coach Frank Solich
and his staff recruited Titchener as a walk-on
in 2003. Scott Downing was the contact. After
Solich was fired, however, Titchener didn’t hear
from Nebraska.
Then, after Callahan was hired, Titchener
came home one day to find a message on the
telephone answering machine from Downing,
who had been retained on staff.
Nebraska was still interested in him. And he
was still interested in Nebraska.
That seems like a long time ago. Much has
changed.
“It’s totally different than when I was getting
recruited,” Titchener said.
When he came to Lincoln for the spring game
dan titchener
prior to his freshman season, for example, the
team’s post-game barbeque was held in Schulte
Fieldhouse. Then the venerable but out-dated
structure was torn down to make way for the
Tom and Nancy Osborne Complex.
There are many other differences, too many
to mention. Downing remained for two seasons
and worked with the punters as well as tight
ends, before leaving to become head coach
at Northern Colorado. He was succeeded by
Shawn Watson and then Joe Rudolph.
Punters often are on their own anyway, but
after Downing left, that was even more the case,
“a lot of learning on our own, going to camps
and stuff,” said Titchener.
Now, John Papuchis works with the punters,
and “he has helped me a ton, in terms of
Adi Kunalic
AT A GLANCE
Returning Place-Kickers
Alex Henery 6-2
6-0
170
185
So.
Sr.
Returning Punters
Dan Titchener 6-0 200 Sr.
Returning Specialists
Jake Wesch 6-1 205 Sr.
T.J. O’Leary 6-1 235 Sr.
Justin Baumgartner 6-2 250 Sr.
technique,” Titchener said. Papuchis doesn’t tell
him what to change. Rather, “he’ll say, ‘Look at
this, see if this is something you need to change;
try this and see if it works.’ ”
Titchener doesn’t need to change much, just
refine technique and continue to be consistent.
After all, he’ll be going into his third season as
the Cornhuskers’ punter, something only seven
others have done since 1946, when annual
records were first kept.
Mike Stigge set the standard, holding the
job for four seasons (1989-92).
The others, all three seasons,
were: Kyle Larson (2001-03),
Jesse Kosch (1995-97), John
Kroeker (1986-88), Tim Smith
(1977-79), Randy Lessman
(1974-76) and Dennis Claridge
(1961-63).
Smith and Claridge also
were regular position players,
Smith a split end and Claridge
a quarterback. Titchener played
defensive end and tight end in
high school. But giving up that aspect of football
wasn’t difficult. “I thought it was going to be
fairly hard,” he said.
“Then I got here and saw how huge everybody
was compared to me and I realized there was no
way I could play another position at this level.
That made a pretty easy transition.”
During his first two seasons, he shadowed
Koch. He was always right there, doing what
Koch did, figuring that was a way to get better.
“I paid real close attention to pretty much every
move he made. I wanted to see how to react at
practice if things went wrong, how to improve,
what to do, what kind of drills to do to, that kind
of stuff,” Titchener said.
He also watched how Koch carried himself.
Titchener maintains contact with Koch

and Koch’s predecessor Kyle Larson, whose
45.12-yards-per-punt average in 2003 ranks
second on the Cornhuskers’ single-season list.
He would like to challenge Koch and Larson
at the top of that list this season. He averaged
39.3 yards on 66 punts in 2006 and 41.3 yards on
49 punts in 2007 to rank fifth in the Big 12 and
48th nationally and earn All-Big 12 honorable
mention from the conference coaches. His punts
have been downed inside the 20-yard line 42
times over the past two seasons.
“My goal is to lead the nation in punting,”
said Titchener. “It’s something I can definitely
attain. That’s what I’m striving toward. I always
want to be the best.
“But whether it’s a certain number (average)
out there, I don’t know. I’d want to average
about 45 yards . . . maybe 44 would be on the
lower end of what I want.”
Last season’s NCAA leader, Cincinnati’s
Kevin Huber, averaged 46.88 yards on 57 punts.
A top-six finish would have required at least a
45-yard average.
Kansas State’s Tim Reyer led Big 12 punters
with a 44.53-yard average.
Actually, even if his average improves,
Titchener would forego leading the nation in
punting if the team is successful. If the offense
is potent enough to limit the number of punts,
he might not meet the minimum requirement.
That would be OK with him. “I’d take 12 punts
all year,” Titchener said. “I want to play in each
game, so I’ll take one a game.”
And make the most of each one.
POSITION OUTLOOK
The Cornhuskers are set for kickers. Alex
Henery and Adi Kunalic are returning starters
as place-kickers. Their continued competition
will make both better.
Henery was something of a surprise, earning
the job kicking extra points and handling short
and mid-range field goals after walking on and
redshirting. He was perfect in his first collegiate
season, making 45-of-45 extra-point kicks and
8-of-8 field goals.
He was the ninth kicker in school history to be
perfect on extra points and the first to be perfect
on field goal attempts, with a minimum of five.
The field goal distances ranged from 22 to 39
yards.
Henery’s efficiency was particularly
important given the fact Nebraska attempted
the fewest field goals in the conference. Baylor
attempted the second fewest, with 14.
Henery could also punt in a pinch. He was
7 6 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
Kickers Preview
#82 • T.J. O’Leary
Sr., Long Snapper, 6-1, 235
Omaha, NE (Millard North/New Mexico State)
O’Leary returns for his senior
season after handling the long
snapping chores for the Huskers
each of the past two years. He
was perfect in 2007 as NU kickers
converted on every PAT and field
goal attempt. He also had three
tackles on punt coverage. O’Leary redshirted in 2005
after transferring from New Mexico State. He played in
every game for the Aggies in 2004 as a freshman. He
also served as the NMSU long snapper.
#37 • Jake Wesch
Sr., Holder/Place-Kicker, 6-1, 205
North Bend, NE
Wesch played in all 12 games as
Nebraska’s holder last fall. He was
consistent as the Huskers posted
the first perfect kicking season
in school history. Nebraska place
kickers went 46-for-46 on extra
point tries and 9-for-9 on field
goals. Wesch also hopes to continue to battle for
place-kicking and kickoff duties. He has also shown
the ability to be diverse as he has thrown a touchdown
pass for the Huskers. He helped pull off a perfectly
executed fake field goal against Kansas State in 2006
with a 17-yard TD strike to tight end Hunter Teafatiller.
first team All-Nebraska and first team Super-
State as a punter in high school – and he
expected to punt in college.
Kunalic attempted, and made, the
Cornhuskers’ first field goal of the season, a
46-yarder in the opener against Nevada. He also
kicked an extra point against the Wolfpack, and
he’ll likely continue as the choice on long field
goals, although Henery, who kicked a 48-yard
field goal as a high school sophomore, has
shown good range, as well.
Kunalic has left no doubt about who will
handle kickoffs. Even though the NCAA moved
kickoffs back 5 yards, to the 30, he sent 28 of
his 66 kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks,
averaging 65.7 yards per kickoff. Nebraska
managed only 12 touchbacks in 2006.
Kunalic’s strong right leg was much in
evidence in the spring game. After his first
kickoff was returned from the 11-yard line, the
next seven were touchbacks.
Jake Wesch is valuable because of his
versatility. He’ll be the top holder for a third
consecutive season. He can punt, as evidenced in
the spring game, when he punted twice, for 44
and 62 yards. And he can kick off. He handled
the majority of kickoffs beginning with the Texas
game in 2006, stepping in for Jordan Congdon.
Finally, T.J. O’Leary will be the deep snapper
#90 • Alex Henery
So., Place-Kicker, 6-2, 170
Omaha, NE (Burke)
Henery handled the Huskers extra-
point duties and short and mid-
range field goals in 2007. He had a
perfect season going 45-for-45 on
extra points and made all eight of
his field goal attempts. He earned
First Team All-Big 12 honors from
The Sporting News. A football and soccer standout
at Omaha Burke High School, Henery walked on and
redshirted his first year at Nebraska.
#20 • Adi Kunalic
So., Place-Kicker, 6-0, 185
Fort Worth, TX (North Crowley)
Kunalic gives Nebraska a key
defensive weapon with his long-
range kicking ability. As a true
freshman last year, he helped the
Huskers rank among the nation’s
best kickoff teams. He negated
the move of kickoffs to the
30-yard line by holding teams to 28 touchbacks in 66
attempts and his 42.4 percent touchback rate was the
best of any kicker in the country. He was also Nebraska’s
long-range field goal kicker. He made his only attempt
of the season, from 46 yards, against Nevada.
#97 • Dan Titchener
Sr., Punter, 6-0, 200
Cheyenne, Wyo., (East)
Senior punter Dan Titchener has
been a consistent performer for
the Huskers over the past two
seasons. He has downed 42 punts
inside the opponent’s 20-yard
line during that time and had just
one punt blocked in two seasons.
He punted 49 times for a 41.3 yard average in 2007.
He showed improvement as in 2006 he averaged 39.3
yards per punt. He has also excelled in the classroom as
he has been named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Fall
Academic Honor Roll four times and is a two-time First
Team Academic, All-Big 12 selection.
for a third season, after stepping in when Lane
Kelly was sidelined early in 2006 (he continued
to snap on punts when Kelly returned).
The most pressing question about the kicking
game is: Who will handle returns? Nothing was
decided in the spring. Sophomore wide receiver
Niles Paul and redshirted freshman I-back Marcus
Mendoza were among those who got looks, but
the list of candidates is much longer. Senior wide
receiver Nate Swift’s sure-handedness again
makes him a possibility on punt returns.
The Cornhuskers ranked eighth in the
conference in both punt returns and kickoff
returns last season, the latter despite the efforts
of Cortney Grixby, who set a Big 12 record with
1,094 yards on 45 returns. They need to improve
in both areas.
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 7 7
 Big 12 Preview

BIG 12 PREVIEW
Quarterbacks dominate the conference scene
T
he standard for Big 12 quarterbacks is high.
Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell led the nation in total offense. And
Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford led the nation in passing efficiency. But Big 12 Conference Preview
neither was first-team all-conference.
Harrell was on the coaches’ all-conference second team, sharing the
NORTH
position with Kansas’ Todd Reesing, while Bradford received honorable
mention. Missouri . . . national title contender, maybe
Reesing, alone at second on the Associated Press team, posted numbers
that would have merited first-team honors most seasons. But 2007 wasn’t
Nebraska . . . back on track with Bo
most seasons. Kansas . . . tough inter-division games
The Big 12 was loaded with quality quarterbacks, none better than
Missouri’s Chase Daniel, first-team all-conference according to both the AP Colorado . . . joining no-huddle ranks
and the coaches.
Kansas State . . . better if juco experiment works
Daniel, who also finished fourth in voting for the Heisman Trophy, had
impressive numbers. Beyond that, however, he elevated his team, took the Iowa State . . . deciding between quarterbacks
Tigers to another level.
Missouri climbed to No. 1 in the AP poll the last week in November and
finished No. 4 with a 12-2 record, its only losses coming against Oklahoma SOUTH
and Bradford.
Daniel is back, as are Reesing, Harrell and Bradford. Texas quarterback Oklahoma . . . in Big 12 title game again
Colt McCoy also is back, along with Oklahoma State’s Zac Robinson, Texas . . . new defensive coordinator
Kansas State’s Josh Freeman, Colorado’s Cody Hawkins, Texas A&M’s
Stephen McGee and Baylor’s Blake Szymanski. Texas Tech . . . defense is key in Lubbock
That’s 10 of 12 starters returning.
Oklahoma State . . . new offensive coordinator
Only Nebraska and Iowa State don’t
have returning starters – and in Texas A&M . . . Aggies get NFL perspective
the Cornhuskers’ case, that’s a
technicality. Joe Ganz started the
Baylor . . . new coach, same sad scenario
last three games and produced
remarkable numbers, passing “You can just look at the number of schools that played close games
for 1,399 yards and 15 and upset some perennial teams last year, and the ones that ended up in
touchdowns. the Top 10.”
Quarterbacks In addition to Missouri’s being No. 4 in the final AP rankings, Kansas
characterize the was No. 7 and Oklahoma was No. 8, with Texas finishing No. 10.
conference and The quarterbacks were a factor, Brown said, but so were the coaches.
contribute to its “Everybody’s got a good football team in this league now, so you can no
overall strength. longer plan on winning a game. You’re going to have to earn the right to win
“I think this will that game before you can count it.”
be the best balanced Consider that Kansas was picked in the conference-area media pre-
league we’ve had since I’ve been season poll to finish fourth in the North Division but tied Missouri for first.
here, the 10 years we’ve been at Nebraska, in contrast, was picked to finish second in the division but ended
Texas,” said Longhorns coach up in a fifth-place tie with Iowa State.
Mack Brown. “It is because The South Division was more predictable, although Texas Tech finished
everybody’s better. in a three-way tie for third and ranked No. 22 in the AP poll after being

missouri’s chase daniels

7 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
 Big 12 Preview
picked fifth in the division.
Texas Tech coach Mike Leach also attributes that success, as well as high
expectations for South Division teams this season, to more than marquee
quarterbacks. Competition is “always at such a high level that maybe it’s just
in degrees,” he said. “I mean, even though quarterbacks are big this year…
if not for that, there are running backs…
“I remember one year, this was such a scary conference because of
d-linemen. But I think the South Division’s always good, and maybe the
flavor of the month this year is quarterbacks. But I don’t know, better (the
division)? It’s hard to say, maybe different.”
Despite finishing with the highest national ranking of any conference
team and reaching the Big 12 championship game for the first time, Missouri
couldn’t win a rematch with Oklahoma, which has won three of the last four
conference titles and five total. South Division teams have won the last four
conference titles, in fact, and eight of 12.
Sooners coach Bob Stoops isn’t dismissing teams in the North Division,
however. “Those North teams look pretty good, too, with everybody that’s
back,” he said. “The overall strength of all the quarterbacks back just makes
the whole league strong. And even though we were (strong) a year ago, you
would expect it to be even more so this year.”
One season doesn’t produce divisional parity. “You don’t just have one
good year in the North and all of a sudden we’re balanced with the South,”
said Missouri coach Gary Pinkel. “We’ve got a great league. We’ve got great
teams in this league, in both divisions, and I think if the North can continue
to improve, it just makes our league that much stronger.”
Kansas coach Mark Mangino, the consensus national coach of the
year, doesn’t “try to analyze the North versus South. We’re in the Big 12
Conference, and eventually, you have to play everybody,” he said. “You can
see some signs of teams in the North, teams emerging. But I still am a firm
believer that things go in cycles, and there’ll be a back and forth.”
Offense and defense can be cyclical, too, and offense seems to be on the
upswing in the Big 12, which led all conferences with seven teams ranked in
the NCAA Top 20 in total offense. In addition, four Big 12 teams ranked in
the top eight nationally in scoring.
Nebraska averaged 35.3 points in eight conference games yet finished in
the lower half.
The no-huddle, spread offense has been a factor in the scoring. “I think
right now that the innovations that have occurred on the offensive side of the
ball, most of those have to do with creating space for very athletic players,”
Kansas State coach Ron Prince said.
Speed is at a premium, with defensive players “out in space, one-on-one
against a very athletic blocker and athletic, sometimes, runner,” he said.
Defenses will adjust. “You’ve got a lot of people in this profession who
are terrific at thinking about the game from the defensive perspective,”
said Prince.
Nebraska coach Bo Pelini is among those Prince described. Louisiana
State ranked third nationally in total defense the past three seasons with him
as coordinator.
The SEC is “probably a little bit more of a defensive league, I guess,”
Pelini said. “When I first came back in the league (Big 12) and I saw the
numbers in the league, I was a little bit blown away at how skyrocketed the
numbers were on the offensive side of things.
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 7 9
All-Big 12 Team
First Team
Offense
Pos. Player Ht. Wt. Yr. School
WR Michael Crabtree 6-3 208 So. Texas Tech
WR Jeremy Maclin 6-1 200 So. Missouri
WR Dexton Fields 6-0 204 Sr. Kansas
TE Chase Coffman 6-6 245 Sr. Missouri
OL Daniel Sanders 6-3 325 Sr. Colorado
OL Duke Robinson 6-5 352 Sr. Oklahoma
OL Luis Vasquez 6-6 335 Sr. Texas Tech
OL Lydon Murtha 6-7 315 Sr. Nebraska
OL Phil Loadholt 6-8 350 Sr. Oklahoma
QB Chase Daniel 6-0 225 Sr. Missouri
RB Marlon Lucky 6-0 215 Sr. Nebraska
RB Mike Goodson 6-0 206 Jr. Texas A&M
PK Jeff Wolfert 6-2 185 Sr. Missouri
KR DeMarco Murray 6-0 191 So. Oklahoma
Defense
DL Auston English 6-3 257 Jr. Oklahoma
DL George Hypolite 6-1 285 Sr. Colorado
DL Ziggy Hood 6-4 295 Sr. Missouri
DL Ian Campbell 6-5 249 Sr. Kansas State
LB Joe Mortensen 6-1 250 Sr. Kansas
LB Sean Weatherspoon 6-1 235 Jr. Missouri
LB Rashad Bobino 5-11 238 Sr. Texas
DB Chris Harris 6-0 180 So. Kansas
DB Jacob Lacey 5-11 175 Sr. Oklahoma State
DB William Moore 6-1 230 Sr. Missouri
DB Nic Harris 6-3 226 Sr. Oklahoma
P Justin Brantly 6-3 241 Sr. Texas A&M
PR Jeremy Maclin 6-1 200 So. Missouri
second Team
Offense
WR Juaquin Iglesias 6-1 201 Sr. Oklahoma
WR Quan Cosby 5-11 205 Sr. Texas
WR Nate Swift 6-2 200 Sr. Nebraska
TE Brandon Pettigrew 6-6 260 Sr. Oklahoma State
OL Jon Cooper 6-2 285 Sr. Oklahoma
OL Matt Slauson 6-5 325 Sr. Nebraska
OL Rylan Reed 6-7 314 Sr. Texas Tech
OL Adam Ulatoski 6-8 310 Jr. Texas
OL Alesana Alesana 6-4 299 Sr. Kansas State
QB Graham Harrell 6-3 202 Sr. Texas Tech
RB DeMarco Murray 6-0 191 So. Oklahoma
RB Jake Sharp 5-10 190 Jr. Kansas
PK Brooks Rossman 6-0 178 Sr. Kansas State
KR Marcus Herford 6-3 208 Sr. Kansas
Defense
DL Brian Orakpo 6-4 260 Sr. Texas
DL Gerald McCoy 6-4 289 So. Oklahoma
DL Brandon Nicholas 6-3 290 Sr. Colorado
DL Stryker Sulak 6-5 250 Sr. Missouri
LB Joe Pawelek 6-3 236 Jr. Baylor
LB Brock Christopher 6-2 235 Sr. Missouri
LB James Holt 6-3 222 Sr. Kansas
DB Justin Thornton 6-1 202 Jr. Kansas
DB Jamar Wall 5-10 194 So. Texas Tech
DB Ryan Walters 6-0 200 Sr. Colorado
DB Jordan Lake 6-2 206 Jr. Baylor
P Matt Fodge 6-1 195 Sr. Oklahoma State
PR Deon Murphy 5-10 170 Sr. Kansas State

“It’s just a trend. I think when it’s all said
and done, you see the teams that are usually
in it at the top finding a way to play good
defense because you’re never going to win
championships without having success on
defense. It’s cyclical, like everything else.”
Statistically, Kansas was the top defensive
team in the conference last season.
The Jayhawks also run a spread offense,
which has contributed to their success on
defense. “Just watching our defense, they’re
starting to pick up on some of the little
nuances on offense that we do because they’re
seeing it every day,” said Mangino.
The terms “spread” and “no-huddle” don’t
describe a single offensive system. “Every
offense you play against has a different
rhythm,” Pelini said. “Some teams, even
though they get up to the football in a hurry,
they’re not going real fast-paced. The bottom
line is, a lot of these offenses these days, the
offensive coordinators want to see what the
defense comes out in and they want to see if
they can get themselves into the right plays.
“So you have to evaluate what they’re
trying to accomplish and try and offset it by
how you disguise, how you hold your looks
and still be able to get your calls in and match
personnel at the same time. Every offense is
different and presents, I guess, a unique set of
problems.”
Spread offenses “are a lot different,” said
Pinkel.
Missouri’s spread, no-huddle system,
installed by offensive coordinator Dave
Christensen in 2005, is different than West
Virginia’s, which is different than Oregon’s.
And the Tigers’ offense is different than both.
That “makes it good, and really makes a
difference in college football and high school
football. It’s a lot different than the NFL,
where every offense and every defense looks
absolutely identical,” Pinkel said.
Regardless of the offensive system, the key
component is the quarterback. And the Big
12 has an abundance of veteran quarterbacks,
proven leaders, in 2008.
bowl bound
For the sixth time in the past seven
seasons, eight Big 12 teams played in bowl
games in 2007. With Oklahoma and Kansas
8 0 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
Big 12 Preview
in BCS bowl games, the conference was not
represented in the Texas Bowl, however. The
Big 12 bowl results were:
4Orange: Kansas 24, Virginia Tech 21
4Fiesta: West Virginia 48, Oklahoma 28
4Gator: Texas Tech 30, Virginia 27
4Cotton: Missouri 38, Arkansas 7
4Music City: Oklahoma State 49, Indiana 33
4Independence: Alabama 30, Colorado 24
4Alamo: Penn State 24, Texas A&M 17
4Holiday: Texas 52, Arizona State 34
Eleven conference teams have played in
bowl games since 2005. Baylor hasn’t played
in a bowl game since 1994, when the Bears
lost to Washington State in the Alamo Bowl.
offensive
Seven Big 12 teams ranked in the NCAA’s
Top 20 in total offense in 2007:
Rk. School Yards
2. Texas Tech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529.6
5. Missouri. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490.3
7. Oklahoma State. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486.3
8. Kansas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479.8
9. Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468.2
13. Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462.9
19. Oklahoma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448.9
Putting up points
Six Big 12 teams ranked in the NCAA’s Top
20 in scoring:
Rk. School Points
2. Kansas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42.8 points
5. Oklahoma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42.3
7. Texas Tech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40.9
8. Missouri. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.9
14. Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37.2
18. Kansas State. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35.2
CONSENSUS
Eight Big 12 players earned consensus All-
America recognition, a conference high.
4Michael Crabtree*, WR, Texas Tech
4Jordon Dizon, LB, Colorado
4Curtis Lofton, LB, Oklahoma
4Jeremy Maclin*, WR/R, Missouri
4Jordy Nelson, WR, Kansas State
4Martin Rucker, TE, Missouri
4Duke Robinson*, OL, Oklahoma
4Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas
* Return in 2008
Big 12 Notebook
RULES CHANGE
The NCAA will use a 40-second clock like the NFL this
season. The 40 seconds will begin as soon as the ball is
blown dead. Previously, teams had 25 seconds to snap
the ball after officials marked it ready for play. After a
change of possession, the 25-second clock will be in
effect, and the 40-second clock will not be used in the
final two minutes of games.
“It sounds like it would slow it down,” Brown said of
the new rule. “But the purpose is to try to get the game
through more quickly with dead time, not take away
plays from kids. If it’s a long pass, you’re going to have
to get back to work and move forward immediately
because we felt like there was definitely a quicker pace
this spring than there has been in the past.”
Most of the coaches agreed. “I think the game is
speeded up to some degree,” said Stoops. “I guess the
best way of saying it is there’s a more consistent speed
of play. Some officials spot the ball and get the clock
started sooner than others when we didn’t have the
40-second clock.”
Leach is less certain. “I haven’t noticed just a lot of
difference,” he said. “We no-huddle it some and try to get
after it. The biggest thing is those long plays, you have to
hustle down there.”
NEW FACES
Pelini isn’t the only new head coach in the conference.
Texas A&M hired Mike Sherman and Baylor hired Art
Briles. Pelini hasn’t been surprised by the enthusiastic
reaction of Cornhusker fans. “I guess nothing here
surprises me from being here the first time for a year,”
said Pelini, Nebraska’s defensive coordinator and interim
head coach for one game in 2003.
“It became obvious in 12 months how passionate the
people of the state of Nebraska are about their football.
We’ve had a great reception.”
TICKET DEMAND
Total attendance in the Big 12 surpassed 4.6 million
for a second consecutive year. Attendance was 4,652,267
in 2007. Big 12 stadiums were 96.6 percent filled in 2007,
the ninth consecutive year of over 90 percent. Nebraska
continues to set the standard with its on-going NCAA
record 289 consecutive sellouts at Memorial Stadium.
The Cornhuskers were third in the conference in total
and average attendance behind Texas and Oklahoma.
Texas averaged 85,144, Oklahoma 84,858 and Nebraska
84,515.
 Big 12 Preview
Breaking down the Big 12 position by position
QUARTERBACK
Best: Kansas
Todd Reesing, 5-11, 200, Jr.
Kerry Meier, 6-3, 220, Jr.
The Big 12’s best quarterback can be debated. But Kansas has an edge
at the position with an experienced back-up. The back-up is always only
one snap away, of course. Few back-ups can perform the way Joe Ganz
did for Nebraska last season, after Sam Keller was sidelined late in the
Texas game. Ganz was an unknown. Kerry Meier is not. He was the starter
in 2006 but was moved to wide receiver in order to get on the field with
the emergence of Reesing. No question, the Jayhawks’ continued success
depends on Todd Reesing remaining healthy. He makes the offense go,
throwing for 3,486 yards and 33 touchdowns, with only seven interceptions
last season. But Meier could fill in if the need were to arise. He completed
25-of-29 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns, in addition to catching
two touchdown passes and running for a touchdown.
Rest: “You have to have team guys at the quarterback position,” Texas
coach Mack Brown said. Colt McCoy, who ranked 22nd nationally in
total offense last season, is his quarterback. But John Chiles gives the
Longhorns’ offense a different dimension with his zone-read running.
Missouri’s back-up to Chase Daniel is another Chase, Patton. Iowa State
is the only Big 12 team without a quarterback who has starting experience.
The Cyclones will continue to evaluate Phillip Bates and Austen Arnaud
during pre-season practice.
Gone: Keller; Bret Meyer, Iowa State.
RUNNING BACK Best: nebraska
Marlon Lucky, 6-0, 215, Sr.
Roy Helu Jr., 6-0, 215, So.
Quentin Castille, 6-1, 245, So.
Texas’ Jamaal Charles declared for the NFL draft after leading the
Big 12 in rushing as a junior, with 1,619 yards and 18 touchdowns. The
Kansas City Chiefs selected him in the third round (the 73rd player taken).
With his departure, Marlon Lucky, who also considered leaving early, is
the leading returning rusher in the Big 12. He ran for 1,019 yards and
nine touchdowns and caught a school-record 75 passes for 705 yards and
three touchdowns. Lucky won’t be alone in the Cornhusker backfield.
Quentin Castille and Roy Helu, who had a solid spring, both played
as true freshmen. Marcus Mendoza, a redshirted freshman, provides
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 8 1
some situational diversity. And Kenny Wilson, a member of a four-man
committee in 2006, remains optimistic about returning from a broken leg.
The fullback also might do some running again in Nebraska’s offense.
Rest: Tony Temple is gone, but Missouri coach Gary Pinkel expects to
replace him with a group of running backs, including sophomore Derrick
Washington (5-11, 215), redshirted freshman De’Vion Moore (5-9, 195) and
senior Jimmy Jackson (5-9, 200). Texas A&M used 285-pound Jorvorskie
Lane at fullback in an I-formation alignment with Mike Goodson during
the spring. Kansas will replace Brandon McAnderson with Jake Sharp
(821 yards, seven touchdowns) and Jocques Crawford, the junior college
national offensive player of the year.
Gone: Charles; Temple; McAnderson; Dantrell Savage, Oklahoma
State.
receiver
Best: texas tech
Michael Crabtree, 6-3, 208, So.
Ed Britton, 6-0, 183, Jr.
Eric Morris, 5-8, 174, Sr.
Detron Lewis, 6-0, 198, So.
Aaron Crawford, 5-11, 199, So.
Texas Tech had to replace three senior wide receivers, among them Joel
Filani, a year ago and did quite nicely. Filani’s replacement was Michael
Crabtree, a redshirted freshman from Dallas who caught 134 passes for
1,962 yards and 22 touchdowns to earn consensus All-America honors.
He was complemented by Danny Amendola (109 catches, 1,245 yards, six
touchdowns), who is gone. Even so, opposing teams can’t focus on Crabtree
to the exclusion of Eric Morris and Ed Britton. Morris caught 75 passes
for 767 yards and nine touchdowns – which tied for fourth in the Big 12
behind Crabtree, Kansas State’s Jordy Nelson (122 catches, 1,606 yards,
11 touchdowns) and Kansas’ Marcus Henry (54 catches, 1,014 yards, 10
touchdowns). Britton, among the fastest Red Raiders, started 10 games
and caught 48 passes for 631 yards and four touchdowns. Lewis is a likely
successor to Amendola. Aaron Crawford can catch out of the backfield.
Rest: Kansas lost Henry and tight end Derek Fine but returns a
talented group of receivers, led by Dexton Fields and Dezmon Briscoe,
who combined to catch 106 passes for 1,330 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Missouri lost Will Franklin and All-America tight end Martin Rucker but
has another All-America tight end candidate in Chase Coffman as well
as Jeremy Maclin, who earned consensus All-America recognition as a
multi-purpose player, receiver and kick returner. Maclin shared Big 12
Freshman Offensive Player of the Year honors with Crabtree.
Gone: Amendola; Nelson; Henry; Rucker; Malcolm Kelly, Oklahoma;
Adarius Bowman, Oklahoma State; Todd Blythe, Iowa State; Maurice
Purify, Terrence Nunn, Nebraska.
 Big 12 Preview

Freshman of the Year. He was credited with two sacks and six tackles for

offensive line Best: oklahoma

loss. The Sooners led the conference in sacks, with 32 for 239 yards in
losses, and were second in total defense, behind Kansas. Inexperienced
linebackers will put added responsibility on the line.
Rest: Missouri lost Lorenzo Williams but returns Stryker Sulak, Ziggy
Phil Loadholt, 6-8, 350, Sr.
Hood and Tommy Chavis. Sulak had 60 tackles, including 11 for losses
Duke Robinson, 6-5, 330, Sr.
and six sacks. Hood and Chavis combined for 9.5 sacks. Colorado also
Jon Cooper, 6-2, 285, Sr.
has three returning starters: George Hypolite, Brandon Nicholas and
Brandon Walker, 6-3, 306, Sr.
Maurice Lucas. Statistically, Nebraska’s defense has nowhere to go except
Trent Williams, 6-5, 321, Jr.
up. A veteran front is the place to start. The top eight return, six of them
Branndon Braxton, 6-6, 312, Sr.
seniors, plus junior Ndamukong Suh, who was sidelined by injury during
the spring.
Seven of the top eight on the two-deeps and all five starters return. The
Gone: Lorenzo Williams; James McClinton, Kansas; Frank Okam,
Sooners allowed only 14 sacks, which made for the nation’s most efficient
Texas; Derek Lokey, Texas; Nathan Peterson, Oklahoma State.
passing game, but the running game needs to be more consistent. They
ranked fourth in the conference in rushing, averaging just under 200 yards

linebacker
per game. Consistency in the running game also starts up-front. Jon Cooper
has 29 consecutive starts over the past three seasons and anchors the line at
center. Phil Loadholt, a junior college transfer, had an immediate impact at
left tackle, protecting quarterback Sam Bradford’s blindside. Duke Robinson Best: kansas
lined up alongside Loadholt. Both were all-conference selections. Brandon Joe Mortensen, 6-1, 250, Sr.
Walker earned the highest grade among all of the Oklahoma linemen. Mike Rivera, 6-3, 255, Sr.
Williams and Braxton again will compete at right tackle. James Holt, 6-3, 222, Sr.
Rest: Texas has a veteran line, built around junior tackle Adam Ulatoski,
senior guard Cedric Dockery and junior Chris Hall, who has started
The Jayhawks are loaded at linebacker. Not only do the starters – the
at least one game at all five interior positions. Ulatoski was a second-
team’s top three tacklers – return but also every letterman at the position.
team all-conference selection last season. Nebraska’s offensive linemen
Kansas led the conference and ranked 12th nationally in total defense, and
are experienced and have settled into positions after consistent moving
the linebackers played a significant role. Joe Mortensen earned first-team
around. And the Cornhuskers are two-deep, with promising young players
all-conference recognition, with 106 tackles, including 15 for losses. James
in the mix. Kansas State has seven linemen with multiple starts, including
Holt and Mike Rivera both earned all-conference honorable mention,
left tackle Alesana Alesana and center Jordan Bedore, who was sidelined
combining on 195 tackles, including 23.5 for losses. The experience at
five games into last season.
linebacker should help offset the loss of All-Big 12 defensive tackle James
Gone: Anthony Collins, Kansas; Adam Spieker, Missouri; Tyler
McClinton, who plugged the middle.
Luellen, Missouri; Cody Wallace, Texas A&M; Tony Hills, Texas; David
Rest: Missouri’s starters also return, including Sean Weatherspoon
Koenig, Oklahoma State.
(130 tackles, 9.5 for losses) and Brock Christopher (106 tackles, 7.5 for
losses). Oklahoma has to restructure with the loss of consensus All-

defensive line
Best: oklahoma
Auston English, 6-3, 257, Jr.
DeMarcus Granger, 6-3, 300, Jr.
Gerald McCoy, 6-4, 289, So.
John Williams, 6-5, 249, Sr.
American Curtis Lofton, who was credited with 157 tackles, and Lewis
Baker. Ryan Reynolds, the starter on the weakside, could end up in the
middle. Colorado is without the nation’s No. 2 tackler, Jordon Dizon. He
was credited with 162, including 114 unassisted.
Gone: Lofton; Dizon; Alvin Bowen, Iowa State; Misi Tupe, Texas
A&M; Mark Dodge, Texas A&M.
joe mortensen, kansas

The Sooners will look about the same up-front as they did at the
beginning of last season if John Williams can come back from an Achilles
injury. He was granted a sixth season of eligibility after starting three of
the first four games a year ago. English, an outstanding pass rusher, led the
conference and ranked 15th nationally with 9.5 sacks among 13 tackles for
loss. DeMarcus Granger was credited with 3.5 sacks and eight quarterback
hurries, while Gerald McCoy was the coaches’ choice as Big 12 Defensive

8 2 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
 Big 12 Preview
defensive back
Best: kansas
Chris Harris, 6-0, 180, So.
Kendrick Harper, 5-9, 190, Sr.
Darrell Stuckey, 6-1, 205, Jr.
Justin Thornton, 6-1, 202, Jr.
Patrick Resby, 6-0, 200, Sr.
The Jayhawks took a hit when consensus All-American cornerback
Aqib Talib opted to bypass his senior season in favor of the NFL draft
– the Tampa Bay Buccaneers picked him in the first round (20th player
selected). However, everyone else returns from a secondary that helped
Kansas rank first in the Big 12 and ninth nationally in pass efficiency
defense and second and 49th in pass defense. The Jayhawks led the
conference in interceptions with 23, five of them by Justin Thornton,
who started the last four games at strong safety. He also broke up nine
passes. Chris Harris started 10 games as a true freshman and had two
interceptions as well as 65 tackles. Darrell Stuckey, the free safety, was the
leading tackler in the secondary, with 72.
Rest: Oklahoma also lost junior cornerback Reggie Smith to the NFL
draft, as well as D.J. Wolfe and Marcus Walker, leaving safety Nic Harris
as the only returning starter. Texas Tech, which led the conference and
ranked 12th nationally in pass defense, has two starters returning: free
safety Darcel McBath and left cornerback Jamar Wall, who had a breakout
season as a sophomore, intercepting five passes and breaking up six.
Gone: Talib; Smith; Wolfe; Terrence Wheatley, Colorado; Marcus
Griffin, Texas; “Pig” Brown, Missouri; Justin McKinney, Kansas State.
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 8 3
kicking
Best: missouri
Jeremy Maclin, kick returner, 6-1, 200, So.
Jeff Wolfert, place-kicker, 6-2, 185, Sr.
The kicking game is no longer the problem it once was for the Tigers.
Jeff Wolfert led the Big 12 in scoring by a kicker (and ranked second
overall) with 130 points. He was perfect on 67 extra-point kicks and made
21-of-25 field goal attempts. The versatile Jeremy Maclin, who ranked first
in the conference and seventh nationally in all-purpose yardage, returned
two punts and one kickoff for touchdowns. He averaged 24.2 yards on 43
kickoff returns and 12.3 yards on 25 punt returns. With the loss of Adam
Crossett, who averaged just 37.9 yards, the Tigers need a new punter. To
that end, the recruiting class included junior college transfer Jake Harry.
Rest: Kansas State coach Ron Prince emphasizes special teams. The
Wildcats led the nation in punt returns, and Deon Murphy is back. He led
the conference and ranked third in the nation with a 17.5-yards-per-return
average. He returned one for a touchdown. Jordy Nelson, who is gone,
returned two. Place-kicker Brooks Rossman is back, after making 22-of-28
field goals and 44-of-46 extra-point kicks. Tim Reyer, the Big 12’s best punter,
must be replaced. Oklahoma led the nation in kickoff returns, and both
returners are back, DeMarco Murray and Juaquin Iglesias. Murray returned
two for touchdowns and averaged 29.3 yards, seventh best in the nation.
Gone: Nelson; Reyer; Alex Trlica, PK, Texas Tech; Garrett Hartley,
PK, Oklahoma.
Big12 Conference
Missouri
Tigers
Missouri has the look
of a title contender, and
maybe not just a Big 12 title
contender, though that in
itself would be a significant accomplishment.
The Tigers haven’t won a conference title
since 1969, when they shared the Big Eight
championship with Nebraska. And they haven’t
won an outright title since 1960.
They came close last season, losing to
Oklahoma, for a second time, in the Big 12
championship game. And they regrouped with
an impressive 38-7 victory against
Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl to finish
12-2 and No. 4 in the Associated Press
rankings.
Not only that, they were No. 1 in
the AP and BCS rankings going into
the Oklahoma rematch. The question
is: Can they continue to compete at
that level?
Sophomore Jeremy Maclin is
convinced they can. “There is no
doubt that we will pick up where we
left off last season,” he said following
Missouri’s spring game.
“The team chemistry is definitely
there.”
So are many of the players who
produced the dream season in 2007.
Maclin, a consensus All-America
wide receiver and kick returner, and
quarterback Chase Daniel, the Big 12
Offensive Player of the Year, are the
most notable.
Both figure to be Heisman Trophy
candidates, serious candidates in fact.
Daniel finished fourth in Heisman
voting last season, passing for 4,306
yards and 33 touchdowns.
“A quarterback will generally be
the difference in taking your team to
another level,” eighth-year coach Gary
Pinkel said. “And Chase does that for us.”
Success depends on more than one player.
But “when the quarterback plays at the level
Chase does, it increases your chances of
winning,” said Pinkel.
The same could be said of Maclin, who
8 4 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
caught 80 passes for 1,055 yards and nine
touchdowns and had 2,276 all-purpose yards,
the fifth-most in NCAA Bowl Subdivision
(formerly I-A) history. He also returned three
kicks for touchdowns.
With a year’s maturity, he’s going to be even
better, according to Pinkel.
Daniel and Maclin are Missouri’s marquee
players on offense, with tight end Chase
Coffman close behind. Coffman, who already
holds the school career record for touchdown
catches with 20 and needs 47 receptions to break
chase daniels
that career record, caught 52 passes for 531
yards and seven touchdowns to earn second-
team all-conference recognition from the AP.
The first-team pick was teammate Martin
Rucker, also a consensus All-American. Rucker
is among several key losses on offense. Others
Oct. 4 at Lincoln, Neb.
include wide receiver Will Franklin, tailback
Tony Temple, center Adam Spieker and left
tackle Tyler Luellen.
Spieker, the coaches’ Big 12 Offensive
Lineman of the Year, and Luellen, who
protected Daniel’s blindside, had 90
consecutive starts between them.
Missouri ranked eighth nationally and first
in the Big 12 in conference games in scoring
offense. With place-kicker Jeff Wolfert,
touchdowns were always worth seven points.
Wolfert was perfect on 67 attempts, as well as
making 21-of-25 field goal attempts
to lead the Big 12 in kick-scoring with
130 points, good for second in the
conference overall.
The Tigers’ no-huddle, spread
offense attracted most of the
attention, but the development of
their defense as the season went on
was at the center of their success.
They led the Big 12 in total defense
in conference games only, allowing
353.9 yards per game.
Just one Cotton Bowl defensive
starter is gone, tackle Lorenzo
Williams. “We can definitely be
a great defense,” linebacker Sean
Weatherspoon told the Columbia Daily
Tribune in the spring. “Last year, we
were a good defense. But this year, we
can be great.”
Prominent among the defenders, in
addition to Weatherspoon, are safety
William Moore, linemen Ziggy Hood
and Stryker Sulak and linebacker
Brock Christopher.
Weatherspoon and Christopher
were involved in 230 tackles and 4.5
sacks between them while Moore was
credited with 115 tackles and led the
Big 12 with eight interceptions.
Sulak had six sacks and forced
four fumbles, as Missouri ranked second in
the conference and 11th nationally in turnover
margin, with a plus-13.
Moore was sidelined in the spring, following
surgery to repair a torn labrum. Weatherspoon
and Van Alexander, the other linebacker, also
missed the spring game because of injuries,
a torn knee ligament and torn labrum,
respectively. They should be ready by fall.
Obviously, high expectations are
justified. But “redeveloping the leadership
and chemistry on our team is really
important,” Pinkel said going into the
spring. “Just because you had that one year
“A quarterback will generally
be the difference in taking your
team to another level. And
Chase does that for us.”
Coach Gary pinkel on
quarterback chase daniel
it doesn’t automatically happen the next
year. It doesn’t just carry over. You still
have to work at it, and we’re constantly
working on developing those things.”
2008 Schedule
Date Opponent / Event Location
8/30/08 Illinois St. Louis, Mo.
9/6/08 SE Missouri St. Columbia, Mo.
9/13/08 Nevada Columbia, Mo.
9/20/08 Buffalo Columbia, Mo.
10/4/08 at Nebraska Lincoln, Neb.
10/11/08 Oklahoma State Columbia, Mo.
10/18/08 at Texas Austin, Texas
10/25/08 Colorado Columbia, Mo.
11/1/08 at Baylor Waco, Texas
11/8/08 Kansas State Columbia, Mo.
11/15/08 at Iowa State Ames, Iowa
11/29/08 Kansas Kansas City, Mo.
TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART
Offense (returning starters in bold)
XWR Danario Alexander 6-5 210 Jr.
Jared Perry 6-1 180 Jr.
HWR Jeremy Maclin 6-1 200 So.
Forrest Shock 6-1 205 So.
ZWR Tommy Saunders 6-0 210 Sr.
Earl Goldsmith 5-9 200 Sr.
LT Dain Wise 6-5 305 Jr.
Elvis Fisher 6-5 290 Rfr.
LG Ryan Madison 6-5 305 Sr.
Jayson Palmgren 6-3 305 Rfr.
C Tim Barnes 6-4 305 So.
J.T. Beasley 6-4 285 Rfr.
RG Kurtis Gregory 6-5 305 Jr.
Austin Wuebbels 6-4 285 Rfr.
RT Colin Brown 6-8 325 Sr.
Mike Prince 6-4 300 So.
TE Chase Coffman 6-6 245 Sr.
Jon Gissinger 6-3 240 Jr.
QB Chase Daniel 6-0 225 Sr.
Chase Patton 6-5 220 Sr.
TB Jimmy Jackson 5-9 200 Sr.
Derrick Washington 5-11 215 So.
PK Jeff Wolfert 6-2 185 Sr.
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 8 5
The confidence built during a 12-2
season should carry over, however.
“I saw our team deal with rankings like
Tigers at a Glance
you want a mature team to do last year, for
Projected
the first time,” said Pinkel. “In the past,
1 st
it was kind of overwhelming. I think last
year we kind of broke down that barrier of
it not being such a big deal, just more of
welcoming it and accepting it for what it is
2008 Finish
and moving on to the next thing at hand.”
STRENGTHS
The Tigers are looking at their highest
pre-season ranking in the AP poll since How about getting stronger? Gary Pinkel would
1969, when they were No. 10 (and finished like the running game to be more productive,
which means finding a replacement for Temple.
No. 6). And they’re looking forward to it.
“There’s more of an air of confidence “Generally, we’re at our best on offense when our
around us,” Daniel said following the running game is working, so that’s going to be real
spring game. “That’s good. It’s not important to try to get that going and to have some
cockiness, it’s confidence.”
degree of consistency, game by game.” The top
candidates are sophomore Derrick Washington,
The confidence, like the high expecta-
redshirted freshman De’Vion Moore and senior
tions, is justified.
Jimmy Jackson.
Can you say “conference title?” How
about “national title?”
question marks
OK, first things first.
It’s not a weakness but there is some uncertainty
2007 Record (12-2), Big 12 Finish (7-1)
in the offensive line, with the loss of Adam Spieker
9/1 Illinois W 40-34
9/8 Ole Miss W 38-25 and Tyler Luellen and two top back-ups. “I don’t
9/15 Western Michigan W 52-24 want to overuse the word ‘concern’ because you go
9/22 Illinois State W 38-17
through this all of the time with graduation,” said
10/6 Nebraska W 41-6
10/13 Oklahoma L 31-41 Pinkel. But “that’s almost half of your offensive
10/20 Texas Tech W 41-10 line depth you’re replacing.” Punting is also a
10/27 Iowa State W 42-28 concern, though the Tigers probably won’t have to
11/3 Colorado W 55-10
11/10 Texas A&M W 40-26
do much of that, anyway. Junior college transfer
11/17 Kansas State W 49-32 Jake Harry drew some boos after a 21-yard punt in
11/24 Kansas W 36-28 the Spring Game.
12/1 Oklahoma L 17-38
1/1 Arkansas W 38-7
DIFFERENCE-MAKERS
Take your pick, Chase Daniel or Jeremy Maclin.
See above.
Defense
DE Tommy Chavis 6-2 255 Sr.
Jaysen Corbett 6-4 260 Sr. WELCOME BACK
DT Ziggy Hood 6-4 295 Sr.
Daniel, Chase Coffman, William Moore,
Jason Townson 6-4 305 Jr.
NT Jaron Baston 6-1 300 Jr. Ziggy Hood and Stryker Sulak all looked into the
Andy Maples 6-4 300 Jr. possibility of bypassing their senior seasons in favor
DE Stryker Sulak 6-5 250 Sr. of the NFL draft. All decided to return to school,
Tyler Crane 6-3 225 So.
WLB Sean Weatherspoon 6-1 235 Jr. with the announcement coming in early January.
Connell Davis 6-3 215 Jr. Pinkel breathed a sigh of relief.
MLB Brock Christopher 6-2 235 Sr.
Luke Lambert 6-3 225 So.
SLB Van Alexander 6-0 235 Sr.
TOUGH TIME IN LINCOLN
Steve Redmond 6-0 230 Sr. If the Tigers are to win a conference title, they’ll
SS Justin Garrett 6-2 200 Sr. probably have to do something they haven’t done
Del Howard 5-11 200 Jr.
since 1978, defeat Nebraska in Lincoln. After an
FS William Moore 6-1 230 Sr.
Hardy Ricks 6-0 190 Jr. off-week, they open conference play at Memorial
CB Castine Bridges 6-2 210 Sr. Stadium on Oct. 4. Missouri won 35-31 in 1978. The
Tremane Vaughns 5-9 170 Sr. Cornhuskers had moved up to No. 2 in the AP poll
CB Carl Gettis 5-11 200 So.
Kevin Rutland 6-0 190 So. after upsetting No. 1 Oklahoma the previous week.
P Jake Harry 6-1 190 Jr.
Big12 Conference
Kansas
Jayhawks
The response was brief,
shorter than the question.
During the Big 12 coaches
post-spring teleconference,
Kansas coach Mark Mangino was asked which
was harder, getting to the top or staying there.
“They’re both equally difficult; I can assure
you that,” he said.
“Thanks,” said the questioner.
“You’re welcome,” said Mangino.
In the context of Jayhawk football,
Mangino’s sixth team reached the top last
season. It finished 12-1, a school record for
victories, and ranked seventh in both
polls. It also played in, and won, its
first New Year’s Day bowl since the
1968 season.
As a result, Mangino, whose record
at Kansas was 25-35 previously,
reached the top of his profession.
He was a consensus pick as national
coach of the year.
But that was then. “We’re not even
talking about last year,” sophomore
defensive back Chris Harris said
following the Blue-White Spring
Game. “We just have to rebuild.”
Harris was the coaches’ Big 12
Defensive Freshman of the Year.
Junior quarterback Todd Reesing
expressed a similar attitude. “Things
aren’t just going to happen for us,” he
said. “We have to show up and make
them happen. We learned that from
last year. The Orange Bowl doesn’t
mean anything this season.”
What does mean something is
the return of 15 starters, though the
departures are significant. Among
those gone are cornerback Aqib Talib
and offensive tackle Anthony Collins,
first-team All-Americans who both
declared for the NFL draft following
junior seasons.
Also gone are second-team All-America
defensive tackle James McClinton, running
back Brandon McAnderson and wide receiver
Marcus Henry. McAnderson rushed for 1,125
yards and 16 touchdowns. Henry caught 54
8 6 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
passes for 1,014 yards and 10 touchdowns.
But key players return as well, beginning with
Reesing, who set single-season school records
for passing yards (3,486) and touchdowns (33).
He completed 61.9 percent of his passes and
threw only seven interceptions. And he has
another season of eligibility after this.
A season’s experience in the Jayhawks’ no-
huddle spread offense should serve him well.
“All I expect Todd to do is what he can, play
within his abilities,” Mangino said. “I don’t
expect him to put up obscene numbers this
year. I expect him to have another strong year.
todd reesing
“There’s no reason for him not to. But the
biggest thing we don’t want is for him to feel he
has to carry the offense on his back every play.
We’re trying to surround him with playmakers.
We lost a few of them from last year, but we
feel like we have plenty of playmakers on our
Nov. 8 at Lincoln, Neb.
offense that make for a good, strong supporting
cast for Todd.”
Wide receivers Dexton Fields and Dezmon
Briscoe are such players, as is versatile Kerry
Meier, Reesing’s back-up as well as a wide
receiver and punter during the spring. Fields
and Briscoe combined to catch 106 passes for
1,330 yards and 13 touchdowns.
“We feel like our receivers will be a strong
suit for us,” said Mangino, who noted that at
the end of spring practice, Fields and Meier
were the “most dependable” of the receivers.
Defense has the most experience with nine
returning starters, including all the
linebackers Joe Mortensen, the man
in the middle, was credited with 106
tackles, 15 of them for losses, to earn
first-team all-conference recognition.
James Holt and Mike Rivera both
received all-conference honorable
mention and were the second and
third tacklers, respectively.
Perhaps the most significant loss
on defense was coordinator Bill
Young, who came to Kansas with
Mangino. He left for Miami (Fla.)
and was replaced by Clint Bowen,
co-defensive coordinator the past two
seasons and the only coach retained
when Mangino arrived.
Though the Jayhawk offense was
impressive, ranking second in the
nation in scoring (42.8) and eighth
in total yards (479.8), the defense
was dominating. Kansas was first in
the conference in scoring and total
defense and second in rushing and
passing defense.
The Jayhawks led the nation in
turnover margin, with a plus-21.
McClinton was a major factor.
And no one player can fill the void
his departure leaves. “But we have a
committee of guys that’ll give us the repetitions
we need,” Mangino said.
Likewise, no one player can fill the void left by
Talib, who intercepted five passes and had 13 pass
break-ups. But all-conference honorable mention
free safety Darrell Stuckey made plays, too. He
was credited with 72 tackles, intercepted two
passes and recovered two fumbles.
Justin Thornton, who started the final
four games at strong safety after Patrick
“Things aren’t just going to
happen for us. We have to show
up and make them happen. We
learned that from last year.”
quarterback todd reesing
Resby was injured, also intercepted five
passes. Add Harris and the secondary still
should be solid.
In addition, several players saw action
in special packages. “You just try to get
the right chemistry together, and it started
to come together about the last third of
spring,” said Mangino. “You could kind
of see the kids were comfortable with
2008 Schedule
Date Opponent / Event Location
8/30/08 Florida International Lawrence, Kan.
9/6/08 Louisiana Tech Lawrence, Kan.
9/12/08 at South Florida Tampa, Fla.
9/20/08 Sam Houston State Lawrence, Kan.
10/4/08 at Iowa State Ames, Iowa
10/11/08 Colorado Lawrence, Kan.
10/18/08 at Oklahoma Norman, Okla.
10/25/08 Texas Tech Lawrence, Kan.
11/1/08 Kansas State Lawrence, Kan.
11/8/08 at Nebraska Lincoln, Neb.
11/15/08 Texas Lawrence, Kan.
11/29/08 Missouri Kansas City, Mo.
TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART
Offense (returning starters in bold)
WR Dexton Fields 6-0 205 Sr.
Kerry Meier 6-2 220 Jr.
WR Dezmon Briscoe 6-3 200 So.
Rod Harris 6-2 200 So.
WR Marcus Herford 6-3 205 Sr.
Johnathan Wilson 6-3 185 So.
LT Jeff Spikes 6-6 312 Rfr.
Ian Wolfe 6-5 280 So.
LG Adrian Mayes 6-3 305 Sr.
Jeremiah Hatch 6-3 311 Rfr.
C Ryan Cantrell 6-3 290 Sr.
Sal Capra 6-3 285 So.
RG Chet Hartley 6-4 310 Sr.
Carl Wilson 6-4 285 So.
RT Matt Darton 6-6 305 Sr.
Nathan D’Cunha 6-6 307 Jr.
TE Bradley Dedeaux 6-3 245 So.
Nick Plato 6-6 235 Fr.
QB Todd Reesing 5-11 200 Jr.
Kerry Meier 6-2 220 Jr.
RB Jocques Crawford 6-1 230 Jr.
Jake Sharp 5-10 190 Jr.
PK Stephen Hoge 6-4 216 Rfr.
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 8 7
each other, comfortable with the schemes,
executing things fundamentally, so we feel
pretty good about our defense.
Jayhawks at a Glance
“We think our defense is going to be
Projected
pretty stellar again.”
3 rd
Whether or not the kicking game is
stellar remains to be seen. The Jayhawks
have to settle on a new place-kicker as well
as a punter, which is why Meier punted
2008 Finish
in the spring. Marcus Herford, also a
wide receiver, returned two kickoffs for STRENGTHS
touchdowns in 2007. Not only do all of the starters at linebacker
Last season’s success hasn’t led to return but also all of the back-ups. Every linebacker
complacency in Lawrence. During the who earned a letter is back. Identifying those who
spring, “the kids really took a business- would provide depth at the position was a spring
like approach to it,” Mangino said. “Last goal, and “I think we have some young kids that
year’s team wanted to prove something.
have stepped up to help us in that area,” said Coach
This year’s team wants to maintain the
Mark Mangino. The same is true of the secondary.
excellence last year’s team had.”
Kendrick Harper started three games at cornerback in
Those things represent similar
the middle of the season, in between injuries.
challenges.
“I don’t see a major difference in it at
all,” he said. question marks
2007 Record (12-1), Big 12 Finish (7-1) Brandon McAnderson’s production at running
9/1 Central Michigan W 52-7 back must be replaced. Jake Sharp rushed for
9/8 SE Louisiana W 62-0
821 yards and seven touchdowns and caught two
9/15 Toledo W 45-13
9/22 Florida International W 55-3 touchdown passes. But he’ll be pressed in the fall by
10/6 at Kansas State W 30-24
junior college transfer Jocques Crawford, who brings
10/13 Baylor W 58-10
10/20 at Colorado W 19-14 size to the position at 6-3 and 230 pounds. A new left
10/27 at Texas A&M W 19-11 tackle to protect Reesing is a must.
11/3 Nebraska W 76-39
11/10 at Oklahoma State W 43-28
11/17 Iowa State W 45-7 DIFFERENCE-MAKERS
11/24 Missouri L 28-36
1/3 #Virginia Tech W 24-21 Todd Reesing makes the offense go. At 5-11 and
# at Orange Bowl 200 pounds, he’s not big. But he plays big. Based on
spring practice, he is “in sync and looking good from
last fall,” Mangino said.
Defense
DE Russell Brorsen 6-4 240 Sr.
Jake Laptad 6-4 237 So. WELCOME BACK
DT Caleb Blakesley 6-5 290 Jr.
Kansas is scheduled to come to Lincoln on Nov.
Richard Johnson, Jr. 6-4 279 Rfr.
DT Todd Haselhorst 6-4 290 Sr. 8. The Jayhawks haven’t won at Memorial Stadium
Jamal Greene 6-4 301 So. since 1968. Nebraska shouldn’t need motivation after
DE John Larson 6-3 250 Sr.
Max Onyegbule 6-5 240 Jr. losing at Lawrence 76-39 last season. The 76 points
SLB James Holt 6-3 220 Sr. were the most ever scored against Nebraska. The
Arist Wright 6-0 220 Jr.
MLB Joe Mortensen 6-1 250 Sr. crowd of 51,910 was a record. Kansas set a record
Justin Springer 6-4 232 So. attendance at home for a third consecutive season.
WLB Mike Rivera 6-3 255 Sr.
Jake Schermer 6-2 220 Jr.
CB Chris Harris 6-0 180 So. FORMIDABLE SOUTHERN FOES
Anthony Webb 6-0 185 Jr.
The Jayhawks didn’t play Texas Tech, Texas or
CB Kendrick Harper 5-9 190 Sr.
Isiah Barfield 6-0 175 Rfr. Oklahoma last season in the Big 12’s inter-division
SS Darrell Stuckey 6-1 205 Jr. scheduling of two years on, two years off. So this
Patrick Resby 6-0 200 Sr.
FS Justin Thornton 6-1 195 Jr. season, they’ll play all three. Reproducing a 7-1
Phillip Strozier 6-0 196 So. conference record will be more difficult.
P Alonso Rojas 6-3 220 So.
Big12 Conference
colorado
Buffaloes
Yes, Dan Hawkins had
planned a trip to the
Amazon this summer. But
no, he and his family aren’t
going. Their trip was cancelled because of a
potential health risk.
That Hawkins considered such a trip,
however, is evidence of his sense of adventure
and willingness to accept a challenge. As if
coaching in the Big 12 isn’t challenge enough.
“It’s definitely a dogfight, but that’s certainly
what makes it fun and that’s why I don’t
think you can assume your record is going
to continue to improve when you’ve got to
scratch and claw every week,” Hawkins said
during the Big 12 coaches post-spring
teleconference.
The third-year coach was
responding to a question regarding
the possibility of his Buffaloes’ being
improved over last season but perhaps
not having a better record.
“I don’t know that any of that’s a
given,” he said.
Colorado was 2-10 in his first
season and 6-7 a year ago, qualifying
for the Independence Bowl by
defeating Nebraska 65-51 in the final
regular-season game, of course.
Achieving a better record will
be complicated by a difficult non-
conference schedule that includes
not only the annual game in Denver
against rival Colorado State but
also games against West Virginia
in Boulder and Florida State in
Jacksonville, Fla. Then the Buffaloes
open conference play against Texas
before traveling to Kansas.
The rugged start is broken only
by a home game against Eastern
Washington.
At least Hawkins has players with
experience in his system now, including 15
returning starters, depending on what happens
with Riar Greer. The junior tight end was
suspended for an off-campus incident and
didn’t participate in spring practice.
Offensively, however, the system has
8 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
changed. The Buffaloes went to a no-huddle
spread in the spring, to pick up the pace. The
offense wasn’t completely new to Hawkins.
“We’ve used it in the past, in the 90’s, and we
had part of it in last year as well,” he said.
“So it’s really kind of a modification that
way. But I like it.”
He also likes the fact that there were more
offensive linemen available for the modification
this spring. A year ago, the Buffaloes had
to make do with only five to seven healthy
linemen. This year, they had enough to run two
or three stations during practice.
Three starters in the line return: senior
center Daniel Sanders, a post-season honors
george hypolite
candidate; sophomore tackle Ryan Miller and
junior guard Devin Head.
The offense needed modification. Colorado
ranked in the bottom half of the conference
in rushing, passing and scoring. The Buffaloes
averaged 27 points, and that included the
Nov. 28 at Lincoln, Neb.
Nebraska debacle as well as a combined 85
points against Baylor and Miami (Ohio).
Sophomore Cody Hawkins, the coach’s
son, returns at quarterback as does sophomore
wideout Scotty McKnight, the leading
receiver with 43 catches for 488 yards and four
touchdowns in 12 games (Colorado totals don’t
include bowl statistics).
Counting the Independence Bowl loss against
Alabama, Cody Hawkins completed 263-of-463
passes for 3,015 yards and 22 touchdowns with
17 interceptions. Though he needs to cut down
on interceptions, he has shown the ability to
make the offense work.
Tailback Hugh Charles is gone, however,
and that’s a concern because even
with him, the Buffaloes averaged just
144 yards per game on the ground.
The no-huddle offense isn’t limited to
passing. “I think you can do both,”
said Hawkins. “You definitely can do
both.”
Demetrius Sumler was listed first
in the post-spring “tailback grouping,”
following a freshman season in which
he rushed for 335 yards and scored
five touchdowns.
But incoming freshman Darrell
Scott could have an immediate impact
at tailback. The 6-2, 215-pound Scott
was No. 1 on the Long Beach Press-
Telegram “Best of the West” list and
considered by many as the nation’s
top high school running back.
Eight starters return on defense,
most notably senior tackle George
Hypolite, a first-team all-conference
selection by both the Associated Press
and coaches. Hypolite was credited
with 44 tackles, the most among
defensive linemen, six sacks and seven
quarterback hurries.
He is included on the watch list for
the 2008 Lott Trophy.
“If we can bear down and do what we’re
supposed to do and stay in our gaps, we can
be a special defense,” Hypolite said following
the Buffaloes’ spring game. “But that’s what it
comes down to; we have to prepare. We have to
out-work people.”
Seniors Brandon Nicolas and Maurice
Lucas also are returning starters up-front.
The most significant losses on defense
“It’s (The Big 12) definitely got
great coaches and tradition, a lot
of teams that are used to winning
a national championship”
Coach dan hawkins
are linebacker Jordan Dizon, the Big
12’s leading tackler, and cornerback
Terrence Wheatley. Both were first-team
all-conference picks, along with Hypolite.
Returning starters Jeff Smart and Brad
Jones will have to pick up the slack at
linebacker, while senior free safety Ryan
Walters is a leader in the secondary.
Though Colorado ranked in the middle
of the conference in total defense, it was
2008 Schedule
Date Opponent / Event Location
8/31/08 Colorado State Denver, Colo.
9/6/08 Eastern Washington Boulder, Colo.
9/18/08 West Virginia Boulder, Colo.
9/27/08 Florida State Jacksonville, Fla.
10/4/08 Texas Boulder, Colo.
10/11/08 at Kansas Lawrence, Kan.
10/18/08 Kansas State Boulder, Colo.
10/25/08 at Missouri Columbia, Mo.
11/1/08 at Texas A&M College Station, TX
11/8/08 Iowa State Ames, Iowa
11/15/08 Oklahoma State Boulder, Colo.
11/28/08 at Nebraska Lincoln, Neb.
TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART
Offense (returning starters in bold)
WRX Patrick Williams 6-2 205 Sr.
Josh Smith 6-0 180 So.
WRZ Scotty McKnight 5-11 180 So.
Cody Crawford 5-11 175 Sr.
LT Nate Solder 6-8 280 So.
Ethan Adkins 6-4 295 Rfr.
LG Matthew Bahr 6-4 280 Rfr.
Shawn Daniels 6-3 280 Rfr.
C Daniel Sanders 6-3 325 Sr.
Keenan Stevens 6-2 280 So.
RG Devin Head 6-4 295 Jr.
Eric Faatagi 6-2 310 Sr.
RT Ryan Miller 6-7 315 So.
Sione Tau 6-5 320 Rfr.
TE Riar Greer 6-4 250 Jr.
Patrick Devenny 6-3 240 Jr.
QB Cody Hawkins 5-11 190 So.
Nick Nelson 6-1 230 Sr.
TB Demetrius Sumler 5-10 215 So.
Kevin Moyd 5-7 185 Jr.
FB Maurice Cantrell 6-0 240 Sr.
Jake Behrens 6-0 230 Jr.
PK Jameson Davis 5-10 195 Fr.
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 8 9
vulnerable to the pass, in part because of
an inability to pressure quarterbacks. The
Buffaloes managed only 20 sacks in 13
Buffaloes at a Glance
games, to rank 95th in the nation.
Projected
During the spring, “I thought we
4 th
did a much better job of pressuring the
quarterback,” said Hawkins. “But we’re
kind of going into year three, so we’re able
to add a lot more wrinkles, and I just think
2008 Finish
a lot of the details and communication and
specifics get a lot better.” STRENGTHS
All things considered, Colorado might In five seasons at Boise State, Coach Dan Hawkins
be even more competitive in the Big 12 earned a reputation for his offensive imagination. So
than last season, when it finished 4-4. But the Buffaloes’ offensive woes shouldn’t be chronic.
the record might not reflect it. “I love the long pass,” said Hawkins. “As I’ve come
A reporter on the Big 12 post-spring along in this game, I’ve learned you’ve got to pound it
teleconference asked Hawkins if the Big 12
and launch it.”
might be the best conference in the country.
“It’s definitely got great coaches and tradi-
question marks
tion, a lot of teams that are used to win-
Uncertainty might be a better description for the
ning a national championship,” he said.
situation at cornerback. Terrence Wheatley is gone
“So I don’t think the Big 12 has to take a
back seat to anybody.” and the availability of senior Benjamin Burney is in
2007 Record (6-7), Big 12 Finish (4-4) doubt because of the effects of multiple surgeries.
9/1 vs. Colorado State W 31-28 The top cornerbacks on the post-spring depth chart,
9/8 at Arizona State L 14-33
junior Cha’pelle Brown (5-7, 180) and senior Gardner
9/15 Florida State L 6-16
9/22 Miami, Ohio W 42-0 McKay (5-11, 165) are small. The others are young,
9/29 Oklahoma W 27-24
sophomores and redshirted freshmen. Increased
10/6 at Baylor W 43-23
10/13 at Kansas State L 20-47 pressure up-front would help.
10/20 Kansas L 14-19
10/27 at Texas Tech W 31-26
11/3 Missouri L 10-55 DIFFERENCE-MAKERS
11/10 at Iowa State L 28-31 If a defensive lineman can be considered, then
11/23 Nebraska W 65-51
12/30 #vs. Alabama L 24-30 Hypolite is the man.
# at Independence Bowl
husker de-commits
Colorado capitalized on Nebraska’s change in
Defense
coaching staffs, signing three players who had made
LE Maurice Lucas 6-4 260 Sr.
Lagrone Shields 6-3 250 Rfr. non-binding oral commitments to the Cornhuskers:
DT George Hypolite 6-1 285 Sr.
linebacker Doug Rippey from Trotwood, Ohio;
Taj Kaynor 6-5 265 Jr.
NT Brandon Nicolas 6-3 290 Sr. offensive lineman Bryce Givens from Castle Rock,
Eugene Goree 6-1 295 Rfr. Colo.; and linebacker Shaun Mohler from Newport
RE Marquez Herrod 6-2 270 So.
Jason Brace 6-4 250 Jr. Beach, Calif., by way of Orange Coast College.
MLB Jeff Smart 6-0 210 Jr.
Michael Sipili 6-1 255 So.
WLB Marcus Burton 6-0 255 Jr. where’s kai
Bryan Stengel 6-2 225 Jr. Kai Maiva started the final nine games at offensive
SLB Brad Jones 6-3 225 Sr.
guard as a true freshman last season. The plan was
B.J. Beatty 6-2 220 So.
LCB Gardner McKay 5-11 165 Sr. to move him to fullback. He lost 20 pounds for that
Jimmy Smith 6-2 195 So.
purpose, switched jersey numbers from 51 to 40 and
FS Ryan Walters 6-0 200 Sr.
Anthony Perkins 5-10 190 Rfr. then announced that he was transferring to be closer
SS Daniel Dykes 6-2 210 Sr. to home.
Travis Sandersfeld 6-0 190 Rfr.
RCB Cha’pelle Brown 5-7 180 Jr.
Jalil Brown 6-1 205 So.
P Matt DiLallo 6-1 190 Jr.
Big12 Conference

KANSAS STATE Nov. 15 at Manhattan, Kan.

Wildcats
After his first season as indicated the plan was to take “a high number Deon Murphy is among those who will help
Kansas State’s coach, Ron of community college players this year.” replace Nelson’s production. Murphy caught
Prince was applauded. After Typically, junior college players aren’t part 57 passes for 605 yards and five touchdowns,
his second season, he was of a long-range plan. Prince was looking for rushed for 103 yards and three touchdowns
asked to defend the outcome of the Wildcats’ immediate help. Eleven of the 19 are defensive and ranked third in the nation in punt returns,
spring game. players; four are wide receivers. averaging 17.3 yards per return.
“I guess I saw the game a little bit differently The needs on defense are obvious. So The transfer from Coffeyville (Kan.)
than maybe those who might like to write too is the need at wide receiver, where the Community College was the Big 12 Offensive
otherwise,” he said during the Big 12 coaches departure of Jordy Nelson leaves a significant Newcomer of the Year, while safety Gary
post-spring teleconference. void. Nelson, the ninth consensus All- Chandler, also a transfer from Coffeyville
“I was very pleased with the game.” American in Kansas State history, caught 122 Community College, was the Big 12 Defensive
The spring game was decided by a 51-yard, passes for 1,606 yards and 11 touchdowns Newcomer of the Year.
fourth-quarter field goal by freshman Josh last season. The offense is built around junior
Cherry, a back-up. No need to quarterback Josh Freeman, a
defend that, really. two-year starter who threw for
Obviously, the game was a school-record 3,353 yards
competitive. But there was no other and 18 touchdowns last season,
scoring. And the combined total and a veteran line that includes
offense was 204 yards. “I thought Rimington Trophy watch list
our defense played real well,” said center Jordan Bedore and left
Prince. tackle Alesana Alesana.
Plus, he said, the focus of the Freeman and Bedore will be
intrasquad scrimmage was playing co-captains along with defensive
to win. Those on the losing team end Ian Campbell and safety Chris
ate bologna sandwiches, while those Carney. Freeman and Campbell
on the winning team ate steak. also were voted captains last
But to quote Allen Iverson, we’re season.
talking about practice, man, game- Campbell, a two-time, first-team
conditions certainly, but practice All-Big 12 selection, has been
nonetheless. So Prince probably credited with 28.5 tackles-for-loss
shouldn’t have to defend it. (17.5 in 2006) and 16 sacks the past
He might not have if his second two seasons. After playing outside
team hadn’t collapsed down the linebacker in a 3-4 alignment a year
stretch. The Wildcats were 5-3, ago, he has returned to defensive
needing to win only one of four end. He’ll still move around,
remaining games to be bowl however, so that teams “can’t zero
eligible. They lost all four, and in on him,” defensive coordinator
allowed 198 points in the process – Tim Tibesar said.
including 73 to Nebraska. The linebacking, with returning
Based on that, the spring game starters John Houlik and Reggie
outcome would seem positive. Walker, will be bolstered by the
Instead, it has been regarded as a return of Antwon Moore, who
josh freeman
negative, coming on the heels of was sidelined by injury two games
another perceived negative. Kansas into last season. “Since we are
State’s recruiting class included 19 junior “I don’t know that you can replace Jordy probably the smallest defense in the Big 12, we
college transfers, six of whom enrolled for Nelson, certainly in the state of Kansas,” have to play more aggressive and faster than
second semester. offensive coordinator Dave Brock said prior to anyone else,” the 5-10, 210-pound Moore said
More than one writer has described that the start of spring practice. “We need to replace following the spring game.
as a sign of “desperation,” though Prince the production that he had.” He is a transfer from Northeast Oklahoma

9 0 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
A&M, so it’s not as if Prince hasn’t
done well with junior college transfers.
Alesana and Penisini Liu, another
returning starter in the offensive line, are
tied a school record. He’s a transfer, but not
from junior college. He came from Ohio,
where he kicked for former Cornhusker
Wildcats at a Glance
coach Frank Solich.

Projected
Kansas State finished last in the Big 12
“I don’t know that you can
5 th
North for two consecutive seasons before
Prince arrived. The Wildcats were 7-6 and

replace Jordy Nelson, certainly
in the state of Kansas. We need
to replace the production that
he had.”
dave brock,
offensive coordinator
among others on whom the Wildcats are
counting.
They’re also counting on George
Pierson, who will arrive in the fall from
Tyler (Texas) Junior College, to replace
Tim Reyer, the Big 12’s leading punter.
Place-kicker Brooks Rossman returns,
after making 22-of-28 field goals in his first
season at Kansas State. The 22 field goals
2008 Finish
played in the Texas Bowl in his first season.
But Kansas State had six 11-win seasons
under former coach Bill Snyder from 1997
STRENGTHS
to 2003, and that’s the standard to which
Prince is being held. And that’s why he Expect the Wildcats’ special teams to be strong,
was asked to defend the defense-dominated though Tim Reyer must be replaced, Jordy Nelson
Spring Game, even though it was just a contributed to their leading the nation in punt return
glorified practice. average. He had two punt returns for touchdowns.
As for the late collapse last season, Deon Murphy had one. The team had five, total. Six
what’s done is done. “I’ve said it before,
offensive linemen have multiple starts, and Freeman
every year the team has to be reborn,”
continues to get better.
Prince said. “I think that’s critical in every
circumstance.
question marks
“And that’s the case this year.”
Kansas State ranked in the lower half of the
The Wildcats are being reborn, with an
influx of junior college transfers. conference, statistically, in scoring defense, total

2008 Schedule
Date Opponent / Event Location
8/30/08 North Texas Manhattan, Kan.
9/6/08 Montana State Manhattan, Kan.
9/17/08 at Louisville Louisville, Ky.
9/27/08 UL Lafayette Manhattan, Kan.
10/4/08 Texas Tech Manhattan, Kan.
10/11/08 at Texas A&M College Station, TX
10/18/08 at Colorado Boulder, Colo.
10/25/08 Oklahoma Manhattan, Kan.
11/1/08 at Kansas Lawrence, Kan.
11/8/08 at Missouri Columbia, Mo.
11/15/08 Nebraska Manhattan, Kan.
11/22/08 Iowa State Manhattan, Kan.
2007 Record (5-7), Big 12 Finish (3-5)
9/1 at Auburn L 13-23
9/8 San Jose State W 34-14
9/15 Missouri State W 61-10
9/29 at Texas W 41-21
10/6 Kansas L 24-30
10/13 Colorado W 47-20
10/20 at Oklahoma State L 39-41
10/27 Baylor W 51-13
11/3 at Iowa State L 20-31
11/10 at Nebraska L 31-73
11/17 Missouri L 32-49
11/24 at Fresno State L 29-45
defense, pass defense and rushing defense. So
obviously, the defense needs a boost, although last
season’s problems were a result of “multiple layers of
things,” according to Coach Ron Prince. Offensively,
the production of running back James Johnson, 1,106
yards and 12 touchdowns, must be replaced. Leon
Patton rushed for 390 yards and four touchdowns,
with two starts. Keithen Valentine, a walk-on (from
junior college), played well in the spring and could be
a factor.

TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART
Offense (returning starters in bold)
WR Deon Murphy 5-10 170 Sr.
Adrian Hilburn 6-1 190 Jr.
WR Cedric Wilson 6-1 181 Sr.
Lamark Brown 6-3 229 So.
WR Ernie Pierce 6-3 209 Sr.
Aubrey Quarles 6-2 190 Jr.
LT Alesana Alesana 6-4 299 Sr.
Edward Prince 6-5 280 Jr.
LG Wade Weibert 6-5 300 Jr.
Brock Unruh 6-5 301 Jr.
C Jordan Bedore 6-3 308 Sr.
Trevor Viers 6-5 270 Jr.
RG Gerard Spexarth 6-6 280 Sr.
Nick Stringer 6-6 270 Jr.
RT Penisini Liu 6-6 325 Sr.
Kaleb Drinkgern 6-6 260 Rfr.
TE Jeron Mastrud 6-6 259 Jr.
Brett Alstatt 6-4 224 Sr.
QB Josh Freeman 6-6 250 Jr.
Carson Coffman 6-3 200 So.
RB Leon Patton 5-7 187 Jr.
Daniel Thomas 6-2 227 Jr.
PK Brooks Rossman 6-0 178 Sr.
DIFFERENCE-MAKERS
Ian Campbell, who walked on from Cimarron,
Defense
Kan., and earned a scholarship in the spring before
DE Ian Campbell 6-5 249 Sr.
Brandon Howard 6-5 260 Fr. his sophomore year, is a proven pass rusher and
NT Bandon Balkcom 6-6 266 Sr.
candidate for Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and
Xzavier Stewart 6-1 304 So.
DE Chidubamu Abana 6-5 280 Sr. All-America honors. He’s already on the Lombardi
Jack Hayes 6-4 270 Jr. Award watch list.
LB Eric Childs 6-3 227 Jr.
Ulla Pomele 6-1 235 Jr.
LB Antwon Moore 5-10 210 Sr. beefed up schedule
John Houlik 5-11 217 Jr.
LB Reggie Walker 6-1 231 Sr. The Wildcats recruited junior colleges heavily
Cortney Herndon 5-11 206 Jr. under Snyder, though nothing on the order of 19
LB Olu Hall 6-3 232 Jr.
transfers in one season. But Prince has diverged
Hansen Sekona 6-0 230 Jr.
CB Joshua Moore 5-11 187 So. from Snyder’s scheduling of less-than-formidable
Ray Cheatham 6-0 185 Sr.
non-conference opponents. Although Kansas State
CB Blair Irvin 5-11 185 Jr.
Kendrick Matthews 5-10 180 So. opted out of a game against Fresno State this season,
FS Chris Carney 6-1 185 Jr. replacing it with one against Montana State, it has
Darhnaz Tigner 6-2 200 So.
SS Gary Chandler 5-11 195 Sr. future non-conference series with UCLA, Miami
Andrew Erker 6-1 187 Sr. (Fla.), Oregon and Virginia Tech.
P George Pierson 6-0 180 Jr.

w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 9 1
Big12 Conference

iowa state Oct. 18 at Ames, Iowa

Cyclones
The term Gene Chizik used run threat. I think Austen, right now, is a little “I feel that athletically we are still a little bit
was “star-power player.” Iowa further ahead in the passing game, probably off,” said Chizik.
State doesn’t have such a doesn’t quite bring to the table what Phillip “If you have a lot of solid recruiting classes,
player to replace the departed does when it comes to making things happen you will eventually crawl your way back to
Todd Blythe at wide receiver. on his feet.” competing with some of the upper-echelon
“We don’t have that guy that we can target Arnaud, a sophomore, saw limited action teams.”
and say ‘We must get the ball to him,’ ” the as Meyer’s back-up last season, while Bates, Based on the Cyclones’ 2008 recruiting class,
Cyclones’ coach said during the Big 12’s post- though recruited as a quarterback, played Chizik isn’t looking for a quick fix. It included
spring teleconference. wideout as a true freshman. only one junior college transfer – Jason Carl-
“Quite frankly, we don’t have that here.” The bottom line is, “we can run our offense son, a wide receiver.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, however, with both of them,” Chizik said. The defense also has to replace its top play-
Chizik added, because “we’re into team any- The situation at quarterback, like the situa- ers from last season, linebackers Alvin Bowen
way, and we’re into not worrying about who tion at wide receiver, is characteristic of Chizik’s and Jon Banks and tackles Athyba Rubin and
gets the credit and all those things. Bryce Braaksma.
We’ve got guys who play within our Bowen, the nation’s leading
system and we still feel can be very tackler in 2006 and a second-team
productive.” all-conference selection last season,
That the Cyclones don’t have and Rubin were both selected in the
another Blythe waiting in the wings NFL draft.
is certainly no surprise. He finished Those four contributed to a
his career as Iowa State’s all-time defense that made marked improve-
leader in pass receptions, receiving ment in Chizik’s first season. The
yards and touchdown catches. But Cyclones were respectable statisti-
they don’t even have a reasonable cally, ranking 65th nationally and
facsimile. seventh in the conference in total
“We have solid guys. We don’t defense and 44th and sixth in rush-
have any guys who just make you ing defense.
go ‘Wow.’ We just don’t have a By comparison they ranked
bunch of big-time players there,” 102nd in both categories in 2006.
Chizik said of his wide receivers. The top returning tacklers are
“They’re all solid guys who try hard both named Smith, linebacker
and they really care about football, Jesse and safety James. They each
they really love the game. were credited with 79. Defensive
“And we can win games with end Kurtis Taylor, the team’s
guys like that.” comeback player of the year (he
The question is: How many missed 2006 with a knee injury),
games can the Cyclones win? finished with 41 tackles, including
They won three with Blythe, and 6.5 sacks.
quarterback Bret Meyer last season. Junior defensive end Christopher
Meyer, who’s also gone, is the Lyle is among those who played
school’s all-time leader in passing well in the spring, according to
yardage and total offense. Chizik, and senior Chris Singleton
Meyer’s replacement will be jason scales is a veteran cornerback.
either Austen Arnaud or Phillip Even with Blythe and Meyer,
Bates, or both. “It’s not out of the realm for second team on both sides of the ball, players the offense struggled. Iowa State averaged
us to end up playing two quarterbacks,” said who appear to be solid but not “star power” only 18.2 points per game, tying the Big 12’s
Chizik. quality, at this point anyway. So the program Baylor for 111th in the nation and last in the
“I think Phillip gives us a little bit more of a will continue to experience growing pains. conference.

9 2 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
 The Cyclones also were 102nd in total
offense and 95th in rushing.
“We tried to run the football last year
and weren’t very good at it,” Chizik said.
ander Robinson and senior Jason Scales.
Robinson finished strong, rushing for
391 yards and six touchdowns in the final
Cyclones at a Glance
four games. And he “definitely stepped to

Projected
the front of the pack” during the spring,
“If you have a lot of solid
6 th
said Chizik.
Senior R.J. Sumrall was the team’s lead-
recruiting classes, you will

eventually crawl your way back

to competing with some of the
upper-echelon teams.”
Coach gene chizik
“But we’re going to have to run the football
here. We just feel very strongly about that.
“We had some flashes of some running
backs doing some nice things.”
Three of the backs rushed for 100 or
more yards in a game, and all three return,
although senior J.J. Bass was suspended in-
definitely in the spring for not meeting team
standards. The others are sophomore Alex-
ing receiver last season, with 54 catches for
434 yards, but he didn’t have a touchdown
catch. Junior Marquis Hamilton, who
caught 45 passes for 534 yard and one
touchdown, provides size at the posi-
tion; he’s 6-3 and 220 pounds. And junior
Houston Jones played well in the spring.
But none is in Blythe’s category.
“We don’t have a guy that’s here on
campus right now that really is what Todd
Blythe was,” Chizik said. “We’ve got solid
guys that are role players.
“But as far as big-play capability, a guy
that can go up and catch four touchdown
passes in a game, things like that, we don’t
feel like we have that guy.”
2008 Finish
STRENGTHS
The offensive line could be a strength, with four
starters returning, though all four were first-time
starters last season. One of the four, sophomore
tackle Ben Lamaak, played quarterback at the end
of his high school career and was recruited by Iowa
State as a tight end. Redshirted freshman Kelechi
Osemele, the offensive scout team player of the year,
is competing for the other starting job, at guard. He is
listed at 6-5 and 341 pounds.
question marks
In addition to the offensive struggles last season,

2008 Schedule the Cyclones hardly distinguished themselves on

Date Opponent / Event Location
8/28/08 South Dakota State Ames, Iowa
9/6/08 Kent State Ames, Iowa
9/13/08 at Iowa Iowa City, Iowa
9/20/08 at UNLV Las Vegas, Nev.
10/4/08 Kansas Ames, Iowa
10/11/08 at Baylor Waco, Texas
10/18/08 Nebraska Ames, Iowa
10/25/08 Texas A&M Ames, Iowa
11/1/08 at Oklahoma State Stillwater, Okla.
11/8/08 at Colorado Boulder, Colo.
11/15/08 Missouri Ames, Iowa
11/22/08 at Kansas State Manhattan, Kan.
TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART
Offense (returning starters in bold)
WR R.J. Sumrall 6-1 203 Sr.
Euseph Messiah 5-10 171 Sr.
WR Marquis Hamilton 6-3 220 Jr.
Wallace Franklin 6-3 169 Sr.
LT Doug Dedrick 6-4 282 Sr.
Matt Hulbert 6-7 287 So.
LG Reggie Stephens 6-4 320 Jr.
Alex Alvarez 6-2 282 So.
C Brandon Johnson 6-3 305 Sr.
Mike Knapp 6-3 270 Jr.
RG Joe Blaes 6-2 289 Sr.
Kelechi Osemele 6-5 341 Rfr.
RT Ben Lamaak 6-4 306 So.
Trey Baysinger 6-6 292 Rfr.
TE Collin Franklin 6-6 231 So.
Derrick Catlett 6-4 251 Jr.
QB Austen Arnaud 6-3 222 So.
Phillip Bates 6-2 209 So.
RB Alexander Robinson 5-10 181 So.
Jason Scales 5-9 212 Sr.
FB Derrick Catlett 6-4 251 Jr.
Brian Eklelundu 5-10 237 Jr.
PK Zach Guyer 6-3 180 Rfr.
2007 Record (3-9), Big 12 Finish (2-6)
8/30 Kent State L 14-23 special teams. They ranked last in the conference in
9/8 Northern Iowa L 13-24 kickoff returns and punt returns – they ranked last
9/15 Iowa W 15-13
in the nation, in fact. Obviously, those areas need to
9/22 at Toledo L 35-36
9/29 at Nebraska L 17-35 improve. Also, Bret Culbertson, who was 100-for-100
10/6 at Texas Tech L 17-42 on career extra-point kicks, is gone.
10/13 Texas L 3-56
10/20 Oklahoma L 7-17
10/27 at Missouri L 28-42 DIFFERENCE-MAKER
11/3 Kansas State W 31-20 The 5-10, 181-pound Alexander Robinson, who had
11/10 Colorado W 31-28
the Cyclones’ longest run from scrimmage last season
11/17 at Kansas L 7-45
(37 yards for a touchdown against Missouri), “is going
to be a threat to break it,” said Chizik. “He can make
guys miss in the open field. You know he can spark
our offense, but it is certainly going to take more than
Defense
just him.” The line has to be consistent, for example.
WE Rashawn Parker 6-0 252 Jr.
Christopher Lyle 6-4 248 Jr.
DT Bailey Johnson 6-3 266 So. Cyclone commitment
Chris Weir 6-3 274 Sr.
Iowa State is in a $19.5 million, first-phase
NG Nate Frere 6-2 307 Jr.
Jerrod Black 6-2 290 Rfr. refurbishing of Jack Trice Stadium. The phase
DE Kurtis Taylor 6-2 257 Sr. includes the addition of suites, the remodeling of
Nick Frere 6-2 248 Sr.
the donor-club section and the widening of the
SLB Michael Bibbs 6-2 225 Sr.
Cameron Bell 6-1 223 So. concourse. Average attendance last season (49,462)
MLB Jesse Smith 6-0 235 Jr. was the highest since 1982.
Derec Schmidgall 6-1 222 Jr.
WLB Josh Raven 5-11 218 Jr.
Fred Garrin 6-1 219 Jr. nebraska connection
LCB Allen Bell 6-2 189 Jr. Phillip Bates is the son of former Cornhusker
Devin McDowell 5-9 183 So.
fullback Phil Bates (1980-81) and an Omaha North
RCB Chris Singleton 5-10 191 Sr.
Zac Sandvig 5-10 184 So. High teammate of current Cornhusker wide receiver
SS Chris Brown 5-10 177 Sr. Niles Paul. The 6-1, 207-pound Bates has “enough
Steve Johnson 5-11 201 Jr.
athletic ability when he gets himself in trouble to get
FS James Smith 5-8 192 Jr.
Brandon Hunley 5-11 205 Sr. himself out, and of course, in this league that’s huge,”
P Mike Brandtner 6-1 208 Jr. Chizik said.

w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 9 3
Big12 Conference
oklahoma
Although last season
finished with a second
consecutive bowl-game flop,
it’s doubtful that anyone in the
Big 12 will start feeling sorry
for Oklahoma anytime soon.
In the past eight seasons, the Sooners have
captured five league titles – three more than any
other Big 12 school. Since winning the national
title in 2000, no college football program can
boast more than Oklahoma’s 90 victories and
OU has failed to win 10 or more games just two
times in that span.
It would seem that coach Bob Stoops has
everything aligned for yet another
successful season as Oklahoma eyes
its third consecutive Big 12 title.
No less than 10 players return with
significant starting experience on the
offensive side of the football and five
regular starters return on defense
from a team that finished 11-3 and
defeated Missouri 38-17 in the Big 12
Championship game. OU still wound
up No. 8 in the final national polls,
despite falling to West Virginia 48-28
in the Fiesta Bowl.
“I think we have a chance to be a
solid team, but a lot of it is going to be
determined by what kind of attitude and
what kind of toughness and commitment
this team wants to have,” said Stoops,
who is 97-22 (.815) entering his 10th
season at Oklahoma.
While Stoops-led teams are
traditionally solid on the defensive side,
this year’s squad expects to feature an impressive
offensive attack. Oklahoma averaged 6.4 yards
per play last season, which was the program’s
highest since 1987 when the Sooners led the
country in rushing, scoring and total offense.
OU was fifth nationally in scoring offense in
2007, averaging 42.3 points per game.
Stoops has always said that inexperience at
the quarterback position is not a major concern
to him as the Sooners have won their five Big 12
titles with five different quarterbacks. However,
here’s guessing that Stoops and his staff knew
9 4 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
Sooners
they had something special waiting in the wings
prior to last year in quarterback Sam Bradford,
who was then a redshirt freshman.
Bradford produced one of the top freshman
seasons in NCAA history, completing
237-of-341 pass attempts (69.5 percent) for 3,121
yards and 36 touchdowns, breaking the NCAA
freshman TD record by seven. He also led the
nation in passing efficiency with a 176.53 rating
that placed him just ahead of 2007 Heisman
Trophy winner Tim Tebow of Florida.
While some might expect even bigger things
from Bradford in 2008, Stoops said he wants
the sophomore to simply continue on a steady
sam bradford
progression of growth, both mentally and
physically. Stoops said Bradford has added 10 to
15 pounds to his 6-5 frame and has come a long
way in the knowledge of the game as well.
“Our caution to him is to try not to do too
much and force things – that’s not how we
operate – and trust the guys around you like
you did last year to make plays and play within
yourself and within this system,” Stoops said.
Despite all his success, Bradford seems to
be taking the approach that he’s still trying to
win the starting quarterback job – just like he
Nov. 1 at Norman, Okla.
did last year.
“I’ve got to go out there and compete and
show that I belong on that field every day,”
Bradford said. “There are a lot of little things
– footwork, mechanics – that I need to get a lot
better on. I want to be quicker with my release
and quicker with my drops. Overall, I just want
to do everything quicker in the pocket.
“On the other hand, I’ve been through
a season and I am more comfortable in the
huddle, so I think I am able to relax a little bit
more and play the way that I know I can.
In the spring, Bradford and his teammates
took on the new challenge of learning the no-
huddle offense.
“That’s something we’re going to
have to continue to get comfortable
with and learn the pace, so it will be
fine,” Stoops said. “We’re no different
than anyone else. We just have to keep
working it and I just think with the
clock-management issues it becomes
more of a factor than anything else, so
we’ll keep working it.”
With the implementation of a
40-second play clock and other teams
in the Big 12 having success with no-
huddle systems, Stoops said he felt it was
important for the Sooners to keep pace.
“I just want to make sure that we’re
getting the same number of tries at it and
the same opportunities,” Stoops said. “I
think to have an opportunity to change the
plays at the line of scrimmage, you need to
be at the line of scrimmage quicker.”
Despite losing wide receiver Malcolm
Kelly one year early to the NFL draft and tight
end Joe Jon Finley and running back Allen
Patrick completing their eligibility, Oklahoma
returns players who accounted for 83.2 percent
of their total yards last season.
DeMarco Murray missed the final three
games of last season due to injury, but still
rushed for 764 yards and 13 TDs as a freshman.
A major break-away threat, Murray had a
92-yard scoring run against Utah State and
returned two kickoffs for TDs – a 91-yarder
against Baylor and an 82-yarder against Tulsa,
helping Oklahoma lead the country in
kickoff return average.
In short-yardage situations, Oklahoma
will continue to rely on Chris Brown. The
junior rushed for 611 yards and scored nine
TDs in 2007.
With Murray and Brown sitting out
spring practice while rehabilitating from
offseason surgery, Mossis Madu had an
opportunity to put his talents on display.
The Sooners also bring in a pair of highly
touted high school running backs in Jermie
Calhoun and Justin Johnson.
With Kelly foregoing his senior season,
Juaquin Iglesias likely moves into the No. 1
receiver role. Last year as a junior, Iglesias
led Oklahoma with 68 receptions for 907
yards and five TDs. Fellow receiver Quentin
Chaney was impressive in the Fiesta Bowl,
catching four passes for 129 yards.
The Sooners are stacked on the offensive
line as all five starters and seven of the top
eight players on last year’s two-deep depth
2008 Schedule
Date Opponent / Event Location
8/30/08 Chattanooga Norman, Okla.
9/6/08 Cincinnati Norman, Okla.
9/13/08 at Washington Seattle, Wash.
9/27/08 TCU Norman, Okla.
10/4/08 at Baylor Waco, Texas
10/11/08 Texas Dallas, Texas
10/18/08 Kansas Norman, Okla.
10/25/08 at Kansas State Manhattan, Kan.
11/1/08 Nebraska Norman, Okla.
11/8/08 at Texas A&M College Station, TX
11/22/08 Texas Tech Norman, Okla.
11/29/08 at Oklahoma State Stillwater, Okla.
TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART
Offense (returning starters in bold)
LT Phil Loadholt 6-8 352 Sr.
Cory Brandon 6-7 296 So.
LG Duke Robinson 6-5 352 Jr.
Jason Hannan 6-3 270 Fr.
C Jon Cooper 6-2 276 Sr.
Ben Habern 6-4 275 Fr.
RG Brandon Walker 6-3 307 Sr.
Brian Simmons 6-4 305 Jr.
RT Branndon Braxton 6-5 325 Sr.
-or- Trent Williams 6-5 305 Jr.
TE Jermaine Gresham 6-5 263 Jr.
Eric Mensik 6-5 246 So.
WR Juaquin Iglesias 6-0 202 Sr.
Tyler Stradford 6-1 173 So.
WR Manuel Johnson 5-11 180 Sr.
Brandon Caleb 6-1 196 Jr.
QB Sam Bradford 6-4 214 So.
Joey Halzle 6-3 208 Sr.
FB Brody Eldridge 6-4 260 Jr.
Matt Clapp 6-2 242 Jr.
RB Chris Brown 5-10 202 Jr.
DeMarco Murray 6-0 191 So.
PK Jimmy Stevens 5-5 149 Fr.
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chart are back for a unit that allowed just
14 sacks a year ago. The unit is led by a pair
of players named to the Outland Trophy
watch list in junior guard George Robinson
and junior tackle Phil Loadholt – the tallest
player in OU football history, standing 6-8.
Oklahoma’s defensive strength is up front
where Outland Trophy watch list nominee
DeMarcus Granger at defensive tackle.
Defensive end will be bolstered by the
return of John Williams, who was granted
a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA after
an injury to his Achilles’ tendon. Austin
English, who ranked 15th in the country last
year with 9.5 sacks, also returns.
The linebacker positions and secondary
present Stoops with perhaps his biggest con-
cerns. Both units took a hit to the NFL draft
as linebacker Curtis Lofton and cornerback
Reggie Smith bypassed their senior seasons
to go pro. Linebacker Ryan Reynolds and
safety Nic Harris will be counted on heavily
as returning starter to lead their units.
2007 Record (11-2), Big 12 Finish (6-2)
9/1 North Texas W 79-10
9/8 Miamai W 51-13
9/15 Utah State W 54-3
9/21 at Tulsa W 62-21
9/29 at Colorado L 24-27
10/6 vs. Texas W 28-21
10/13 Missouri W 41-31
10/20 at Iowa State W 17-7
11/3 Texas A&M W 42-14
11/10 Baylor W 52-21
11/17 at Texas Tech L 27-34
11/24 Oklahoma State W 49-17
12/1 *vs. Missouri W 38-17
1/2 #vs. West Virginia L 28-48
* Big 12 Championship, # at Fiesta Bowl
DEFENSE
DE Auston English 6-3 253 Jr.
Alan Davis 6-2 253 Sr.
DT DeMarcus Granger 6-2 307 Jr.
Cory Bennett 6-2 284 Sr.
DT Gerald McCoy 6-4 291 So.
Cordero Moore 6-2 297 Jr.
DE Jeremy Beal 6-4 268 So.
John Williams 6-5 249 Sr.
SLB Keenan Clayton 6-1 240 Jr.
J.R. Bryant 6-3 230 Jr.
MLB Ryan Reynolds 6-2 231 Jr.
Curtis Lofton 6-0 238 Sr.
WLB Brandon Crow 6-1 220 So.
Travis Lewis 6-2 220 Fr.
CB Lendy Holmes 6-0 193 Sr.
Brian Jackson 6-1 190 Jr.
SS Nic Harris 6-2 232 Sr.
David Sims 5-11 198 Jr.
FS Desmond Jackson 5-11 187 Fr.
Sam Proctor 6-0 202 Fr.
CB Dominque Franks 5-10 187 So.
Jonathan Nelson 5-11 176 So.
P Mike Knall 5-9 192 Sr.
Sooners at a Glance
Projected
1 st
2008 Finish
STRENGTHS
It all starts up front for Oklahoma, which returns
tons of experience on the offensive line. Junior
tackle Phil Loadholt and junior guard and 2007
All-American George “Duke” Robinson are on the
Outland Trophy Watch list, while guard Brandon
Walker and center Jon Cooper also return as full-time
starters from a unit that scored the second-most
points (592) in school history. The Sooners averaged
190.7 yards rushing and 258.2 yards passing, while
giving up just 14 sacks.
QUESTION MARKS
Graduation and early departures of linebacker
Curtis Lofton and cornerback Reggie Smith leave
Oklahoma relatively inexperienced in the back seven
of its defensive unit. Ryan Reynolds, who started
at weakside linebacker last year, will likely move
to middle linebacker. Three-year starter Nic Harris
returns at strong safety, but the Sooners will need
former nickel back Lendy Holmes, junior college
transfer David Sims and redshirt freshman Sam
Proctor to take on key roles.
DIFFERENCE-MAKER
Quarterback Sam Bradford enjoyed one of the best
freshman years in college football history in 2007,
but running back DeMarco Murray displayed play-
making ability that simply can’t be coached. Even
thought he missed the final three games of the season
due to injury, the freshman rushed for 764 yards
and 13 touchdowns, including a 92-yard scoring run
against Utah State. He’s equally dangerous as a return
man, taking two kickoffs back for TDs in 2007.
THAT WINNING FEELING
Even though Oklahoma’s last national title came
in 2000, there’s little doubt that coach Bob Stoops has
fully restored the Sooners’ winning tradition. Last
season, OU captured its 41st conference championship
in the program’s history, produced their 143rd and
144th All-Americans in linebacker Curtis Lofton and
guard George “Duke” Robinson and won 10 or more
games for the nation-leading 30th time. Alabama is
second on the list with 28 10-win campaigns.
Big12 Conference
texas
Longhorns
Entering his 11th
season as head coach
at Texas, there’s little
debate that Mack
Brown has turned the Longhorns into one of
the nation’s most dominant college football
programs.
With a 10-3 record last season, Texas has
posted double figures in victories for each of
the past seven seasons – the only team in the
country that can make such a claim. With
their victory over Arizona State in the Holiday
Bowl, the Longhorns set a school record with
their fourth consecutive bowl wins and have
now won six bowl games in the past
seven years.
While Texas annually lands one
of the nation’s most highly regarded
recruiting classes and departures simply
just allow a different, talented player
to step into the starting lineup, Brown
admits the Longhorns did have some
concerns heading into spring practice.
Brown’s team lost five starters on offense
and will have to replace seven starters on
defense this season.
“There are a lot of question marks
on our team because of the youth and
the inexperience, so we really went
after it in drills with a very competitive
nature,” Brown said. “We’re excited
about the challenge. When you play at
the University of Texas and you lose a
great player, which you do every year at
certain positions, if we’re doing our jobs
as coaches when you have so much talent
in this state, you should have someone ready to
step up.”
Somehow, most figure the Longhorns will
find a way. Texas has a nation-best 103 wins
over the past seven seasons and has a Big 12
Conference-leading 65 victories during that
same timeframe.
Still, Brown considers the challenges greater
than ever. Every South Division team is slated
to return its starting quarterback, and he sees
the North Division as much-improved.
“I think this will be the best-balanced league
that we’ve had since I’ve been here, and it is
9 6 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
because everybody’s better,” Brown said. “I
think Kansas and Missouri are listed above
us in the preseason polls for next year, so I do
think that because of quarterbacks, partly, but
also because the coaches have done a great job
and everybody’s deeper and everybody’s got a
good football team in this league now.
“You can no longer plan on winning a game
in this league. You’re going to have to earn the
right to win that game before you can count it.”
Texas will have a different look, defensively,
as Brown brought in former Auburn defensive
coordinator Will Muschamp to take the same
position with the Longhorns.
quan cosby
“Will is high-energy, he’s tough, but he’s
also very, very positive,” Brown said.
Muschamp said the Longhorns were able
to install most of his defensive playbook in
the spring, but noted that the greater focus
was placed on developing the proper defensive
attitude.
“I just wanted the guys to play hard, play
fast and play physical,” Muschamp said. “I
think that the players are a reflection of their
coach and I told them that I want to be the
most over-achieving defense in the country.
We want to be a blue-collar defense, a blue-
collar football team and we’re able to do that
because we have enough talent to have some
success.“It’s an every-day process – consistency
and performance as a coach and as a player –
and that is what we’re demanding from them.”
Texas is arguably more experienced on
defense than it would appear at first glance.
While the Longhorns technically return full-
time starters at three positions, Muschamp’s
unit actually brings back five players who have
been full-time starters in their careers and 10
players who have made collegiate starts.
Senior linebacker Rashad Bobino, a
two-time All-Big 12 selection with 38 career
starts, returns to lead the defense. Senior
cornerback Ryan Palmer is back with 36
career starts, while junior defensive end
Lamarr Houston leads a group up front
that also returns part-time defensive end
starters Aaron Lewis and Brian Orakpo,
who each have 32 or more career starts.
While Texas ranked No. 8 in the
country in rushing defense last year,
allowing, 93.4 yards per game, a No.
109-ranked pass defense ultimately led
to the Longhorns finishing 52nd in total
defense (371.2 yards per game).
“One thing I know we’re going to do
smarter is that we’re going to have more
pass rushers and more speed on the field
on third downs than we’ve ever had,”
Brown said. “We’re going to try to get
more pressure with four down (linemen).
“We’ve talked about that a lot, but there
are going to be four ends in the game in
most pass-rushing situations. We’re going
to be going after the quarterback better.”
Offensively, Texas should have a similar
look as two-year starting quarterback Colt
McCoy returns for his junior season. McCoy
is 20-6 in two seasons as a starter since taking
on the difficult task of following Vince Young’s
national title-winning season in 2005 and ranks
first in school history in completion percentage
(66.4) and passer rating (148.9).
After being named the national freshman of
the year in 2006, McCoy passed for 3,303 yards
and 22 touchdowns last season.
Behind McCoy, Texas ranked 13th in the
country in total offense last season (462.9 Shipley (43 career receptions) also return.
yards per game) and 14th in scoring offense
(37.2 points per game).
Cosby caught 60 passes last year for 680
yards and five TDs.
Longhorns at a Glance
While leading rusher and three-time All- Chris Ogbonnaya, Vondrell McGee and

“I think this will be the best- Projected

Fozzy Whittaker are expected to compete

2 nd
for the right to replace Charles. Ogbonnaya

balanced league that we’ve had is the most experienced of the group, but

since I’ve been here, and it is

because everybody’s better.”
coach mack brown
Big 12 running back Jamaal Charles and
two-time All-Big 12 wide receiver Limas
Sweed are gone, McCoy will still have
several key players around him coming
back. That includes four offensive linemen
had just 13 carries for 66 yards and a pair
of TDs last season while appearing in all
13 games.
“Chris Ogbonnaya has got the most
experience because he’s been in there for
two years as a third-down back and Chris
can play,” Brown said. “Those three guys
would still be competing in the fall to see
who will step up.”
On special teams, Texas returns senior
2008 Finish
STRENGTHS
Despite losing four major offensive weapons from
2007 in running back Jamaal Charles, tight end
Jermichael Finley and wide receivers Limas Sweed
and Nate Jones, quarterback Colt McCoy returns
with plenty of weapons to make an offense potent.
Heading into his junior year, McCoy is 20-6 as a

with 20 or more career starts in senior place-kicker Ryan Bailey. A former starter and already ranks fourth in school history in

Outland Trophy candidate Chris Dockery walk-on who burst onto the scene in 2006 touchdown passes (51) and sixth in passing yards

and juniors Chris Hall, Charlie Tanner and
Adam Ulatoski.
Experienced senior receivers Quan
Cosby (120 career receptions) and Jordan
2008 Schedule
Date Opponent / Event Location
8/30/08 Florida Atlantic Austin, Texas
9/6/08 at UTEP El Paso, Texas
9/13/08 Arkansas Austin, Texas
9/20/08 Rice Austin, Texas
10/4/08 at Colorado Boulder, Colo.
10/11/08 Oklahoma Dallas, Texas
10/18/08 Missouri Austin, Texas
10/25/08 Oklahoma State Austin, Texas
11/1/08 at Texas Tech Lubbock, Texas
11/8/08 Baylor Austin, Texas
11/15/08 at Kansas Lawrence, Kan.
11/27/08 Texas A&M Austin, Texas
TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART
Offense (Returning starters in bold)
FL Jordan Shipley Sr. 6-0 195
Brandon Collins Fr. 6-0 170
TE Blaine Irby So. 6-3 240
Peter Ullman Sr. 6-4 260
RT Kyle Hix So. 6-7 320
Aundre McGaskey Fr. 6-5 295
RG Cedric Dockery Sr. 6-4 320
Michael Huey So. 6-5 315
C Chris Hall Jr. 6-4 300
Buck Burnette So. 6-3 320
LG Charlie Tanner Jr. 6-4 300
Britt Mitchell So. 6-5 300
LT Adam Ulatoski Jr. 6-8 310
Tray Allen So. 6-5 320
SE Quan Cosby Sr. 5-11 205
Malcolm Williams Fr. 6-3 225
TB Vondree McGee So. 5-10 205
Chris Ogbonnaya Sr. 6-1 225
FB Antwan Cobb So. 6-0 222
Cody Johnson Fr. 5-11 255
QB Colt McCoy Jr. 6-3 210
John Chiles So. 6-2 215
PK Ryan Bailey Sr. 6-2 205
Hunter Lawrence Jr. 6-0 180
with a chip-shot game-winning field goal
at Nebraska, Bailey has made 24 of 28
career field-goal attempts, including 18 of
22 last year.
2007 Record (10-3), Big 12 Finish (5-3)
9/1 Arkansas State W 21-13
9/8 TCU W 34-13
9/15 at Central Florida W 35-32
9/22 Rice W 58-14
9/29 Kansas State L 21-41
10/6 *vs. Oklahoma L 21-28
10/13 at Iowa State W 56-3
10/20 at Baylor W 31-10
10/27 Nebraska W 28-25
11/3 at Oklahoma State W 38-35
11/10 Texas Tech W 59-43
11/23 at Texas A&M L 30-38
12/27 vs. Arizona State W 52-34
*-at Dallas # - Holiday Bowl
Defense
DE Brian Orakpo Sr. 6-4 260
Eddie Jones So. 6-3 260
DT Roy Miller Sr. 6-2 300
Aaron Lewis Sr. 6-4 265
DT Lamarr Houston Jr. 6-2 275
Ben Alexander Jr. 6-0 310
DE Henry Melton Sr. 6-3 265
-or- Aaron Lewis Sr. 6-4 265
SLB Sergio Kindle Jr. 6-4 239
Keenan Robinson Fr. 6-3 220
MLB Rashad Bobino Sr. 5-11 238
Jared Norton Jr. 6-3 242
WLB Roddrick Muckelroy Jr. 6-2 230
Dustin Earnest So. 6-3 233
CB Ryan Palmer Sr. 5-10 190
-or- Curtis Brown So. 6-1 178
S Earl Thomas Fr. 5-10 190
-or- Christian Scott Fr. 6-1 208
S Ishie Oduegwu Jr. 5-10 210
Ben Wells Fr. 6-1 195
CB Deon Beasley Jr. 5-10 175
-or- Chykie Brown So. 6-1 185
P Justin Tucker Fr. 6-1 171
-or- Trevor Gerland Jr. 6-2 195
(5,863). The Longhorns averaged 37.2 points per
game last season.
QUESTION MARKS
Even at talent-laden Texas, replacing a running
back with 10.1-second speed in the 100-yard dash
isn’t easy and so it goes as the Longhorns look to fill
the shoes of 1,600-yard rusher Jamaal Charles. Fifth-
year senior Chris Ogbonnaya sophomore Vondrell
McGee, redshirt freshman Fozzy Whittaker and in-
coming freshmen Jeremy Hills and Tre Newton could
all get a shot at taking over, or coach Mack Brown
says he might use the running-back-by-committee
approach.
DIFFERENCE-MAKER
Brian Orakpo has been placed on to the watch list
for the 2008 Lott Trophy, wich is awarded annually
to college football’s top defensive player. The 6-4,
260-pound defensive end has appeared in 35 career
games and has 19 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, 32
quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and a fumble
recovery. Orakpo may have set the tone in last year’s
final game as he was named defensive MVP in Texas’
Holiday Bowl victory over Arizona State.
major addition
Look who’s back in burnt orange, it’s none
other than former Texas quarterback great Major
Applewhite, who joined Mack Brown’s staff as the
assistant head coach/running backs coach. He was
a graduate assistant at Texas (2003-04) and coached
quarterbacks at Syracuse in 2005. He served as the
offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Rice
in 2006 and held the same position on Nick Saban’s
staff at Alabama in 2008.

w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 9 7
Big12 Conference
texas tech
Opposing defensive
coordinators performing due
diligence with their offseason
research of 2008 opponents
probably won’t like what they
see if they find Texas Tech on their schedule.
Yes, one of the most prolific offensive units in
the country is expected to be even better than
last year.
No less than 10 offensive players with starting
experience return from a unit that helped the
Red Raiders finish with a 9-4 season and a No.
23 national ranking following a 31-28 come-
from-behind victory over Virginia in the Gator
Bowl. In 2007, Texas Tech averaged 40.9 points
and 529.6 yards per game of total offense
with the help of Sammy Baugh Trophy
winner Graham Harrell at quarterback
and Biletnikoff Award winner Michael
Crabtree at wide receiver.
With eight defensive starters returning
and several significant special teams
performers back, many college football
analysts are predicting this might be the
best season yet for coach Mike Leach and
the Red Raiders. While Leach obviously
recognizes the potential, the ninth-year
Texas Tech coach is trying to curb the
enthusiasm of Red Raider fans.
“You just keep working, keep
improving and try to keep everyone’s
perspective right to understand that all
that counts is what you do together,”
Leach said. “Anything outside of our
program provides distraction because you
have to go work and grind. Potential and
nice articles and all that are not anything
unless you go out there and you make it
happen.”
As for this potentially being Leach’s best
team? “I don’t know – I guess we’ll find out,”
Leach said. “We haven’t played a snap yet, but
we’ve done some good things in spring. I think if
we continue to improve, any team that improves
has got a chance to do some good things.
“With this group here, I guess we’ll find out.”
Harrell should receive some preseason
Heisman Trophy buzz as he enters his senior year
needing 43 touchdown passes to break the major-
college record of 131 set last year by Hawaii’s
Colt Brennan. That mark is certainly within reach
9 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
Red Raiders
as Harrell had 48 scoring passes a year ago.
“It would be a huge honor for me personally,’’
Harrell told the Avalanche-Journal in Lubbock,
Texas, in regard to the career TD passes record.
“More than that, I think it would be a huge honor
for this team, because it’s a team effort.
“The receivers have to make plays for that
to happen. The offensive line has to protect on
those touchdowns. It’d be a huge honor for the
whole team. It’d be exciting and a fun moment.’’
The final numbers for Harrell last year
were staggering. The 6-3, 202-pound senior
from Ennis, Texas, completed 512-of-713 pass
attempts (71.8 percent) for 5,705 yards and 48
TDs with 14 interceptions, breaking former Red
michael crabtree
Raider Kliff Kingsbury’s NCAA records for
single-season completions and pass attempts.
Harrell, who has surpassed the 10,000-yard
mark for career passing yards, capped his 2007
season with a Gator Bowl-record 407-yard
passing performance to earn MVP honors.
Hauling in many of Harrell’s passes was
Crabtree, who came out of nowhere to record
arguably the greatest freshman season by a
receiver in NCAA history. He set freshman
records for receptions (134), yards (1,962) and
TD receptions (22), earning first-team All-
America honors.
Oct. 11 at Lubbock, Texas
Now, what to do for an encore?
“Will we put up the same numbers? I have
no idea. The season he had will be unbelievably
hard to match,” Harrell said. “But at the same
time, I think we can take it to another level (by)
just understanding where each other’s going to
be – him understanding where I’m going to put
the ball, me understanding where he’s going to
be, stuff like that. I think we have a chance to be
better in that aspect.’’
Crabtree agreed, telling the Avalanche-Journal
that he and Harrell actually had “a lot of
miscommunications” last season.
“This year, we look forward to getting better
on communicating with each other and being on
the same page at all times,” Crabtree said.
Crabtree leads a group of returning
receivers that accounted for 65 percent of
Texas Tech’s receptions last year. After the
spring, it appeared that sophomore wide
receiver Detron Lewis is well on his way to
replacing the Red Raiders’ only lost starter
in Danny Amendola.
Senior receiver Eric Morris (75
receptions) and junior wideout Ed Britton
(48 receptions) also return.
A solid offensive line is largely back
in place, led by senior left guard Louis
Vasquez, who has started 24 consecutive
games. A first-team All-Big 12 selection
by the Associated Press, Vasquez and right
guard Brandon Carter lead a unit that
allowed 18 sacks in 763 pass attempts last
year (1.38 per game).
Perhaps the biggest question mark on
the offensive line is left tackle Rylan Reed,
who suffered a serious leg injury in the
Gator Bowl.
The running back spot is the greatest
unknown for the Red Raiders. Senior Shannon
Woods, junior Kobey Lewis and sophomores
Aaron Crawford and Baron Batch are all
expected to compete for playing time this fall.
Woods, who led the Big 12 in all-purpose yards
as a sophomore in 2006, started the first eight
games last year before falling out of favor with
the coaching staff.
While Tech’s offense tends to grab all the
headlines, the Red Raiders quietly improved
on defense last season under the direction of
interim defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill.
Leach has removed the interim tag from
McNeill, who helped Tech lead the Big 12
in total defense over the last nine games of
the 2007 regular season.
Junior defensive tackle Rajon Henley
came into his own last season, while
sophomore-to-be Colby Whitlock earned
freshman All-America honors for his play at
nose guard. Junior defensive end Brandon
Williams is coming off a year in which he led
Tech in sacks (six) and tackles for loss (12).
Linebacker could be Tech’s deepest
position. Sophomore Brian Duncan, who
started nine games at strongside linebacker,
moved to middle linebacker in the spring.
Sophomore Bront Bird is expected to step
into the strongside linebacker spot, while
junior Marlon Williams is No. 1 on the
depth chart at weakside linebacker after
ranking second on the team with 81 tackles
a year ago.
The Red Raiders are experienced in
the secondary as strong safety Joe Garcia,
2008 Schedule
Date Opponent / Event Location
8/30/08 Eastern Washington Lubbock, Texas
9/6/08 at Nevada Reno, Nev.
9/13/08 SMU Lubbock, Texas
9/20/08 Massachusetts Lubbock, Texas
10/4/08 at Kansas State Manhattan, Kan.
10/11/08 Nebraska Lubbock, Texas
10/18/08 at Texas A&M College Station, TX
10/25/08 at Kansas Lawrence, Kan.
11/1/08 Texas Lubbock, Texas
11/8/08 Oklahoma State Lubbock, Texas
11/22/08 at Oklahoma Norman, Okla.
11/29/08 Baylor Lubbock, Texas
TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART
Offense
LT Mickey Okafor 6-7 320 Fr.
Chris Olson 6-5 303 So.
LG Louis Vasquez 6-6 335 Sr.
Adrian Archie 6-5 313 So.
C Shawn Byrnes 6-4 303 Jr.
-or- Stephen Hamby 6-3 287 Jr.
RG Brandon Carter 6-7 374 Jr.
Lonnie Edwards 6-5 313 Fr.
RT Marlon Winn 6-6 329 Jr.
Chris Olson 6-5 303 So.
QB Graham Harrell 6-3 203 Sr.
Taylor Potts 6-5 221 So.
RB Aaron Crawford 5-11 202 So.
-or- Kobey Lewis 5-5 173 Jr.
WR Eric Morris 5-8 174 Sr.
Adam James 6-3 211 Fr.
WR Detron Lewis 6-0 198 So.
Tramain Swindall 6-3 176 Fr.
WR Edward Britton 6-0 183 Jr.
Lyle Leong 6-1 165 So.
WR Michael Crabtree 6-3 208 So.
Todd Walker 6-1 184 Jr.
PK Cory Fowler 5-8 157 Sr.
Jonathan LaCour 6-2 206 So.
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 9 9
free safety Darcel McBath and cornerback
Chris Parker return. The trio has 37
combined starts from a unit that helped
allow a Big 12-low 188.4 yards passing per
game last season.
Leach said it’s imperative that the defense
play well early. After a slow start in the
spring, he said the defense finally played up
to its capability in the final spring practice.
“We have a chance to be good on
defense if we build from this point, but if
we have to spend two weeks getting to this
point when we get to (preseason) camp,
we haven’t accomplished as much as we
hope,” Leach said. “This needs to be our
next starting point.”
The chief special teams concern will be
replacing place-kicker Alex Trlica. A four-
year starter, Trlica was good in the clutch –
his last kick at Tech was a 41-yard field goal
to win the Gator Bowl – and set an NCAA
record by converting all 233 point-after
attempts in his career.
2007 Record (9-4), Big 12 Finish (4-4)
9/3 at SMU W 49-9
9/8 UTEP W 45-31
9/15 at Rice W 59-24
9/22 at Oklahoma St. L 45-49
9/29 NW (La.) St. W 75-7
10/6 Iowa St. W 42-17
10/13 Texas A&M W 35-7
10/20 at Missouri L 10-40
10/27 Colorado L 26-31
11/3 at Baylor W 38-7
11/10 at Texas L 43-59
11/17 Oklahoma W 34-27
1/1 vs. Virginia* W 31-28
*-Gator Bowl at Jacksonville, Fla.
Defense
DE Jake Ratliff 6-7 247 Sr.
Daniel Howard 6-3 238 Jr.
NT Colby Whitlock 6-2 281 So.
Bobbie Agoucha 6-4 328 Fr.
DT Rajon Henley 6-3 265 Jr.
Richard Jones 6-1 277 Jr.
DE Brandon Williams 6-5 253 Jr.
Sandy Riley 6-0 248 Jr.
SLB Bront Bird 6-3 222 So.
Tyrone Sonier 6-2 215 Fr.
MLB Brian Duncan 6-1 239 So.
Victor Hunter 5-11 256 Jr.
WLB Marlon Williams 6-0 211 Jr.
Blake Collier 6-2 212 Jr.
CB Jamar Wall 5-10 194 So.
LaRon Moore 5-9 186 So.
SS Anthony Hines 6-1 212 Sr.
Lance Fuller 6-2 222 Sr.
FS Darcel McBath 6-1 196 Sr.
Daniel Charbonnet 5-11 195 Sr.
CB Marcus Bunton 5-8 196 Sr.
-or- Pete Richardson 5-11 196 Jr.
P Jonathan LaCour 6-2 206 So.
Cory Fowler 5-8 157 Sr.
Red Raiders at a Glance
Projected
3 rd
2008 Finish
STRENGTHS
As everyone has come to expect from a Mike
Leach-coached team, Texas Tech’s offense is heavy
on firepower. After passing for 5,705 yards and 48
touchdowns last year, quarterback Graham Harrell
is looking for even more with another year of experi-
ence. He’s got almost all his weapons back, including
All-American wide receiver Michael Crabtree (134
receptions for 1,962 yards and 22 TDs in 2007) and a
solid offensive line.
QUESTION MARKS
While there appears to be talent in the backfield,
the battle for the starting running back job between
Shannon Woods, Kobey Lewis, Aaron Crawford
and Baron Batch won’t be decided until fall camp.
Texas Tech also needs to find a replacement for Alex
Trlica, a four-year starter at place-kicker who set an
NCAA record by making all 233 point-after attempts
during his college career. Trlica was outstanding in
the clutch.
DIFFERENCE-MAKER
After serving on Leach’s staff as a defensive posi-
tion coach, Ruffin McNeill was elevated to interim
defensive coordinator prior to last year’s game against
Northwestern Louisiana State. McNeill brought a
more aggressive approach and stressed playing with
passion to his players. The formula worked well as
the Red Raiders led the Big 12 in total defense over
the last eight regular-season games. The interim tag
was lifted in January.
props to leach
While sometimes a little unorthodox, it’s impos-
sible to deny the success Mike Leach (65-37) has
had in his first eight seasons as Texas Tech’s head
coach, taking the program to an unprecedented eight
consecutive bowl game appearances, including wins
in five of the last six. The Red Raiders have won the
NCAA passing title five consecutive seasons and
Tech’s No. 10 final ranking in 2006 was the program’s
first top-10 finish since 1976.
Big12 Conference
oklahoma state
The old saying goes that
if it isn’t broke, don’t
fix it. That’s exactly the
approach that Oklahoma
State coach Mike Gundy
plans to take with the high-powered Cowboys
offense, despite the fact that former offensive
coordinator Larry Fedora left to become the
head coach at Southern Miss.
Led by quarterback Zac Robinson, Okla-
homa State’s offense thrived in 2007 as the
Cowboys finished with a 7-6 record, using amaz-
ing balance. In a strange but true stat, OSU’s
no-huddle attack wound up gaining 3,161 yards
rushing and, yes, 3,161 yards passing.
No team in the country could come
close to matching Oklahoma State’s
balance of averaging 243 yards per game
both on the ground and through the air.
Oregon State was the runner-up in offen-
sive balance, averaging 251 yards rushing
and 215 yards passing.
Even with Fedora’s departure, Gundy
said the Cowboys plan to keep the foun-
dation of their offensive scheme intact.
“We’ve stayed very consistent with
what we’ve done,” Gundy said. “Obvi-
ously, we’ve made a few changes in the
spring. We’ve tinkered with certain plays
and personnel moves that may alter the
way that we attack a team in the upcom-
ing season, but we’re comfortable with
our system. We feel like our players have
a good grasp of what’s going on.
“We’re convinced that the no-huddle
and the fastbreak give us an advantage,
and we like that, and I think our players
like it.”
Recruiting is yet another reason Gundy likes
OSU’s current offensive system. In February,
the Cowboys landed their third consecutive
top-25 recruiting class.
“It helps us in recruiting,” Gundy said of
OSU’s offense. “I think there are players out
there that want to be a part of it, so for those
reasons, we will look very, very similar.”
In the spring, the biggest question for the
Cowboys was who was going to call the plays?
When Fedora left, Gundy successfully called
1 0 0 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
Cowboys
the shots in a 49-33 Insight Bowl victory over
Indiana. While Gunter Brewer and Trooper
Taylor are listed as co-offensive coordinators,
Gundy said the final plan is still up in the air.
“My personal opinion is that offenses and
defenses both have gotten so much more com-
plex in the last five or six years that the concern
that I have is whether or not there’s a enough
time to be able to study tape and be prepared to
give your team that advantage in a play call and
still be the head coach,” Gundy said. “Obvi-
ously, it’s different for everybody.”
Regardless of who winds up actually calling
the plays, Gundy said he intends to be heavily
jacob lacey
involved with the offense. He said play-calling
was somewhat of a group effort by the offen-
sive coaches in the spring.
“If you are the head coach and you aren’t
studying enough tape to give your team an
opportunity to have success calling plays on
Saturday, then it’s going to have to come from
somewhere,” Gundy said. “We’ve got several
guys in the room that are qualified to do that.”
The Cowboys return eight starters from a
unit that finished No. 7 in the country in total
offense last season. The biggest shoes to fill will
be those of second-team All-American offen-
sive lineman David Koenig, 1,200-yard rusher
Dantrell Savage and second-team All-Big 12
wide receiver Adarius Bowman. All three
completed their eligibility.
Robinson returns after a record-setting
sophomore season where he supplanted Bobby
Reid as the starting quarterback and became
one of the country’s top dual-threat quarter-
backs. Robinson completed 201 of 333 pass
attempts (60.4 percent) for 2,824 yards for 23
touchdowns and nine interceptions, while also
gaining 847 yards and nine TDs rushing.
Sophomore Dez Bryant (43 receptions for
622 yards and six TDs in 2007) will be
counted on to lead the wide receivers.
Senior tight end Brandon Pettigrew (35
receptions for 540 yards) is one of the
best in the Big 12, if not in the country.
At running back, junior Keith Toston
and sophomore Kendall Hunter (696
yards rushing in 2007) are expected to
battle to replace Savage in the starting
lineup. Beau Johnson, the most valuable
player in last year’s junior college national
championship game, arrived on campus
for the second semester and impressed
coaches in spring drills.
With the return of center David
Washington, a two-year starter who was
lost in the third game of the 2007 season
with a broken leg, the Cowboys return
five players with starting experience on
the offensive line. Tackles Russell Okung
and Brady Bond lead the way for a unit
that allowed just 11 sacks in 13 games last
year, ranking third in the country in few-
est sacks allowed. Plus, OSU has added junior
college All-American Andrew Mitchell.
Defense is the area Gundy wants to see the
most improvement in. The Cowboys allowed
33 or more points in eight of their 13 games
last season.
“We believe, just like a lot of other people,
that ultimately, you have to play really good
defense to win a conference championship,”
Gundy said. “We’re in the stage of trying to
improve in that area.”
To that end, second-year defensive coordina-
tor Tim Beckman’s defense will have a college All-American impressed Gundy
much different look. The hope is that six
returning starters can meld with six junior
with his ability to make big plays and
deliver big hits in the spring.
Cowboys at a Glance
college transfers to give the Cowboys an Patrick Lavine, who led the Cowboys

Projected
instant upgrade. in tackles in his first two years in the

Gundy said he and his staff have been
impressed by the five incoming junior col-
lege transfers who enrolled early and took
part in spring ball at OSU.
“When you bring that many players
in at mid-term, you’re always a little con-
cerned about how they’re going to gel with
the team … but we’ve been very fortunate,”
Gundy said.
The secondary is the defense’s strength
as all four starters return. Cornerbacks
Jacob Lacey and Perrish Cox return as
starters, but could be pressed by Terrance
Anderson and Al’Darius Thompson for
playing time.
Starters Quinton Moore (free safety)
and Ricky Price (strong safety) could be
challenged by Lucien Antoine. The junior
2008 Schedule
Date Opponent / Event Location
8/30/08 Washington State Seattle, Wash.
9/6/08 Houston Stillwater, Okla.
9/13/08 Missouri State Stillwater, Okla.
9/27/08 Troy Stillwater, Okla.
10/4/08 Texas A&M Stillwater, Okla.
10/11/08 at Missouri Columbia, Mo.
10/18/08 Baylor Stillwater, Okla.
10/25/08 at Texas Austin, Texas
11/1/08 Iowa State Stillwater, Okla.
11/8/08 at Texas Tech Lubbock, Texas
11/15/08 at Colorado Boulder, Colo.
11/29/08 Oklahoma Stillwater, Okla.
program, is the only returning starter at
linebacker. Orie Lemon and Justin Gent
will battle for the other linebacker spot,
while Andre Sexton, a starter for the past
two years at safety, is expected to start at
the “star” linebacker spot. The position is a
hybrid of the linebacker/safety position in
Beckman’s scheme.
At defensive end, junior Derek Burton
and sophomore Ugo Chinasa will be
counted on to replace a pair of good ones
in Marque Fountain and Nathan Peterson,
who was among the program’s all-time
leaders in sacks. Jeray Chatham returns as
a starter at defensive tackle — a position
that could get some additional help from
junior college transfers Chris Donaldson
and Swanson Miller.
2007 Record (7-6), Big 12 Finish (3-5)
9/1 at Georgia L 14-35
9/8 Florida Atlantic W 42-6
9/14 at Troy L 23-41
9/22 Texas Tech W 49-45
9/29 Sam Houston State W 39-3
10/6 at Texas A&M L 23-24
10/13 at Nebraska W 45-14
10/20 Kansas State W 41-39
11/3 Texas L 35-38
11/10 Kansas L 28-43
11/17 at Baylor W 45-14
11/24 at Oklahoma L 17-49
12/31 #vs. Indiana W 49-33
# at Insight Bowl
4 th
2008 Finish
STRENGTHS
Even with the loss of second-team All-American
David Koenig, Oklahoma State’s offensive line could
be even better than last year when it ranked third in
the nation by allowing only 11 sacks in 13 games.
Junior tackles Russell Okung and Brady Bond have
started since they were freshmen and the Cowboys
get starting center David Washington back after los-
ing him to a broken leg last year in game three. First-
team junior college All-American Andrew Mitchell
also joins the fold.
QUESTION MARKS
Finding a replacement for 1,200-yard rusher
Dantrell Savage is a bit of a concern, although junior
running back Keith Toston has shown positive signs
and sophomore Kendall Hunter rushed for 696 yards
last year, averaging 6.5 yards per carry. Beau Johnson,
the MVP in the junior college national title game,
could also be in the mix. Another concern is the front
seven where just defensive tackle Jeray Chatham and
linebacker Patrick Lavine return as starters.
DIFFERENCE-MAKER
Taking over as the starting quarterback in the third

TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART
Offense
LT Russell Okung 6-5 300 Jr.
Trent Perkins 6-5 300 So.
LG Michael Booker 6-3 310 So.
Jonathan Rush 6-5 300 Fr.
C Andrew Lewis 6-5 290 Jr.
Grant Garner 6-3 280 So.
RG Steve Denning 6-5 295 Sr.
Noah Franklin 6-5 310 Jr.
RT Brady Bond 6-6 290 Jr.
Andrew Mitchell 6-5 305 Jr.
WR Dez Bryant 6-2 210 So.
Jeremy Broadway 6-0 195 Jr.
WR Damian Davis 6-5 180 So.
Josh Cooper 5-11 190 Fr.
WR DeMarcus Conner 6-1 200 Jr.
Hubert Anylam 6-0 185 Fr.
TE Brandon Pettigrew 6-6 260 Sr.
Wilson Youman 6-4 245 Fr.
RB Kendall Hunter 5-8 190 So.
Keith Toston 6-1 210 Jr.
FB Bryant Ward 5-11 215 So.
John Toben 6-1 235 So.
QB Zac Robinson 6-3 205 Jr.
Alex Cate 6-1 195 So.
PK Dan Bailey 6-0 205 So.
Patrick Kollars 6-0 200 Jr.
game of his sophomore season, Zac Robinson quickly
developed into one of the country’s best dual-threat
Defense
DE Ugo Chinasa 6-6 250 So. signal-callers. He set a single-season school record
Richetti Jones 6-4 240 Fr. for total offense (3,671) and had six of the top 18
DT Jeray Chatham 6-3 280 Sr.
Tonga Tea 6-0 300 Sr. total-offense performances in OSU history. That
DT Quencey Patrick 6-3 275 So. included a 486-yard day in which Robinson passed for
Shane Jarka 6-4 270 So.
DE Derek Burton 6-5 265 Jr. a school-record 430 yards against Texas. His average of
Jamie Blatnick 6-3 255 Fr. 7.52 yards per play was second only to West Virginia’s
SLB Andre Sexton 6-1 210 Jr.
Deron Fontenot 5-10 200 Fr. Pat White.
MLB Orie Lemon 6-1 240 Jr.
Justin Gent 6-2 235 So.
WLB Patrick Lavine 6-3 225 Jr. A QUICK FIX?
Seb Clements 6-1 225 Sr.
Oklahoma State added seven junior college trans-
CB Terrance Anderson 6-0 180 Jr.
Perrish Cox 6-1 190 Jr. fers who enrolled in classes in January. The list of
FS Quinton Moore 5-11 185 Sr.
junior college newcomers includes safety Lucien An-
Lucien Antoine 6-1 205 Jr.
SS Ricky Price 6-1 195 Sr. toine, defensive tackle Chris Donaldson, cornerback
T.J. Bell 6-0 195 Sr.
Maurice Gray, running back Beau Johnson, offensive
CB Jacob Lacey 5-11 175 Sr.
Al’Darius Thompson 5-11 180 Jr. lineman Andrew Mitchell and defensive linemen
P Matt Fodge 6-1 195 Sr.
Swanson Miller and Jeremiah Price.
Dan Bailey 6-0 205 So.

w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 1 0 1
Big12 Conference
texas a&m
Time is ticking away at
Texas A&M – or at least
that’s the message that first-
year coach Mike Sherman
is trying to get across to the
Aggies as the program starts in a new direction.
The importance Sherman places on time
became evident when the former NFL coach
had digital clocks installed throughout the
A&M football facilities. Sherman, who had
been an offensive line coach for the Aggies
under R.C. Slocum, said there was a distinct
reason for the change.
“I hit them over the head a lot about time
and how it’s constantly ticking,” Sherman said.
“The clock is ticking on your football career, as
a student and as an athlete, so I think the
digital clocks are a reminder, functionally,
to get them to meetings on time.”
Sherman added that digital clocks also
remove any arguments about whether or
not someone is late.
“If it’s a digital clock and it says 6
o’clock, it’s 6 o’clock,” Sherman said.
“I don’t want to argue if the hand was
a fraction of a millimeter to the left of
6 o’clock. It kind of sends the message
that way.”
For Sherman, being on time not only
teaches discipline, but also respect.
“You respect your teammates, your
coaches, your school and yourself and I
think the initial element of respect from
a football player’s standpoint is to be on
time for meetings,” Sherman said. “If
you have 110 players in a meeting and
one guy is late for one minute, that’s 110
minutes that you’ve wasted.”
Texas A&M quarterback Stephen McGee
said Sherman’s approach has made a definite
impression on the Aggies.
“Just the way he takes care of business,
he gets everybody to buy in and make sure
they are doing what they are supposed to do,”
McGee said in an interview with the Houston
Chronicle. “He did that from day one.”
With the difficult chore that lies ahead for
the Aggies, Sherman said there’s no time to
waste. A&M returns a Big 12 Conference-low
1 0 2 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
Aggies
11 starters, including just four on offense from
a team that finished a disappointing 7-6 last
year as former head coach Dennis Franchione
was forced out at the end of the regular season.
“I think transition is difficult in any business,
even in football, particularly at the collegiate
level,” Sherman said. “You come into a place
and you ask players to trust you and give a leap
of faith almost immediately to get done what
you need to get done. It’s difficult.”
Trust, Sherman said, is essential for the
Aggies to move ahead as quickly as possible.
“As I told them, ‘You can trust us now or
you can trust us later … but if you trust us
now, we’ll be able to get through this a little bit
faster,’ and I think they’ve done that,” Sherman
stephen mcgee
said. “I think our spring was evident of that as
they really put forth a very good effort.”
Offensively, the good news for A&M is that
there’s plenty of returning experience in the
backfield.
If McGee wins the starting job in fall camp –
Sherman has left the competition open between
McGee and sophomore Jerrod Johnson – he’ll
be a third-year starter. As a junior, the fiery 6-3,
207-pound McGee completed 211 of 364 pass
attempts (58 percent) for 2,311 yards and 12
touchdowns with eight interceptions, while also
leading the Aggies in rushing with 899 yards
and five TDs.
The most noteworthy backfield news was
that Sherman has ended the tailback platoon
between senior Jorvorskie Lane and Mike
Goodson. The 6-foot, 285-pound Lane will be
making the switch to fullback while Goodson
is expected to be the feature back in Sherman’s
pro-style offense.
“He’s a very dangerous weapon,” Sherman
said of Goodson. “He’s certainly a guy who
needs the ball in his hands.”
Goodson, who is more of a true breakaway
threat, finished with 711 yards and four TDs
as both he and Lane averaged 4.6 yards per
carry. Splitting time last season, Lane rushed
for 780 yards and 16 TDs – 44 scores for
his career.
Essential to the success of A&M’s
offense is the emergence of an offensive
line that lost four full-time starters.
Robbie Frost played well enough in the
spring to possibly win the starting left
tackle spot, while senior Travis Schneider
is a returning starter and should man the
other tackle position.
Sherman seems equally concerned
about the receiving positions after
losing starting wideouts Kerry Franks
and Earvin Taylor as well as talented
tight end Martellus Bennett to the NFL
draft. In the A&M spring game, McGee
completed just five passes – none of them
to a wide receiver.
Pierre Brown and E.J. Shankle look to
be two of the top receiving prospects for
the Aggies. Redshirt freshman Jeff Fuller
also impressed during the spring.
“There are a lot of numbers in the group,
but we really haven’t found anybody who has
just separated themselves as the guy,” Sherman
said. “Certain days, certain players will step up,
but I’m looking for consistency at that position.
“I think we dropped more balls the first day
of practice than I have had before in a whole
season, but that part of it has improved and
continued to improve.”
Sherman said he attributed many of the
problems to players trying to learn a new offense,
saying that he and his coaching staff threw
an awful lot at the Aggies in the spring.
“The volume that they had to learn
– it takes away sometimes from your
effectiveness,” Sherman said. “I do think,
over the course of time as they begin to
assimilate the information that we’ve given
to them and they transfer it to the football
field and they become more comfortable,
they’ll become better players.”
The secondary will be counted on to be
the strength of the defense. Several position
changes were made in the spring, but four
defensive backs with starting experience re-
turn in seniors Arkeith Brown, Devin Gregg
and Alton Dixon and junior Jordan Pugh.
The front seven is largely inexperienced
as defensive end Cyril Obiozor is
essentially the only full-time returning
starter. However, Obiozor said he and his
teammates have enjoyed new defensive
coordinator Joe Kines’ philosophy, which
is based on more of an attacking style than
2008 Schedule
Date Opponent / Event Location
8/30/08 Arkansas State College Station, TX
9/6/08 at New Mexico Albuquerque, N.M.
9/20/08 Miami College Station, TX
9/27/08 Army College Station, TX
10/4/08 at Oklahoma State Stillwater, Okla.
10/11/08 Kansas State College Station, TX
10/18/08 Texas Tech College Station, TX
10/25/08 at Iowa State Ames, Iowa
11/1/08 Colorado College Station, TX
11/8/08 Oklahoma College Station, TX
11/15/08 at Baylor Waco, TX
11/27/08 at Texas Austin, TX
TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART
Offense
WR Pierre Brown 6-2 193 Sr.
E.J. Shankle 5-11 179 Jr.
T Travis Schneider 6-8 303 Sr.
Yemi Babalola 6-4 315 Sr.
G Lee Grimes 6-6 339 Jr.
Corey Clark 6-6 326 Sr.
C Kevin Matthews 6-4 300 Jr.
Chris Yoder 6-4 314 Sr.
G Vincent Williams 6-4 306 Jr.
Michael Shumard 6-5 309 Jr.
T Robbie Frost 6-6 302 Jr.
Cody Wallace 6-4 296 Sr.
TE Terrence McCoy 6-4 198 So.
Ryan Vaughan 6-4 228 Sr.
WR Cody Beyer 6-1 182 Jr.
Jeff Fuller 6-4 209 Fr.
QB Stephen McGee 6-3 220 Sr.
Jerrod Johnson 6-6 232 So.
FB Jorvorskie Lane 6-0 285 Sr.
Nick LaMantia 6-1 226 Sr.
TB Mike Goodson 6-0 206 Jr.
Cornell Tarrant 5-10 190 So.
PK Matt Szymanski 6-1 194 Jr.
Richie Bean 6-0 171 Sr.
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the base scheme the Aggies used last year.
“I always thought that defense was
never meant to be played defensively,”
Obiozor told reporters after the spring
game. “You want to play aggressively. We
aren’t sitting back waiting for things. We’re
going after it before it happens.”
Matt Featherston was a highlight at
the middle linebacker spot in the spring,
but the linebacker corps appears largely
unsettled. The Aggies also got some bad
news in late May when highly touted
freshman linebacker prospect Derrick
Stephens was told that he had to give up
football due to multiple concussions.
“We’re still a work in progress,”
Sherman said. “We’ve got a lot of work to
do, as evidenced by our spring game, but
some days this past spring we took baby
steps. Other days, we took great strides and
a couple of times, we might have taken a
step or two backwards, but as a long as we
keep working, I think we’ll move forward.”
2007 Record (7-6), Big 12 Finish (4-4)
9/1 Montana St. W 38-7
9/8 Fresno St. W 47-43 (3OT)
9/15 La.-Monroe W 54-14
9/20 at Miami (Fla.) L 17-34
9/29 Baylor W 34-10
10/6 Oklahoma St. W 24-23
10/13 at Texas Tech L 7-35
10/20 at Nebraska W 36-14
10/27 Kansas L 11-19
11/3 at Oklahoma L 14-42
11/10 at Missouri L 26-40
11/23 Texas W 38-30
12/29 vs. Penn St.-* L 17-24
*-Alamo Bowl at San Antonio
Defense
DE Michael Bennett 6-4 265 Sr.
Amos Gbunblee 6-5 250 Sr.
DT Chris Smith 6-4 270 Sr.
-or- Lucas Patterson 6-5 299 So.
NT Kellen Heard 6-6 345 Jr.
-or- David Tufuga 6-1 295 Jr.
DE Cyril Obiozor 6-5 266 Sr.
Ben Bass 6-5 268 Fr.
SLB Von Miller 6-3 214 So.
Billy Chavis 6-4 233 So.
MLB Matt Featherston 6-3 233 Jr.
Anthony Lewis 6-2 205 So.
WLB Garrick Williams 6-2 217 Fr.
Kenny Brown 6-2 205 So.
CB Arkeith Brown 6-0 173 Sr.
Danny Gorrer 6-0 173 Sr.
FS Devin Gregg 6-0 191 Sr.
Jordan Peterson 5-11 184 Jr.
SS Alton Dixon 5-11 196 Sr.
Chevar Bryson 6-0 188 Jr.
CB Jordan Pugh 6-0 185 Jr.
Johnathan Batson 6-1 195 Sr.
P Justin Brantly 6-4 245 Sr.
Matt Szymanski 6-1 194 Jr.
Aggies at a Glance
Projected
5 th
2008 Finish
STRENGTHS
The backfield stands out as Texas A&M features
the 1-2 punch of 285-pound senior bruiser Jorvorskie
Lane and junior speedster Mike Goodson, who
is one of the top break-away threats in the Big
12 Conference. Lane, who has scored 44 career
touchdowns and rushed for 780 yards and 16 TDs a
year ago, has made the move to fullback. Goodson
will now move into the starting lineup at tailback
after finishing last year with 711 yards rushing and
four TDs
QUESTION MARKS
The offensive line went from a major strength in
2007 to a source of concern for the upcoming season
as Texas A&M lost four starters, including a trio of
three-year starters to graduation. Senior tackle Travis
Schneider is the only full-time returning starter for
the Aggies on the offensive line, while guard Michael
Shumard also returns with past starting experience.
Coaches were impressed with tackle Robbie Frost in
the spring.
DIFFERENCE-MAKER
Aggies senior quarterback Stephen McGee rushed
back for spring practice after undergoing surgery to
his left (non-throwing) shoulder in January. McGee
brings the experience of being a two-year starter and
is coming off a year when he led the Aggies in both
rushing and passing. In 2007, McGee completed
211-of-364 pass attempts for 2,311 yards and 12
touchdowns with eight interceptions. He also rushed
for 899 yards and five TDs.
nebraska flavor
First-year Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman’s staff
is littered with names recognizable to many Nebraska
Cornhusker football fans. Two coaches, running
backs coach Randy Jordan and defensive line coach
Buddy Wyatt, were on Bill Callahan’s staff at last
year Nebraska. Also making the trek from Lincoln to
College Station, were football operations director Tim
Cassidy, who had previously worked at A&M, and
strength and conditioning coach Dave Kennedy.
Big12 Conference

baylor Oct. 25 at Lincoln, Neb.

Bears
Art Briles accepted the While the Bears have obviously yet to play it in the rugged Big 12 South, most college
head coaching position at a game under their new coaching staff, Briles football analysts believe that the Bears did
Baylor with his eyes wide said that he believes Baylor’s players have fully make progress under Morriss. Baylor produced
open. Despite inheriting a bought into his system. its first Big 12 road victory in 2005 at Iowa
college football program “It’s not tough to get anybody to believe State and recorded its first three-win Big 12
that has become a perennial Big 12 Conference that they need to do well and that they need to season in 2006.
doormat, the 52-year-old Texas native didn’t work hard to be successful,” said Briles, who After what he labeled a successful spring
shy away from the challenge. received a seven-year contract that will pay practice season and with some highly regarded
Baylor hasn’t had a winning season for the him up to $1.8 million per season, including all recruits on the way, Briles said his program is
past 12 years — the entire lifespan of the Big incentives. “That’s human nature.” not without talent.
12 — and takes a 12-game conference losing Plus, as Baylor junior linebacker Joe “I like the guys we have on campus. I like
streak into the 2008 season. Since Chuck Pawelek points out, Briles’ track record speaks the guys we recruited and we’re going to go to
Reedy led the Bears to a 7-4 record in 1995, the for itself. After winning four state titles and war with them,” Briles said. “We’ve got people
program is 35-101 overall and 11-85 in league going 136-29-2 in 12 seasons at Stephenville here to win football games for us. That’s a good
play, only once managing to not finish in the (Texas) High School, Briles served as the step in the right direction.”
South Division cellar, tying for fifth In fall camp, the focus will likely
in 2005. be on the quarterback competition.
Starting in 1997, three previous Returning starter Blake Szymanski,
coaches have tried and failed to who completed 57.3 percent of
turn Baylor’s football program his pass attempts for 2,844 yards
around. The list includes Dave and 22 touchdowns last year, is
Roberts, Kevin Steele and Guy battling Miami (Fla.) transfer
Morriss, who was fired last Kirby Freeman as well as surprise
November after a 3-9 season that freshman Robert Griffin for the No.
left him with a five-year record of 1 job.
18-40. “We’ve got some guys that can
But unlike Baylor’s previous do that, no doubt,” Briles said.
three choices, Briles has a proven “That’s my job is to put somebody
track record when it comes to on the field who will produce in that
turning a program around. In his capacity. I really feel good about our
most recent job at Houston, Briles QBs on campus … they’re going to
inherited a Cougars team that was compete, they’re going to play hard
two years removed from finishing and they’re going to be intelligent
0-11 and led them to a 34-28 record with the football.”
in five seasons, which included Baylor returns nine players with
three bowl bids and a Conference- starting experience on an offensive
USA title in 2006. unit that ranked No. 85 in the
For Briles, the first step in the country last season in total offense
rebuilding project is eliminating (351.3 yards per game) and No. 111
joe pawelek
all memories and perceptions of in scoring offense (18.2 points per
Baylor’s troubled recent history. The key, he running backs coach at Texas Tech under coach game). While the Bears were 27th nationally in
says, is to always look ahead. Mike Leach from 2000-03 before taking the passing offense (273.4), they were just 113th in
“We live in the present,” Briles said. “We Houston job in 2003. rushing offense (77.8).
live right now. That’s what matters. What “He’s a guy that has obviously had success At Houston, Briles’ offense ranked No. 10
happened four years ago with me or them, it everywhere he has been at and he is a down in the country in rushing yards with an average
makes no difference. to earth football coach,” Pawelek said. “We’re of 223.9 per game. With four returning starters
“We’re going to be judged by what we do from excited that we are going to be able to play for a back on the offensive line that allowed just
this day forward, so that’s what we’re preparing guy like that.” 21 sacks in a school-record 561 pass attempts
for and that’s where our energy is going.” While the record may not necessarily reflect last year, including two of the Big 12’s better

1 0 4 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
returning tackles in Jason Smith and Dan
Gay, the Bears will look to beef up their
ground game, although they’ll lose leading
rusher Brandon Whitaker (488 yards).
Outside of Whitaker, who caught a
team-high 58 passes out of the backfield,
Baylor returns its top four receivers in
terms of receptions. Tight end Justin
Akers had 43 catches last year, while tight
end Brad Taylor (35) and wide receivers
Thomas White and David Gettis (31) also
topped the 30-catch mark.
Defensively, Baylor is switching to a
4-3 alignment after playing a 4-2-5 scheme
under Morriss. A change was probably
in order as the Bears ranked No. 112
nationally in scoring defense (37 points per
game) and No. 110 in total defense (461.6
yards per game) in 2007.
Junior safety Jordan Lake is one of five
defensive starters returning, leading the
team with 120 tackles last season, tying
him for third in the Big 12. Pawelek was
2008 Schedule
Date Opponent / Event Location
8/30/08 Wake Forest Waco, Texas
9/6/08 Northwestern State Waco, Texas
9/13/08 Washington State Waco, Texas
9/19/08 at Connecticut Storrs, Conn.
10/4/08 Oklahoma Waco, Texas
10/11/08 Iowa State Waco, Texas
10/18/08 at Oklahoma State Stillwater, Okla.
10/25/08 at Nebraska Lincoln, Neb.
11/1/08 Missouri Waco, Texas
11/8/08 at Texas Austin, Texas
11/15/08 Texas A&M Waco, Texas
11/29/08 at Texas Tech Lubbock, Texas DIFFERENCE-MAKER
TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART
Offense
WR David Gettis 6-4 206 Jr.
Luke La Mar 6-2 191 So.
LT Jason Smith 6-5 298 Sr.
Jordan Hearvey 6-4 281 Jr.
LG Chris Griesenbeck 6-6 268 Jr.
Courtney Green 6-4 287 Fr.
C J.D. Walton 6-3 302 Jr.
Hunter Hightower 6-5 268 Fr.
RG James Barnard 6-4 286 Jr.
John Jones 6-5 305 Fr.
RT Dan Gay 6-5 288 Sr.
Larry Bradley 6-5 291 Fr.
TE Justin Akers 6-5 231 Jr.
Brad Taylor 6-3 233 So.
QB Robert Griffin 6-3 200 Fr.
-or- Kirby Freeman 6-3 210 Sr.
-or- Blake Szymansky 6-4 205 Jr.
RB Jay Finley 5-11 202 So.
Jacoby Jones 5-11 227 Sr.
WR Ernest Smith 6-3 187 Jr.
Kyle Mitchell 6-2 224 Jr.
WR Thomas White 6-2 204 Sr.
Justin Fenty 5-10 178 Jr.
PK Shea Brewster 6-0 167 So.
Derek Epperson 6-3 212 So.
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second on the squad with 99 tackles from
his middle linebacker position.
Briles said the secondary is his largest
Bears at a Glance
concern as Baylor will have to break in a
Projected
pair of new starting cornerbacks. Senior
6 th
Dwain Crawford has moved from rover to
cornerback and sophomore Krys Buerck
has switched from receiver to corner in
hopes of addressing the situation.
2008 Finish
The Bears do return some experience
on the defensive line, led by defensive ends STRENGTHS
Leon Freeman, who led Baylor in tackles Baylor’s offensive line will be anchored by
for loss (9.5), and Jason Lamb as well as arguably one of the Big 12 Conference’s top tackle
defensive tackle Vincent Rhodes and nose tandems in seniors Jason Smith (6-5, 298) and Dan
Gay (6-5, 290). Regarded as the best pro prospect for
tackle Trey Bryant.
the Bears since cornerback Gary Baxter was selected
“We’ve got speed on defense. Were not
in the second round of the 2001 NFL draft, Smith
inventing that, everyone is doing it,” Briles
heads into the season with 29 career starts. New
said. “We’re going to pack some guys on
coach Art Briles said Smith, Gay and junior center
the field and make the field look small.
J.D. Walton are going to be “the heart and soul” of
That’s what our key is and we’ve got some
BU’s offense.
guys who are playing with a high tempo
and a fast motor and that is what they’ve
QUESTION MARKS
got to do.” While repair work is needed in the secondary
2007 Record (3-9), Big 12 Finish (0-8) where two new starting cornerbacks need to be
9/1 at TCU L 0-27
identified, the results of the quarterback competition
9/8 Rice W 42-17
9/15 Texas St. W 34-27 will obviously have a huge impact on Baylor’s
9/22 at Buffalo W 34-21 season. Junior Blake Szymanski started nine games
9/29 at Texas A&M L 10-34 and passed for 2,844 yards and 22 touchdowns last
10/6 Colorado L 23-43
10/13 at Kansas L 10-58
year, but was inconsistent at times. Miami (Fla.)
10/20 Texas L 10-31 transfer Kirby Freeman will also get a look while true
10/27 at Kansas St. L 13-51 freshman Robert Griffin opened some eyes with his
11/3 Texas Tech L 7-38
spring performance.
11/10 at Oklahoma L 21-52
11/17 Oklahoma St. L 14-45
It appears highly touted wide receiver David
Gettis might finally be ready to live up to the hype.
While the 6-4, 213-pound junior from Los Angeles
Defense
DE Leon Freeman 6-2 241 Sr. has been blessed with all the physical tools, he was
Jameon Hardeman 6-1 238 So. fifth on the team with 31 receptions for 402 yards
DT Vincent Rhodes 6-2 305 Sr. last year. In the spring, however, Briles said Gettis
Sam Sledge 6-2 266 Jr.
NT Trey Bryant 6-3 321 Jr. flashed plenty of promise. “We’re in the process of
Nicolas Jean-Baptiste 6-2 317 Fr. showing him how to play with power and speed,”
DE Jason Lamb 6-6 260 Jr.
Briles said. “And once he figures that out … he’ll be
Zac Scotton 6-6 259 Fr.
SLB Antonio Jones 6-2 218 Jr. a dominant receiver. Dominant.”
Earl Patin 6-2 220 So.
MLB Joe Pawelek 6-3 233 Jr.
Chris Francis 5-11 225 So.
FEELING LEFT OUT
WLB Antonio Johnson 6-1 206 So. Baylor is the lone Big 12 Conference team that has
Elliot Coffey 6-0 206 Fr. failed to make a bowl appearance since the league’s
CB Dwain Crawford 6-0 197 Sr.
Antareis Bryan 6-1 180 So.
inception in 1996. In fact, the only BCS conference
FS Jordan Lake 6-2 203 Jr. team with a longer bowl drought is Vanderbilt, which
Jake La Mar 6-0 193 Sr. finished 5-7 last year to extend its bowless streak to
SS Jeremy Williams 5-10 205 Jr.
Marlon Price 6-2 194 Sr. 25 years. The last time the Bears appeared in a bowl
CB Krys Buerck 6-1 174 So. game was in 1994 when they finished 7-5 after a 10-3
Cliff Odom 5-11 194 So. Alamo Bowl loss to Washington State under coach
P Derek Epperson 6-3 212 So.
Shea Brewster 6-0 167 So. Chuck Reedy.
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w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 1 0 7
Non-Conference Opponent

western michigan Aug. 30 at Lincoln, Neb.

Broncos
Western Michigan head themselves. Their 5-7 record wasn’t up to the throw for over 3,000 yards (3,021) and added
coach Bill Cubit has some standards of the 7-4 mark in 2005 or the 8-5 20 touchdowns to boot.
idea what his team will be record in 2006 when Western Michigan went “This is really his fourth year in the system,”
facing when he brings the to the International Bowl where it dropped a Cubit said of Hiller. “He should have a good
Broncos into Lincoln to 27-24 decision to Cincinnati. grasp of it by now. He’s a tall guy at about 6-5,
face the Huskers on Aug. 30. “Last year, we lost four games in the last and he doesn’t have great arm strength, but his
Cubit remembers Memorial Stadium two minutes,” Cubit said. “The year before, accuracy has gotten a lot better.”
from back in 2000 when he was offensive we won four games in the last two minutes. It Hiller’s statistics look pretty good, at least
coordinator at Missouri. The Tigers came to goes back to how they handle adversity. They until you see the 15 interceptions he threw.
Lincoln that year and absorbed a 42-24 defeat. didn’t do that really well last year. It goes back “He didn’t play real well last year even
But Cubit said he loved though he threw for over
the atmosphere at Memorial 3,000 yards,” Cubit said.
Stadium. “He would admit the same
“When I was at Missouri, thing. He’s No. 1 going into
it was one of my favorite fall camp unless something
places to play in the drastic happens.”
country,” Cubit said. “I’m Junior Brandon West is a
sure it will be a lot more solid No. 1 at running back as
electric now than when I was well, even though he missed
back there.” the spring game with a slight
That’s because that Aug. knee injury. West rushed for
30 game will be the season 848 yards on 183 carries (4.4
opener for the Huskers and per attempt) a year ago and
new head coach Bo Pelini. set a school record with 2,119
Cubit said that will give the all-purpose yards.
atmosphere an extra shot of Cubit also likes back-ups
adrenaline. like Kirk Elsworth and Glenis
Cubit said the Broncos Thompson. Thompson
haven’t experienced anything gained 127 yards on 36
like they will face in Lincoln, carries.
even though they have “We’re probably about as
experience playing in large deep as we’ve been at running
venues. back since I’ve been here,”
The Broncos went into Cubit said.
Iowa City and beat the The wide receiving corps
Hawkeyes 28-19 last year is led by Jamarko Simmons.
to keep Iowa out of a bowl The 6-2, 234-pound junior,
game. In 2006, Western who was a first-team
Michigan won 17-10 at jamarko simmons All-MAC selection as a
Virginia and lost a tough sophomore, caught 84 passes
28-20 decision at Florida State. to senior leadership. They have to understand for 980 yards and six touchdowns in 2007.
“We went on the road and we beat Virginia how hard it is. Hopefully we got through that “He has had some success here,” Cubit said.
and we beat Iowa,” Cubit said. “We went to last year.” “He’s a pretty good player. I wouldn’t say he’s a
Florida State and we were close. But this is The Broncos have a proven leader at burner, but he does some nice things.”
going to be a different deal. I think it will be quarterback in Tim Hiller. The redshirt junior The offensive line is a work in progress. The
pretty electric with Bo back. You can see the started all 12 games a year ago. He completed Broncos lost three starters from a year ago, but
hunger in them.” 267-of-421 passes (63.4 percent) and became return Anthony Parker who is moving from
But the Broncos may be a little hungry the first Western Michigan quarterback to right tackle to left tackle and Phillip Swanson

1 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
who started all 12 games last year as a
redshirt freshmen at left guard.
Nick Mitchell and Paul Wasikowski,
who started three games at guard last
season, are the front runners at center.
Cubit said Nick Clemens and Lee Pethan
are battling it out at right guard. Andy
Laue, who started 11 games last year, and
Rob Johnson are the top two at right tackle.
“What I like is they’re young but eager,”
Cubit said of the offensive line. “There’s a
hunger there with them that I really like.
They’re young kids who want to get better
every day.”
Tight end Brandon Ledbetter caught 38
passes for 550 yards a year ago.
Cubit expects good things from his
defense this season. The Broncos return a
number of players who have been starters
since their freshman season.
“We’re really old on defense,” Cubit
said. “We played 34 freshmen the first year
I was here. Fourteen of them started at one
2008 Schedule
Date Opponent / Event Location
8/30/08 at Nebraska Lincoln, Neb.
9/6/08 Northern Illinois Kalamazoo, Mich.
9/13/08 at Idaho Moscow, Idaho
9/20/08 Tennessee Tech Kalamazoo, Mich.
9/27/08 at Temple Philadelphia, Pa.
10/4/08 Ohio Kalamazoo, Mich.
10/11/08 at Buffalo Buffalo, N.Y.
10/18/08 at Central Michigan Mt. Pleasant, Mich.
11/1/08 Eastern Michigan Kalamazoo, Mich.
11/8/08 Illinois Detroit, Mich.
11/15/08 Toledo Kalamazoo, Mich.
11/25/08 at Ball State Muncie, Ind.
TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART
Offense
LT Anthony Parker 6-5 305 Fr.
Steve Elingsen 6-4 307 Sr.
LG Phillip Swanson 6-4 307 So.
Josh Droppers 6-3 295 Fr.
C Nick Mitchell 6-1 290 So.
Paul Wasikowski 6-3 291 Jr.
RG Nick Clemens 6-5 307 So.
Lee Pethan 6-4 295 Fr.
RT Rob Johnson 6-5 338 Sr.
Andy Laue 6-4 295 Jr.
WR X Jordan White 6-0 206 So.
Deshon Lawrence 6-0 175 Fr.
WR T Jamarko Simmons 6-2 234 Sr.
Jamelle Murray 5-8 167 So.
TE Braden Ledbetter 6-5 230 Sr.
Anthony Middleton 6-4 215 So.
WR Z Schneider Julien 5-10 175 Sr.
Juan Nunez 6-0 172 So.
QB Tm Hiller 6-5 228 Jr.
Robert Amheim 6-2 180 Fr.
RB Brandon West 5-10 169 Jr.
Glenis Thompson 5-8 210 J
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time or another. They have a lot of game
experience.”
The Broncos will feature four-year
Broncos at a Glance
starter Zach Davidson at one defensive end affiliation
with two-year starter Greg Marshall at the Mid-American Conference
other. Davidson and Marshall led Western
Michigan with 6.5 sacks apiece in 2007. STRENGTHS
Tackle Nick Varcadipane and tackle With a load of experience returning, the defense
Cory Flom are also four-year starters. would appear to be a strength for the Broncos. With
Weakside linebacker Boston McCornell Zach Davidson and Greg Marshall crashing from
led the Broncos with 99 tackles, including their defensive end spots, the Broncos should be able
eight for losses. Middle linebacker Dustin to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Davidson
Duclo was third a year ago with 74 tackles. and Marshall combined for 13 of the team’s 28 sacks
Austin Pritchard started the first game in 2008.
a year ago at strongside linebacker and led
the team with 11 tackles, but missed the QUESTION MARKS
remainder of the season with an injury. The offensive line needs to be reworked this sea-
C.J. Wilson is another four-year starter son. Coach Bill Cubit thinks Anthony Parker, who is
in the defensive backfield. Londen Fryar , moving from right tackle to left, will be able to handle
the son of former Nebraska All-American those important duties on the other side of the line.
Irving Fryar, is a three-year starter at Still, with players being added and moved, it may
cornerback with four-year starter E.J. take a little time for the Broncos to develop chemistry
Biggers at the other corner. up front.
2007 Record (5-7), MAC Finish (3-4)
9/1 @ West Virginia L 24-62 DIFFERENCE-MAKERs
9/8 Indiana L 27-37
9/15 @ Missouri L 24-52 Quarterback Tim Hiller will be a key player the of-
9/22 Cen. Conn. St. W 51-14 fensive side of the ball as he tries to cut down on his
9/29 @ Toledo W 42-28 15 interceptions from a year ago. Cornerback Londen
10/6 Akron L 38-39
10/13 at N. Illinois W 17-13 Fryar led the team with 16 pass breakups last season.
10/20 Ball State L 23-27
10/27 @ Eastern Michigan L 2-19 kicking questions
11/6 Central Michigan L 31-34
11/17 @ Iowa W 28-19  Junior Chris Kelly is listed as the Broncos’ kicker
11/24 Temple W 16-3 for next season, but Cubit said things could change in
the fall. He said incoming freshman John Potter was
the No. 1-rated punter in Michigan and No. 2 in the
Midwest. As of now, redshirt freshman Ben Armer
will handle the punting duties.
Defense
LDE Greg Marshall 6-0 245 Sr.
Fernand Kashama 6-3 221 Sr. tough schedule
NG Cody Cielenski 6-2 290 Jr.
The Broncos’ 5-7 mark last year may not seem too
Cory Flom 6-4 276 Sr.
DT Nick Varcadipane 6-2 285 Sr. impressive at first glance. However, Western Michi-
Chris Pyant 6-3 269 So. gan had the 10th toughest schedule among non-Bowl
RDE Zach Davidson 6-2 239 Sr.
Championship Series teams in 2007. The Broncos
Justin Braska 6-4 234 Jr.
WLB Boston McCornell 6-1 233 played five teams that participated in bowl games,
Harrison Porter 6-0 220 So. including Cotton Bowl winner Missouri.
SLB Austin Pritchard 6-4 233 Jr.
Scott Gajos 6-0 233 Jr.
HB E.J. Biggers 6-0 180 Sr.
David Lewis 5-10 170 So.
FS Louis Deimas 5-11 196 Sr.
Andy Dorcely 6-0 194 Jr.
SS C.J. Wilson 6-2 206 Sr.
Mario Armstrong 6-0 188 So.
CB Londen Fryar 5-11 192 Sr.
Desman Stephen 6-0 190 Sr.
Non-Conference Opponent

san jose state Sept. 6 at Lincoln, Neb.

Spartans
The bad news for San McClymonds High School in Oakland, Calif., Conference play.
Jose State coach Dick when he committed to Cal in 2004. Reed was “This is the first time that San Jose State has
Tomey is that the Spartans redshirted his first year at Cal, then didn’t had two .500-or-better seasons in the conference
will enter fall practice see any playing time in 2006. He decided to back-to-back,” Tomey said. “Sometimes the
still looking for a No. 1 transfer to San Jose State last August when most gratifying seasons are not the ones where
quarterback. the Bears named Nate Longshore as the No. 2 you have the most wins, necessarily.”
The good news is Tomey has some good quarterback. The Spartans are hoping for even more
quarterbacks to choose from to replace the “What we have to do is make some tough this season even though they will have to do it
graduated Adam Tafralis. decisions in the fall about who gets the reps,” without Tafralis, who finished his career with
The top candidates are returners Myles Tomey said. “Certainly Kyle will get his school records for career total offense, passing
Eden and sophomore Jordan La Secla along opportunity, because he deserves that and his yards and completions.
with Kyle Reed, a transfer Whoever ends up as his
from Cal. replacement will have a
None of the San Jose couple of experienced wide
State quarterbacks lit things receivers to throw to. Kevin
up in the spring game. Reed Jurovich caught 86 passes
missed the spring game with for 1,183 yards and nine
a foot injury while Eden, touchdowns last year while
La Secla and senior Sean David Richmond caught 55
Flynn combined to complete passes for 852 yards and 3
11-of-28 passes for 108 yards touchdowns.
in a game dominated by the Both players showed
Spartans’ defense. great promise in their first
Eden completed 7-of-15 action at receiver last year.
passes for 30 yards while Jurovich played as a
La Secla was 8 for 18 for 64 defensive back his first two
yards and Flynn 10 for 17 for years at San Jose State before
56 yards in the spring game. moving to receiver prior
Eden has a head start in to last season. Richmond
the competition. He had didn’t take up football until
seven carries for 33 yards enrolling at Santa Ana
in the Spartans’ 34-14 loss Community College and
to Kansas State early in caught one pass in his only
the season. He completed game there.
his first three passes in that “Kevin was an amazing
game, all three to Tafralis competitor for a young man
who lined up as a wide that never caught a pass
receiver. until (last) year,” Tomey
“I would say Myles Eden said. “He was kind of like
is ahead,” Tomey said. “He David Richmond. If you
did a wonderful job for us look at David two years ago
kevin jurovich
last year. He’s a consistent as a receiver, he caught one
playmaker. Last year, he did a great job against injury was unfortunate. There’s no question pass or something his freshman year of junior
Kansas State. When we put him in, he did a that Myles is No. 1 right now, but that doesn’t college. Kevin didn’t catch a pass (in 2007)
great job throughout the year. mean anything beyond that.” obviously since he was playing defense.”
“He’s doing what we ask him to do. His Tomey said Eden picked up some big The Spartans must replace both starting
running ability was a major factor in our last yards for the Spartans in their 27-24 win over running backs from last year. Former safety
game against Nevada.” Nevada that allowed the Spartans to finish the Dominique Hunsucker, Chris Reese and
Reed was a highly sought prospect out of season 5-7 overall and 4-4 in Western Athletic Cameron Island are the leading contenders

1 1 0 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
heading into the season.
“The picture in the fall, hopefully,
will look a lot different,” Tomey said.
“I’ve been pleased with Dom Hunsucker.
Chris Reese has done some good things.
Cameron Island played better in the spring
than since he’s been here.
“I think we have a chance to have a
good situation, but we’re counting on
several guys. If none of that works out,
with the guys we have now, we’ll still be
functional.”
“None of those guys practiced this
spring,” he said. “Those guys will all be in
the mix.”
Spartans at a Glance
The Spartans return six players on the affiliation
defensive side of the ball, including four Western Athletic Conference
on the defensive line in Jarron Gilbert
and Adonis Davis inside and ends Carl
QUESTION MARKS
Ihenacho and Justin Cole.
Who is going to replace Adam Tafralis at quar-
Ihenacho led San Jose State with five
terback is the most important question the Spartans
sacks a year ago.
must answer this fall. It appears either Myles Eden or
Cornerback Christopher Owens and
safety Duke Ihenacho return in the Cal transfer Kyle Reed are the most likely candidates.

San Jose State returns three starters up
front in tackle Fred Koloto, guard Isaac
Leatiota and center Ronnie Castillo.
The Spartans were short handed up
front during spring practice because of
injuries to players like Justin Paysinger, Jon
Moreno, Bradis McGriff amd Jon Konye.
Tomey said he expects Moreno to be
a starter at one tackle, while McGriff and
Konye will battle for a starting spot at the
other tackle.
2008 Schedule
Date Opponent / Event Location
8/30/08 UC Davis San Jose, Calif.
9/6/08 at Nebraska Lincoln, Neb.
9/13/08 San Diego State San Jose, Calif.
9/20/08 at Stanford Palo Alto, Calif.
9/27/08 at Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii
10/11/08 Utah State San Jose, Calif.
10/18/08 at New Mexico State Las Cruces, N.M.
10/24/08 Boise State San Jose, Calif.
11/1/08 at Idaho Moscow, Idaho
11/8/08 Louisiana Tech San Jose, Calif.
11/15/08 at Nevada Reno, Nev.
11/21/08 Fresno State San Jose, Calif.
defensive backfield.
Tomey liked what he saw from former
running back turned linebacker Mohamed
Marah, defensive end Liam Smith and
defensive tackle Kalvin Cressel.
“He (Marah) moved to linebacker and
lost 40 pounds,” Tomey said. “He’s really
shown some good stuff. Liam Smith was
not a major contributor last year, but has
really done a nice job. Kalvin Cressel – the
same way.”
2007 Record (5-7), WAC Finish (4-4)
9/1 at Arizona St. L 3-45
9/8 at Kansas St. L 14-34
9/15 at Stanford L 0-37
9/22 at Utah St. W 23-20
9/29 UC Davis W 34-14
10/6 Idaho W 28-20
10/12 Hawaii L 35-42
10/20 at Fresno St. L 0-30
11/3 at Boise St. L 7-42
11/10 NMSU W 51-17
11/17 at La. Tech L 23-27
11/24 Nevada W 27-24
The Spartans must also replace their top two running
backs.
DIFFERENCE-MAKERs
Wide receivers Kevin Jurovich and David
Richmond, the top two pass catchers from last year,
are both back. Place-kicker Jared Strubeck was a
perfect 22-for-22 in extra-point tries a year ago and
stands second all-time on the school’s career field
goal list with 30. Defensive back Coye Francies, a
transfer from Oregon State, returned 22 kickoffs for
453 yards for the Beavers in 2006.
short on scholarships
The Spartans were hurt by the NCAA’s new Aca-
demic Progress Report. The NCAA took away seven
scholarships because of poor academic performances.
That means the Spartans, who brought in 18 players
in this year’s recruiting class, may be hurting for
depth in the next couple of years.

TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART
Offense
WR David Richmond 6-4, 200, Sr.
Josh Harrison 5-11 170 Fr.
LT Fred Koloto 6-3 290 So.
Andres Vargas 6-4 280 Fr.
LG Isaac Leatiota 6-4 295 So.
Joe Zusin 6-5 310 Jr.
C Ronnie Castillo 6-0 292 Jr.
Robbie Reed 6-3 290 So.
RG Ailao Eliapo 6-2 320 So.
Steve Lightsy 6-4 350 Jr.
RT Jon Moreno 6-4 280 Jr.
Bradis McGriff 6-6 355 Sr.
TE Jeff Clark 6-5 250 Sr.
Brian Elledge 6-3 230 Sr.
QB Myles Eden 6-1 182 Jr. Mohamed Marah 6-0 242 Jr.
Sean Flynn 6-4 220 Sr.
or Jordan LaSecla 6-3 198 So.
or Kyle Reed 6-3 215 Jr.
RB James Callier 6-0 225 Sr.
Philip Knight 6-1 225 Jr.
RB Dominique Hunsucker 5-10 194 Jr.
Chris Reese 5-9 205 Jr.
or Cameron Island 5-9 187 Jr.
WR Kevin Jurovich 6-0 183 Sr.
Michael Avila 5-9 165 Fr.
WR Jalal Beauchman 6-4 220 Jr.
Terrance Williams 6-5 225 Jr.
Defense
DE Jeff Schweiger 6-5 285 Sr.
Liam Smith 6-5 250 Jr.
DT Jarron Gilbert 6-6 280 Sr.
Aaron Gilbert 6-3 290 Jr.
DT Kalvin Cressel 6-4 282 Jr.
Justin Willis 6-1 305 Jr.
or Adonis Davis 6-1 295 Jr.
DE Carl Ihenacho 6-3 245 Jr.
Marcus Keli 6-2 250 Jr.
LB Duke Ihenacho 6-1 200 So.
Dimitrous Chattman 6-0 190 Sr.
LB Travis Jones 6-1 220 Jr.
Jason Swisher 6-0 216 So.
LB Justin Cole 6-3 240 Jr.
or Kyler O’Neal 6-0 213 Fr.
CB Christopher Owens 5-10 170 Sr.
Devin Newsome 5-10 165 So.
CB Coye Francies 6-1 185 Sr.
Austin Carter 5-10 170 Jr.
S Andrew Ryan 6-0 195 Sr.
Pompey Festejo 6-0 200 So.
or Jay Atkins 6-0 185 So.
S Devin Newsome 5-10 165 So.
Kyle Flynn 6-2 205 Sr.
tomey says
Dick Tomey, now in his third season as head
coach, is still at San Jose State, although rumors in
January had him headed for the University of Hawaii
as a replacement for coach June Jones or possibly
as athletic director. Tomey, now 69, may like to try
leading a big-time program one more time before he
retires. Tomey coached at Hawaii 1977 to 1986 and at
Arizona from from 1987 to 2000.
bowl bound?
The Spartans will be shooting for their second
bowl in three years this season. They defeated New
Mexico 20-12 in the 2006 New Mexico Bowl. It may
be tough for San Jose State to move into the top two
in the conference after being outscored, 72-7, by
Boise State and Fresno State last year, but a winning
record and a bowl bid certainly appear possible.

w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 1 1 1
Non-Conference Opponent

new mexico state Sept. 13 at Lincoln, Neb.

Aggies
New Mexico State will Nwoko. Mumme took Kentucky to two bowl games
bring an unusual defense to Safety Derrick Richardson and defensive in six years before moving on to Southeastern
Lincoln when the Aggies face back Davon House are back to anchor the Louisiana for two seasons. He took over the
Nebraska on Sept. 13. defensive backfield. New Mexico State job in 2005 and went 0-12
Head coach Hal Mumme Mumme said he liked what he saw from his first year.
wanted something different, so when Woody both the defense and Dunn during spring The Aggies improved to 4-8 in 2006 and
Widenhofer retired after last season, Mumme practices. were 4-9 last season despite suffering a slew
hired veteran coach Joe Lee Dunn as his “He’s a veteran coach,” Mumme said. of injuries that contributed to their five-game
defensive coordinator. Dunn’s specialty is the “He’s been good everywhere. I really like his losing streak at the end of the season.
3-3-5 defense. enthusiasm. He gets guys to the football and The key returning player for the Aggies
“I’m excited about having Joe Lee Dunn they make tackles. is quarterback Chase Holbrook. The senior
as our defensive coordinator,” Mumme said. “He’s just a great coach running that 3-3-5. had a huge year in 2007 when he threw for
“I wanted to stay with an odd defense and It’s a scheme that’s hard to contend with.” 3,866 yards passing and ranked fifth in the
because of our personnel, I thought the 3-3-5 The defense may be improved, but offense nation in total offense with 322.6 yards per
would be a good fit. Who better game. Holbrook has already set
to put that in but the guy who school records for passing yards,
invented it?” touchdowns and total offense in
Dunn has had success every- a career.
where he’s been. He served as Holbrook had some big games
defensive coordinator at Memphis for the Aggies, including 47
from 1989 to 1991, and later re- completions for 473 yards and
turned to the Tigers in the spring four touchdowns in a 44-34 loss to
of 2003 after six years at Missis- New Mexico last season.
sippi State. Memphis immediately With Holbrook leading the
went from near the bottom of the way, offense wasn’t a problem for
NCAA rankings to a top 10 finish the Aggies. They were fifth in the
the next fall. nation in passing offense per game
Dunn also spent a year as de- (331.9) and 35th in total offense
fensive coordinator at Arkansas, per game (423.5).
where the Razorbacks were fifth Holbrook was injured early in
nationally against the run, and a loss to Boise State, then missed
earlier in his career was defensive the following game, a 22-21 loss to
coordinator at South Carolina. Louisiana Tech.
In 1987, the Gamecocks were in Holbrook flirted briefly with
the top three nationally in all five the NFL draft, but Mumme said
major defensive categories. he was told he would probably
Mumme said the 3-3-5 has be a fifth rounder or so. Mumme
been a big part of Dunn’s success said Holbrook should have a good
everywhere he’s been. chance to go much higher after his
“There aren’t a lot of those senior season.
guys around who know that chris williams “I think if he had stayed
defense,” Mumme said. “Our first healthy, we probably would have
goal is to get Joe Lee and his guys comfortable. has always been Mumme’s specialty. Kentucky gone to a bowl game,” Mumme said. “If that
We’re not there, but we’re getting close.” found that out when the Wildcats hired him as had happened, he might have shot up there a
The Aggies return seven defensive starters their head coach in 1997. lot higher. His only problem is we haven’t won
from last year’s team, including defensive end The next year, Kentucky went from being enough games. He’s missed four games in two
Rhyan Anderson up front along with lineback- 109th in the nation in total offense to sixth and years.
ers La’Auli Fonoti, Jamar Cotton and Chris beat Alabama for the first time in 75 years. “But he’s 6-5 and 246. He throws every ball

1 1 2 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
well. He’s really smart and he knows the
game.”
Holbrook will have plenty of targets to
throw at this season. Senior receiver Chris
Williams returns to be one of Holbrook’s
top targets. Williams played in just eight
games last season because of an injury,
but was still a second-team all-conference
selection and a Biletnikoff Award finalist
for the top receiver in the nation.
Williams averaged 96.5 yards receiving
per game and 13.8 per catch.
Senior AJ Harris caught 81 passes for
611 yards in 2007 and broke the school
record for receptions in a career with 191.
Sophomore Wes Neiman caught 44
passes for 423 yards last year as a redshirt
freshman.
The Aggies return three of their starting
offensive linemen from last year in right
guard Polo Gutierrez, left guard Chuck
Taylor and center Richie Bolin.
Mumme said Patrick Blount, David
2008 Schedule
Date Opponent / Event Location
9/4/08 Nicholls State Las Cruces, N.M.
9/13/08 at Nebraska Lincoln, Neb.
9/20/08 at UTEP El Paso, Texas
9/27/08 New Mexico Las Cruces, N.M.
10/11/08 at Nevada Reno, Nev.
10/18/08 San Jose State Las Cruces, N.M.
10/25/08 at Idaho Moscow, Idaho
11/1/08 Boise State Las Cruces, N.M.
11/8/08 Hawaii Las Cruces, N.M.
11/15/08 at Fresno State Fresno, Calif.
11/22/08 Louisiana Tech Las Cruces, N.M.
11/29/08 at Utah State Logan, Utah
TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART
Offense
QB Chase Holbrook 6-5 240 Sr.
J.J. McDermott 6-5 220 So.
RB Tony Glynn 5-8 190 Jr.
Seth Smith 5-9 200 Jr.
FB Brandon Perez 5-9 233 Jr.
FL Chris Williams 5-8 157 Sr.
LaVorick Williams 6-3 178 Fr.
SE A.J. Harris 6-0 208 Sr.
Julius Fleming 5-8 170 Fr.
SLT Marcus Anderson 5-7 170 Jr.
Wes Neiman 5-10 185 So.
TE Kyle Nelson 6-4 228 So.
Ryan Franzoy 6-4 238 So.
RT Patrick Blount 6-3 270 So.
David Norman 6-5 300 Jr.
LT Kyle Smith 6-6 323 So.
Joel Buschmann 6-3 286 So.
LG Joe Suder 6-6 330 Jr.
Chuck Taylor 6-3 345 So.
C Richard Bolin 6-1 291 Sr.
Joe Palmer 6-3 313 Jr.
RG Polo Gutierrez 6-2 304 Sr.
Michael Grady 6-3 320 Fr.
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 1 1 3
Norman, Kyle Smith and Joel Buschmann
are all battling for the tackle positions.
“We have some young kids who red-
Aggies at a Glance
shirted around here,” Mumme said. “They affiliation
have kind of grown up. There’s a good Western Athletic Conference
battle between four of them for the two
tackle spots.”
STRENGTHS
The running back spot is up for grabs
The Aggies are loaded at wide receiver with Chris
with Tony Glynn, Seth Smith and Brandon
Williams and A.J. Harris returning from injuries. Wes
Perez leading the way. Mumme said Perez
Neiman had a good 2007 season as well. Quarterback
may well play at fullback again this season.
“It’s a pretty good contest between is also a strong position for New Mexico State, at
Brandon Perez and Seth Smith,” Mumme least as long as senior Chase Holbrook stays healthy.
said “Tony was a starter last year but Holbrook was projected as a fifth-round selection this
missed five games. He had a good season spring if he had entered the NFL draft. He’ll likely go
as a sophomore but he got injured.” much higher if he has a good senior season.
Mumme said the Aggies worked hard
during spring practice to improve their QUESTION MARKS
depth on offense. There are plenty of questions with Rhyan
“Offensively, we wanted to work on our
Anderson, who began his college career at Miami,
depth,” Mumme said. “We were pretty
returning on the defensive line. The Aggies return
good last year until we got hurt. Then we
three starters on the offensive line, but have to replace
kind of struggled.”
both tackles, including the all-important left tackle
2007 Record (4-9), WAC Finish (1-7)
8/30 SE Louisiana W 35-14 spot where a pair of redshirt sophomores are leading
9/8 at New Mexico L 34-44 the way in Kyle Smith and Joel Buschmann.
9/15 UTEP W 29-24
9/22 at Auburn L 20-55
9/29 Arkansas PB W 20-17 unusual defense
10/7 at Boise St. L 0-58
The Aggies may be much improved on defense
10/13 at La.Tech L 21-22
10/20 Idaho W 45-31 with veteran coach Joe Lee Dunn taking over, but
10/27 at Hawaii L 13-50
the players must first learn the unusual 3-3-5 Dunn
11/2 Nevada L 38-40
11/10 @ San Jose St. L 17-51 teaches. Its a defense opponents don’t see very often,
11/17 Utah St. L 17-35 and that should work to the advantage of the Aggies.
11/30 Fresno St. L 23-30
coach on the hot seat?
Coach Hal Mumme’s program has certainly
Defense improved since the 0-12 record in his first season back
LT Rhyan Anderson 6-4 280 Sr.
Sioeli Fakalata 6-3 312 Jr. in 2005. But eight wins in two years isn’t what New
NG E.J.Cannon 6-0 305 Jr. Mexico State fans or the administration expected
Justen Alford 6-1 221 Jr.
RT Oren Long 6-2 245 Sr.
when Mumme was hired. The Aggies had a couple
Chris Romero 6-4 257 Jr. of tough losses to Nevada (40-38) and Fresno State
MLB Nick Paden 6-3 235 Jr.
(30-23) last year as well as a bunch of injuries that
Chris Nwoko 6-1 230 Sr.
LOB La’Auli Fonoti 6-4 253 Sr. helped slow the team’s progress.
Jason Scott 5-10 200 Jr.
ROB Ross Conner 5-10 215 Jr.
Jamar Cotton 6-0 216 Jr. running men
RCB Marvin Betts 5-9 170 Sr. The Aggies are known as a passing team, but
Ben Bradley 5-10 180 Fr.
LCB Davon House 6-0 168 So. Mumme is looking to improve the running game. He
Marc Waters 5-10 180 Fr. lost Justine Buries, one of the team’s leading rushers
LB Brennan Baiamonte 6-0 204 Sr.
Baer Philipbar 5-10 194 So.
the past two years, after he transferred to Hofstra.
RB Alfonso Powell 5-9 176 So. But Tony Glynn, who missed time late last year with
Vince Butler 5-10 177 Sr.
a broken ankle, returns and junior college transfers
FS Derrick Richardson 5-11 190 Sr.
Kenny Evora 6-4 218 So. Marquell Colston and Seth Smith could push for
playing time as well.
Non-Conference Opponent

virginia tech Sept. 27 at Lincoln, Neb.

Hokies
Virginia Tech has disappointed if we rotated. If that’s the case, on incoming freshman Ryan Williams, who
no clear-cut No. 1 I’ll do what I can to help this team win.” was rated the No. 4 running back prospect by
quarterback heading The Hokies are still looking for answers at ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc.
into fall practice, but running back after last year’s leading rusher “We’re going to give him a shot in there,”
there is definitely a top two. Branden Ore (287 carries for 992 yards) was Beamer said. “Before it’s over, I think we’ll be
When the Hokies visit Lincoln on Sept. dismissed from the team during the offseason. OK. There are still question marks of who is
27, either senior Sean Glennon or sophomore Things got even tougher for Beamer when where and who’s going to be one, who’s going
Tyrod Taylor will be behind center. junior Kenny Lewis, who was listed No. 1 on to be two, who’s going to be three. But we’re
Or, possibly both. the depth chart, was lost for four to six months dealing with some good kids and some good
That’s what veteran coach Frank Beamer did with a torn labrum in his left shoulder. talent.”
in 2007. Glennon was a more affective passer That was followed by junior Jahre The Hokies, who rebuilt their offensive line
(143-of-225, 1,796 yards, 12 TDs) than Taylor Cheeseman’s broken leg later in spring practice. a year ago, appear to be strong up front this
(72-of-136, 927 yards, 5 season. They return both
TDs), but Taylor could do it offensive guards in Sergio
on the ground. Render and Nick Marshmann
Taylor was the team’s along with tackle Ed Wang
second leading rusher with and center Ryan Shuman
429 yards on 102 carries who missed spring practice
(4.2 per try). with a knee injury.
Although Glennon Beamer said the offensive
outperformed Taylor in the line had a good spring as a
spring game, Beamer said whole.
no decision would be made “Overall, the effort was
until the fall. good,” Beamer said. “I think
“We feel like we have the offensive line got a little
two good quarterbacks, two tougher. I think we showed
really good quarterbacks,” better as a group. We know
Beamer said. “What we’re we have to continue to
going to do with them is work.”
yet to be determined. We’re The Hokies also must
going to carry that battle replace every receiver that
over into the fall, but we feel caught a pass last year.
good about that. Beamer said junior Brandon
“We are fortunate. Dillard showed a lot during
We have two really good spring drills.
quarterbacks. We’re going “Brandon Dillard had a
to let them continue to really good spring practice,”
compete and see what’s best Beamer said. “He’s a walk-
for them and what’s best for on, but he’s a fast walk-on.
our football team.” He was probably the guy
Glennon won the sean glennon who did the most things you
starting job as a sophomore noticed in the spring game.”
and threw for more than 2,000 yards and 11 “Both Cheeseman and Lewis ended up Beamer also likes junior Ike Whitaker, a
touchdowns that season. Glennon said he getting surgery at the end of spring practice,” converted quarterback.
definitely wants to be the starter again this year. Beamer said. “Cheeseman we feel like will “I’m really pulling for Ike Whitaker,”
“Obviously, I think any quarterback be back fairly quickly. Kenny Lewis’ injury is Beamer said. “He really came on at the end of
would be lying if he said he didn’t want the going to be a little bit longer.” the spring. He was a quarterback. He has a big
job,” Glennon said. “That’s part of being a Beamer said some other younger backs body. He made a really tough catch at the end
competitor. At the same time, I would not be performed well in the spring, and he’s also high of the spring game.”

1 1 4 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
 Virginia Tech has two tight ends back
with some starting experience from last
season. Greg Boone caught 11 passes for
187 yards while starting seven games while
Sam Wheeler caught 9 passes for 211 yards
and a touchdown in eight starts.
The Hokies have to do some rebuilding
on defense with just four starters returning,
including defensive end Orion Martin,
linebacker Cam Martin, cornerback Victor
Harris and rover Kam Chancellor.
Beamer said John Graves and
Cordarrow Thompson played well in the
spring at defensive tackle along with ends
Jason Worilds and Nekos Brown.
“Defensively, particularly our first
group, played well,” Beamer said. “Guys
like John Graves came along. I thought he
really turned it up a notch. Thompson lost
30 pounds and he’s a different player in
there at tackle.”
The linebackers are led by Brett Warren
and Purnell Sturdivant.
2008 Schedule
Date Opponent / Event Location
8/30/08 East Carolina Charlotte, N.C.
9/6/08 Furman Blacksburg, Va.
9/13/08 Georgia Tech Blacksburg, Va.
9/20/08 at North Carolina Chapel Hill, N.C.
9/27/08 at Nebraska Lincoln, Neb.
10/4/08 Western Kentucky Blacksburg, Va.
10/18/08 at Boston College Chestnut Hill, Mass.
10/25/08 at Florida State Tallahassee, Fla.
11/6/08 Maryland Blacksburg, Va.
11/13/08 at Miami Miami, Fla.
11/22/08 Duke Blacksburg, Va.
11/29/08 Virginia Blacksburg, Va.
TENTATIVE DEPTH CHART
Offense
RT Blake DeChristopher 6-5 297 Fr.
Richard Graham 6-6 288 Jr.
RG Sergio Render 6-4 324 Jr.
Jaymes Brooks 6-2 304 Fr.
C Ryan Shuman 6-3 313 Sr.
Beau Warren 6-3 276 So.
LG Nick Marshman 6-5 357 Sr.
William Alvarez 6-5 327 Fr.
LT Ed Wang 6-5 310 Jr.
Greg Nosal 6-6 289 Fr.
SE Danny Coale 6-0 203 Fr.
Cory Holt 6-4 223 Sr.
TE Sam Wheeler 6-3 269 Jr.
Greg Boone 6-3 290 Jr.
QB Sean Glennon 6-4 223 Sr.
Tyrod Taylor 6-1 213 So.
FB Kenny Jefferson 5-9 216 Jr.
Devin Perez 5-8 242 Sr.
TB Kenny Lewis 5-9 199 Jr.
Jahre Cheeseman 5-10 205 Jr.
FL Brandon Luckett 5-11 180 Jr.
Zack Luckett 6-3 212 So.
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 1 1 5
“Our first two linebackers, Warren and
Sturdivant I think are good,” Beamer said.
“Cam Johnson makes a difference back
Hokies at a Glance
there at free safety. affiliation
“I think the thing with our defense is Atlantic Coast Conference
finding some back-up guys that can play at
a high level.”
STRENGTHS
With just 11 starters returning, Beamer
With four starting offensive linemen back as well
and the Virginia Tech coaching staff are
as two tight ends with starting experience, the Hokies
hoping to build enough depth to defend
should be strong up front. The quarterback position
their ACC championship.
“Hopefully, we can get to be a good appears to be a strength, even though there isn’t a
enough football team to compete in this clear No. 1. Senior Sean Glennon has two years of
league, but we’re going to do it with a lot starting experience under his belt while sophomore
of young players,” Beamer said. “I think Tyrod Taylor saw considerable action as a freshman.
we have a lot of willing young players and
a lot of talented young players. QUESTION MARKS
“Some of the freshmen coming in I With the loss of top rusher Branden Ore and the
think will affect this football team, but injuries to the top two running backs on the spring
I look forward to that challenge. I think
roster (Kenny Lewis and Jahre Cheeseman), the
we’re working with some talented people.
Hokies may well be looking to true freshman Ryan
It will be interesting to see how quickly we
Williams to contribute in the fall. Head coach Frank
can become a good football team.”
Beamer likes Williams’ potential and says the Hokies
2007 Record (11-3), ACC Finish (7-1)
9/1 East Carolina W 17-7 have good talent at the position, but how it will all
9/8 at LSU L 7-48
work out in the fall remains to be seen.
9/15 Ohio W 28-7
9/22 William & Mary W 44-3
9/29 North Carolina W 17-10
10/6 at Clemson W 41-23 DIFFERENCE MAKERS
10/13 at Duke W 43-14 The kicking game could be the biggest difference
10/25 Boston College L 10-14
11/1 at Georgia Tech W 27-3 for the Hokies. Punter Brett Bowden was 24th in the
11/10 Florida St. W 40-21
11/17 Miami W 44-14 nation with a 42.52 average per kick. Speedy junior
11/24 at Virginia W 33-21 Brandon Dillard could provide the deep threat the
121 +Boston College W 30-16
Hokies need at wide receiver.
1/3 &Kansas L 21-24
+ACC Championship Game
&FedEx Orange Bowl, Miami
RETURN SPECIALISTS
Virginia Tech had nine return touchdowns a year
Defense ago. Five of those came on interceptions, three on
DE Jason Worilds 6-2 252 So.
Steven Friday 6-4 235 So. punt returns and one on a kickoff return. Victor
DT John Graves 6-3 292 So. “Macho” Harris, who returned a kickoff and an
Demetrius Taylor 6-0 254 Jr.
DT Cordarrow Thompson 6-2 323 Jr.
interception for touchdowns last year, will likely
Justin Young 6-3 276 Fr. handle punt returns, but the kickoff return duties
DE Orion Marton 6-3 252 Sr.
probably won’t be decided until fall.
Nekos Brown 6-2 252 Jr.
OLB Cam Martin 6-1 204 Jr.
Cody Grimm 5-11 198 Jr. MACHO MAN
ILB Brett Warren 6-1 223 Sr.
Barquell Rivers 6-0 233 Fr. Victor “Macho” Harris spent the first six spring
ILB Purnell Sturdivant 5-10 234 Sr. practices on the offense, then returned to defense.
Jonas Houseright 6-0 223 Sr.
FC Rashad Carmichael 5-10 193 So. Harris was an All-ACC selection a year ago with
OR Cris Hill 5-11 185 Fr. five interceptions and flirted with the NFL before
FS Kam Chancellor 6-3 225 Jr.
Ron Cooper 5-10 191 Jr.
deciding to return to Virginia Tech for his senior
ROV Dorian Porch 5-11 211 Jr. season. Harris spent the first three years of his career
OR Davon Morgan 6-0 190 So.
at the field corner, but will replace All-American
BC Victor Harris 6-0 192 Sr.
Stephan Virgil 5-11 177 Jr. Brandon Flowers at the boundary corner this season.
NationalScene
preseason Top 25
1 USC
2 Ohio State
3 Georgia
4 Oklahoma
6 LSU
5 West Virginia
7 Missouri
8 Florida
9 Clemson
10 Texas
11 Wisconsin
12 Arizona State
13 BYU
14 Auburn
15 South Florida
16 Illinois
17 Texas Tech
18 Oregon
19 Kansas
20 Tennessee
21 Wake Forest
22 Fresno State
23 Rutgers
24 South Carolina
25 Virginia Tech
1 1 6 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
Games of national significance
Aug. 30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Illinois-Missouri (St. Louis)
Sept. 12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kansas at South Florida
Sept 13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ohio State at USC
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michigan at Notre Dame
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UCLA at BYU
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arkansas at Texas
Sept. 20. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LSU at Auburn
Oct. 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ohio State at Wisconsin
Oct. 9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clemson at Wake Forest
Oct. 11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LSU at Florida
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oklahoma at Texas
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Arizona State at USC
Oct. 18. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Missouri at Texas
Oct. 23. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Auburn at West Virginia
Oct. 25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Georgia at LSU
Nov. 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Florida-Georgia (Jacksonville)
Nov. 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Georgia Auburn
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ohio State at Illinois
Nov. 22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michigan at Ohio State
Nov. 29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Missouri-Kansas (Kansas City)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Florida at Florida State
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Auburn at Alabama
Dec. 6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . South Florida at West Virginia
FromtheBeat
Big 12 in BCS driver’s seat
I
see where Florida and Ohio State are
nearly everyone’s pre-summer favorites
to play in the next BCS title game.
Wow! That’s really going out on a limb.
But I guess you can’t blame the experts for
playing the odds.
Never mind that the Gators and Buckeyes
are stockpiled with NFL draft-caliber talent yet
again. Even if that didn’t appear to be the case,
anyone would be remiss to leave them out of
national championship talk.
History proves they’re among the minority
of teams even in the top-25 polls that deserve
consideration.
Consider that only eight other schools,
LSU, Tennessee, Texas, USC, Miami (Fla.),
Oklahoma, Nebraska and Virginia Tech, have
ever played in the BCS championship game.
Defending champ LSU is among the six that
have played in it more than once (USC, Miami,
Florida State, Oklahoma and Ohio State are
the others), and the only one to win it more
than once.
All of this is to illustrate just how difficult
it will be for a club from the Big 12 to wind up
hoisting the National Football Foundation’s
MacArthur Bowl trophy in Miami on Jan. 8.
In 10 years, that’s happened twice – to
Oklahoma at the end of the 2000 season and to
Texas in 2005.
Now, if you’re asking what are the chances
of a Big 12 team making it to Miami this
season, you’re a lot closer to a heads-tails call.
The league has sent a representative to the
BCS game five times.
It’s way at the end of spring practice,
Colorado coach Dan Hawkins, echoing the
thoughts of his peers around the conference,
stated: “I don’t think the Big 12 has to take a
back seat to anyone.”
With that in mind, the Big 12 figures to, at
the least, factor heavily on the national scene
again in 2008.
In case you’ve forgotten, the final Associated
Press rankings last season had Missouri at No.
4, Kansas at No. 7, Oklahoma at No. 8 and
Texas at No. 10.
Everyone in that bunch returns a top-flight
quarterback and expects to be every bit as
tough in 2008.
Texas Tech also thinks it’s ready to jump
into that elite group.
w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 1 1 7
by curt mckeever
“This will be the best-balanced league in
the 10 years we’ve been at Texas,” Longhorns
coach Mack Brown said. “It’s because
everybody is better.”
Lucky Nebraska gets to play the Big 12’s
highest three top-10 teams from last season, in
addition to another top-10 club, Virginia Tech.
That Sept. 27 game in Lincoln against
the Hokies should be among the marquee
inter-league, national-scene-shaping matchups
involving a Big 12 team. Others that fall into
that category include: Illinois-Missouri on
Aug. 30, Arkansas at Texas and Oklahoma at
Washington on Sept. 13, and Miami at Texas
A&M on Sept. 20.
Once league play begins, the Sooners
and Longhorns’ Oct. 11 tussle in Dallas will
have the biggest early bearing on the pecking
order in the South Division. One week later,
Oklahoma will have to deal with Kansas, while
Texas will take on Missouri in Austin.
And yet, two late-November contests –
Texas A&M at Texas on the 27th and Missouri-
Kansas on the 29th – not only could settle both
divisions, but determine whether the Big 12 is
positioned to make it 6-for-11 getting a team to
the BCS championship.
A popular belief among those trying to
pick their national title favorites before teams
even started summer conditioning was that the
winner of the Sept. 13 Ohio State-USC game
in Los Angeles would have an inside track to
one of the BCS spots.
A lot of those forecasters also see either
Florida or Georgia emerging from their Nov.
1 meeting in Jacksonville, Fla., in similar shape.
Within the Big 12, Oklahoma and Missouri
are getting the most attention, but Texas,
Kansas and Texas Tech are all in nearly
everyone’s preseason top 25.
A picky sort still could find something about
each to make them think they’ll come up short
of making the BCS championship.
Missouri, thanks to its Cotton Bowl
destruction of Arkansas, finished as the Big
12’s highest-ranked team last season. But the
Tigers went 0-for-2 against Oklahoma and got
bypassed for a BCS game.
Though the Sooners have won three of the
last four league titles, they’ve also lost four
straight BCS games.
Texas hasn’t been to one since it won its
national title.
And Kansas and Texas Tech have just one
BCS game appearance between them.
Somehow, at least a couple of these Big 12
teams will find a way to be in position for a
league title in late November, and whichever
secures it could hunt for the largest prize of all.
Here’s why they’re considered threats.
Oklahoma
Sam Bradford could prove even more
difficult to defend running a no-huddle
offense and throwing to tight end Jermaine
Gresham and receiver Juaquin Iglesias. Middle
linebacker Ryan Reynolds has all the game of
departed Big 12 defensive player of the year
Curtis Lofton.
Missouri
With Heisman Trophy finalist Chase Daniel,
the Tigers could begin the season in the top
five. Mizzou needs to replace running back
Tony Temple and the majority of its offensive
line, but if those holes are plugged, look out,
because there’s experience everywhere else.
Texas
Jamaal Charles, the Big 12’s leading rusher
in 2007, is gone, as well as most of Colt
McCoy’s receiver corps. Don’t feel too bad for
the Longhorns. Chances are by the end of the
season Chris Ogbonnaya, Vondrell McGee
and/or Foswhitt Whittaker will be well-known
running backs, and Quan Cosby and Jordan
Shipley favorite targets of McCoy. Oh yeah, the
Longhorns also should take well to first-year
defensive coordinator Will Muschamp’s love
of the blitz.
Texas Tech
When quarterback Graham Harrell (5,705
yards passing last year) and receiver Michael
Crabtree (1,962 yards receiving) are hooked
up, they can be impossible to stop. The Red
Raiders have everybody back on offense, and
showed improvement after Ruffin McNeill took
over the defense in mid-season. As Crabtree
told ESPN, “The goal is to go undefeated.”
Kansas
There’s enough experience back (15 starters)
to believe the Jayhawks’ 12-1 season of 2007
was no one-year wonder. Quarterback Todd
Reesing gets a lot of props for being game
savvy, but it takes more than that to throw
for 3,486 yards and 33 touchdowns at a 61.9
percent completion rate.
 2008 Bowl Schedule

Bowl Site Date Time (ET) Network Matchup

R&L New Orleans New Orleans 12/19/08 8:00 PM ESPN2 Sun Belt vs. C-USA

Congressional Washington D.C. 12/20/08 3:30 PM ESPN Navy vs. ACC

New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico 12/20/08 4:30 PM ESPN M-West vs. WAC

Pioneer Las Vegas Las Vegas 12/20/08 8:00 PM ESPN M-West vs. Pac-10

St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, Florida 12/20/08 6:30 PM ESPN2 C-USA vs. Big East

San Diego Poinsettia San Diego 12/23/08 8:00 PM ESPN M-West vs. Pac-10

Sheraton Hawaii Honolulu 12/24/08 8:00 PM ESPN Pac-10 vs. WAC

Motor City Detroit 12/26/08 7:30 PM ESPN Big Ten vs. MAC

Champs Sports Orlando, Florida 12/27/08 4:30 PM ESPN ACC vs. Big Ten

Emerald San Francisco 12/27/08 8:00 PM ESPN Pac-10 vs. ACC

Meineke Car Care Charlotte, North Carolina 12/27/08 1:00 PM ESPN ACC vs. Big East

Petro Independence Shreveport 12/28/08 8:00 PM ESPN Big 12 vs. SEC

Papajohns.com Birmingham, Alabama 12/29/08 2:00 PM ESPN Big East vs. SEC

Valero Alamo San Antonio 12/29/08 8:00 PM ESPN Big Ten vs. Big 12

Gaylord Music City Nashville, Tennessee 12/30/08 3:30 PM ESPN ACC vs. SEC

Pacific Life Holiday San Diego 12/30/08 8:00 PM ESPN Pac-10 vs. Big 12

Roady’s Humanitarian Boise, Idaho 12/30/08 4:30 PM ESPN ACC vs. WAC

Texas Houston 12/30/08 8:00 PM NFL Big 12 vs. C-USA

Bell/Armed Forces Fort Worth, Texas 12/31/08 11:00 AM ESPN M-West vs. C-USA

Brut Sun El Paso, Texas 12/31/08 2:00 PM CBS Pac-10 vs. Big East/Big 12

Chick-Fil-A Atlanta 12/31/08 7:30 PM ESPN ACC vs. SEC

Insight Tempe, Arizona 12/31/08 5:30 PM NFL Big Ten vs. Big 12

Capital One Orlando, Florida 1/1/09 1:00 PM ABC SEC vs. Big Ten

FedEx Orange Miami 1/1/09 8:00 PM FOX BCS

Kinoka Gator Jacksonville, Florida 1/1/09 1:00 PM CBS ACC vs. Big East/Big 12

Outback Tampa 1/1/09 11:00 AM ESPN Big Ten vs. SEC

Rose Pasadena 1/1/09 5:00 PM ABC BCS

AT&T Cotton Dallas 1/2/09 2:00 PM FOX Big 12 vs. SEC

Allstate Sugar New Orleans 1/2/09 8:00 PM FOX BCS

Autozone Liberty Memphis Tennessee 1/2/09 5:00 PM ESPN SEC-vs. C-USA

International Toronto 1/3/09 Noon ESPN2 MAC vs. Big East

Tostitos Fiesta Glendale, Arizona 1/5/09 8:00 PM FOX BCS

GMAC Mobile, Alabama 1/6/09 8:00 PM ESPN C-USA vs. MAC

BCS National Championship Miami 1/8/09 9:00 PM FOX BCS

Big 12 bowl games in bold

1 1 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8
 Crossword/Trivia

ACROSS
3 2008 Big 12 championship game city
5 Sept. 6 opponent
7 Threw final touchdown pass in Spring Game
8 First Husker taken in 2008 NFL Draft
10 Bo Pelini’s alma mater
11 Threw 2 touchdown passes in Spring Game
15 Leading rusher in Spring Game
16 Bo Pelini’s college position
17 Linebackers coach
19 Opponent in 2008 opener
22 Wide receiver from California
24 Running back coach Tim Beck’s former school
25 Third Husker taken in 2008 NFL Draft
26 Network for Nebraska-Colorado game
28 Ndamukong Suh’s home state
29 Winning team in Spring Game
30 Number of home games in 2008

DOWN
1 Non-conference opponent on 2010 schedule
2 Nate Swift’s home state
4 Cody Glenn’s new position
6 Wears No. 43
9 Second Husker taken in 2008 NFL Draft
11 Assistant head coach
12 Wears No. 61
13 Associate head coach
14 Tight ends coach
18 2008 Homecoming opponent
20 Wears No. 70
21 Shawn Watson’s former school
23 First 2008 road opponent
27 Wears No. 72
Answers will appear in August issue

HAVE IDEAS?
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MAY CROSSWORD SOLUTION

w w w.husk ersillustrated.com J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D 1 1 9
 FinalWord by Mike Babcock

Tradition begins with the helmet

F
irst, some helmet history . . . players are exposed to that, they start feeling a century, and all five national championships.
Nebraska’s football helmets underwent that sense of responsibility they have when they And it has become the symbol not just of
a major makeover in 1966. A red stripe put that ‘N’ on the side of their helmet.” the intervening years but of a tradition that
was added to the crown of the white The sense of responsibility to tradition is pre-dates the nickname “Cornhusker” and the
helmets and red numbers were affixed to the essential, which is why that has been a priority colors scarlet and cream.
sides. under Pelini and Athletic Director Tom Pelini’s message in speaking engagements
I know this to be true. My uncle, Gib Osborne. Former players have been welcomed has been that the Nebraska football program
Babcock, was the equipment manager and I back, encouraged to return. And their presence isn’t his or Osborne’s, it is the state’s, that
helped him apply the stripes. It was before my has influenced current players. student-athletes (another emphasis) aren’t
sophomore year at the university. I lived with “You hear all those stories about the past,” playing at Nebraska, they’re playing for
him and my aunt during the first semester, until said senior defensive tackle Ty Steinkuhler. “I Nebraska and for the people of the state.
a room opened up in the campus dorms. wish that had been portrayed to us more when Senior offensive guard Matt Slauson,
In any case, Nebraska’s varsity roster we got here. You don’t know any of it.” another who grew up outside the state, is
included about 90 players, and my uncle and Actually, he knows something about it among those who understand. Asked about
I spent a couple of evenings in the north field because he grew up in Nebraska last season at the pre-spring news conference,
house, where both varsity and freshman locker and because his dad was a he replied, “In your own mind, you’re
areas were located, removing helmets from Cornhusker All-American. But like, ‘Wow, I really let down the state of
open lockers and applying the stripes. he hasn’t learned much beyond Nebraska.’ ”
The numbers (no duplicates back then) came that, he said. Slauson’s attitude can’t be the
later. Or maybe my uncle had already added The past four years, for exception. It has to be the rule.
them to the sides. I don’t recall. I only assisted whatever reason, tradition was Among many things, Pelini has
with the stripes. largely ignored, if not intentionally embraced walk-ons. He has
For four seasons prior to that, dating from set aside. “It really resurrected the players’
the arrival of coach Bob Devaney in 1962, the wasn’t talked about Unity Council. And
Cornhuskers wore white helmets with large that much,” he has emphasized
black numbers high up on the sides. There were Steinkuhler that Frank Solich’s
no stripes. Previously, the helmets had been said. contributions
red, some seasons with white stripes, some not. “A lot of to the program
In 1967, the helmets were changed again. players in the should not be
The red stripe remained but the side numbers program didn’t ignored, as was
were replaced with red “NU” decals. The “U” know about it.” the case the
was offset, slightly below the “N.” Though he past four years.
The helmets weren’t changed in 1969, grew up in the Solich is a part of
though as did other schools, Nebraska added a Chicago area, Cornhusker football
“100” decal across the helmet front in tribute to quarterback history, as player, assistant
a century of college football. Joe Ganz knows a lot coach and head coach. His
In 1970, the “U” was removed, leaving only about Cornhusker tradition and firing in 2003 didn’t change
an “N” on the sides and a stripe down the understands the responsibility that.
middle. In the first season of the “N,” Nebraska to it. “You don’t want to Pelini says he isn’t
won its first national championship. let them (former players) building tradition. Rather,
Though the size of the “N” has varied over down,” he told Huskers he is leaning on it, trying
the years, it remains the distinctive feature Illustrated prior to the start to restore it.
of the helmets, an immediately recognizable of spring practice. And that tradition is
symbol of Cornhusker tradition. “That ‘N’ on the side represented by the red
Fans understand. But in recent seasons, of your helmet is very “N.”
not every player has, or so it seems. After the heavy when you start
Spring Game, referring to the crowd of 80,149, losing.”
BOBBY REYNOLDS
coach Bo Pelini said, “That sends a bolt of The “N” has been there
SPORTS THE EARLY
energy through your team. The more current for more than a quarter of RED HELMETS

1 2 0 H U S K E R S I L L U S T R AT E D J U N E / J U LY 2 0 0 8