Hail Varsity Volume 3, Issue 7

OCT. 15, 2014VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7

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3OCTOBER 15, 2014

OCTOBER 15, 2014 | VOLUME 3 | ISSUE 7

Publisher/OwnerAaron Babcock

EditorMike Babcock

Managing EditorBrandon Vogel

Creative DirectorKen Jarecke

Photography DirectorJohn S. Peterson

Design DirectorQuentin Lueninghoener

Creative TeamJeff Abele, Move CreativeSeth RexiliusDAAKE DesignTim Seidell

Staff WriterGrant Muessel

Contributing WritersTim Siedell Terry PettitErin SorensenJohn Mabry

Contributing PhotographersJohn S. PetersonAaron BabcockRandy HamptonPaul BellingerEric FrancisNebraska Media RelationsUNL Libraries, Archives & Special Collections

Advertising SalesAaron BabcockJulie Robinson

Advisory BoardSteve Warren, Calvin Jones, Blake Lawrence, Adi Kunalic

Hail Varsity (ISSN 2332-1245), Vol. 3, Issue 5, publishes multiple issues within a month except March through August, totaling 16 issues by Barnstorm Media Group, 315 South 9th Street, Suite 18, Lincoln, NE 68508. Periodical postage paid at Lincoln, NE and additional offices and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Hail Varsity, 315 South 9th Street, Suite 18 Lincoln, NE 68508.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: Allow four to six weeks for delivery of new subscriptions. For subscription customer service, visit hailvarsity.com/subscribe, write Hail Varsity PO Box 22490, Lincoln, NE 68542, or call 855-3HUSKER. Publisher assumes no responsibility for loss or damage of unsolicited material. Entire contents copyright 2014 Barnstorm Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of content in any manner without permission is strictly prohibited. Opinions expressed in signed columns and articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.

DISCLAIMER: Hail Varsity is the only Nebraska-owned and operated magazine dedicated to the coverage of Husker athletics. The magazine is privately owned and published and is not endorsed or controlled by the University of Nebraska in any way.

Members

DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME/SCORE TVAug. 30 Florida Atlantic Memorial Stadium W, 55-7 BTN Sep. 6 McNeese State Memorial Stadium W, 31-24 ESPNUSep. 13 Fresno State at Fresno, Calif. W, 55-19 CBS Sep. 20 Miami, Fla. Memorial Stadium W, 41-31 ESPN2 Sep. 27 Illinois Memorial Stadium W, 45-14 BTN Oct. 4 Michigan State at East Lansing, Mich. L, 22-27 ABC Oct. 18 Northwestern at Evanston, Ill. 6:30 p.m. BTN Oct. 25 Rutgers Memorial Stadium TBA TBA Nov. 1 Purdue Memorial Stadium TBA TBA Nov. 15 Wisconsin at Madison, Wis. TBA TBA Nov. 22 Minnesota Memorial Stadium TBA TBA Nov. 28 Iowa at Iowa City, Iowa TBA TBA

2014 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

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STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP1. Publication Title: Hail Varsity 2. Publication Number: 2332-1245 3. Filing Date: Sept. 29, 2014 4. Issue Frequency: Bi-monthly January through August and weekly September through mid-December 5. Number of Issues Published Annually: 16 6. Annual Subscription Price: $49.95 7. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication: P.O. Box 22490, Lincoln, NE 68542: Contact Person: Aaron Babcock Telephone: 855-3HUSKER 8. Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General Business Office: 315 S 9th Street, Suite 18, Lincoln, NE 68508 9. Full Names and Complete Mailing Addresses of Publisher, Editor, and Managing Editor: Publisher: Aaron Babcock, P.O. Box 22490, Lincoln, NE 68542 Editor: Mike Babcock, P.O. Box 22490, Lincoln, NE 68542 Managing Editor: Brandon Vogel, P.O. Box 22490, Lincoln, NE 68542 10. Owner: Full Name: Barnstorm Media Group, Inc., P.O. Box 22490, Lincoln, NE 68542 11. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees: None. 12. Tax Status: Has not changed during preceding 12 months 13. Publication Title: Hail Varsity 14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: Sept. 30, 201415. Extent and Nature of Circulation: a. Total Number of Copies (net press run): 8,592 / 8,684 b. 1. Mailed Out-side-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541: 3,715 / 3,463: 2. Mailed In-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541: 1,046 / 1,048 3. Paid Distribution Outside the Mails Including Sales through Dealers & Carriers: 1,866 / 1,866 4. Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail Through the USPS: 0 / 0 c. Total Paid Distribution: 6,627 / 6,377 d. 1. Free or Nominal Rate Outside-County Copies included on PS Form 3541: 0 / 0 2. Free or Nominal Rate Copies In-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541: 0 / 0 3. Free or Nominal Rate Copies Mailed at Other Classes Through the USPS: 0 / 0 4. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail: 0 / 0 e. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution: 0 / 0 f. Total Distribution: 6627 / 6377 g. Copies not Distributed: 1340 / 1340 h. Total: 7967 / 7717 i. Percent Paid: 100% 16 Electronic Copy Circulation: a. Paid Electronic Copies: 0 / 0. b. Total Paid Print Copies: 6627 / 6377 c. Total Print Distribution: 6627 / 6377 d. Percent Paid (Both Print & Electronic): 100 / 100 17. Publication of Statement of Ownership: If the publication is a general publication, publication of this statement is required. It will be printed in the Oct. 15, 2014 issue of this publication. 18. Signature and Title of Owner: Aaron Babcock, Sept. 29, 2014.First Number Listed: Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months. Second Number Listed: No. Copies of Single Issues Published Nearest to Filing Date:

HAILVARSITY.COM4

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THE COVERS→It takes two covers to handle Kenny Bell. He’s more than big hair, a star receiver and a popular Twitter feed. Hail Varsity subscribers received the homage to John Lennon on the left. Newsstands got the one on the right showing the fashionable side of Bell. Page 32.

MIKE BABCOCKThe Huskers got exactly what they could expect out of Michigan State in East Lansing: a very tough run defense.

48

HOT READSAmeer Abdullah becomes the third Husker in history to run for more than 200 yards in three games in the same season.

11

VOLLEYBALLThe Huskers battled back against No. 3 Penn State at home, but lost a tough match to unranked Ohio State the next night.

42

TIM SIEDELLImagining the countless thrilling, surprising and exciting ways Nebraska’s game against Northwestern could finish.

22

BRANDON VOGELBeing dominated for more than three quarters on the road against a top-ten opponent is a con, but there are pros that came out of the MSU loss.

30

The next issue of Hail Varsity, Volume 3, Issue 8, will ship on Oct. 22.

#80 OCT. 15, 2014VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7

portraits by paul bellinger

A A R O N B A B C O C K

5OCTOBER 15, 2014

The democratization of fame has been interesting to watch. Used to be that fame was reserved for A-list actors, rock stars and the ilk. Today, unless you’re a very active citizen of the internet, odds are good that you’re not even aware of some of the most famous people in the world.

The “internet famous” come from all walks of life.Kenny Bell sort of straddles both worlds. As one of the

most prolific receivers in school history, Bell would’ve been known in Nebraska circles in any era. But as the Badger-blocking kid from Colorado with the unforgettable hair and unfiltered opinions, he became available to a much wider audience. He was right there on the same social media platforms everyone was using, just a click and 140 characters away.

Bell hasn’t done a ton of interviews during his final season at Nebraska. You’ll get a sense for why after reading Grant Muessel’s feature in this issue, a portrait of a young man growing up in this still-new instant-fame age.

A story like that required real portraits to match, and the result was perhaps our most ambitious photo shoot to date. We enlisted Paul Bellinger – a Nebraska-born, Montana-based portrait photographer – to shoot the images you see in this issue. With publisher Aaron Babcock and photo director John S. Peterson assisting, it had the feel of the sort of shoot you’d see from any major consumer magazine.

Creative director Ken Jarecke deserves the credit for coming up with our first ever dual cover. On the newsstand you’ll see an unforgettable image of Bell. Subscribers will get an homage to Richard Avedon’s famous photo of John Lennon for a 1968 issue of Look magazine. Add in some really ambitious page design from design director Quentin Lueninghoener and we’re pretty proud of what’s in the pages of this magazine.

We hope you feel the same way. And, if you should find yourself looking for newsstand locations or to become a subscriber to complete your cover collection, we can always point you in the right direction at HailVarsity.com.

Thanks for reading.Brandon Vogel

Managing Editor

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS

LETTER FROM THE MANAGING EDITOR

Richard Avedon’s iconic John Lennon cover portrait

One of Paul Bellinger’s Kenny Bell portraits

GAME-WINNERALMOSTNebraska nearly completed a miraculous comeback at Michigan State, after going into the fourth quarter trailing 27-9. The Huskers’ final possession began at their own 20-yard line with 1:07 remaining. After throwing an incomplete pass on first down, Tommy Armstrong Jr. completed a pass to Alonzo Moore for 43 yards and a first down at the Michigan State 37-yard line. Armstrong threw a pass intended for Moore on the next play as well. Moore, shown here, lunged and reached for the ball as he went to the ground in the end zone. But the pass was incomplete. A second-down interception ended Husker hopes with 37 seconds remaining.

SEE MORE PHOTOS AT HAILVARSITY.COM


HAILVARSITY.COM8

9OCTOBER 15, 2014

ON THE LINEHusker Katie Kraeutner (5) keeps the ball in play against Rutgers’ Jessica Puchalski (24) in the teams’ 1-1 tie in two overtimes at the Nebraska Soccer Field in late September. The double-overtime match was Nebraska’s third of the season. Kraeutner, a junior forward from North Saanich, B.C., had started 44 consecutive matches going into this season, when she started the opener before being sidelined by injury. She was coach John Walker’s first recruit from Canada since 2008. Senior Mayme Conroy scored the Husker goal in the 37th minute, with an assist from Jourden Casey, to tie the score. The goal was Conroy’s third of the season. She would score two more in the Huskers’ next match, a 4-3 victory against Maryland in Lincoln – and in one overtime.

J O H N S . P E T E R S O N

SEE MORE PHOTOS AT HAILVARSITY.COM

YOU ALREADY SUBSCRIBE TO THE LIFESTYLE. WHY NOT THE MAGAZINE?

VARSITY

APRIL/MAY 2014

VOLUME 3, ISSU

E 3

WISE BEYOND

HIS YEARSwith a

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MIRACLE AT MEMORIAL

VARSITY

THERE IS NO PLACE.The Old Gray Lady waits. The sun rises and her spirit stirs.

In this hour, before the fans and the bands, you can hear

them: echoes and cheers of games past. Somewhere,

deep within her halls, a spark ignites the promise of games

to come. The drums beat. The fans cheer. The players take

the fi eld. She springs to life and her heartbeat pounds

across the plains. The stadium is full. The lights are lit and

the pride of an entire state roars in unison. This is Nebraska, and we are one with you.

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NOVEMBER 9, 2013VOLUME 2, ISSUE 12

THE 2014 HUSKER FOOTBALL YEARBOOK

AMEER ABDULLAH RETURNS FOR HIS SENIOR SEASON FOR

ALL THE RIGHT REASONS

‘BIGGER than FOOTBALL’

JUNE/JULY 2014VOLUME 3, ISSUE 4

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T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R T H E B I G G E S T B I G R E D F A N S

11OCTOBER 15, 2014

THE 200 CLUB

It’s not easy coming up with new ways to describe the amazing Ameer Abdullah. Many of the exciting adjectives were used up before the calendar flipped to October, but oftentimes simplicity is the best approach.

“Not good, I think he’s a great player,” Bo Pelini said after Abdullah rushed for 208 yards and three touchdowns in the 45-14 win over Illinois. Clear, concise, simple.

That was Abdullah’s third 200-yard rushing game of the season, fourth of his career, and most of the work was done before halftime with the senior racking up 196 yards after two quarters.

Abdullah also eclipsed the 200-yard mark against Florida Atlantic (232) and Miami (229) this season, making him only the third player in school history to have three or more 200-yard games in a single season. That puts him in a pretty elite group.

Ahman Green rushed for 200 yards or more in a game three times (Iowa State, Colorado, Tennessee) during Nebraska’s 1997 national championship season. Mike Rozier holds the current record with four 200-yard rushing games (Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma) during his Heisman Trophy-winning season in 1983. Rozier also holds the career 200-yard rushing

game record with seven. Abdullah was tied for second with Green with four each before the Huskers headed to East Lansing to face Michigan State.

And while the company Abdullah keeps in Nebraska’s record book makes for some good water-cooler talk, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it doesn’t come up much when the Husker coaches are in the film room.

“To me the great ones stand the test of time,” Pelini said. “I don’t like to get into comparisons and that type of thing. Who would we compare him to? I don’t really know. I think what he wants to be is Ameer Abdullah, which is pretty special.”


HAILVARSITY.COM12

HOTREADS

PLAYBOOK: DOLLAR DEFENSE

Nebraska introduced another name to the defensive lexicon against Illinois – the “dollar” defense. It’s like the peso but with a different exchange rate. Instead of replacing one linebacker with a defensive back, the Huskers took their dime formation (six defensive backs, one linebacker) and replaced the linebacker with true freshman safety Kieron Williams.

And it turns out the formation isn’t all that new, it just got a name this time around.

“It’s something I’ve used for a long

time,” Pelini said following the 45-14 win. “I thought it was really effective for us.”

After giving up 116 yards on the first two drives against the Illini, Nebraska’s defense held Illinois to just 223 yards on the final 13 drives of the game. Pelini said he actually pulled the Huskers out of the formation late in the game to avoid putting too much of it on film.

“I think there’s a lot more we can do out of that,” he said.

The chief advantage of the dollar formation is speed – both in terms

of the athletes its puts on the field and how it allows Nebraska to avoid defensive substitutions, which is particularly important against an up-tempo spread team like Illinois.

“When they were going to go empty, no running backs in the backfield, we were going to match their speed with our speed, and we have the flexibility,” defensive coordinator John Papuchis said, adding that Williams played well out of the formation considering he’d only been practicing as a linebacker for three days.

It’s only a different formation, not a defensive revolution, but how quickly the dollar catches on might be just a matter of marketing.

“You could call it dinero and it could turn into the biggest phenomenon in Nebraska defensive history,” Papuchis said. “People still ask me about the peso.”

The drawer where Bo Pelini keeps his defensive alignments must also be full of spare change. We know the Huskers love to play in the nickel package, but we’ve also seen plenty of dime over the years. In 2010 Husker fans learned to love the “peso,” which subbed out one of the three linebackers for a hybrid defensive back like Eric Hagg, who proved big enough to play the run and speedy enough to cover wide receivers.

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HAILVARSITY.COM14

It can’t be easy filling up a 24-hour sports network with programming, much less four of them, but ESPN has managed by phrasing seemingly every statistic, story and Tweet as an intense question that must be answered.

Can Michigan bounce back? Is Florida State playoff-worthy right now? Will Todd Gurley win the Heisman?

There are never any actual answers given because actual answers to those questions don’t exist. Frankly, the debate fades into background noise pretty quickly, but there is one show on the “family of networks” worth some space on your DVR. ESPNU’s Film Room is a show where you can actually learn something.

Each week, host Tom Luginbill, the son of a coach and a former college quarterback himself, breaks down game film alongside a rotating cast of former players and coaches from ESPN’s impressive roster of analysts. If you’ve ever heard terms like 3-technique, Y-option route or quarters coverage and wondered what they meant, Film Room provides the answers.

It’s heady but not heavy stuff thanks to the concise explanations from the show’s group of football lifers. At 30 minutes a week, there probably isn’t a faster way to become a smarter football fan.

New episodes of Film Room debut every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The program is also available at watchespn.com.

HOTREADS

WORTH IT: ESPN’S ‘FILM ROOM’

STAT PACK: THE DIFFERENCE MAKER

QUICK HIT

Upside down, but #Huskers marching band giving some love to Ameer Abdullah. #FearAmeer.

@erinsorensen Sept. 27, 2014, 7:54 PM

Erin Sorensen

Minus the opening defensive drive of the season-opener against Florida Atlantic, Nebraska played the first two games without defensive end Randy Gregory. What effect did that have on the Huskers’ defense?

The best answer to that question is “a noticeable one.”After Nebraska’s first two games this season, the Huskers

ranked 96th nationally in sacks per game (0.5) and 69th in tackles for loss per game (5.5). In the three games following that with Gregory in the lineup – Fresno State, Miami and Illinois – the Huskers averaged 3.33 sacks per game (21st nationally), 27.33 sack yards per game (10th) and 8.67 tackles for loss per game (9th).

The jump in negative plays isn’t solely due to Gregory making them either. The junior had 4.5 sacks, which are included in the tackles for loss totals, in his first three games back. But Gregory’s immense talent also frees up the rest of Nebraska’s defensive linemen to make plays. Defensive end Greg McMullen and defensive tackles Vincent Valentine, Maliek Collins and Kevin Williams combined for 2.5 tackles for loss over the first two games of the season. That group combined for 10 tackles for loss over the next three games with Gregory playing.

He’s a difference maker. Everyone knew that coming in, but it’s not all about the numbers Gregory puts up for himself. He makes Nebraska’s entire defense better just by being on the field.

SACK PER GAME

TACKLES FOR LOSS PER GAME

With Gregory: 3.33Without Gregory: .5

With Gregory: 8.67Without Gregory: 5.5

15OCTOBER 15, 2014

HOTREADS

ON THE GO: EVANSTON, ILL.

WITH ALL OUR VIM

A trip to Evanston, Ill., for the Nebraska-Northwestern matchup is a must for many Husker fans. A quick drive north of Chicago, Northwestern’s campus allows fans to experience the best of both the big city and a college town.

In the 2014 Hail Varsity Yearbook, we introduced you to three places to check out. Those were Giordano’s (Must See), Bat 17 (Must Eat) and Tommy Nevin’s Pub (Must Drink). With the help of some Northwestern graduates, we bring you even more places worth stopping by while in town.

Central Street is located right next to Ryan Field, which is convenient for those looking to tailgate and grab food pre-game. If you find yourself on Central Street, stop at Mustard’s Last Stand, a walk-in Chicago-style hot dog and hamburger joint. It’s touted as the “most famous Northwestern game day restaurant.” If you don’t plan on stopping by Central Street but want to try Mustard’s Last Stand, it has

vendors out and about on game days.If you’re all about exploring

Northwestern traditions, then you have to stop at “The Rock.” It’s located in the middle of campus (near University Hall). Students began painting The Rock in the 1950s and it’s become a campus landmark ever since.

For some pregame fun, head to Wildcat Alley two hours before kickoff. Located at Wells Field (north of Ryan Field), Wildcat Alley turns into a big party for all ages. Appearances from the band, cheerleaders and Willie the Wildcat are guaranteed highlights.

One of the best things about college fight songs is that most of them were written around the turn of the century. The turn from the 19th to the 20th century, that is, and as a result those songs are usually full of unabashed earnestness and antiquated but still delightful lyrics.

So what would you get if you took one of those century-old songs and gave it a modern-day twist? What you’d get is the “The Cornhusker (Come a Runnin’ Boys)”, the latest single from The Killigans, a self-described “folk punk” six-piece band from Lincoln.

As you might guess from the parenthetical

title, this fight song always had plenty of fight in it. Robert W. Stevens wrote it in 1909, and Nebraska teams of the era used to sing it in the locker room before taking the field, making it perhaps the earliest known predecessor to the

modern day tunnel walk. The Killingans took it – applied a mix of electric guitars, traditional folk instruments and echoing drums – and turned it into an all-out blitz.

The result is something you’ll likely hear blaring from Husker tailgates for years to come. Not a bad second life for a song that’s 105 years old.

Want to hear the song for yourself? Check it out at thekilligans.bandcamp.com.


HAILVARSITY.COM16

HOTREADS

GREG McMULLENSophomore, DE, Akron, Ohio

Unlike many people his age, Greg McMullen reads the newspaper. He wants to stay informed, a trait he acquired after growing up in public schools, then attending a private, parochial high school, Archbishop Hoban.

“You kind of see the world from a different view,” McMullen said. “I’ve seen what it looks like on this side of the grass then I

went to the other side of the grass, and I realized that it can be all gone.”McMullen associated with older people, the “right ones” as he says. “I didn’t

really hang out with a bunch of kids my age because I felt like they were stupid, you know; they wanted to go drink, do drugs, party, chase women,” he said. “How long can you do that until it catches up with you?”

Some of the adults in McMullen’s circle worked in criminal justice, his major at Nebraska.


17OCTOBER 15, 2014

SAVE A LIFEReport drunk drivers. Dial *55 or 911.

HOTREADS

Q Why did you associate more with adults in high school?

A I talked to a lot of the teachers, you know, to see what their life was like. I learned from the adults because I figured college kids who are immature, who want to chase girls, do drugs and live that high life before they have to really man up and be somebody, you know, what can I really learn from them? I could learn something, but is it the right thing that I want to learn? So I kind of coordinated with the right people, talked to the right people and learned a lot from the right people.

Q What kind of things do you want to stay informed about?

A I just want to be one of those guys that stays open-minded and be able to when talking to the people I talked to, which is older people, we can have more than just a football conversation. We can talk about stuff in the medical field, business, pre-law, whatever it may be, because I educate myself on a little bit of everything.

Q What would you want to do in the criminal justice field?

A I think I’m going to stick with it. I want to go into (a) government agency, whether it’s working with U.S. Marshals, CIA, FBI or anything from being a homicide detective or detective in general. I just want to do something within the criminal justice field to kind of help communities build a safer environment.

Q Who do you know in law enforcement?A I know a lot of different people in my hometown that

were in law enforcement and they loved it. My cousin Andre Moore, he’s an officer and I talk to him a whole lot. I had an uncle that was actually a lieutenant in

the military and I kind of talk to him about what he did, and they’re very intriguing. I watch a lot of crime shows; I kind of break it down and I think my analytical skills are pretty good in terms of breaking stuff down, figuring stuff out, assessing things and putting stuff together. It’ll be interesting. I think that’s where it came from, just being around a lot of law enforcement growing up.

Q Who do you hang out with now in college?A Charles Jackson is one of my best friends. When I got

here he kind of reminded me of my best friend from back home, so I was like, they kind of resemble each other in attitude, personality and behavior, so I kind of looked out for him when I first got here. Me and him grew into a big friendship, and that’s one of my good guys. I hang out with guys like Imani (Cross), Vincent Valentine . . . because they were my roommates,

and then I hang out with as I call them “the normal kids” of campus, you know, which some are Frisbee people, some are golfers, some are (in) track, some are just plain kids from Nebraska who’re trying to get an education and do something good in life. So I have variety of friends, and I’ve been enjoying it.

Q Is Nebraska football being “the only show in town” what drew you here?

A Yes and no. What drew me here was the fact that I could focus on my education and not have to worry about any of the extracurriculars that may go around at Ohio State or at the Floridas or the Alabamas. I just want to stay focused on my education and get my degree, and also work hard on a football team that’s known for being tough, hard-nosed, all about their defense.

– Grant Muessel


HAILVARSITY.COM18

HOTREADS

1994 COMMEMORATIVE PRINT

A 4 15/16” x 6 ¾” miniature of “Finished Business,” a print

by artist Douglas C. Hess, commemorates Nebraska’s first

national championship under coach Tom Osborne in 1994.

The print depicts fullback Cory Schlesinger (40) scoring the winning touchdown against Miami in the fourth quarter of the 1995 Orange Bowl game. The touchdown was Schlesinger’s second in the final 7:38 of the game.

This miniature was signed by Schlesinger, offensive tackle Rob

Zatechka (56) and offensive guard Joel Wilks (76) as well as by Hess at

the Nebraska Bookstore in Lincoln.

The print was officially licensed

by the University of Nebraska, copyright

1995.

The full-size prints measured 19” x 26” and were signed and numbered by Hess, in a limited edition of 1,700. Signature editions (1,300) were signed by Osborne and Hess, as were artist proofs (300).

Hess, whose Vintage House Publishing Company is located in Madison, Ala., has done athletic prints for several universities. His website is douglashess.com


19OCTOBER 15, 2014

HOTREADS

BY ERIN SORENSEN Ryan Cheleen

If you ask Andie Cheleen about her son Ryan, she’ll sum him up best as a true Nebraska boy with two loves: Husker sports and agriculture.

As for Ryan, the 11-year-old has found a way to combine his two loves into one. He names his livestock after his favorite Husker athletes.

Kenny Bell and Ameer Abdullah were both honored by Ryan, who named his two steers after the popular duo. The best part? Kenny Bell (the steer) even sprouted hair. When it came time to clip the steer’s hair–a common practice before showing the animals–Ryan opted not to. He preferred to leave Kenny’s “fro” intact.

The choice didn’t cost Ryan, either. Both Kenny Bell and Ameer Abdullah were winners at the Deuel County Fair in August. Kenny Bell won Grand Champion Rate of Gain and Reserve Champion Bred and Fed Market Steer, while Ameer Abdullah won Reserve Champion Rate of Gain.

In his third year of 4-H, Ryan has named all of his livestock after Husker athletes and coaches. Since he is also a big Nebraska basketball fan, his lambs were respectfully named Leslee Smith and Walter Pitchford. Both have won purple ribbons in their market classes, the top ribbon color in 4-H. Previous lambs were named Tom Osborne and Bob Devaney.

Long before 4-H, Ryan’s first love was for the Huskers.

In fact, he doesn’t remember a time when he wasn’t a fan. “The first Husker football game I went to, I was three,” he said.

Jason, Ryan’s dad, said it was a love that was passed on from generation to generation.

“The first thing I can remember was that my dad was a big Husker fan, so that’s all we watched and it’s been that way ever since,” Jason said.

That means when Ryan considered becoming a Texas Longhorn fan, Jason put a stop to it quickly. “When I was two, I wanted to be a Texas fan because I liked the horns,” Ryan said. “But my dad said I couldn’t or I’d have to live in the garage.”

Needless to say, Ryan never moved into the garage. Instead, he embraced the Huskers and became a big fan. Since then, Ryan has attended many Nebraska athletic events, including wrestling, basketball, baseball and football. His family has football season tickets.

“I just love watching them play,” Ryan said about the Nebraska athletes.

Does that mean there are future livestock with Husker names in the future? You bet.

“Jordan Westerkamp,” Ryan responded quickly when asked.

C O U R T E S Y C H E L E E N F A M I L Y

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HAILVARSITY.COM22

by TIM SIEDELL

PURPLEPAIN

A dramatic, fourth-quarter comeback in Evanston. A miraculous Hail Mary in Lincoln. When it comes to face-melting Northwestern pain-par-

ties, it’s going to be hard to top the last two gridiron meetings between the Huskers and Wildcats.

But let’s try, shall we?While I will always root for a

blowout victory over our little NU cousins in Evanston, I must admit that delivering increasingly painful defeats has its own kind of satisfaction. So what might that look like?

I offer some scenarios:

• Nebraska throws not one, but two miraculous Hail Mary touchdowns. One at the end of each half. Nebraska wins 14-13.

• Nebraska throws three straight successful Hail Mary touchdowns, the first two negated because of penalties. Because the penalties push Nebraska back to their own 5-yard line, the final Hail Mary is completed at midfield, then run in for a touchdown after five laterals. Nebraska wins 27-24.

• Every Nebraska pass is a Hail Mary attempt. Tommy Armstrong goes 21-of-33 with 21 TDs and two interceptions. Nebraska wins 147-7.

• Northwestern kicks a potential game-winning field goal in overtime. A huge gust of wind from Lake Michigan blows the ball backwards and through the uprights on the other side of the field. Nebraska wins 30-27.

• Nebraska returns a game-winning field goal attempt 109 yards as time expires to win 28-21. An angry Northwestern fan throws down his lit cigarette in disgust as he’s leaving Ryan Field. It smolders overnight, and then ignites a nearby trash bin. The entire stadium burns to the ground.

• Tied at zero at the half, Nebraska takes the opening kick of the second half and returns it for a touchdown. In so doing, they lateral the ball 422 times and run all the time off the clock. Nebraska wins 6-0.

• Northwestern jumps out to a 35-0 halftime lead, but then all of the Northwestern players miss the second half because they have to take a calculus test. Unopposed, Nebraska scores at will for the rest of the game, winning 4,900-35.

• Nebraska wins 16-14 on a “flea-kicker” play, where a ball is accidentally kicked into the air and Kenny Bell dives under it just in time to score a touchdown. Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald, in the on-field interview after the game, throws his hat down in disgust. It

is kicked up by a Husker player and caught by a diving Kenny Bell, who calmly hands the hat back to the coach. This becomes a viral sensation on YouTube and “Sad Fitzgerald” becomes an internet meme.

• On the final play of the game, with Northwestern leading 44-40, Ameer Abdullah takes a handoff at his own 10-yard line and appears to be tackled at the line of scrimmage. Northwestern fans storm the field in celebration. Abdullah, not yet down, proceeds to barrel through the crowd. Nebraska wins 46-44 and more than 1,500 Northwestern fans are left injured on the field at the end of the game. While none of the injuries are life-threatening, it takes the Red Cross four days to clear the field.

• Northwestern takes the victory formation, needing only to run the final 5 seconds off before taking a 24-20 win over Nebraska. The snap is muffed and picked up by Randy Gregory, who is then lifted up by angels and placed gently into the end zone. It wins the ESPY for Best Play

“DURING HIS PRE-GAME SIDELINE INTERVIEW, BO PELINI ASKS THE REPORTER TO PICK A CARD. HE THEN PROCEEDS TO PULL THE CARD OUT FROM UNDER HIS HAT. ON IT, HE HAD WRITTEN ‘54-51, 6 OTS.’”

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of All Time. Disney makes a movie about it, with Gregory playing himself. He wins the Heisman as well as an Oscar. Northwestern quietly drops its football program.

• During his pre-game sideline interview, Bo Pelini asks the reporter to pick a card. He then proceeds to pull the card out from under his hat. On it, he had written “54-51, 6 OTs.” Then he looks directly at the camera and says: “Stay in school, kids, and don’t do drugs.” Miraculously, Nebraska proceeds to win 54-51 in six overtimes. Even more miraculously, school dropout rates immediately drop and illegal drug sales plummet. Pelini wins the Nobel Peace Prize.

Or a blowout would be nice. At this point, I’ll take a win any way we can get it.

Tim Siedell is a writer best known for his Twitter account, which is a fact he finds somewhat embarrassing. His book “Marching Bands Are Just Homeless Orchestras” is available through Amazon. Follow him on Twitter: @badbanana.


HAILVARSITY.COM24

MICHIGAN STATE 27NEBRASKA 22

RIGHT

LOCKED UPRandy Gregory (4) locks up with Michigan State’s Jack Conklin (74), via facemask.

“I think I counted twice where they blocked me

one-on-one,” said Gregory, who was involved in seven

tackles and got his first interception of the season,

off a pass deflected by Vincent Valentine on the

game’s second play from scrimmage. The Huskers

couldn’t capitalize.

RIGHT

TOUCHDOWN PIERSON-EL

De’Mornay Pierson-El (15) returned a punt 62 yards

for a touchdown with 3:22 remaining in the fourth

quarter to cut the deficit to 27-22. The touchdown

return was the true freshman’s second of the season. The school record for TD punt returns is four by DeJuan Groce in 2002.


FACING PAGE

CATCH THISSophomore wide receiver

Jordan Westerkamp caught nine passes for 158 yards,

both career highs. The receiving yardage is tied

for the fifth-most in Husker history. Maurice Purify had 158 receiving yards against

Kansas in 2007.



25OCTOBER 15, 2014

HAILVARSITY.COM26

MICHIGAN STATE 27NEBRASKA 22

RIGHT

OUCHMichigan State defensive end Shilique Calhoun (89)

sacks Tommy Armstrong Jr., one of five times the Husker quarterback was sacked for losses totaling 25 yards.

Spartans SAM linebacker Ed Davis (43) also was credited with a sack.

RIGHT

FAILURE TO COMMUNICATEQuarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. has some harsh words for center Mark Pelini (56) following a fumbled exchange.

Lack of communication led to at least three other mishandled snaps.

RIGHT

KNOCKED FREEMichigan State defensive end Marcus Rush (44) forces a

fumble by Tommy Armstrong Jr (4) early in the third quarter. The Spartans recovered at the Nebraska 15-yard line but

were forced to settle for a field goal, which made the score 20-0. Michigan State’s Shilique Calhoun returned an Ameer

Abdullah fumble 38 yards to the Spartan 45-yard line to thwart a Husker threat in the second quarter.




FACING PAGE

CONCERN FOR ARMSTRONGAmeer Abdullah (8) checks on shaken teammate Tommy

Armstrong Jr. (4), who had to leave the game early in the fourth quarter, giving way to sophomore Ryker Fyfe.

Armstrong returned one series later, however.


27OCTOBER 15, 2014

HAILVARSITY.COM28

29OCTOBER 15, 2014

NEBRASKA 45 ILLINOIS 14



LEFT

PANCAKEHusker left tackle Alex Lewis takes Illinois linebacker Carroll Phillips (6) to the ground. Nebraska rushed for 458 yards against the Illini. I-back Ameer Abdullah had 208 of the yards, despite limited action during the second half. Imani Cross, a back-up I-back, also rushed for more than 100 yards.


FACING PAGE

REAL BELL RINGERKenny Bell (80) caught five passes for 105 yards and a touchdown, on a 63-yarder from Tommy Armstrong Jr. The 63 yards tied Bell’s season-long reception and was Armstrong’s fourth touchdown pass of 50 yards or longer. The touchdown catch was the 17th of Bell’s Husker career, a total that ranks third on Nebraska’s all-time list, behind Johnny Rodgers (25) and Nate Swift (22).

LEFT

BLOWING IN THE WINDAustin Williams, a senior walk-on from Omaha, is in his third season of contributing on special teams. He’s readily recognizable not only by his No. 24 jersey but also by the long hair extending from his helmet.

HAILVARSITY.COM30

by BRANDON VOGEL

THE TOUGH DECISIONS

Some wise person – at least I hope they were wise – once said that if you’re struggling to make a difficult decision, make a list of the pros and cons.

Now everyone says this, but I’ve never actually done it. Perhaps this is why, based on listening to talk radio and reading internet comment sections, I seem to live in a gray area the majority of the general populace doesn’t occupy.

I tend to see both sides of things a lot and my current question is this: Here at the halfway point of the 2014 regular season, how good are the Huskers?

So let’s try this list thing.PRO: Nebraska started 5-0 for

the first time since 2010 and just the second time since 2004. CON: The Huskers’ one loss came to the only team among the first six opponents that looked likely to be selected for a bowl game played after Dec. 30.

PRO: Even after getting completely shut down by Michigan State, the Huskers’ offense was still the best in the Big Ten on a per play basis and ranked right there with such hotshot offenses as those at Texas A&M, Oregon and Georgia. CON: None of those teams are undefeated either.

PRO: This is a very sharable team. Jordan Westerkamp, Ameer Abdullah and Randy Gregory all had signature plays over the first month of the season that were hits on social media and, while that doesn’t win games, it is pretty fun. CON: None of those plays will be liked or retweeted as much as Jake Cotton falling backwards while maintaining his two-point stance, like

a toppled statue in the middle of a revolution.

PRO: The Huskers went 1-0 in their ultra-rare, much-disliked-but-liked-by-me all-white road uniforms. CON: Nebraska has yet to win in its traditional road garb, which I also like.

PRO: Nebraska’s defense showed it might be good enough to win the Big Ten West Division all on its own. It proved that in East Lansing while missing five players due to suspensions or injuries who either were or likely would be starters. CON: That only forces one to wonder how high the ceiling might have been for this unit. Only two of those missing Blackshirts are expected back any time soon.

PRO: The Huskers probably have a talent edge over the rest of the teams on the schedule, and talent accounts for a lot. CON: That means winning the remaining games comes down to all of the things Pelini always mentions – execution, preparation, “fixing us,” etc. Nebraska has yet to prove that it can do those things consistently. The teams that win in college football usually do. Alabama won national titles in 2011 and 2012 without going undefeated, but ask yourself this: Was there ever a point where you wondered how the Crimson Tide would handle

the big stage? If “good Alabama” or “bad Alabama” would show up? I never did and that’s why the Tide was able to lose a game and still win titles.

PRO: I’d still make the Huskers the favorite in the West Division. Nebraska’s offense will bounce back and continue to dominate most teams on the schedule. The defense answered some questions in the loss to the Spartans. CON: I don’t have one here.

Nebraska entered this season as the consensus pick to finish third in the division by the people who pick such things. I don’t think you’d get much argument from the pickers that the Huskers have the top marks in the division after six games. Sure, there’s a feeling of something lost heading into the second half of the season, a chance at real national relevance maybe, but the list reads seven “pros” to just six “cons.”

I’m new at this, but my understanding is that you trust the list implicitly. Thus I feel good about the Huskers being “good,” but ask me again six games from now.

Brandon Vogel is a sports writer and barbecue judge from Hemingford, Neb. Those facts are not necessarily related, but, in combination, sum things up pretty well.

“PRO: THE HUSKERS PROBABLY HAVE A TALENT EDGE OVER THE REST OF THE TEAMS ON THE SCHEDULE AND TALENT ACCOUNTS FOR A LOT.”

FOLLOW BRANDON ON TWITTER @BRANDONLVOGEL

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HAILVARSITY.COM32

33OCTOBER 15, 2014

There’s a wall between Nebraska football players and the general public, separating student-athletes from the scrutiny and

criticism fostered by a saturation of media coverage, increasing word-by-word, year-by-year, click-by-click. The shrinking wall preventing the outside from getting a glimpse inside the lives of beloved Huskers took a wrecking-ball shot with the onset of the internet, none more so than the polarization bought about by Twitter and social media.

The sudden but steady destruction of the wall coincided with the signing of an outgoing, outspoken athlete from Colorado by the name of Kenny Bell in 2010, the year Twitter experienced its largest growth to date at 44 percent. The collision of worlds between the charismatic young playmaker with the distinct Afro and the flash-flood of social media created a path of four-plus fascinating years with an unprecedented look beyond the wall into the life of a Husker.

Kenny Bell has always been willing to let people in, but if you think you know him based on his Twitter feed, think again.

Story by GRANT MUESSELPortraits by PAUL BELLINGER

HAILVARSITY.COM34

35OCTOBER 15, 2014

“For the first two years that I was really playing I loved it. It was awesome. I loved having people know who I was and I loved being able to interact with people,” Bell said. “I care what people think. I really do. Everybody wants to be liked.”

Before he was player, Bell was a recruit, just like any other Husker. He met one of his soon-to-be best friends on a recruiting trip to the Nebraska-Oklahoma game in 2009. He and Minnesota native Tobi Okuyemi, a defensive lineman who appeared in two games over his career, hung out nearly every day after football practice in Bell’s dorm, usually playing video games, when they were freshmen. The next year, they moved into a house owned by Bell’s family, living together until August of 2014, when Okuyemi completed a degree and returned to Minnesota.

“He’s a pretty chill guy, like any other college student,” Okuyemi said. “We were pretty much nerds. We just hung out. We played video games, went out to the bars downtown, nothing too crazy from a typical college experience.”

Nerds, maybe, but it didn’t take long for Twitter to catch on in the outside world, and Bell’s personality drew him to the social networking site naturally, Okuyemi said. Bell’s personal brand quickly grew in 2011 as he became just the second freshman to lead the team in catches and receiving yards. “If Kenny played in one of these spread offenses, he’d probably catch maybe a hundred balls,” Bo Pelini said. “But he understands that isn’t our offense. That isn’t how we play. He doesn’t get caught up in all that. He also is mature enough to understand that statistics don’t tell the whole tale. You’ve got to keep that in perspective.”

His follower count grew quickly. With the unforgettable hair, the explosive plays and constant interaction with fans on-line and in real life, becoming a cult hero seemed inevitable.

“He was just being himself. That’s just what came with it,” Okuyemi said. “He’s a very outspoken guy; he believes what he believes.”

“I think his conviction on things whichever way you feel, attracts a lot of people to follow him to see what he’s going to say.”

The convictions didn’t sit well with some, whether Husker fans or not. On Twitter, his follower count grew in chunks by the thousands, and the interactions grew as well, good and bad. “You can have fun and interact. That’s what’s awesome about it. But people just abuse it, which sucks,” Bell said. “I want to have fun, but I know I’ll have fun just with the people I love and I don’t have to worry about the negative, you know? That kind of negativity, you just don’t need in your life.”

Still his career marched onward. He was the wide receiver from Boulder, Colo. But he was more complex than that. When his longtime best

friend, Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter, spearheaded a unionization effort for college football players, questions about NCAA reform and player compensation began to rain down on Bell, whose reputation among the media was candid if not outspoken.

Bell, who calls himself “the epitome of ‘change needs to happen’” had to be careful; his image, personal brand and NCAA eligibility all stood a chance to take major blows if he voiced his thoughts, he said, despite the appalling amounts of money being made thanks to him and his teammates.

“I can’t really do anything about it,” Bell said. “One, I have eligibility left, and two, I try and be real conscious of society and how they’ll view that. Not very many people, just knowing the subject, you’re going to be viewed as selfish, kind of.

“You have to portray a character; you know what I mean? Even if it’s your true self, you still have to portray that so others have that perception of you. You have to be really conscious of that with the things you say and the actions or the movements you decide to start.”

Bell’s character remained genuine, though, and he remained aware of the personal brand he had begun to build. Football in Nebraska allowed him a unique chance to do so, he said.

“He plays at such a high level it’s great to have that in the room because it brings up all the competition level in the room. He’s been a great leader for us and a great player,” Jordan Westerkamp said. ”He’s vocal, he’s loud. That’s just kind of like his swagger he brings. He’s loud, loves talking to the defense during the games and whatnot. He’s a great leader.”

The negative feedback was loud, too, sometimes the loudest. His strength of conviction and love of interacting were catalysts for those forming opinions about him.

“There’s so much overwhelming support, but those loud voices that are negative? At night, when you go to bed, those are the things you’re going to think about,” Bell said. “When you surround yourself with that type of negativity and you read it just over and over again, it wears on you.”

Bell’s interaction with the Nebraska community wasn’t limited to the internet, of course, and it quickly spread to the outside world with how recognizable he was. Now a fifth-year senior, there’s a very short list of public places he can go without getting stopped every few minutes for a picture or an autograph.

This summer, Okuyemi said, they tried going to the College World Series. Bell wore his “boonie” hat in hopes of concealing his hair. The attempt failed.

With more than 63,000 Twitter followers and 11,000 tweets, Bell has shown he knows how to move the needle on social media. From a hair hoax (as you’ve seen, he still has his) to speaking up on the issues of the day, here are a few of Bell’s greatest hits:

Soooo the objective is to protect players from getting hurt? There’s a solution for that. Don’t play. We know what we signed up for.

4.16.14

Lost a bet and my brother @runDMChap_91 made me shave the fro. Gonna have to change the twitter handle now.

5.27.14

@AFRO_THUNDER80

HAILVARSITY.COM36

“I really appreciate and love the people, but man, when it’s 8 o’clock on a Tuesday night and I’m in the grocery store just trying to grab some stuff to go get dinner, people want autographs and pictures,” Bell said. “I do some, then I’m like: ‘Guys listen, I’m trying to get out of here.” And then you’re an ass. Then that person tells their friends that you’re an ass.”

And that’s nothing new. After Bell’s two non-stop hours of signing autographs at Husker fan day this summer were over, he asked for 45 more minutes, event staffer Pat Oien recalled. After 20 minutes, police had to escort Bell back to the locker room. Sure enough, fans that didn’t get an autograph in that two-hour-and-20-minute stretch took to Twitter to call him out for not signing their memorabilia.

“It’s crazy what people will say on the internet and won’t say it to your face,” Okuyemi said. “Keyboard gangsters everywhere.”

The worst of the feedback comes after football losses, none worse than after Nebraska’s 34-23 loss to Minnesota in 2013.

Upon getting back to his home in Lincoln after the game, Bell let his dog Mox out, and he took out into the darkness. He jogged back inside shortly after, breathing strangely. When Mox threw up blood the first time, Bell thought maybe he had chased down a cat and eaten it. When Mox lay down on the kitchen floor and kept throwing up nothing but blood, he knew a car had hit him.

“I was just holding him while he was just vomiting blood on me,” Bell said. “That was the first time I’ve cried in like eight years.”

Mox made it out alive, but not without some on-line backlash. When a fan responded to Bell’s Tweet about his dog throwing up blood saying something to the effect of “You guys basically did the same thing against Minnesota,” the line was crossed.

Bell doesn’t read the responses on Twitter anymore. The interactions and negativity are not limited to the internet, of course, with fans coming up to Bell after a narrow victory over McNeese State. What happened? Will

you be ready for Fresno? What’s your game plan, because you’ve got to get better?

“People don’t really realize it can really get to an us-versus-them mentality within our program,” he said. “McNeese State that week? It was an ugly week. It’s like damn, we won.”

Over time though, the vocal minority is drowned out by the positive, upbeat Husker fans, those fans willing to support the players through a close win over an FCS opponent or even – God forbid – a Nebraska loss.

“I love those kind of people, the kind of people that get it, that this football thing is fun, but it’s a game,” Bell said. “Those are the ones that I appreciate and I really do love.

“Over the time I’ve been here, I’ve been through quite a bit, and I’ve loved it. I’d never go back and choose any other place or any other way to go. But I’ve just realized that there’s just so much to appreciate and love about life, that this game has the ability to bring people together in such a great way, but it can also bring out the nastiest in people.”

Don’t be fooled by the lack of Twitter conversations, the rants on Jayskers and his absence from local media reports; he’s still having the time of his life.

First, it was the Spring Game when he had the most fun playing football in his whole life. Then came the Miami game, after which he would say on Twitter that it was the “most fun I’ve had playing football in a long time,” followed by his trademark hashtag #SALUTE. He took his time heading back to the tunnel, stopping for a quick dance in front of a squadron of photographers, sporting a smile somehow bigger than the ear-to-ear grin you see on him in nearly every photo.

Just outside the mouth of the tunnel, he took off his red-and-white gloves, got a running start and threw them up over the wall and into the crowd, matching the vigor of the block he threw on a Wisconsin defensive back in the 2012 Big Ten championship game.

Bell got home that night and went straight for the computer. There was game film to watch.

It’s ridiculous that espn is making a big deal out of sexual preference. Who cares? Let it go, just accept ppl for who they are and move on.

2.10.14

Jayskers make me sick. All or nothing people.

3.4.14

I’m not a democrat or a republican. You know what I am? American.

4.15.13

– Erin Sorensen

@AFRO_THUNDER80

37OCTOBER 15, 2014

HAILVARSITY.COM38

Truth be told, Faulkenberry’s job can go unnoticed. Unless he messes up. He’s the Huskers’ long-snapper, the player in a No. 92 jersey, a walk-on from Arvada, Colo.

His girlfriend is the daughter of former Husker punter Dan Wingard; more about that later. And he’s gotten where he is mostly through belief in himself and persistence.

Faulkenberry is the longest of longshots, having enrolled at Nebraska a year ago, intending to earn his way onto the football team despite no indication the Huskers were interested.

His unlikely journey began with a tryout in October, during the

university’s fall break. He estimates as many as 40 candidates participated in the one-day event, one other a would-be long-snapper.

Nebraska had two long-snappers at the time: Gabe Miller, the Huskers’ first scholarship-recruit long-snapper, and Joseph Rotherham, a walk-on.

“I was literally the Average Joe coming in here,” Faulkenberry said.

At tryout’s end, he was the only Average Joe asked back.

Read that again: the only one.“Very few, very few, get called back,”

Bo Pelini said.“We’ll call you in a few weeks,”

Faulkenberry was told.

It didn’t take nearly that long. A day later, Jeff Jamrog, Nebraska’s Assistant Athletic Director for Football Operations, called Faulkenberry’s mom to invite him to practice.

Jamrog would have called him but didn’t have his number.

Faulkenberry attended practice, snapped for 20 minutes or so, had a “couple of conversations” with coaches and was told he’d be contacted – which he was, the week before the Capital One Bowl. At that point, he was officially accepted as a walk-on.

Fast forward to this season. With Miller sidelined by a back injury – his career now appears to be over – and Rotherham gone, Faulkenberry became the Huskers’ long-snapper for the opener against Florida Atlantic. Though he did well, his job seemed in jeopardy when Bo Pelini announced Paul Kelly had joined the team, transferring from Miami, where he had been the Hurricanes’ long-snapper.

By Mike Babcock

LONGSHOT LONG-SNAPPERJ osh Faulkenberry has a difficult job. Take it from Mark Pelini.

“Oh, man, that’s tough,” said Pelini. “You’ve got to make all those snaps. They’ve got to be perfect. They’ve got to be fast. It’s a

position that’s a lot, lot harder than anybody gives them credit for.”And yes, Pelini, Nebraska’s starting center, included “lot” twice.


39OCTOBER 15, 2014

Kelly had completed a degree and was immediately eligible. And he had been put on scholarship.

Nevertheless, “I looked at that as a confidence-booster,” said Faulkenberry, who had retained the starting job through the Illinois game. “They (coaches) want us both to compete and the best guy’s going to win the job. It’s gotten me better. It’s gotten him better. It’s a week-by-week thing.

“We communicate pretty well, actually. I give him some tips. He gives me some tips. We’ve got a good friendship going. We’re just out there to make each other better.”

OK, about Wingard. He encouraged Faulkenberry to give long-snapping a shot in addition to playing tight end as a senior at Arvada West High School. That’s when he started.

Long-snapping in high school was one thing. Long-snapping at Nebraska was another, however. “I was told I’d never make it to the college level,” Faulkenberry said. “So that kind of drove me to push myself a little more. I never gave up. I’d work on my own. And ever since it’s paid off.”

He credits his mom for his determination. “I don’t know my real father. He left when I was 3, and my mother raised me, a single parent,” Faulkenberry said. “She did everything she could to make sure I had what I needed. She never gave up. I think that’s where I get that. I’d never give up.

“If somebody tells me I can’t, I try harder and harder just to prove to them that I can.”

Faulkenberry has come a long way since his first semester at Nebraska, when he was just a student who worked on

snapping wherever he could with buddies who were willing to help.

Now “I’m going to put it as: I feel comfortable in there,” he said. “I feel like I was meant to do it. I’ve got 10 other guys on the punt team and field-goal team around me to back me up.”

Even though Mark Pelini is a center, he has never tried long-snapping.

“No, never,” he said. “Short-snapping, but that’s it.”He was a punter and place-kicker his freshman year in high

school. He saw long-snapping from that perspective. So he understands and respects what long-snappers have to do.


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by TERRY PETTIT

FIVE WAYS TO WATCH A MATCH LIKE A COACH

While many volley-ball fans like to sit at mid-court, coaches prefer sitting behind the endline.

Why? The view behind the endline gives a coach much better site-lines on whether or not the block is closing. That can be a very difficult thing to do from a seat on the bench, which is why some head coaches stand near the rear of the team bench

Watch how many times each team tries to make the opposing setter play the volleyball. It’s not because setters are weak defensive players, but rather if the setter plays the first ball, she is not in position to set the second ball. Many teams’ kill-percentage will fall significantly when someone other than the setter is forced to set the ball. Nebraska won a semifinal match on its way to a national championship in 2000 by forcing the setter on a great Hawaii team to play many more balls than she was used to.

When the setter digs the ball, watch which player sets the next ball and whether or not she is comfortable taking the ball with her hands or whether or not she bump-sets the ball. The majority of college teams today have the libero set the ball when the setter digs the ball. Because the libero is usually coming from the left-back position, the easiest set for the libero to make is to the right-front attacker. This works well if the right-side

attacker is left-handed, but if she is right-handed and the set isn’t perfect, it can put her in an awkward position to make a dynamic attack. There are trends in volleyball just like everything else. If a team wins the national championship by having the setter dig to the right-side player or the middle blocker, a certain percentage of teams will no doubt switch to that strategy next season.

Watch to see if the slide attack is effective early in the match for either team, particularly in transition. (The slide is a one-foot take-off, usually by the middle blocker, behind the setter.) For the last 28 years, the slide has been the most effective attack in women’s volleyball. It is effective because the attacker is moving laterally faster than the block can set up and because the attacker is quicker off the floor than the block. In recent years, teams have tried to reduce the effectiveness of the slide by recruiting taller and more athletic left-side players who have been trained

to release to the antenna early and penetrate across the net before the slide attacker hits the ball.

Watch where each team’s setter is taking the ball when siding out and in transition. There is a “golden rectangle” that is about 3 feet off the net, just to the right of center. When the ball is passed into that triangle a team is said to be “in system.” A team is out of system when the setter has to back up to the far sideline, comes off the net more than the 10-foot line or when her teammates mishandle “free balls” with an inconsistent tempo. Dogs that chase cars and setters who have to run down errant passes and digs do not perform well over time.

Terry Pettit’s book A FRESH SEASON: Insights into Coaching, Leadership and Volleyball is available at terrypettit.com and on Amazon. This column is excerpted from the book. If you would like him to present at your organization, contact him at: [email protected].

“IF A TEAM WINS THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BY HAVING THE SETTER DIG TO THE RIGHT SIDE PLAYER OR THE MIDDLE BLOCKER, A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF TEAMS WILL NO DOUBT SWITCH TO THAT STRATEGY NEXT SEASON.”

41OCTOBER 15, 2014

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VOLLEYBALL


Tale of twomatches

BY GRANT MUESSEL

One night, a youthful Nebras-ka volleyball team seemed to make the breakthrough that it teased fans with in a close loss

to Texas, taking down the No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions 3-1 at the Dev-aney Center. The start wasn’t pretty – in fact, John Cook did everything but say that Nebraska’s opening game was downright ugly.

“We practice and talk about staying in the moment point-by-point, and I think they were embarrassed after the first game,” Cook said after the match. “We couldn’t play any worse, so we only had one way to go. I couldn’t believe what I was watching that first game.”

A run of three straight wins for the Huskers ensued.

“First game, we told them to take off their diapers and start playing,” Cook said. “I thought they did a really nice job of getting rid of that first game and playing really good volleyball.”

Nebraska’s youth showed again the next day though, Cook said, as the Huskers followed up their win against Penn State with a 3-2 home loss to unranked Ohio State.

This time, it was the Buckeyes doing the rallying, taking the fourth and fifth games after Nebraska jumped out to a 2-1 lead.

Nebraska celebrates its win over the Penn State.

43OCTOBER 15, 2014

BIG GAME VINDICATIONEven if just for one night, the

Devaney Center saw the massive win it was waiting for, with Penn State playing the victim.

“We were discouraged after Stanford and of course Texas was a little better but we still lost. I’ve been telling you guys this team is getting better,” Cook said. “We’re still a very young team mentally and that’s what’s taking time.”

Kadie Rolfzen led the Huskers with 13 kills and dug the Lions seven times.

“We couldn’t do much worse in the first set, so we just figured out what they were doing to us and we did a great job of communicating what that was and found a way to get kills,” she said.

After the upset only one thing was missing for Cook.

“What the heck do we have to do to get a court storm? I’ll tweet about that,” he said.

BIG TEN UPSSetter Mary Pollmiller spread the

ball around the court masterfully, putting four different Huskers in position for at least nine kills against Penn State, Cook said. It was a team decision.

“Every win in the Big Ten is a big win and you’ve got to approach every match the same,” Pollmiller said. “I think just taking that and saying OK, this isn’t a bigger deal or this isn’t a lesser deal, we’ve just got to go out, and we did.

“If we stay together as a team and make a conscious choice, then no. We decided after that first set to come back together.”

AND BIG TEN DOWNSHusker fans present for Nebraska’s

loss to Ohio State got to see free volleyball in three of the five games, and both teams traded wins back and forth until the Buckeyes broke the trend (and the Huskers) with back-to-back

sets in the fourth and fifth.“It’s a hard lesson for us to learn, but

we had opportunities to win game two and didn’t finish there, and the other deuce games we lost we didn’t finish,” Cook said. “It’s why we always say ‘two points better’ and we couldn’t find two points better today.”

YOUTH GONE WILDThe night after the Penn State win,

Cook complimented Nebraska’s service and blocking. From the outside-hitter position, Kadie and Amber Rolfzen combined for 23 kills. Against the Buckeyes, Cook said however that the blocking was a “disaster” with no signs of an upset hangover.

“With this young of a group, I think it’s the mental part,” he said. “They don’t understand how hard it is every night, and just because you have one win doesn’t mean you’re going to get the next win against a team that’s not ranked.”

VARSITY

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by JOHN MABRY

E R I C F R A N C I S

LARRY VALASEK: ROYALS’ OFFER NOT ENOUGH TO KEEP HIM FROM BIG RED

The eye goes straight to the tie when you see Larry Valasek’s entry in the 1977 Husker football media guide. It’s a

bowtie, and it’s a big one.“That was a fashion statement,”

Valasek said, laughing. “It was in style for a little bit.”

Valasek’s athletic skills could not go out of style. He was a star at Silver Creek (Neb.) High School in football, basketball and track, and he was also an outstanding baseball player; so good in fact that he almost signed a pro contract with the Kansas City Royals as a center fielder.

Husker football coach Tom Osborne had a different plan for Valasek, who

became a standout defensive back for the Big Red in the mid-1970’s.

“Coach Osborne said, ‘Come down here and maybe we can work something out,’” said Valasek.

They needed to work something out because Osborne did not have any scholarships available in 1973. However, Nebraska baseball coach Bob Gates did, so Valasek declined what would have been a $500-per-month contract with the Royals and moved to Lincoln. One of the deal-breakers for the Royals was that, at that time, by signing with Kansas City, he would have lost his amateur status and would not have been able to play football under NCAA rules.

As it turned out, Valasek did not need the baseball scholarship. A football deal became available not long after he joined the program when offensive lineman Lawrence Cooley had to give up his scholarship because of off-the-field injuries. Cooley returned the next season.

Valasek said the move from little Silver Creek to Lincoln to play football for Nebraska was actually not as major as the jump he made after fourth grade. Apparently, there was quite the recruiting battle for the speedy kid from Krakow Country School. Would it be Silver Creek or Genoa?

“It was scarier, as a fifth-grader, going from that country school to

45OCTOBER 15, 2014

E R I C F R A N C I S

Silver Creek than going from Silver Creek to Nebraska,” Valasek said.

Yes, Silver Creek won out, and Valasek became an all-stater there in football and basketball and a Class D state champ in the 220 and 440.

Part of Osborne’s first recruiting class, Valasek said one of his best memories was playing against LSU to start the 1975 season. He started at safety because No. 1 Jimmy Burrow was among four players who had to sit out the opener because of an NCAA ruling regarding transfers. Burrow had begun his college career at Mississippi.

“Of course, even back then, LSU was traditionally a very good team,” Valasek said.

The Huskers won 10-7 and finished that season 10-2, with both losses coming at the end of the year – to Oklahoma and Arizona State. Another highlight, he said, came in the opener against LSU the following year.

“We were the preseason No. 1,” he said. “That was in 1976. I was a junior and had worked my way up to starter. Our first game was against LSU at LSU. That was pretty exciting. We ended up that game in a 6-6 tie, back when they used to allow ties.”

He also recalls going up against an Alabama star named Ozzie Newsome, a split end-tight end and first-round NFL draft pick.

“They had him on the roster at maybe like 6-2 and 210.

And I’ll tell you what, they cheated on the roster on his part. He was like 6-4 and 240.”

Valasek joked that the Huskers might have adjusted his numbers as well.

“I was 5-9 ½ and 152 pounds They had me at 166. I was never close to that. Actually, all of our defensive backs were small. They fudged a little bit on all of us. All of us were small.”

But they were like flies on flypaper, he said, when it came to covering opponents.

“We were good. We were really good.”Valasek is retired, living in Omaha, after a career with the

BNSF Railroad.He still likes to get to Lincoln for a game now and then.

He splits Husker season tickets with his brother.“Some of the bigger games, I prefer to watch them on

TV,” he said. “Typically, I always want to go to the first game because there is so much electricity in the air.”

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NO CLASSES ON MONDAY

Following the Nebraska basketball team’s upset of Kansas and Wilt Chamberlain in Lincoln in February of 1958, students marched to the home of Chancellor Clifford Hardin and convinced him to cancel classes on the following Monday. He agreed, with one stipulation: classes wouldn’t be canceled again until the Cornhuskers defeated Oklahoma in football.

Hardin had reason for comfort in the stipulation. Oklahoma’s football teams had a 72-game conference unbeaten streak at that point, dating to 1946, and Nebraska hadn’t defeated the Sooners since 1942. The Cornhuskers had lost 16 in a row to Oklahoma.

When the Sooners came to Lincoln for Nebraska’s Homecoming game in 1959, their conference unbeaten streak – it included two ties – had increased to 74 games.

Oklahoma wasn’t as nationally dominant as it had been from 1953 to 1957, when it won a major-college record 47 consecutive games under coach Bud Wilkinson. But the Sooners had a 4-2 record and were ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press poll, while Nebraska was 2-4.

Oklahoma was a 14-point favorite. And that might have been conservative. Nebraska ranked last in the Big Eight

in offense. Its leading rusher, Pat Fischer, had gained 174 yards on 52 carries.

And, statistically, its defense wasn’t much better.

A sign in the Nebraska locker room read: “Let’s not make it 75.” And Cornhusker trainer Paul Schneider told Don Bryant, then the sports editor of The (Lincoln) Star: “You pick Oklahoma in print. But bet on Nebraska. We’re going to win and the score will be 15-10.”

Bryant predicted the Sooners would win 26-7.

The final score was 25-21, Nebraska.Oklahoma scored the first of its three

touchdowns in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead. The Cornhuskers responded with two second-quarter touchdowns. They attempted a two-point conversion after the first, drawing a standing ovation from a Memorial Stadium

crowd of 32,765, even though it failed. Coach Bill Jennings and his team were playing to win.

Nebraska missed an extra-point kick after the second and trailed 14-12 at the half.

Guard Lee Zentic, one of two captains named on the Tuesday before the game, scooped up a second-down quick-kick that was more fumble than punt and returned it for the second touchdown. Another touchdown and a pair of Ron Meade field goals gave Nebraska its total.

Jennings’ background added to the drama of the upset. He was from Norman, Okla., had played for the Sooners and then had been their backfield coach for seven years.

Oh yes, that Saturday was Halloween as well as Homecoming. Trick or treat.

University classes were canceled on the next Monday.

47OCTOBER 15, 2014

HERE COME THE HUSKERSAccording to Go Big Red: The Story of Cornhusker Football, published in 1966, when the Nebraska football team arrived in Los Angeles for the 1941 Rose Bowl game against Stanford, United Press columnist Henry McLemore wrote: “Nebraska is a typical Midwestern team, meaning it is big, rangy and tough, and grinds out its victories the hard way.” The Cornhuskers are shown here practicing at Occidental College in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles. From left to right in the line: end Raymond Prochaska, tackle Clarence Henderson, guard Warren Alfson, center Robert Burress, guard Ralph Whitehead, tackle Royal Kahler, and end Fred Preston. From left to right in the backfield: halfback Walter “Butch” Luther, quarterback Roy Petsch, fullback Vike Francis, and halfback Harry Hopp. Nine of the 11 started the game. Tackle Forrest Behm and guard Ed Schwartzkopf started in place of Henderson and Whitehead, respectively.

A C M E N E W S

HAILVARSITY.COM48

by MIKE BABCOCK

OF MICE AND SPORTS WRITERS

Ah yes, the best-laid plans . . .

I probably ought to quote the Scottish poet Robert Burns to get this started. Or maybe

former NFL (and Northwestern) coach Dennis Green.

“They were who we thought they were,” Green said.

He was speaking after his Arizona Cardinals lost to the Chicago Bears in 2006, angry at a reporter’s question during a post-game news conference.

That’s pretty much how the news conference ended.

“And we let ’em off the hook,” Green said, walking away.

Bo Pelini could have said much the same following Nebraska’s loss at Michigan State. Except, maybe, for the last part. The Huskers didn’t exactly have Michigan State on the hook, though coming away with nothing after intercepting a pass on the second play at the Spartans’ 30-yard line was a start.

In any case, Michigan State was certainly who we thought it was defensively. The Spartans went into the game ranked fourth nationally in rushing defense; granted, against a schedule that included Jacksonville State and, most recently, Eastern Michigan and Wyoming.

But they also played at Oregon. So we should have known who they were.

Nebraska went into the game ranked No. 2 nationally in rushing offense, averaging 354.8 yards. Now we’re wondering if we know who the Huskers are.

Their net-rushing yardage against Michigan State was 47 – on 37 carries.

That total was Nebraska’s lowest since

the USC game in 2007. The difference is the Husker offense wasn’t based on the run then. Regardless, the Trojans were who we thought they were.

Which is why they were No. 1 in the Associated Press Poll.

My mind wandered as I watched the Michigan State game . . .

Nebraska’s inability to run was reminiscent of Orange Bowl games against Miami at the end of the 1988 and 1991 seasons, mirror images of each other. The Huskers led the nation in rushing in 1988, averaging just over 382 yards per game yet managed just 80 against the Hurricanes. They led the nation in rushing in 1991, averaging just over 353, and they managed just 82.

Their passing numbers weren’t any better. And they lost, 23-3 and 22-0.

As for the best-laid plans, this was to be a column about Ameer Abdullah and where he ranks among Nebraska’s all-time great running backs according to Tom Osborne, who coached most of those, including Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier and Ahman Green.

“I think he’s certainly right up there, at or near the top,” Osborne said the week after Abdullah rushed for 229 yards and two touchdowns against Miami. “He’s a great player, great competitor, obviously for his size, very strong, durable. And he seems to have a great will to win.”

Osborne’s assessment of Abdullah

remains valid, of course. That Michigan State contained him doesn’t change anything, except, no doubt, the perception, and hence the inclination, of those who vote for national awards, most notably the Heisman Trophy.

Abdullah still belongs in the discussion, despite the game as well as the disrespect of ESPN analyst Lou Holtz, who referred to him as Ameer “Muhammad.”

Maybe by the time you read this, Holtz will have called Abdullah to apologize. Or maybe not.

The day Nebraska played Michigan State was one of upsets. The third- (Alabama), fourth- (Oklahoma), sixth- (Texas A&M) and eighth-ranked (UCLA) teams lost, joining second-ranked Oregon, which fell, at home, to Arizona on the previous Thursday night.

Even though the Huskers weren’t significant underdogs, a victory in East Lansing would have been another Top-10 upset. And they put themselves in position to pull it off. Now they have to regroup, a rematch with Michigan State in the Big Ten championship game a possibility.

That’s the plan for now.

Mike Babcock has been around a long time and tried to pay attention. He is in his 37th year of covering the Huskers. He tweets, but not often @MDBabs.

“HE’S A GREAT PLAYER, GREAT COMPETITOR, OBVIOUSLY FOR HIS SIZE, VERY STRONG, DURABLE.”

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