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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 6, 1973)
r colli y y T f: i lliiilll'lilnHiiHlllinirTT"" "" . mhiifc'Ml i IT Itfilfol HI I ! llllllH illlllllll Husker coach Tom Osborne ... a tough job lies ahead. Football team's long day ends Coach Tom Osborne's decision to delay '.puny football practice to concentrate on reci ny until the national letter-of-intent yyrvnq date has v h! off for the new Husker head coach. Osborne and his staff concluded four intensive months of recruiting Wednesday by announcing that some of the top football players in the nation had signed the national letter indicating the:- desire to attend Nebraska. One of the biggest catches for tf.c; Com .husk ms both in talent and sie w.iS Bob Hayc-s of Bukorif'i.'iU Calif. Hayes, a defensive and offensive starter at t.ickie for three years at East H gh m Bakersf.cid, Ca''f., stands 6-6 and weighs 2C5 pounds. Lawrence Coo ley of Monroe M rh., was ..nothn heavily-recruited player that signed Ivs K.-ttei vv th the Big Red. Cooley, a 5-11, 230-pound Imeljacker, ha1; be'i;n described as the best player to come out of his h.ijh school In the past decade. Top catch for the Huskers may be Bobby Thomas, one of the smallest players offered a scholarship by Nebraska. Thomas, who stands only 5 8 and weighs 160-pounds hails from Bridgeport, Pa. Players signing the nationjl letter of intent with Nebraska and their hometowns included: Dan Miller, Hebron, Net).; Rocke Lokcn, Littkton, Colo.; Brian Throlson, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Chailes Baker, Port Aithur, Texas; Jason Justict.-, LaMatfioe, Texas; King Block, Ames, Iowa; Kent Smith, Thief River Falls, Minn.; Ken Spaeth, M.ihnomvn, Minn.;' Bobby Thomas, Bndgepott, P,i. Joe Col'uia, Lincoln; Mike F ult, Lincoln; Reg Gast, Lincoln, Bruce Maske, Lincoln; Mark Brock, Omahu, James VViyhtman , Omaha; Jack Kelley, Omaha, Dale Zalvocki, Bellevue; Rod Stovall, Bi.'lievue, Steve Tangeman, Omaha; Gary Herman, Omaha; Tom Davis, Omaha; Ed Burns, Omaha. Bot) Hayes, Bakersfield, Calif.; Jeff Carpenter, Council Bluffs, Iowa; Tony Samuels, Jersey City, N.J., L.'iMy Young, Jersey City, N.J.; Lawrence Cuoiey, Muivoe, Mich., Rocky Sinbeil, Gtand Island. Osborne and the dynasty by Dave Sittler How do you replace a coach that won seven Big Eight titles and two national championships in 11 years? Or players that won the Heisman, Outland and Lombardi trophies? Tom Osborne is about to find out. Spring football practice begins today for the Cornhuskers, and Osborne will be taking his first step toward trying to fill the shoes of coach Bob Devaney who compiled a 101-20-2 record during his eleven-year stint at Nebraska. Osborne is anxious to get going with his new job, which includes finding replacements for Heisman trophy winner Johnny Rodgers and middle guard Rich Glover, winner of both the Outland and Lombardi awards. "I'm very excited and eager about getting started with spring drills," Osborne said. "And judging from the attitude of the team they all feel the same way." Although it is a headache for Osborne, some of the enthusiasm shown by his squad is caused by the fact that many positions will be up for grabs. The Cornhuskers lost 13 starters including 10 drafted by the pros from last year's Orange Bowl championship team. Some of the top seniors besides Rodgers and Glover that will be missing when practice starts this afternoon, include ail-American defensive end Willie Harper , tight end Jerry List, monster man Dave Mason and defensive back Joe Blahak. "We lost some great players as indicated by how many went in the pro draft. This will be a real problem," Osborne said. "But we have the nucleus for a fine team because of the experienced players that are returning. It will be interesting to see just how good we can become by the end of spring ball." Heading the list of 38 lettermen returning from last years 9-2-1 team, are such standouts as all-American tackle Daryl White, record-smashing quarterback David Humm plus rugged defensive starts Steve Manstedt and John Dutton at end and tackle respectively. The offense will be bolstered by returning starters Bob Wolfe and Dan Anderson at guard, tackle Marvin Crenshaw and split end Bob Revelle. Tight end Brent Longwell, l-back Dave Goeller, split end Frosty Anderson and fullback Maury Damkroger are additional players that saw much action last year for the Huskers. Defense could be a large problem for Osborne and his staff to solve. Cornerback Randy Borg and safety Bob Thornton join Manstedt and Dutton as the only blackshirts that played regularly last fall. "We have some large holes to fill, especially on defense," Osborne said. "But we are counting on men like Bob Nelson, Tom Rudd, Tom Pate, John Bell plus some newcomers to help us out." The coaching staff has undergone a change besides Osborne's elevation to the top spot. Three new men have joined the Husker staff. The new coaches and their duties include, Rick Duval who came from Colorado and will work with linebackers; Jerry Moore from SMU for quarterbacks and split ends; while George Darlington comes from San Jose State to work with the defensive ends. Cip wins battle for cage star Coach Joe Cipi iano announced Wednesday that Rick Seidel of Sidney has signed a national basketball letter of intent with UNL. Seidel is one of the bi)gest recruiting catches in the Cipriano era at Nebraska. The Cornhusker coach won the recruiting battle for the 6-6 Sidney star over Kam-js State, Creighton and Colorado State. Cipriano has been recruiting hard this year and is rumored to have Fairbury star Bob Siegel headed for Lincoln. Sn'qel is being recruited by schools throughout thi; United States and has announced that he has ri.ii rowed his choices to Nebraska, Marquette, Kentucky, Kansas State and Notre Dame. Cipriano has indicated that both Siegel and Seidi'l could make the vaisity starting five as fieslvneii if they come to Nebraska. After the Husker coach signed Seidel, who averaged 28 points this year at Sidney, he moved on to Denver, Colo., to sign Ricky Harris of Denver Manual High School. Cipriano is also trying to convince Mark Enright of Cedar Rapids, la., to attend UNL. Enright, a 6-9 center, scored 635 points for a 23.5 average this year, and grabbed 300 rebounds leading his team to a 23-4 record and third place in the Iowa Class AA State Tournament. Nebraska's assistant Coach Lonnie Porter has been recruiting all season for the Huskers and has been concentrating on landing 6 10 Ron Taylor of Midland, Tex. If Cipriano can sign Siegel, Enright and Taylor to go along with Seidel, it would be one of his best recruiting efforts since coming to Nebraska. friday, april 6( 1973 page 12 tkiily nobraskan