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Ten returning starters lead
UNL spring football drills
By Larry Stunkel
When a coach has a Dave Humm playing
quarterback, or Tom Ruud and Bob Nelson at
linebacker, he is usually pretty well manned at
those positions.
But UNL football coach Tom Osborne saw
those three athletes graduate last season, and he
admits replacing them won't be easy.
Osborne welcomed about 130 athletes to the
start of spring football workouts Monday. The
Huskers return four starters on offense and six
starters on defense, which is the third lowest
number of returning regulars in the conference.
Quarterback concern
"Losing that many starters always bothers
you," Osborne said. "We lost heavily in our
offensive line, and of course we're concerned
about quarterback."
According to Osborne, Terry Luck, a 212 lb.
senior from Fayetteville, N.C., will begin spring
drills as the first team signal caller;
Luck, the only letterman at that position, will
be challenged by Vince Ferragamo, a junior who
transferred from the University of California last
fall, where he played ahead of Ail-American
Steve Bartowski; Ed Burns, a sophomore from
Omaha who shared scout team duties with
Ferragamo last fall; Randy Garcia, also from
California, who retained his sophomore eligibility
after undergoing knee surgery last fall; and Tom
Sorely, a 195 lb. sophomore from Big Springs,
Tex., who led the freshman team last fall.
"One has just as good of chance as the rest,"
Osborne said. "We're staying with the
I-formation and hope to run the quarterback
option more this year."
Everett to wingback
Junior Earl Everett, who spent most of last
season as second team quarterback behind
Humm, will switch to wingback to give that
position more depth.
Osborne was quoted in Saturday's Omaha
World Herald as saying that Everett will remain
at that position only if he establishes himself
strongly there.
Otherwise, the offensive backfield has a host
of talent with three I-backs who started at one
time or another last season, while Tony Davis
returns for his senior season at fullback.
The offensive line, bolstered by returning
starters at both ends and at center (with
All-American senior Rik Bonness), needs to find
established athletes at both guard and tackle
positions.
Could be good defense
Even though the defense has no returning
letterman at one end position or at safety, and
with both linebacking positions wide open,
Osborne said this could be one of the better
defensive teams in past years.
Top athletes returning include all-Big 8 end
Bob Martin, defensive tackles Ron Pruitt and
Mike Fultz, middle guard John Lee, defensive
back Jim Burrow (one of the Sugar Bowl heroes)
and monster back Wonder Monds, whom
Osborne called probably the best athlete on the
team.
Ray Phillips, a junior transfer from Detroit,
Mich., is one of the most talked about
newcomers.
Meanwhile, Osborne said he has no idea who
the top linebacker candidates are. Junior
lettermen Percy Eichelberger, Jim Belka -and
Clete Pillen all return.
Osborne said the team will be cut to between
95 and 100 players for next fall, and he hopes
five or six of the incoming freshmen will provide
additional depth next fall.
According to NCAA rules, the team only can
hold 20 practices in the spring. So the team will
practice on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and
Saturday for five weeks, with the sessions ending
with the Red-White intrasquad game May 3.
lOftS
Bad weather cancelled the
beginning of Intramural
Softball Tuesday as well as the
UNL-Monrngside baseball
doubleheader.
The UNL women's tennis
team opened its season with a
9-0 win over Nebraska
Wesleyan University Monday.
The team will travel to Kansas
State for a Friday dual, then
will compete in a triangular
meet Saturday with Baker
University and William Jewell
College.
Registration for Intramural
eight man soccer ends Friday.
Turn in team rosters or contact
the Intramural office at 1740
Vine St., 472-3467.
John Wooden ended his
27-year basketball coaching
career at UCLA as the Bruins
beat Kentucky 92-85 Monday
for the NCAA championship.
Six years ago, Peter "Pugsley" Smith was kicked out of junior
high for bringing an Army smoke grenade to school.
After reinstatement and strong encouragement by his parents to
turn his energies elsewhere, young Pugsley took the job of student
manager on his school's athletic teams.
It started a string o'f manager stints that led all the way to UNL.
Smith, a 20-year old sophomore, is now in his second year on
the Nebraska football managing crew.
He is paid $40 a week for his assorted duties, plus the benefit of
eating training table meals every weekday evening.
Even without the money and the chance to escape the often
ill-prepared dorm food, Smith thinks it's worth it.
Like a fraternity
"It is kind of like a fraternity because we do a lot of things
together," he said. "I've made many friends on the team."
Smith added that his image of a Nebraska football player has
changed since the days he came to the games with his father.
steve toylor
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"You have visions of these guys being superheroes but you find
they are just normal guys," said Smith, who rooms with Husker
quarterback Randy Garcia.
He credited Nebraska trainer Paul Schneider with improving the
situation of the student managers' staff, which now numbers five at
UNL.
In Smith's estimation, the 1975 Huskers will not slip from the
upper echelon of college football.
Make Oklahoma sorry
"We have some key positions to fill," he confided. "But if we
fill them, we'll make Oklahoma sorry we ever showed up in
Norman."
If worse comes to worse and the Nebraska offense fails to click,
Smith could always utilize his arsenal of smoke grenades to confuse
the enemy defense.
Football News has ranked Nebraska 17th in its pre-sprine
practice college football poll.
Browsing through the sports section of Love Library a few days
ago, I came upon the thinnest books I've ever seen.
In case you want to check out one of these little-known
volumes, I've listed the titles. You could read the entire collection
in five minutes. They are: .
The Wit and Wisdom of Curt Gowdy
Joe Frazier's Guide to Better Vocabulary
The Reasons Why Lincoln Should Host the 1 980 Olympics
The 1974-75 Ron Taylor Action Yearbook
The Military Adventures of Muhammed Ali
Looking at the Future of the World Football League
The NBA Success Story of Bill Walton
Americans in The National Hockey League
The Weaknesses of The 1975 Oklahoma Football Team
The Funny Side of Kareem Abdul Jabbar
Celebrate Their Open House along with Gateway Bank's New Motorbank, 70-Vine
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o
CD
v.
s
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to
CD
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co
CO
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April 3-4-5,
Open a new Checking Acct. ($so mm.)
at The Campus Bank & receive
a FREE SET OF GARDEN TOOLS!
t's all in the family!
Nebraska Union
14th and R
Lincoln.
jLLJSa
jf Open 8:30-6
iviuriudy inru rriaay,
m Saturday 8:30-noon
another plus from Gateway Dank
page 16
daily nebraskan
Wednesday, april 2, 1975