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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 22, 1980)
page 12 daily nebraskan Wednesday, October 22, 1980 Liegl glad he plays despite thoughts of quittin e By Pat Beecham Running back a punt when there are 10 opponents coming down the field full speed probably isn't a lot of people's idea of fun, but Husker Dave Liegl says he enjoys it. "You bet I like it," Liegl said. "It's a really exciting play. I get a lot of enjoyment out of running back punts." Liegl said that getting his head taken off doesn't really go through his mind when he's waiting for the punt. "Catching the ball is the important thing," Liegl said. "If you miss it, you're going to get killed anyway , so you might as well catch it and run around with it for a while." Liegl has had success at his position this year for the Huskers, Head Coach Tom Osborne said. Liegl has return ed 16 punts for 149 yards for a 93-yard average. Os borne said Liegl's returns are assets. "Somebody like Dave is very important to the team," Osborne said. "He catches the ball well and is a good run ner and return man. "If we can get 25 to 30 yards on a punt return, we have a better chance of scoring," Osborne said. "When you're starting out from the 50, it's a lot easier to score than when you're starting out from the 20." Liegl said he almost turned in his pads a couple of times, but he is glad he decided not to. "A couple of times during my freshman and redshirt years I almost did(quit)," Liegl said. "When I was a fresh man, there were 154 guys out and 1 kind of got lost in the shuffle coming from a small school. "I got a lot of encouragement from my family and friends to keep after it and that really helped. I'm happy with the decision I made." Liegl said he had scholarship offers from smaller schools but decided to play at Nebraska because of its "first-class program." When Liegl, a Central City native, came to Nebraska, he said he had doubts about playing for the Huskers. "I had some doubts my freshman and redshirt year," Liegl said. "But I can't imagine anyone not having a little bit of doubt about playing in a program like Ne braska's, no matter where he's from." Although Liegl does not have great physical size, 5-8, Osborne said this didn't hamper his play. "I think Dave plays over his size," Osborne said. "He has good quickness, speed and mobility. He's a tough little guy." Liegl said he spent most of his freshman year as an offensive wingback, but moved to defensive cornerback his sophomore and also returned punts. Liegl said his biggest thrills were when the Huskers beat Oklahoma and a couple of "pretty fair punt returns. 1 had in the Cotton Bowl last year for thirty and forty yards." Liegl said he is not sure if he will be able to play in the Colorado game Saturday because of a bruised arch in his right foot. "I don't know if I'll be able to play at this time," Liegl said. "I can't run very well on it, but the trainers are working on it and I'll just have to wait and see." .;: ' ...... i Photo by Kent Morgan Olsen Dave Liegl Iba foresees a tougher non-conference schedule '31 4 ' yl v' m X f -0 i r. mm V 7- A iffI ; " 7v . .... .ll NV V: Av3 11 By Tad Stryker A seasoned Cornhusker basketball team will face a significantly tougher non-conference schedule than that of a year ago, ac cording to Acting Head Coach Moe Iba. Following that, a "very interesting con ference race" should develop, he said. Iba said he does not necessarily think the tougher non-conference games will help the Huskers' Big Eight chances. "It just depends on how well we do (in the non-conference season)," he said. "I've never thought that playing someone good and losing helps a team much. I don't think a loss ever helps. "We're going to have to be ready to play some quality teams," he said. The non-conference schedule includes road games against Arkansas, Creighton and Ball Sta;e; and home games with Wyoming, Idaho, Penn State, Northwest Missouri State, Colorado State, Montana, and Cal State-Sonoma. 'The Arkansas series will be a good one for us," Iba said. The Razorbacks will play a game in Lincoln next season. They're picked to win the Southwest Conference this season by some people," he said. More quality Iba said he sees the Big Eight race as interesting. Photo by Mark Billingsley Returning Nebraska center Andre Smith goes up for the ball in action last year against Iowa State. The Huskers open their season on Nov. 28. 1 I r ' it..." v V J - -?""v f 'L I - - ' .t . ' - Photo by Mark Billingsley Jack Moore "I think there are going to be more quality teams this year," he said. "By that, I mean everybody's going to be improved." Missouri. Kansas State and Kansas are: expected to do well this season, he said, and "Colorado says this year's team could be their best in awhile." Missouri will be hurt by the loss of Mark Dressier, who led the Tigers to their upset win over Notre Dame in the second round of the NCAA Midwest Regional in Lincoln last spring. Dressier injured his knee in an early practice, and is out for the year. A less serious knee injury struck Nebr aska on its' first day of practice. Greg Downing twisted his knee, but Iba said it isn't as serious as first thought. Downing has returned to practice, but is not yet at full speed. Practice started Oct. 15, and since then,, the coaches have spent much of their time teaching the system to the new varsity new members, Iba said. System learning New varsity players include Claude Renfro, a 6-6 sophomore transfer from Pima College in Tucson; sophomore Kenny Walton, 6-5, a redshirt last season; fresh man Tom Drake, a 6-10 center; and former junior varsity starters Ivan Gilreath and Drew Stange, who made the team at try outs last Friday night. "Those players are having a lot thrown at them," Iba said. He said that he is pleas ed with the players' attitude so far, and that the team is getting "good senior lead ership" from Andre Smith and Mike Nader ei. Iba said that this year's team will prob ably resemble last year's in several ways. Because of limited size, the Huskers will again depend on quickness and "play ing smart," he said. "I think quickness has to be a factor," he said. "We're quicker than we were a year ago. We have some speed, and we'll try to run some, like we did last year. "They were a very smart team," Iba said. "They could run or play slow when they had to. I think well have a similar team this season, but it's hard to say after a few practices."
