friday, September 25, 1981
page 10
daily nebraskan
Coach says team needs fewer offensive errors
By Tad Stryker
If Nebraska is to beat Penn State for the third straight
year, it will have to continue to bedevil the Nittany Lions
defensively and make fewer mistakes on offense, Coach
Tom Osborne said.
The Husker blackshirts, often confusing PSU with
blitzes, have given up only two Lion touchdowns in the
last two years. But this year the Huskers have to contend
with a better Penn State team, Osborne said.
"We're going to have to play awfully well," he said,
"because their offensive line is much better than it has
been. They've got more speed than before. They've got
more experience at quarterback and their receivers are bet
ter than they were.
"Defensively they're much better than they were two
years ago,' he said, "and probably better than last year."
One of Osborne's major concerns is whether or not he
will have a healthy defensive line to contend with all that
improvement. Defensive tackle Henry Waechter is the most
questionable starter for Saturday's game. He injured his
ankle in the Florida State game.
Waechter returned to practice Wednesday, although he
was not able to run afterwards with the rest of the team.
"I think he'll be all right by Saturday," Osborne said.
Linebacker Steve McWhirter, who strained his knee in
the Iowa game, will be out for "probably at least a couple
more weeks,' Osborne said.
After the Florida State game, Osborne said he hoped
the Huskers' intensity will be at a similar pitch when Ne
braska takes the field against the Nittany Lions, and that
they don't hand Penn State a bunch of scoring opportu
nities. The Huskers lost four fumbles against Florida State.
Another aspect of the game that has not yet proven to
be a major strength for the Huskers is passing. Osborne
said he's not too concerned about that, for now.
"How many passes did we throw in the last game, sev
en? he asked. The Huskers completed three of seven at
tempts. "I'd say we haven't really had a chance to evalu
ate it yet.
"I don't know that you can condemn the passing game,
he said, pointing out the limited opportunities for its
usage.
The ninth-year head coach said he doesn't know yet
whether the Huskers have a "good or bad' passing at
tack, but contended it has certainly not hurt the offense.
"I'll take three out of seven with no interceptions over
25 out of 40 with five interceptions any day," he said.
Fans questioned say
Penn State will win
By Jeff Goodwin
A random survey of Penn State students and football
fans conducted by the Daily Nebraskan shows they are
confident not only of beating Nebraska Saturday, but of
making a run at the national championship.
Jean Smith, a secretary with the Pennsylvania Trans
portation Institute, picked Penn State to win.
"Absolutely, we'll win," she said. "We like to play people
like Nebraska and Notre Dame. It shows that Penn State
can hold its own with anybody."
She said Penn State fans were "very disappointed
about the game not being on television." Adding to their
disappointment is the fact they will be watching the Jack
son State-Mississippi Valley State game instead, she said.
Smith said she was "looking forward to seeing USC get
beat and having Penn State play Oklahoma in the Orange
Bowl for the national championship."
John Jaworski, a sophomore form Lancaster, Pa., said
Penn State lost to Nebraska the last two years.
"If we're going to teat them, this is the year. This is
the first chance they (Penn State) will have to show their
power," Jaworski said. "They'll be ready."
Rob Miller, a freshman from Pittsburgh, also thinks
Penn State will win.
"Nebraska's performance so far this year has not been
that good," Miller said. "This game will be the first step in
getting some respect tor our team but we still have to play
Notre Dame and Alabama at the end of the year."
Most of those surveyed said there was a great deal of
excitement about the game.
Steve Stone, a senior from Easton, Pa., said enthusiasm
was high among the people he knows.
"I don't think anybody expects us to lose," Stone said.
"Everyone I've talked to expects us to win very game
this season.
Continued on Page 1 1
,k "j teas8
Photo by Mark Billingsley
Nebraska cornerback Allen Lyday (18) and linebacker Steve Damkroger (35) attempt to recover a Florida State
fumble late in the first quarter of Nebraska's 34-14 win against the Seminoles last week. The Cornhuskers play
third-ranked Penn State Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 :30 p.m. in Memorial Stadium.
Redshirt changes unforseen
Osborne praises value of extra year of maturity
By Pat Beecham
Although the practice of redshirting may draw critic
ism from other people, Nebraska has had success with the
program and it doesn't appear Husker Coach Tom Os
borne will make any drastic changes.
"Once in a while you get criticism," Osborne said.
"But you get criticism for everything you do. But nobody
has to redshirt, the final decision is up to the players."
Redshirting is the process where a player goes through
a season participating in practices, but doesn't play in any
games, thus gaining an extra year of eligibility. Not only is
this advantageous to the player's athletic development, it
also is helpful academically.
"Redshirting has somehow gotten a negative connota
tion," Osborne said. "People wUl say, 'Well if you go there
they'll redshirt you. But it just means a player gets five
years of his education paid for instead of four."
Nebraska's starting safety Jeff Krejci, who was redshirt
ed after his freshman year, echoed Osborne's thoughts.
"It helped me because there was a guy named Russell
Gary playing ahead of me. Plus it takes five years for most
ball players to graduate anyway," Krejci said.
Osborne said Nebraska redshirts 50 to 60 percent of its
players. But he added that whether a player is redshirted
depends on the position he plays and what the depth
chart looks like for that position.
"Some players are good without a redshirt year,"
Osborne said. "It depends on what position they play. On
the offensive line, there are few players without a red
shirt year. They need that year to mature mentally and
physically. As a freshman, they may be big and strong
but we use a lot of audibles and line calls and these take
time to learn."
One position Osborne said would be possible to play
without a redshirt year is receiver. But Husker split end
Todd Brown, who was redshirted as a freshman, said he
benefited from his redshirt year.
"In my case it was good because of the situation with
the depth chart," Brown said. "I got to play a little the
next year and lettered. But that redshirt year helped me
learn things a lot faster."
The NCAA passed in 1978 a rule allowing freshmen to
be redshirted. Brown and junior linebacker Steve Dam
kroger were two freshmen redshirted that year. Damkro
ger said even though being redshirted isn't glamorous, it
is helpful.
"It was a learning experience," Damkroger said. "Fresh
man year is probably the best year to redshirt. It's a long
season anyway because you only play two or three games,
so you might as well."
Krejci also said being redshirted gives a player a good
chance to develop moi-j.
"It- can be a great asset if a player really works hard,'
Krejci said. "Most players need to mature in the upper
body and mentally after just a ye3r and this gives them
a chance."
"If we have players who are pretty good - Jeff Smith
and Neil Harris come to mind - and could probably con
tribute but not play a whole lot, we usually redshirt them,"
Osborne said.
"A redshirt year can also be the difference between
playing a lot for three years, or playing a lot for two
years, Osborne said. "It's not a great year, just working
with the scout team and not playing, but a redshirt year
never hurt anybody." J
Brown is one player who benefited by playing more
with the varsity team because he was redshirted
"The coaches left it up to me, so I sat down and
thought out the options," Brown said. "Being redshirted,
I could play four years of varsity and be a four year let
terman which would be kind of nice. Plus it usually
does take five years to graduate."
Nineteen of Nebraska's 22 starters were redshirted
which gives some indication of the success of the program.
Dave Rimmington, one of the players who was not red
shirted sat out a year because of knee surgery and was
granted a hardship case. Jimmy Williams and Nate Mason
are the only players among the starters not to have been
redshirted or have a hardship case.
