Thursday, December 9, 1982
Daily Nebraskan
Page 15
Wants career in counseling
Craig ends team-oriented without regrets
By Dirk Maley
Roger Craig's collegiate career will not come to an end
when the Nebraska Cornhuskers meet the Louisiana
State Tigers in the Orange Bowl.
The senior from Davenport, Iowa, will end it on a high
note when he participates in the Hula and Senior Bowls.
In attendance will be coaches and scouts from almost all
professional football teams.
For Craig, it end a four-year career at Nebraska filled
with both peaks and valleys. As a third team sophomore
he finished with 769 yards on 108 carries. In addition, he
scored 15 touchdowns which ranked him sixth nationally.
Last season, he led the Huskers with 1 ,060 yards. Great
things were expected this season as well, but the 220
pounder assumed a back-up role to , All-American Mike
Rozier and had a nagging ankle injury. Through all that,
though, Craig finished with 586 yards rushing, second
best on the team.
The ankle injury is gone rlow and Craig is finishing
the season in grand fashion. Against Hawaii, he led all
pushers with 127 yards and one touchdown. But forget
the yards - the unselfish Craig is concerned more with
team Victories.
Concerned with winning
"I don't worry about the statistics too much," he said.
"I'm concerned mainly with winning. I don't worry abdut
not getting a thousand yards." ,
Yet Craig is taking the post-season bowls seriously,
especially after his slow start this season.
"It's very important as far as professional football is
concerned," he said. "I get a chance to redeem myself,
it's important to look good."
But there's still something more important for Craig,
namely the New Year's night contest against LSU. It will
be his second straight trip to Miami. Last year, he finished
with 87 yards against the national champion Clemson
Tigers.
The 13th-ranked LSU Tigers enter the contest with one
of the nation's top defenses. The Tigers are ranked fourth
in both rushing defense and total defense in the latest
NCAA statistics.
But the Huskers will counter with the No. 1 offense in
the country. Craig and his offensive teammates lead the
country in rushing, scoring and total offense.
"After the Orange Bowl is over, I'll be sad that I'll no
longer be a Cornhusker," Craig said. "My four years at
Nebraska have been very fun. I've enjoyed playing here. 1
have no regrets."
team player
Craig came to Nebraska a team player and will leave
the same way. When asked to play at fullback early on
in the season, Craig went along with Coach Tom Osborne,
even though it was a totally new position for him. Above
all else, he made the move to help out the team.
The same holds true when Rozier took over as
Nebraskas top I-back. Craig was there patting his
teammate on the back. When Rozier broke Bobby
Reynolds' 1950 record of 1,342 yards in Nebraska s
48-10 win over Oklahoma State this season, Craig was one
of the first to congratulate him for an outstanding effort.
"I don't worry about being jealous," Craig said. "In
order to be successful, you've got to learn to work to
gether. Mike had a good year and I'm happy for him.
I'm just real happy to be associated with the players we
have. We do a lot of things together. This team is a real
close family knit group."
For Craig, helping others is far more important than
personal glory. That's why the criminal justice major has
important plans besides football. Those plans include
counseling young kids, he said. "They're in the process
of picturing how their lives are going to be. I like to share
my time with them."
"SHARING is CARING"
Thanks to You
it Works for
All of Us
y failed! 3
Johnson says Cornhuskers
to play bowl game for pride
By Tad Stryker
It could have been one
of the biggest games in
Nebraska football history.
Now it looks like the
What-Might-Have-Been
Bowl.
The Orange Bowl, by
the slimmest of chances,
could turn out to be for
the national championship,
but Husker second-string
center Brad Johnson and
many others think that
chance was lost in the
final seconds of the Penn
State game.
"The Penn State game
was pretty crushing for me
and all the other people,"
Johnson said. "It seemed
like everything slipped
through our fingers in that
one.
"But the next Monday
we put on our working
hats and got ready to
work for the Big Eight
championship. That became
our major goal," he said.
Fourteen consecutive
conference wins and a se
cond Big Eight champion
ship are satisfying, and so
is the way the Huskers
rebounded from their disap
pointing loss, Johnson said.
"It takes away a little
of the sting," he said,
"but I was expecting a
lot from this season, and
I know a lot of other
people were, too. I want
ed the national champion
ship because it's the last
time around for me."
The Huskers will play
Louisiana State Jan. 1.
Even though the game pro
bably won't mean as much
as the Nebraska-LSU Orange
Bowl confrontation 1 2
years ago, Johnson said he
doesn't think the Huskers
will suffer a psychological
letdown.
Though LSU has not had
much national exposure, he
said, the Tigers "are pro
bably better than most Ne
braska fans think."
"I haven't seen much
of them yet, but we'll
be watching them a lot
on film for a couple of
weeks," Johnson said.
Even if their slim chance
at a national championship
(a Penn State-Georgia tie
in the Sugar Bowl) does
not materialize, pride will
carry the Huskers, Johnson
said.
"We want to show the
country we've got a good
team," he said. "Our de
fense is improving steadily,
but I'm pretty prejudiced
about our offense. We think
it's the best in the nation.
"Another offense like
ours might not come along
for nuire awhifo " Tnhncnn
said. "We want to go
out in style. We ve
a lot to prove."
got
mm
Ft. Lauderdale's
No. 1 Rock Club
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
NIGHTLY
GIANT NEW YEAR'S
PARTY
ON
FT. LAUDERDALE
BEACH
PRESENT THIS AD FOR FREE
ADMISSION EXCEPT NEW YEAR'S EVE
Rockin' to Paradise?
LUV from Electronics Un
limited is your ticketTke
place (or Rock LUVers.
'Lectronics UnlimitH Value.
OOLOZTROnSCS
Ul IUI I II I
At Gateway and Lincoln Center...
414 South 11th Street. Three
Blocks South of the Centrum.
t
476-6511
Plow Through Finals
with 10c Coffee and Tea
SUNDAY, DEC. 12 THROUGH FRIDAY, DEC. 17
(with Student I D.)
AT THE CITY AND EAST UNIONS.
Extended hours during finals week:
City Union: Sunday, Monday, & Tuesday
Until 1 :00 a.m.
Wednesday, &
Thursday Until Midnight
ioh Thursday
Until Midnight ncbraska unions
h i I
Myalls fl 5h
Sowl Invited
036Doy
2-3-4 people
(sarao prlco)
Direc on (ho ocean
Pool, restaurant and lounge
open until 5 a.m.
Call toll-free (800) 327-8204
1701 Collins Avenue