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Daily Nebraskan
Wednesday, October 9, 1985
0
sborne says
kicking could b
e cruci
By Mike Reilley
Senior Reporter
Nebraska's improved kicking game
might make the difference in the out
come of the Cornhusker's game against
Oklahoma State this Saturday, coach
Tom Osborne said Tuesday.
Osborne said that against New Mex
ico the Huskers' kicking game, particu
larly the kickoff coverage, was the best
he had ever seen at Nebraska. The
Lobos couldn't return a kickoff past
their own 18-yard line.
"I thought that was just a fabulous
job there," he said. "Overall, the kick
ing game was good and that was encou
raging because it could be pivotal in
the Oklahoma State game."
The reason for the emphasis on the
kicking game: Both teams are evenly
matched in all other aspects of the
game, Osborne said.
"Both teams have good offenses,
defenses and good personnel," he said.
"And when that is the case you're usu
ally involved in a dose game, and close
games are often decided by the kicking
game."
But the kickoff coverage wasn't the
only improvement the Huskers had
against the Lobos, Osborne said. Fresh
man kicker Chris Drennan's 42-yard
field goal in the third quarter broke a
Husker streak of four consecutive
missed attempts. Also, punter Dan
Wingard averaged more than 40 yards a
punt.
Osborne said he still is contemplat
ing who and how many kickers he will
take to Oklahoma Big Eight rules allow a
team to take only 60 players on a travel
roster. Wingard definitely will go,
Osborne said, but he is unsure whether
Drennan or senior Dale Klein will do
the placekicking. Both might go,
Osborne said, but he said he also wants
to take sophomore Doug Welniak for
special teams coverage. That would
force him to choose between Drennan
or Klein.
J t 1812
By Tom Kisicki
Staff Reporter
For Leon Havenga, running on the
cross country team is but one challenge.
Havenga, a UNL freshman from Port
Elizabeth, South Africa, said he still is
adjusting after his trip from his country
to Nebraska.
"I'm tired from traveling," Havenga
said, "and I've been training very hard."
Havenga said sophomore Jean Verster,
of Sasolburg, South Africa had the
same problem.
"Klein has been around a lot of foot
ball games," Osborne said. "He has
kicked PAT's well, kicks off very well
but has had some trouble with field
goals. Drennan is one-for-one on field
goals, has done reasonably well on PAT's
but hasn't been around much football."
Osborne said he will try to decide by
Thursday.
New Mexico used a variety of forma
tions that confused the Huskers'
defense, Osborne said. The Lobos
switched from "a wishbone to the 'run-and-shoot'
to no backs with a lot of
motion, and also ran some options on
top of that," he said.
Osborne said the Cowboys haven't
displayed such diversity, at least not on
film. Coaching against a team the
caliber of Oklahoma State is "easier to
coach against than a team like New
Mexico."
"The better teams don't feel they
have to trick you," he said. "But I have
to give New Mexico credit. They came
up here and rolled the dice with us."
The Cowboys' defense is "by far and
away the best defensive unit we've seen
this year," Osborne said.
"Their main asset is their quick
ness," he said. "Their defense is blessed
with a fine amount of athletic ability."
Injuries to several key Huskers have
left some doubt about who will start at
some positions for the game against
the Cowboys, Osborne said. I back Doug
DuBose, who injured his knee against
Oregon and missed the New Mexico
game, will be used sparingly because
he isn't 100 percent, he said. Quarter
back McCathorn Clayton sprained his
ankle in the third quarter against New
Mexico and may not play Saturday
night.
"He couldn't be anywhere from full
speed to not playing at all," Osborne
said.
Defensive end Gregg Reeves and
middle guard Phil Rogers won't play,
Osborne said. Reeves, a starter, dislo-
Blague,
"Jean said when he came here, he
struggled the first three months,"
Havenga said. "I think I'm getting used
to it."
Coach Jay Dirksen agreed that the
travel can cause a problem.
"It's very hard for a guy to come all
the way around the world," Dirksen
said. "There is a lot to adjust to, but he
has seemed to adjust pretty well."
Dirksen said he is happy to have
Havenga on the team.
"Leon is a valuable addition to our
team," he said. "He is one of our
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Andrea HoyDaily Nebraskan
Nebraska quarterback McCathorn Clayton (7) busts through the New Mexico line as left guard
Brian Blankenship (70) looks on. Clayton sprained his ankle in the third quarter of the Corn
huskers 33-7 win over the Lobos and is questionable for Saturday night's game against
Oklahoma State.
cated his shoulder against New Mexico injury. Osborne said. Osborne said Schnitzler
and may miss the game against Mis- Kicker Craig Schnitzler returned to is 'Very doubtful" for Saturday's game
souri the following week. Rogers, a practice Monday, but he is still having "I'd say he needs a week or two of
reserve, still is recovering from a knee trouble with his sore kicking leg, rest," he said.
ncan runner
A
stronger kids."
Havenga didn't run in the first two
meets because of ineligibility. The
NCAA since has declared Havenga elig
ible, allowing him to run in two meets.
Havenga said he was unhappy with
his performance at his first meet.
"It was a competitive field, but I
didn't run so well," he said.
Havenga said he was ninth with a
mile to go, but felt tired near the end of
the race. However, he said there was
about 20 seconds difference between
the ninth and 25th finishers.
Havenga ran unattached in the
Cornhusker Invitational,, and finished
10th. The next week, while the rest of
the cross country team competed at
Kansas, Havenga ran in the Apple Jack
10-K run in Nebraska City. He set a
course record and won the race with a
time of 31:37.
Havenga said he came to Nebraska
mainly because of fellow South African
Verster. Even though Havenga and
Verster are from different cities,
Havenga said, "I knew Jean pretty well.
We always saw each other at na
tionals."
Havenga called the situation in South
Africa, a country that was banned from
the Olympics because of its apartheid
policy, "terrible."
"The bad part is that the blacks are
the good sportsmen, and they suffer,"
he said. "Because of the whites, the
blacks suffer."
He said the country's top seven or
eight runners are black.
"It's unfair to the racers of the
world, because all of the top runners
aren't running," Havenga said.
'Battle Creek boys' fulfill dream
rothers team up
on Hu
sker s
By Steve Thomas
Staff Reporter
Robb Schnitzler's phone was busy. A call to
his younger brother, Craig, drew another busy
signal. The Schnitzler brothers were on the
phone maybe rehashing Saturday's win,
maybe setting time to fish or hunt Sunday, or
maybe just to check up on each other.
The telephone call was a local one, and that's
high priority for the Schnitzler tandem. Not
because the rates are lower, but because Robb
and Craig had hoped to play football in college if
possible.
"We talked about it quite a bit when we were
' younger," Craig said. "We wanted to play together
in college if possible."
Playing together is commonplace for the
Schnitzler brothers. In high school, Robb and
Craig were teammates on the football field, the
basketball court and the track.
At Battle Creek High School, the brothers
played different roles. Robb, a split end for
Nebraska, was a tailback and safety. Craig, high
school quarterback and linebacker, uses his
foot now as a Nebraska punter and kicker.
The jump from high school to college brought
many changes to the Schnitzlers, but a winning
team was nothing new. The Schnitzlers left a C-l
State Championship in their wake before coming
to Nebraska.
For Robb, a small size made him look into
smaller state colleges. Kearney State and Wayne
State were two schools that got Robb's attention
before he decided to walk on at Nebraska.
"It had always been a dream of mine to play
for Nebraska," Robb said. "I just wanted to try it.
There are a lot of class people in the organization
and the coaches treat you with respect."
The football atmosphere on fall afternoons in
Lincoln also affected Robb's decision. Robb said
he and his brother came to as many games as
they could.
"It was just a thrill to be there," Robb said.
Critics who doubted Schnitzler because of his
size have been silenced. The 5-9, 170-pcund jun
ior has tied down a starting job at split end with
his sneaky speed and sure hands.
'There are a lot of great athletes at the
receiver position," Robb said. "Things just kind
of fell into place last year, and IVe been able to
play fairly consistently."
Robb, virtually unknown at the time, sent
many Nebraska fans thumbing through their
player rosters last November with a 50-yard div
ing reception against Oklahoma. Fans took
notice of the new receiver and, more importantly
for Robb, so did the coaches.
'That's probably my most memorable catch
just because it was against Oklahoma," Robb
said.
Robb said catching passes for a team that
lives and dies by the run doesn't bother him.
"When I came to Nebraska, I knew we would
have a running offense," Robb said. "You just
accept it. But when you get a pass thrown to you,
you catch it."
Robb's goals as a football player are team
oriented. Robb said he would love to have things
fall into place for a Big EigM championship, but
said he tries to avoid looking ahead.
Craig, a sophomore, also is a walk on. Unlike
his older brother, Craig didn't shop around
before settling on Nebraska.
"When I was a freshman in high school, I set a
goal to get good enough to try out for Nebraska,"
Craig said. "I was always impressed with the
overall program and the coaching staff. It had
always been a 'dream to play here."
Although he admits his brother was a factor in
his choice, Craig said he thinks he would have
wound up at Nebraska even if Robb had gone
elsewhere.
Having a talented brother as a teammate can
have positive and negative effects. For Craig, the
pros have outweighed the cons.
"It gives me a lot of motivation to work
harder," Craig said. 'Then again, people some
times wonder what happened to me because I'm
bigger and slower than Robb," he said.
Craig said he receives no special treatment at
Nebraska because of Robb, and called himself
just "one of many."
. Gft who prefers place-kicking over pur.t
mg, said accuracy is probably his best asset as a
kicker.
Both Robb and Craig had many good things to
say about their parents, who never miss a home
game and see many on the road as well
"Our Dad gave us a lot of encouragement
not so muchlo stay together, but for both of
us to give it a shot at a big school," Craig said.