Welniak gets
his just due:
a starting slot
By Kyle Schurman
Staff Reporter
Hard work and commitment have
paid off for Nebraska senior line
backer Doug Welniak.
Welniak joined the Comhuskers as
a walk-on in 1983 and was a reserve
linebacker during his first three play
ing seasons and his redshirt year.
But things picked up this season for
Welniak. He earned a scholarship,
shared a starting position with fellow
senior Steve Forch and was voted a
team captain.
“I was real happy with the way
things turned out,” Welniak said.
“Everything happened in one week.
Now if we win it’ll mean a lot more.”
Welniak said earning a scholarship
was his first goal when he arrived at
Nebraska. He said he had to work
harder than most scholarship athletes
because he was a walk-on.
Welniak said not having a scholar
ship was good for him.
“If I had walked in here as a schol
arship athlete, I probably wouldn’t
have worked as hard as I did,”
Welniak said. “(Earning a scholar
ship) makes you feci like you finally
accomplished something.”
Nebraska linebackers coach John
Melton said Welniak deserves every
thing he has received this year.
He stuck around through the
lough times and now he’s got his just
reward," Melton said.
Wclniak said he has had perfect
attendance at practice and meetings
except w hen there have been conflicts
with school. He said attending all the
prac uccs and meetings didn’t seem to
be worth it in the past, but does now.
11 takes a tough mental person to
really suck nout,” Wclniak said. “I’m
su ing a lot ol kids who aren’t sure if
it’s reallv worth it. I was one of those
kids.”
Welmak said he put a lot of work
into making himself better and “fi
nally got what I deserved.”
Wdmak said he was “real sur
prised about being elected captain.
He said he tries to keep the tempo up
at prac lice because people play as they
practice.
Melton said Wclniak was a “very
good choice for captain.”
He leads by doing,” Melton said.
“He’s got great toughness and he’s a
good leader. We’re very glad to have
him."
Mellon said Wclniak worked hard
on pass drops during spring football.
“He’s a great individual,” Mellon
said. “He’s a hard-working, sincere
7wul|fc, >iiuii. nt s veiy niitiiigtm.
Wclniak said Wyoming and the
University of Nebraska-Omaha of
fered him scholarships. He said he
didn't care for Wyoming, and UNO
coat h Sandy Buda kind of “turned me
off.”
Buda told me my chances of play
lng (at Nebraska) were zero,”
Wclniak said, “And every week 1
waited to decide, the scholarship
money decreased. It made me mad. ’
He said he was pretty sure he
wanted to walk on at Nebraska be
cause 11 he hadn’t, he would have
“always wondered” whether he could
hast played for the Huskers.
Wclniak said his biggest asset is his
hitting ability. He said he played on
the kickoff team during his early years
a'* a Husker, and that’s where he
carnal his nickname, "Maniac.”
He said he learned a lot during his
mdshirt year in 1984.
1 practiced against the 1984 team,
a**il I II never play against a better
often sc,’’Wclniak said.“l dplay hard
| against them in practice, and somc
timcs they’d get mad; but they also
hked it because I’d give them a real
picture of what they’d sec in the
game.”
Wclniak said his main goal for this
year is the same as his teammates’.
We want to win the national
championship,“ Wclniak said. “But
we have to take one game at a lime.
We can’t look too far ahead.”
Courtesy of OSU Sports Information
Oklahoma State running back Thurman Thomas leaps over a pile of North Texas State
defenders. Thomas, a Heisman Trophy candidate who is the nation's leading rusher, will lead
the Cowboys in their game against Nebraska Saturday in Stillwater, Okla.
Oklahoma State’s Thomas primes
for Saturday’s game, NU’s Thomas
B> Steve Sipple
Staff Reporter
Oklahoma Slate running back
Thurman Thomas said he will be
trying to avoid a confrontation with
a friend when the Cowboys face
Nebraska Saturday in Stillwater,
Ok la.
The friend is Huskcr defensive
end Broderick Thomas, whom
Thurman Thomas said he worked
out with in late August in Houston.
He said they ran together at The
Hill — a popular training area
where many professional and col
legiate players prepare in the off
season.
During that time, Thurman
Thomas said, "we got to know a lot
about each other.”
Broderick Thomas, a Houston
native, said he hopes to get to know
his friend from nearby Missouri
City, Texas, a little more Saturday
at Lewis Field.
The game, televised by CBS,
begins at 1:45 p.m.
“I hope to have a lot of Thomas
on Thomas,” Broderick Thomas
said. “It will be Thomas on the
carry and Thomas on the tackle.”
LJ a rAi/1 Ka ft at iIahaI A
I iv .H4 ■ MV I VIV » VIV/J/WI M
rapport with Thurman Thomas and
Cowboy receiver Hart Lee Dykes,
but said the friendships will be put
aside for about three hours Satur
day afternoon. “They’re two of my
buddies,” Broderick Thomas said.
“I ran hills this summer (with
Thurman) and I’ve worked out
with Hart Lee.
“Thomas knows what he has to
do. He’s coming to run and I’m
coming to hit. He know s he’s going
to get hit — and I won’t let him
down.”
Thurman Thomas has proved a
difficult target to hit this season, as
the Cowboy running back leads the
nation in rushing with a 140-yard
per game average. He has rushed
120 times for 700 yards and seven
touchdowns, and has caught 12
passes for 155 yards.
Thurman Thomas said he was
amused by his namesake’s com
ments.
“It’s good motivation for him
self and his teammates,” he said.
“Basically, that’s just the way he
has been. It doesn’t surprise me he
says anything like that.
“I’ve heard it from the Bo/.
(Brian Bosworth.) It’s really like a
challenge to me to go out and play
a little harder. It’s good motiva
tion.”
Thomas said he and his team
mates have plenty of motivation
heading into their clash with the
second-ranked Huskers. The 5-0
Cowboys haven’t defeated Ne
braska since 1961, when they w on
14-6 al Stillwater.
“Oh yes, we have never been in
a big situation like this,” he said.
“All the players are excited and
ready to play Saturday.”
Thomas said the game will be
the biggest of his collegiate career.
“No question,” he said. “We
had a big game in 1984 when wc
went to the Gator Bowl (a 21-14
Cowboy victory),” he said. “But
will all the media hype and both
teams coming in 5-0, it takes the
place as the biggest game of all.”
Thomas said he has never had
very good games against the Husk
ers. Thomas was held to 38 yards in
the Cowboys’ 30-10 loss to Ne
braska last season, and rushed for
71 yards against Nebraska as a
sophomore and 12 as a freshman.
This season, Thomas said, he
hopes to change all that.
“Nebraska has never been one
of my favorite teams to play
against,” he said. “This Saturday,
though. I’m looking forward to
having a big game.”
Thomas has had plenty of big
games during his career, He has
piled up 3,934 yards to make him
Oklahoma State’s second all-ume
leading rusher behind Terry
Miller.
This season, Thomas has gone
over the 100-yard mark a career
best five straight times and has
again thrust himself into the Heis
man Trophy chase.
The Oklahoma State Sports
Information Department handed
out a Heisman Trophy promotional
packet this week proclaiming
“Thurman Thomas: Back in tl.e
Heisman Hunt.”
Thomas said although he
doesn’t think much about the
award, he hasn't ruled anything
out.
“I really don t think much about
it until writers ask me,” he said.
“My teammates hope I can win it.
But you re speaking of the Heis
man, I'm not.”
Thomas said he thinks he can
continue his success through the
Big Eight season.
“The way things have been
going, I expect to,” he said. “Our
passing game has been working,
and that opens it up for me. I expect
to continue the success I've had in
the last five games.”
Thomas sul fercd through a sub
par year in 1986 after he injured a
knee while playing in a summer
basketball game. He rushed lor 741
yards and four touchdowns last
season.
Thomas was named the Big
Eight Offensive Player of the Year
by both the Associated Press and
United Press International after he
rushed for 1,650 yards and 16
touchdowns as a sophomore.
Thomas was also named the Big
Eight Newcomer of the Year and
Most Valuable Player in the 1984
Gator Bowl as a freshman,
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne
said Thomas’s consistency is im
pressive.
“He’s durable, courageous and
has enough speed to break a long
run,” Osborne said. “We’ve got
respect for him. He’s done it for
four years, and not many have been
able to do what he’s done for that
long.”
Thomas said he’s ready to show
his knee problems are behind him.
‘Oh yes, it’s 1(X) percent,” he
sa I. “I worked it out the whole
summer. I feel as good as I have for
a long lime.
“I know it’s going to be tough. It
w ill be a big challenge for me and
the offensive line.”
Thomas’s 1985 statistics
Opp. Att. Gain Avg. TDs
l Tulsa 25 164 6.6 3 £ f%\
i } Houston 21 111 5.3 1 n’l Lj
1 Wyoming 29 193 6.7 1
SW Louisiana 22 122 5.5 1
Colorado 23 * 110 4.8 1
Totals: 120 700 5.8 7
‘New triplets’
lead Cowboys
to 5-0 mark
By Tim Hartmann
Senior Reporter
Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer
dubbed Nebraska’s offensive trio of
wingback Irving Fryar, quarterback
Turner Gill and I-back Mike Rozier
as the “triplets” in 1983.
This season, Oklahoma State
coach Pat Jones says he has the “new
triplets.”
Jones said Oklahoma State split
end Hart Lee Dykes, quarterback
Mike Gundy and running back Thur
man Thomas are among the best play
ers in the country at their positions.
“They’re not the only good players
we’ve got, but as far as three offensive
players go, they’re leaders, not only
in the league but nationally, too,” he
said.
Jones said the new triplets are
similar to thd original triplets.
“They are three guys who are
above-average athletes, very quality
athletes, very productive people,”
Jones said. “They can make a lot of
things happen. I think they’re very
comparable (to Nebraska s triplets).”
A comparison of the players
through five games shows that both
sets of triplets have similar statistics
Thomas leads the nation in rushing
with 700 yards on 120 cames and has
scored seven touchdowns. After five
games in 1983, Rozier had 759 yards
on 95 carries and 11 touchdowns.
Dykes has caught 32 passes for
490 yards and two touchdowns.
Fryar, the first pick in the National
Football League draft in 1984, had 16
, receptions for 415 yards and four
touchdow ns after five games.
Gundy has completed 91 of 143
passes for 1,150 yards while throwing
six touchdowns and three intercep
tions. Gill had completed 35 of 59
passes for 652 yards while throwing
five touchdowns and one interception
' after five games.
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said
although the Oklahoma State triplets
are good players, they differ from
Fryar, Gill and Rozier.
“They’re different kinds of play
ers," Osborne said. “Rozier was 210
pounds and Thurman Thomas is not
that big. He’s a very fine player. Hart
Lee Dykes is a very tall receiver, he’s
nrnKqKlif A (<u\t A r\r ^ nnrl Iruinn
Fryar was more of a runner. Irving
was 5-11 or 6-0, greal speed and a
great reverse guy-puni returner.
“Turner Gill was a little different
type of quarterback than Gundy, but I
think maybe what Pal is trying to say
is that to his football team these play
ers arc what those players were to our
football team.
“They’re great players, they’re
playing very, very well, and they
certainly arc the players that make
them go.”
Oklahoma Stale defeated Colo
rado 42-17 last weekend to raise its
record to 5-0. Gundy was named the
Big Eight player of the week after
completing 21 of 28 passes for 257
yards and two touchdowns against the
Buffaloes.
Gundy, a sophomore, said playing
with Dykes and Thomas has bene
fited him this season. He said Dykes
has “all the ability in the world.”
“He’s a very physical player,”
Gundy said.
Thomas, the only senior of the trio,
rushed for 1,650 yards as a sopho
more. He rushed for 741 yards last
season after being slowed by a knee
injury sustained in a summer basket
ball game.
Gundy said Thomas’s experience
shows on the field.
“1 always look downfield, but if
they’re covered, I look to him (Tho
mas),” Gundy said. “He knows
what’s going on in the game.
“With Thurman Thomas being
such a running threat, it helps me a lot.
We try to balance our offensive at
tack.”
Gundy, who said his idol is Miami
See TRIPLETS on 14
