_Sports_
Doug Carroll/Daily Nebraskan
Nebraska center John Nichols trails guard Andy Keeler during the Cornhuskers’ 56-3
victory over Kansas State earlier this season.
Young, Nichols, Anderson
Competition pushes centers
to work hard for positions
By Mark Derowitsch
Senior Reporter
The running back position isn’t
the only highly competitive posi
tion on the Nebraska offense.
While fans don’t often notice
centers, Jake Young, John Nichols
and Jeff Anderson are trying to be
noticed by coaches so they can gain
more playing time.
Nebraska offense line coach
Milt Tcnopir said the competition
runs high for the starting center job.
“The competition is there, but
it’s necessary to have depth,”
Tcnopir said. “Everybody has their
job to do, and they want to be the
starter.”
Nichols began the season as the
starting center, but Young has
started in the Comhuskers’ last
three games. Young said he can’t
afford to relax even though he
strained his knee and is expected to
miss Saturday’s gameagainsl Iowa
State.
“Thecompetition pushes every
body to work harder/’ Young said.
“When I was second string, I
worked hard to move up. Now, I
work hard to keep my job.”
Nichols started against Utah
State and UCLA before being re
placed by Young. But Nichols, a
senior from Littleton, Colo., said
he will keep trying to regain his
starting job.
“We both work hard because of
each other,” Nichols said. “When I
sec him doing a good job, I start
working harder. And when he sees
me playing well, he works harder.
Whoever is first string can’t afford
tosluffoff.”
Anderson said although he
backs up Young and Nichols, he
still plays a big part on the Huskcrs
special teams by snapping for point
after attempts, field goals and
punts.
“I’ve played on all our special
teams, but I don’t play much other
wise,” Anderson said.
Young saidhehasbeen satisfied
with his progress this season.
“I’ve been happy with the way
things have been going, but I still
need to improve,Young said. “I
want to get better so I can carry on
the tradition of great offensive
linemen at Nebraska.”
Tenopir said Young has the
potential to be a three-year starter
for Nebraska.
“Jake has played very well, but
he has a few little things he needs to
work out in his game,” Tenopir
said. “He ’ s going to be an outstand
ing center before he leaves the
University of Nebraska.”
As a freshman last year. Young
played enough to earn a varsity
letter. He is the first freshman to
letter on the Huskers’ interior line.
Young said it meant a lot to
letter as a freshman.
“There have been a lot of great
players that have come through
here and have not lettered as a
freshman,” Young said. “I hope I
can follow some of those players
and have a good career at Ne
braska.”
Young, a sophomore from
Midland, Texas, said he was sur
prised last year.
“One of the guards got hurt, so I
played both positions and fresh
man ball,” Young said. “Playing
last season has helped me quite a
bit because 1 started to learn the
system.
“Playing center is one-half
mental and one-half physical. I got
an edge because I learned a lot last
year.”
Nichols also lettered last season
as a back-up center to senior Mark
Cooper. But he said it didn’t give
him too much experience.
“Last year, I never played in a
crucial situation or when the game
was on the line,” Nichols said.
“The first lime I played in a critical
situation was this season against
Arizona State. I was scared when I
ran out on the field when we needed
to score, but I knew I could gel the
job done.”
Tenopir said Nichols plays
about 35 percent of the time. He
said there isn’t much difference
between Young and Nichols.
“John is a very valuable player,”
Tenopir said. “He’s a kid with a lot
of maturity. Even though he’s a
reliever, there is no difference be
tween the top two centers. He does
an exceptional job.”
Nichols said he accepts his role
on the team.
“I’ve been seeing considerable
playing time and I’m happy with
it,” Nichols said. “I play almost as
much as Jake.”
Anderson, a redshirt sophomore
from Norfolk, said even though
there is not enough playing time to
please everyone, all three centers
help each other out.
“Everyone accepts his role, but
we each want to play a lot,” Ander
son said. “If someone is having
trouble with certain defenses, we
all help out.”
Tenopir said Anderson is a valu
able player for the Huskers because
he handles all the long snaps.
“Jeffs main role Is snapping,
and he gives us a center who can get
the halfback to the holder at kicker
in good shape,” Tenopir said.
Anderson said he will be ready
to press Young for the starting
center position next spring.
“I’d really like to fight it out
next spring so I can play a lot,”
Anderson said. “As far as this year,
I don’t really do much to help, so
I’ll just wait until next year.”
Nichols said the time to press
Young is now since he graduates
this year.
“Competition is good, so there
fore I have to work harder,”
Nichols said. “I just want to play
the best I can and hope things work
out for the team.”
Osborne investigating
facts in Etienne's arrest
By Steve Sipple
Staff Reporter
Nebraska football coach Tom
Osborne said he will wait until he gets
all the facts before deciding whether
to discipline starting linebacker Le
Roy Etienne.
Etienne, a junior from New Iberia,
La., was arrested early Sunday morn
ing after allegedly breaking a window
in a former girlfriend’s apartment.
Osborne said that Monday Etienne
told him he was trying to retrieve his
apartment key and some clothes from
the apartment at 645 S. 20th.
Osborne, who spoke Tuesday at his
weekly press luncheon, said he has
talked to the girl involved and an
attorney about the incident.
“If the facts LeRoy has given me
are substantiated, then LeRoy will
continue to play,” Osborne said. “He
broke the window, he stayed at the
scene, he told the officer what he did
and he offered to pay for it.”
Osborne said the girl did not press
charges.
“If (LeRoy) told me something that
wasn’t true, then he won’t play,”
Osborne said. “That’s just the way it’s
going to be.”
But Osborne said Etienne probably
won’t be punished.
“I normally don’t suspend a guy for
a broken window, if he’s going to pay
for it,” he said.
Pending Osborne's decision,
Etienne will play against Iowa Stale.
Nebraska will face the Cyclones Sat
urday at 1:30 p.m. at Memorial Sta
dium.
Osborne said the Cyclones lack
depth because of a shortage of num
bers, but don’t necessarily lack talent,
despite their 2-6 record.
The Cyclones are serving the first
year of a two-year probation imposed
by the NCAA for recruiting violations
found in former coach Jim Crincr’s
program. The NCAA limited the
Cyclones to 57 scholarship players to
start the season because of he viola
tions.
“Offensively, they have some good
players quality-wise,” Osborne said.
“(Joe) Henderson is an excellent run
ning back. Hecatches the ball well and
runs well.
“(Brett) Sadek has played very
well at quarterback for them. (Derek)
Degennaro at times has played well,
too. Where they seem to get in trouble
maybe is depth.” <■
Henderson, a junior running back
from Chicago, rushed for 226 yards in
the Cyclones’ 42-28 victory over
Kansas on Oct. 24. He carried 23 times
for 82 yards in Iowa State’s42-10 loss
to Colorado last Saturday. He has 838
yards rushing this season.
Sadek, a senior quarterback, has
completed 86 of 168 passes for 1,039
yards and five touchdowns. Degen
naro, a junior from Fort Lauderdale,
Fla., has completed 26 of 55 passes for
333 yards in a backup role.
Defensively, Osborne said, the
Cyclones have played well in losses to
Missouri and Colorado. Missouri de
feated the Cyclones 42-17 on Oct. 17
in Ames, Iowa.
“I think their defense against Colo
rado played very hard early in the ball
game,” he said. “As games have gone
on, many times I think they’ve gotten
worn down a little bit and other people
just had more depth than they had. So
I think it’s misleading to say they
don’t have any talent.”
Osborne said the Huskcrs must
keep playing to their capabilities no
matter whom they play.
“I’m primarily concerned with the
qual ity of football we play,” he said. “I
don’t believe at this point we want to
take a step backwards.
“We’re trying to build through the
season, not just to the Oklahoma
game, but through the Oklahoma and
Colorado games and through the bowl
game, and hopefully our best football
of the year will be played Jan. 1.”
Osborne said he wants the Huskers
to improve on their turnover ratio,
which now ranks sixth in the Big
Eight. Nebraska has lost 15 fumbles to
their opponents’ six.
Walden expects to lose;
Huskers too damn good’
By Tim Hartmann
Senior Reporter
After Iowa State’s 42-10 loss to
Colorado Saturday in Bouk r, Colo.,
Cyclone coach Jim Walden aid, “All
the symptoms and all the tuff that
make you want to throve up were
there.”
Although the Buffaloes are a
strong football team, Wal len said,
Iowa State could have played much
better.
“I thougnt Colorado played well.
They executed and did some nice
things,” Walden said. “They’ve got a
good football team. They did what
they had to do to beat us.
“I’m sorry we didn’t let them have
the satisfaction of beating a little bit
better team than (us). We know we’re
not great, we don’t have any reason to
be, but we have been belter offen
sively than we were. I’m not trying to
take anything away from them, not to
discredit their defense, but we didn’t
play very well.”
Walden said the loss was espe
cially disappointing because the 2-6
Cyclones played well in the weeks
before the Iowa Slatc-Colorado
matchup.
“I was a little disappointed in the
fact that we didn’t continue to try to
get a little better,” Walden said. “Our
team had played for seven weeks, I
thought, about as good as any team I
have coached in trying to get better,
trying not to have a bad day.”
But against Colorado, Walden
said, “We were not on the money in
anything, and certainly Colorado
capitalized on that and just beat us up
pretty good.”
One area that the Cyclones capital
ized on was trick plays. Iowa State was
successful on a take punt and an on
side kick. During the season Iowa
State has been successful in six of their
seven fake punt attempts and in ail
three of their onsidc kicks.
“We have tried to incorporate the
kicking game as a viable part of eve
rything we’re doing,” Walden said.
“We realized that we were going to
have some limitations, and we knew
that we were in a situation where we
could lake some chances.
“It’s much easier to take chances
and play with the kicking game when
your expectations are not great.”
Walden, who is in his first year at
Iowa State, coached at Washington
State University in Pullman, Wash.,
for nine years before arriving in Ames,
Iowa. His coaching record is 44-52-4.
Before becoming the coach at
Washington State, Walden served as
an assistant coach for the Cougars. He
was also an assistant coach at Miami,
Fla., and Nebraska. Walden was a
defensive assistant for the Com
huskers from 1969-72, years when
Nebraska won two national champi
onships.
Walden will return to Lincoln Sat
urday when Iowa State faces the 8-0,
No. 2-rankcd Huskcrs. He said the
Cyclones will be in for a challenge.
“1 think they’re a heck of a team,”
Walden said. “I don’t think there is
much left for Jim Walden to say that’s
just not the same old boring stuff.
They’re big, they’re strong, they’re
fast.
“What can 1 say? Everybody said
See WALDEN on 10
