I Artificial turf safer than grass, NCAA says
I INJURIES from Page 8
caused by the shoes the player wears
and the position he plays.
A skilled player like a running
back or receiver must make quick
cuts and is more likely to be injured
on artificial turf, Sullivan said. A
linebacker is more likely to get hurt
on natural turf because it is easier for
a cleat to get caught on grass, he said.
Sullivan’s statements agreed with
The NCAA News report.
The study reported that 49 line
backers were injured in 1987, 30 on
natural turf. The study also reported
that of the 22 wide receivers injured
last season, 17 were hurt on artificial
fields.
Todd Mason, student supervisor
of the Nebraska equipment room,
said the Comhuskers use a Converse
grass shoe when they play on natural
surfaces.
Mason said the Huskers use a
variety of shoes on artificial turf. If
the turf is dry, Nebraska uses a shoe
with short cleats, he said. For better
fraction, the Huskers use a shoe with
longer cleats on wet turf.
“The different type of shoes was
I Coach (Tom) Osborne’s idea to cut
down on knee injuries,” Mason said.
“We take all the shoes with us on a
road trip, and depending on the type
INJURY BY PLAYER POSITION
(1987 Regular Season)
ptaved°at F|ELD SURFACE
Ptimeof Natural | Artificial
injury _ Grass | Turf
End 6 3
Tackle 11 5
Guard 14 14
Center 1 3
Quarterback 7 5
Running Back 17 23
Slotback/
Wingback 2 2
Flanker/
Wide Receiver 5 17
Defensive Lineman 25 28
Linebacker 30 19
Cornerback 25 7
Safety 6 9
Kicker-Punter 3 3
Special Teams 19 7
Total 171 145
Scarce: The NCAA News
of conditions and the field, we then
make the decision as to what shoe we
use.
Most artificial-turf injuries hap
pen when cleats stick to the surface,
Sullivan said. Shoe companies are
making more cohesive shoes that are
causing more injuries in other sports
like basketball, he said.
“Many times the knee will go and
the foot will stay,” he said.
Sullivan said that when they play
on natural grass, athletes say their
legs don’t get as tired.
Nebraska strength and condition
ing coach Boyd Epley said the Husk
ers take no precautions other than
selecting different shoes when pre
paring for a different field.
“We just try to build them as big,
strong and fast as we possibly can,”
Epley said.
Sullivan said Nebraska plays on
natural grass only in bowl gamc;s.
The Huskers played on natural grass
twice last season when they played
Arizona Slate and Florida State in
Sun Devil Stadium in Tcmpc, Ariz.
Sullivan said he favors artificial
turf because wounds are kept cleaner.
He said the Huskers would tear up a
natural grass field because the team
has limited practice space.
The NCAA should continue test
ing different shoe types, Sullivan
said. The NCAA may decide to
choose safer shoes, he said.
rioriaa, rryar ana jn u team race auemmas
Florida’s dilemma
Willie McClendon, a 6-foot-2,
220-pound tailback from Jackson
ville, Fla., signed his national foot
ball letter of intent with Florida two
weeks ago. McClendon rushed for
more than 2,900 yards last season as
a senior in high school, breaking the
Florida single-season rushing record
held by Emmitt Smith, who is also a
running back with the Gators.
i--i
McClendon, who was rated as the
No. 11 prospect in the nation by
recruiting expert Max Emtingcr, had
narrowed his choices to Alabama,
Florida, Georgia and Nebraska be
fore signing with the Gators last
Wednesday.
McClendon’s choice places the
Florida coaching staff in an awkward
but enviable predicament. They al
ready have the services of Smith,
who appears to be firmly entrenched
in the starting tailback job for his
remaining three seasons. Also, the
Gators recently hired a new offensive
coordinator who plans to install a
single-back offense. Therefore, it
looks as though McClendon may be
the best backup running back in the
nation.
Except for one thing. Florida also
signed, among others, Dexter
McNabb from Del Funiak, Fla.
McNabb was the top-rated back in
Florida last season and the No. 10
rated player in the nation on
Emfinger’s list, and the Gators
wanted him even more than McClen
don.
Have fun, Willie!
OSU’s on top
The second Collegiate Baseball
ESPN poll is out, and Oklahoma
State remains the nation’s top team,
even though the Cowboys haven’t
yet played a game. Oklahoma is
ranked No. 12 and Nebraska — sur
prise, surprise! — is nowhere to be
found.
Don’t look for that to change for
the Comhuskcrs this season. Or next
season, cither....
All-Bowl team
Early last week, the Daily Nebras
kan received the 12th annual All
Bowl Team selections. Nebraska
defensive tackle Neil Smith and
wingback Dana Brinson were in
cluded on the first team (Brinson was
listed as the kick returner).
At quarterback was Florida
Slate’s Danny McManus, who
riddled Nebraska’s defense all day in
the 31-28 Seminole win/Husker
choke at the Sunkisl-Fiesta Bowl..
The only other Big Eight player on
the team was Oklahoma State I-back
Thurman Thomas, who led the
Cowboys to a Sun Bowl win against
West Virginia on Christmas Day.
It never ends
Nebraska football tans don’t need
to be reminded of the numerous
brushes with the law several Husker
football players have suffered during
the last year or so. Unfortunately, the
problem doesn’t seem to end with
their college careers.
Former Nebraska wingback and
All-America selection Irving Fryar,
now a wide receiver with the Na
tional Football League’s New Eng
land Patriots, was arrested again last
week, this time on a weapons charge.
Fryar was stopped by New Jersey
state police in Pemberton, N.J., for
allegedly speeding. After the officer
saw a large survival knife on the back
scat and an empty gun holster stick
ing out from under the driver’s scat,
Fryar was removed from the car and
an automobile search began.
The search revealed a .38-caliber
handgun between the scat and seat
Comhusker gymnast Bryan
began sport at an early age
By Richard Cooper
Suff Reporter
Gymnastics runs in the
Nebraska’s Brad
Bryan.
Bryan; a fresh
man from Al
buquerque, N.M.,
is the latest addi
tion to a long list of
gymnasts from his
family, which in- Bryan
dude his sister, Debbie, and his fa
ther, Jack, who started coaching him
shortly after he learned to walk.
“My dad was a high school coach
when I was 3 years old, and I would
always play in the gym while he was
holding practice,” Bryan said. “After
a while, he started teaching me the
basic stuff.”
By the time he was 6, Bryan said,
he was working on tumbling, and he’s
worked on something new ever since.
“Ever since I can remember,
gymnastics has been a part ol my
life,” Bryan said. “I think it’s somc
See BRYAN on 11
cover, and a loaded 12-gauge shot
gun in the trunk. Several hollow
tipped bullets were also found.
Though the weapons were regis
tered, police said, it was illegal for
Fryar to transport them unless he was
moving all his possessions and the
guns had been taken apart.
The arrest was the latest in a long
list of unfriendly relationships be
tween Fryar and members of law
enforcement organizations over the
past couple of years.
Some things never change.
Green is a news-editorial and criminal
justice major and is a Daily Nebraskan sen
ior reporter.
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Nebraska l-back Tyreese Knox scores a touchdown during
the Cornhuskers’ 31 -28 loss to Florida State. Statistics show
that football players suffer more injuries on natural playing
surfaces such as the one at Sun Devil Stadium — the site of
the Sunkist-Fiesta Bowl — than on artificial surfaces.