NelSaskan
Thursday, April 21,1988
Smith picked 2nd in draft: Rother to Raiders
By Mark Derowitsch
Senior Reporter
Nebraska’s Neil Smith said he wasn’t sur
prised with the results of the National Football
League annual draft on Sunday.
But the Comhuskers’ Tim Rother wasn’t
only surprised, he was disappointed.
Smith, a former Husker defensive lineman,
was the second player selected overall in the
draft when the Kansas City Chiefs made him
their first-round pick.
Rother was a fourth-round pick of the Los
Angeles Raiders — the 91st pick overall. He
said he was disappointed to be picked so low.
“I know a lot of people were saying that I
would be chosen late in the first round but that
didn’t work out,” Rother said in a telephone
interview from his parents’ home in Bellevue.
“The teams were taking guys that I didn’t think
were as good as I was. But there’s little conso
lation in that they are going to teams thatare not
contenders and the Raiders are. So everything
will eventually even out.”
Smith, who surprised nobody when he be
came Kansas City’s top choice, showed imme
diately that he does not lack confidence.
“I think that I’m a great player,” said Smith,
a 6-foot-4, 260-pound lineman.
In order to get the second pick overall and
assure themselves of getting Smith, the Chiefs
traded to the Detroit Lions their second-round
choice — the 29th player overall — and
swapped first-round picking order with the
Lions. Instead of picking third in the draft, the
Chiefs picked second.
That left the Chiefs, 4-11 last year and next
to-last in total defense, without another choice
until the third round.
“They showed confidence in me,” Smith
said. “I’m looking forward to coming to Kansas
Cit ”
nsas City coach Frank Gansz said he was
impressed by Smith. Smith, a native of New
Orleans, was credited with 65 tackles last sea
son while recording 7.5 sacks.
Atlanta had earlier picked Auburn line
backer Aundray Bruce as the overall No. 1
selection, but Smith was the first player actu
ally taken Sunday when the draft began. Smith
said he was impressed when the Chiefs traded
to get him.
“The team needs me, that’s why they took
me. I have in my mind to come and play.”
Rother, who walked on at Nebraska, said
being picked in the fourth round will make him
work harder.
“I got things to prove now,” Rother said. “I
have an opportunity to go out and make people
sorry they didn’t pick me. I know I can play and
every time I’ve had to prove something, I do it.”
Rother led the Big Eight with 10 quarterback
sacks this year and he had 41 total tackles.
Joining Rother as Raiders’ draft picks in
clude Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown of
Notre Dame, defensive back Terrence
McDaniel of Tennessee, and defensive end
Scott Davis of Illinois. All three were first
round selections.
NFL teams went for needs in the annual
draft, picking players to fill gaping holes rather
than merely taking the best available athlete.
The first eight picks went about as expected,
save for the choice of Wisconsin tackle Paul
Gruber by Tampa Bay with the fourth pick of
the first round. Prior to that, Detroit picked
Bennie Blades, a defensive back out of Miami.
The Buccaneers, who had said last week
they wouldn’t take an offensive lineman, were
expected to go for a wide receiver — either
Brown or Sterling Sharpe of South Carolina.
Two former Oklahoma standouts were se
lected in the first round. Rickey Dixon, All-Big
Eight safety, was picked by Cincinnati, who
held the No. 5 pick. Keith Jackson, an All
America tight end, was the other former Sooner
to go in the first round when he was selected by
Philadelphia.
The Associated Press contributed to this
report.
Early judging hurts NU gymnasts at NCAA championships
By Lori Griffin
Staff Reporter
First-round judging hindered the
Nebraska women’s gymnastics team
during the NCAA Championships
Friday night at Salt Lake City, Corn
huskcr coach Rick Walton said.
Walton said he was disappointed
and angry with the judging through
out the competition. The judging
particularly hurt Nebraska on its
opening event — the uneven bars.
Walton said he was particularly
disappointed with the scoring of
sophomore Jane Clemons’ uneven
bar routine.
Clemons, the opening gymnast in
the uneven bar competition, scored a
9.25 but probably deserved a 9.65,
Walton said. But because she was the
first performer, her scores were
lower, he said.
Nebraska earned its second-con
secutive lOth-place finish in the 12
team field with 183.55 points. Ala
bama won the team title with a 190.05
score, while No. 1-ranked Utah was
second with 189.50 points and UCLA
third with a 188.80 score.
“The scoring was real tight and its
lough to stay in a meet when the
judging is like that,” Walton said.
“The only way to not have something
like this happen again is to play the
political games that everybody plays.
The inflated scores arc not going to
happen in the first round.”
Walton said high scores in the
second rotation were not indicative of
how the teams actually performed.
He said because the teams went sec
ond, it gave the judges more time to
polish their scoring technique.
“Anytime you have a two-session
meet like this one the gymnasts don’t
get what they deserve,” Walton said.
“The teams in the second rotation
were no better than we were, they just
had the benefit of being in the second
round.”
Walton said the balance beam
competition was also a problem for
Nebraska, as four of six Husker com
petitors fell.
Sophomore Michele Bryant had
the highest score on the balance beam
with a 9.20. Junior Crystal Savage
finished with a 9.05. The Huskcrs’
team total on the balance beam was a
44.85.
Bryant was the top performer in
the all-around competition, finishing
in a tie for 20th-place with a score of
37.15. Junior Jcancanc Smith fin
ished in 24th position in the all
around competition with a 36.45.
Oklahoma’s Kelly Garrison-Sieves
won the NCAA all-around title for the
second-consecutive year with a 38.90
score.
Walton said the lone bright spot in
the competition was the the improve
ment Nebraska made in its team
score. The Huskcrs improved the
179.5 score they tallied last year, but
their 183.55 was their second lowest
score of the season.
Walton said he is proud of Ne
braska despite its finish.
“We had some outstanding rou
tines done by our kids,” Walton said.
“They are respected by the other
teams here (at the NCAA Champion
ships). Where we finished is not in
dicative of our program. We’re going
to be back here every year.”
Walton said the tight scoring will
benefit Nebraska in future years. He
said the Huskers are more determined
to work harder and be in a better
position in 1989.
“You just have to work the system
to benefit you,” Walton said.
Walton said he is happy that Ne
braska finished among the nation’s
top 10 teams because there arc other
squads who have never been to a
national championship meet.
“I am proud of this team,” Walton
said. “They are the best team to this
day that the University of Nebraska
Lincoln has ever had. They have a lot
of poise and class and are an outstand
ing gymnastics team.”
I _ WJ
Comhuskers add to problems,
raise questions at spring game
By Chuck Creen
Senior Editor
Nebraska’s biggest problems grew
and its most pressing questions re
mained unanswered after Saturday’s
annual spring football game.
The Red team, made up of first
and fourth-team players, defeated the
Whites 37-14. The White team was
comprised of second- and third-team
players. But injuries marred the cli
max of what Nebraska coach Tom
Osborne called “a reasonably good
spring.”
Four plays into the game, fresh
man quarterback Mickey Joseph
strained his left knee while being
tackled. Joseph said he planted his
foot and his knee kept twisting.
“I’m really disappointed,” Joseph
said, “but I’ll be fine. It won’t set me
back at all.”
juscpn saia ms momer was in town
for the game and that she, too, was
disappointed, but “she understands,”
he said. “That’s a mom for you.”
Joseph began the spring as the No.
3 quarterback, behind Steve Taylor
and Gerry Gdowski. Taylor has
missed most of the spring with a re
aggravated thigh injury, which he
suffered last season, and Gdowski
injured his shoulder during drills last
week. Neither played in Saturday’s
game.
“It’s hard to get a lot of continuity
on offense when your top three quar
terbacks are out,” Osborne said.
J hat left Jerry Dunlap to lead the
Whites and Tom Haase and Keithcn
McCant for the Reds. All three arc
sophomores.
“I thought Haase, Dunlap and, at
limes, McCant all did reasonably well
today,” Osborne said.
Mike Preston also played for the
Reds.
Nebraska’s tight end situation also
became worse. Todd Millikan, the
No. I players at that spot, missed most
°* the spring with walking pneumonia
. % V
and a pulled groin. After the game’s
first scries, second-team tight end
Chris Garrett suffered a dislocated
shoulder while defending on a punt
return.
Osborne said Garrett will undergo
surgery on his shoulder today and that
the injury may affect him through
next season.
“He’ll go to the start of fall camp
before he’s really well again,’’
Osborne said. “It’ll be nip and tuck.”
In addition to Garrett and Joseph,
Nebraska trainer George Sullivan
said offensive lineman Jeff Anderson
suffered shin contusions, I-back Ken
Clark left the game with a hip pointer
and outside linebacker Broderick
Thomas sprained an ankle.
Besides the injuries, several con
cerns Cornhusker coaches had about
various positions on the team re
mained unsolved after the game.
I he biggest worry, iNenrasica de
fensive coordinator Charlie McBride
said, was finding starters for the
Husker defensive line, which gradu
ated three starters from last season.
McBride said it’s still a significant
concern.
“At this point, all the other posi
tions are pretty well shored up,*’
McBride said. “But I don’t feel like I
could make a first team (defensive
line) today. The only player I know of
is (middle guard) Mike Murray.”
Murray, a 5-foot-10, 240-pound
junior, will be the No. 1 middle guard
going into fall camp, which begins
Aug. 1, McBride said. Lawrence
Pete, last season’s starter, quit the
team last week for personal reasons.
McBride, who coached the
Whiles, said the combined offensive
output of 613 yards disappointed him
from a defensive standpoint, but “1
think some individual efforts were
very good.”
McBride praised the play o! inside
linebackers Pat Tyrance and Kenny
S^e HUSKERS on 15
Nebraska quarterback Mickey Joseph eludes defensive tackle Joe Sims.
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