Osborne says assessing
team remains difficult
^ By Chuck Green
Senior Reporter
Even after two games, Nebraska
coach Tom Osborne is having trouble
assessing his football team.
Wins against Northern Illinois and
Utah have shown that improvement
still is needed in several areas, he
said.
“After two games, I still feel the
way I did before the season started,”
Osborne said. “I think we have po
tential, good athletes and a lot of
players that haven't played a lot
“That was never more apparent
than last Saturday.”
His assessment of the offensive
line will continue to be difficult this
week.
‘Minnesota can
do very well in the
Big Ten this year.'
. . — Osborne
Erik Wicgert, a sophomore who
started against Utah in place of in
jured starter Doug Glaser, did not
practice Monday because of a sore
back. Right guard John Roschal, who
has suffered from a sprained ankle
since Nebraska’s first game against
Northern Illinois, also did not prac
tice.
“I’m hoping they can come
around and both return by Thurs- •
day,” Osborne said. “If not, we’re
awfully thin on the offensive line.”
In addition, comerbacks Tahaun
Lewis and Bruce Pickens both did not
practice Monday. Lewis had sore
ribs, while Pickens had a sore wrist.
Strong safety Reggie Cooper has
been slowed since last week by a sore
knee, Osborne said.
Osborne said Minnesota’s main
threat on offense is tailback Darrell
Thompson, who rushed for 110 yards
and two touchdowns on 27 carries.
He said Thompson may be one of the
best running backs Nebraska faces
this season.
‘‘There’s no question about it,”
he said. ‘‘He may be the best.”
Osborne was unsure whether the
Minnesota crowd would be a factor in
the Metrodome.
We’ve only been up there
once, ,Osbome said, ‘ ‘and that thing
was over with in a hurry. There never
really was a crowd factor.”
Nebraska played Minnesota in the
Metrodome in 1983, and the Huskers
won 84-13, scoring three touchdowns
in every quarter.
Osborne said one of the most
important improvements the Huskers
must make is to play better early ‘ ‘on
both sides of the ball.”
‘‘You can’t lose 12 starters (from
the previous season) and be like you
were a year ago,” he said. “Against
Utah, we had two or three players in
our dime package (the pass defense
Nebraska used in the game) who
hadn’t played a lot who had trouble
settling down.”
Against Utah, Nebraska led 42-16
going into the game’s final four min
utes when the Huskers turned the ball
over, resulting in a touchdown for the
Utes. Utah scored again as time ran
out to cut Nebraska’s win margin to
A'y.'in
“We need to start playing better
during the first half of the game,” he
said.
One player that has played well
right from the start, Osborne said, is
senior quarterback Gerry Gdowski.
In two games, Gdowski has com
pleted 9 of 14 passes for 110 yards
and a touchdown, and has rushed for
172 yards and three touchdowns on
20 carries.
“He’s played well right out of the
box,’’ Osborne said. “Sometimes,
when you break in a new quarterback,
you have some trouble and maybe*
lose a game or two. But Gerry hasn’t
had that problem.
“He’s played like a veteran.’’
For Husker football fans, Osborne
gives the same advice he’s given for
the past several weeks: Don’t under
estimate the opponent.
“Other than Michigan, I don’t see
any teams (in the Big Ten Confer
ence) that just jump out at you,’ ’ he
said. “Minnesota can do very well in
the Big Ten this year. They ’ ve got the
same shot everybody else has. It’s
just a matter of consistency, few inju
ries and the right balance at the begin
ning of the year.
“Sometimes, the difference be
tween 2-7 and 7-3 isn’t very much.’’
Dave Hansen Daily Nebraskan
Nebraska quarterback Gerry Gdowski turns the comer against Utah Saturday as center Jake
Young looks for someone to block.
Childhood fantasy of playing for INU
becomes reality for offensive lineman
By Cory Golden
Staff Reporter
Nebraska freshman offensive
lineman Lance Larson always
dreamed of playing football for the
Comhuskcrs.
Now, Larson’s childhood fantasy
has come true.
Larson, who is 6-foot-4 and 243
pounds, remembers clearly when he
decided he wanted to play football for
the Cornhuskers.
‘‘1 remember when 1 was about 11,
I was sitting in my living room watch
ing the Nebraska-Oklahoma game on
TV,” Larson said. “I told my dad 1
was going to play for Nebraska.”
Larson, who starts at left tackle on
Nebraska’s junior varsity team, said
he began to work toward that dream
at Moorhead High School in
Moorhead, Minn.
‘‘I worked hard and things started
to happen -- dreams started to happen
-- like making All-Stale, and other
awards that come to one player,” he
said. “A major dream that really
came true was being chosen as an All
American. Those are people that you
look up to, you never think it’ll hap
pen to you.”
Among Larson’s honors during
his senior year include being named
to Parade Magazine’s All-America
team as an offensive tackle, earning
All-State honors at defensive line
man and being named Minnesota’s
Player of the Year by Gatorade and
the Atlanta Touchdown Club.
With that recognition came the
recruiters.
Larson was highly recruited by
several schools, including Notre
Dame, Michigan and Ohio State.
But his heart already was set on
Nebraska, he said.
Larson attended Nebraska’s sum
mer high school football camp before
his senior season.
‘‘I came down to camp because 1
wanted to sec if 1 could play Division
I,” Larson said.
Larson not only proved to himself
that he could play, but also proved it
to the Nebraska coaching staff.
Huskcr junior varsity . football
coach Shane Thorcll said Larson was
offered a scholarship based on his
performance at camp.
“We had junior films of him and
looking at him in camp wc could see
he had all the tools to play Division I
football,” Thorell said. “So we let
him know at that time how interested
we were in him.”
Nebraska on-campus recruiter
Dave Gillespie said offering scholar
ships based on a player’s perform
ance in Nebraska’s camps is rare.
Larson, who signed a letter of in
tent in spring 1989, said the realities
of college football were shocking at
first.
“It was overwhelming at first,”
he said. “Some of these guys are
pretty big. Sometimes when you line
up against them, you can beat them
with good technique, how you move,
and good footwork -- other times you
can’t. It was a big challenge. It’s a big
challenge to any freshman coming in
because they throw a lot at you right
away.
“The first two weeks arc like a
judging period. It’s a big adjustment
for people here because you have to
be perfect. You have to play just like
it was diagramed.”
Thorcll said he thinks Larson will
be a “fine player.”
“He’s had a few nagging inju
ries,” Thorcll said. “He had a thigh
bruise and some sickness that’s
slowed him the last couple weeks.
Down the road, he’ll be able to help
us. He’s got the athletic ability.”
Gauging how long it will be until
Larson plays with the varsity is diffi
cult, Thorcll said.
“If he would work hard and there
were injuries on varsity, maybe he
could move up sometime between the
middle and end of this sdason. If he
has a good spring, they may look at
him for next fall,” Thorcll said.
“He’ll definitely play a lot for three
years, I know that.”
“My main concern is to help my
See LARSON on 10
Bad experience causes
writer to be skeptical
Most people would be happy to
go to Minneapolis this weekend to
see the Nebraska-Minnesota foot
ball game. Especially if they were
treated to pressbox seats, free din
ner and having the trip paid for by
the Daily Nebraskan.
But not me. Not even close.
But don’t get me wrong. 1 enjoy
covering the Comhuskcrs, and the
people that run the Mctrodome arc
great to work with - at least from
what 1 know. But 1 guess everyone
has a few bad experiences in his or
her past that affects the perception
of a place.
A few years ago this month, I
had been working for the DN about
three weeks when my sports editor
assigned me to trek on up to the
twin cities and cover a men’s
gymnastics meet. It was an Olym
pic team trial, and there were three
or four Huskers competing for
spots on the team.
We were also to cover the Okla
homa-Minncsota game while we
were there, which was the follow
ing night at the Mctrodome.
Another sportswriter and ] left
late Thursday afternoon, and al
ready the problems began. He
drove a small truck with a manual
transmission. At that time, I had
...— ..»L_I___
never driven a stick-shift, which
meant he would have to drive the
entire way - eight hours. /
Rich, the other writer, said he
had made arrangements for us to
stay with the University of Minne
sota chapter of his fraternity, so the
DN wouldn't have to pick up the
lab for a hotel room.
r~.....1
The paper was pretty cheap
back then, ya know ...
“No problem,” Rich assured
me. “I didn’t talk to the house
president, but I talked to some guy
named Steve, and he said it would
be no problem.”
• If this would have been a
movie; there would have been
ominous, foreshadowing music
after that comment
We rolled into Minnesota about
4 a.m. Friday, and the temperature
See GREEN on 10