psbome makes mistake
Grant assumes reserve role
_ • .1_1. ___a l
Midway through tne second half
0f Nebraska’s game against Minne- :
sota Saturday, Comhusker coach !
Tom Osborne made a fatal mistake.
Osborne’s error occurred when he ,
went against his prior intentions and
decided to play quarterback Mike
Grant. Osborne’s intentions were
good - he said after the game that
Grant played because he doubted
Gerry Gdowski could stay healthy all
ypar - but his choice was not
Things would have been different
if Grant would have played during
Nebraska’s first two games. But in
stead, the highly touted sophomore
from Valrico, Fla., spent the begin
ning of the season on the sidelines
with the assumption that he was
going to redshirt.
That assumption ended abruptly
against Minnesota, as Grant trotted
onto the field in the fourth quarter.
His statistics were impressive. Grant
rushed for 32 yards on four carries
while passing for 34 yards, but that’s
insignificant.
What is significant is that he now
has to give up a year of eligibility for
a reserve role. That, in plain simple
terms, is stupid.
This year’s team already has
shown that it is not national champi
onship caliber. Nebraska is good, but
it’s a far-fetched dream to think that
the Comhuskers can compete with
the likes of Colorado, Notre Dame or
even Michigan.
With that thought in mind,
Osborne should have left Grant on the
sidelines. Let him learn this year
while watching Gdowski, and simu
late game-type conditions in prac
tice.
Granted, practice isn’t the same as
a game. Things have a tendency to
move much more slowly, and the
constant drone of coaches can’t be
heard during games.
But when the career of any player
is involved, particularly one who has
CHAMPIONS from Page 7
there,” he said.
Pettit said Novak also played a big
role against Stanford, recording 47
assists and five service aces.
Kentucky coach Kathy DeBoer
said Kruse was the main reason why
her team squandered away a two
I game lead.
Pittsburgh coach Sue Woodstra
said her team’s execution against
Nebraska was its worst performance
in the tournament.
The Huskers pounded the Pan
thers in three games behind freshman
Eileen Shannon, who set a school
record with 25 kills. Shannon also
tied the record for attacks in a five
game match with 77 against Ken
tucky.
With the victories this weekend,
Nebraska’s record improves to 9-0,
including a 7-0 home mark.
naa National Football League
stamped on his chest since the minute
he arrived on campus, more things
than the immediate future should be
considered.
Redshirting used to be standard at
Nebraska. Players would spend their
first year with the junior varsity, then
all disappear into obscurity while
redshirting.
Huskcr coaches argued that this
philosophy paid off, as players would
benefit from the year of maturity they
gained. That philosophy is sound.
The players who emerged for the
third season often didn’t look like the
same ones who formed the freshman
class two years before.
Beginning three seasons ago,
Nebraska’s redshirting policy began
to change. For the first time in the
Osborne era, a group of first-year
players were redshirted.
That policy has continued into this
season, as a select group of newcom
ers joined a large mass of second-year
players and sat out. Unfortunately,
Grant wasn’t one of them.
Maybe Osborne can prove the
skeptics wrong and show that he has a
top-ranked team. He definitely has a
top-notch quarterback in Grant, and
Gdowski is a steady performer.
But still the question remains:
Why would anyone, particularly a
highly regarded coach like Osborne,
pull an athlete out of a redshirt season
so he could be a backup? Particularly
if the athlete is destined to be a three
year starter, as Grant was until Satur
iay.
Perhaps the most difficult aspect
surrounding Osborne’s decision is
Lhe role that the other quarterbacks
will play. Apparently, Osborne
doesn’t have confidence in any of
them, as he could have continued to
play Mickey Joseph, who entered the
game before Grant, or taken along
a quarterback other than Grant and
2d him.
ebraska has several good reserve
quarterbacks. Joseph, despite being
inconsistent, has great potential, and
Kcithen McCant is a good passer.
The Huskcrs also have Jerry Dunlap,
who owns the dubious distinction of
being selected as the honorary cap
tain of this year’s all-waste team.
Some credit docs have to be ex
tended to Osborne. His point about
playing Grant this year so he doesn’t
have to start out with an inexperi
enced quarterback next season is a
good one, and the Husker coach
showed again that he is not afraid to
make decisions which are going to be
blasted.
But, the point remains, if Ne
braska wasn’t going to redshirt Grant,
it should have played him earlier in
the season. To pull a player out of a
redshirt year and have him run sev
eral meaningless plays in a 48-0
game is a mistake.
And a fatal one, at that.
Apel is a senior news-editorial major and
Is the Daily Nebraskan sports editor.
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