Sports
Osborne: Academics, kicking game improving
»y unrts noptensperger
Senior Reporter
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne took
some lime away from football to talk
about academics at Tuesday’s weekly
press conference.
Osborne said he is pleased with the
programs of Roger Grooters, director
of academic programs, and Keith
Zimmer, athlctic/carcer counselor.
“We feel we have good students
here,” Osborne said. ‘‘I know a lot of
people from lime to time maintain
you can’t do well academically and
participate in college athletics.”
Only two of this year’s 156 foot
ball players had a grade point average
below 2.0 and both were borderline,
he said. Twelve players had GPA’s
above 3.55 and the team average is a
2.72.
“The overall program is really
where I would like to see it,” Osborne
said. "Of course nothing is perfect,
but it’s coming along pretty well.”
Another aspect of the football
program that is coming along is the
kicking game, Osborne said.
“We’ve been fairly dominant on
both sides of the ball, but the thing
that jumps out at me more than any
thing else is kicking,” he said.
Nebraska’s return teams are aver
aging 12.5 yards a punt return and 35
yards on kickoffs. The opposition is
gaining 16 yards on kickoffs and the
punt average is nil.
Osborne said he also is pleased
with the Huskers’ low number of
penalties. In the first three games
Nebraska has been flagged for just 60
yards in penalties. That is highly
unusual, Osborne said.
“I can’t ever remember when we’ve
averaged that few,” he said. “We’ve
had a lot of games where we’ve had
well over 60 yards in a half.”
Several injuries that have been
bothering the Huskers in past weeks
are beginning to heal, he said.
I-backs Lcodis Flowers and Scott
Baldwin, and quarterback Mike Grant
all have practiced this week and,
Osborne said, they all have improved.
‘ ‘Out of those three, the only one I
would say might still be a little bit
uncertain as to how well he will be
will be Grant,” he said. “He can
play, there’s no question about it. The
question is whether he will be fall
speed.
“If he can be close to 100 percent
by game time than we’ll start him and 1
play him a good deal. If he’s not we
won’t”
One player guaranteed to return is
wingback Nate Turner. Turner broke
his collarbone in the second day of
fall camp.
‘‘Nate Turner will play some,”
Osborne said. ‘‘I think there’s still
some apprehension (from the train
ers). He needs to get hit a couple of
times.”
Besides Grant, Osborne said an
other player who may be question
able is middle guard Paul Brungardt,
who woke up with a swollen knee on
Sunday after the Minnesota game.
‘‘We’re probably in a little better
shape physically than we have been
at any time this year,” Osborne said.
Nebraska leads the Big Eight in
yards per pass attempt. In fact, in a
rating done by the Big Eight, Husker
quarterback Mickey Joseph is first in
passing efficiency.
‘‘That’s the key thing to me,”
Osborne said, (is) what happens when
you throw it?’
‘‘I know I’m a minority of one in
the slate that believes that’s at all
important.”
Nebraska’s depth chart
SE Jon Bostick 6 2 105 Jr.
Dan Pleasant 5-9 175 Jr
Mark Dowse 60 100 Jr.
LT Tom Punt 60 285 Sr.
Steve Engstrom 63 290 Sr.
Brent Pick 65 265 $r.
LG Jim Wanek 8-1 245 Sr.
Jeff Chaney 6 2 250 Jr
Scott Peterson 6-4 24$ So
C David Edea) 62 260 Sr.
Bill Zieqelbein 65 240 Jr
Terris chomey 61 250 So
RG Wifi Shields 6-2 260 So
Erik Wiegert 6-4 270 Jr
Chris Zyzda 62 255 So
RT Brian Boerboom 67 285 Jr
Terry Eyfnan 66 265 Sr.
Bay Riefenrath 65 280 Jr
TE Wm Washington 8-2 245 So
Chris Garrett 6-3 240 Jr
Daryl Leise 6 2 230 Jr.
QBMjke Grant 62 210 Jr
W6ckey Joseph 611 180 Jr
Tom Haase 60 180 Jr
FB Omar Soto 5-11 220 Jr
Lance Lewis 60 225 So
TimJohnk 610 215 Jr
IB Leodis Flowers 611 200 Jr
Scott Baldwin 61 200 So
Derek Brown 610 175 Fr.
WB Nate Turner 8 2 225 Jr.
Tyrone Hughes 5 9 175 So
Brad Devall 5-9 180 Sr
LOLB Travis Hlfl 62 225 So.
David White 62 225 So
Dan Svehla 60 230 Sr.
LT Joe Sims 6 3 280 Sr.
Lb Andre Anderson 6-4 260 Sr.
Paul Brungardt 67 270 Sr.
MG Pat Engelbert 62 250 Jr.
Greg Koallner 63 280 Jr.
Mike Jefferson 62 280 Fr.
RT Kenny Walker 6-4 240 Sr.
Brian Brown 6 6 260 Jr.
David Noonan 63 265 Fr.
ROLB Mike Croel 63 225 Sr
Dan Svehla 6-0 230 Sr
RickWendland 61 215 Sr
SLB Mke Petko 6-2 230 Jr.
Matt Peniand 6-0 220 So.
Troy Branch 6-2 220 Fr.
WLB Patty ranee 62 240 Sr
Mke Anderson 61 230 Fr.
PaulWightman 61 220 So.
LCB Bruce Pickens 5 11 190 Sr
JonCrippen 5-10 170 Sr.
Robert Hicks 61C 185 Sr.
RCB Tahaun Lewis 611 170 Sr
Tyrone Legette 69 100 Jr
Eric Anderson 68 175 Sr
SS Reggie Cooper 6 3 210 Sr
Curtis Cotton 6-1 210 Jr
Brian Pollard 610 190 So.
FS Jyrone Byrd 611 165 So.
Steve Carmer 61 205 So
Will Thomas 60 175 Jf
John Bruce/Daily Nebraskan
Osborne says team needs
to improve in some areas
From Staff Reports
Nebraska held a two-hour con
trolled scrimmage Tuesday in prepa
ration for the Oregon State game this
Saturday, Coach Osborne said.
I-back Scott Baldwin reinjured his
toe and left practice early. Offensive
guard Dave Jensen missed practice
with a sore leg.
The Huskers are guarding against
any concentration gaps with the pos
sibility of another big scoring gap this
week, Osborne said.
“It (the concentration) has been
pretty good,” he said.
Despite a near-perfect perform
ance against Minnesota Saturday,
Osborne said the Huskers could do
better in some areas.
“We hope to sec the turnovers
diminish, the blocking improve, the
throwing improve,” he said.
Nebraska’s first two quarterbacks,
Mickey Joseph and Kcithen McCant
each threw one interception Satur
day, though Joseph was 7 for 11 pass
ing..
Quarterback Mike Grant probably
will start this Saturday to make up for
lost playing time. He was held out of
the Northern Illinois and Minnesota
f;ames because of a sore knee suf
cred in the Baylor game.
I-back Leodis Rowers should re
turn for Saturday’s game after miss
ing last week. Wingback NateTumcr
also practiced the entire scrimmage.
Osborne said the Huskers may not
have the fortune they enjoyed against
Minnesota.
“It may not go as well,’’ Osborne
said. “We had a lot of good field
position Saturday.
“What we’re going to look at is
effort and execution.’’
rettit: ratigue trom tournaments
contributed to Huskers’ loss
NCAA
Volleyball
T°P20 Record
1 Nebraska
2 UCLA
3 Pacific
4 Texas
5 Stanford
6 Cal-Santa
Barbara
7 Hawaii
8 Ohio St.
9 New Mexico
10 Penn St.
11 San Jose St.
12 Texas Tech
13 Brigham
Young
14 Illinois
15 Long Beach
St.
16Pepperdine
17Lousiana St.
18 Pittsburgh
19 Kentucky
20 Southern Cal
John Bruc«/D«iiyNebraaknn
rrom oiarc nepons
Nebraska’s volleyball team dropped
to No. 2 in the American Volleyball
Coaches Association Top 20. But in
the season’s first NCAA poll, which
was released Tuesday, the Comhuskers
were voted No. 1.
Saturday, the Huskers lost their
first matchof the year to No. 3-rankcd
Pacific in the Illinois Invitational, after
rallying to beat No. 14-ranked Illi
nois the night before.
Nebraska coach Terry Petlitcalled
the Illinois match one of the most
emotionally draining Nebraska has
ever played and the critical match of
the tournament.
* ‘Our preparation was pretty much
limited to Illinois prior to the tourna
ment,” Pettit said. “I really feel that
personnel-wise and talent-wise we’re
in pretty good shape against Pacific,
but they were in a situation where
they could spend the week preparing
for us.”
Last week, the team began to feel
the fatigue of having played in three
tournaments against six top-20 teams,
Peuit said, but he doesn’t regret sched
uling such powerful competition.
"1 figured if we could win a ma
jority of the matches against top-10
teams on the road that would be great,’ ’
he said. “But that wasn’t the reason
we did it.”
|-- if mammti'm*, A1 schaben/Oaily Nebraskan
i-back Derek Brown is Nil’s leading rushing with 192 yards after gaining 120 yards against
Minnesota on Saturday.
I-back’s first day is full of yards
By Paul Domeier
Senior Reporter
Starling as Nebraska’s I-back is
something to call home about. So
when Derek Brown found out Fri
day after practice that he would be
starting Saturday against Minne
sota, he did.
‘‘At first I was nervous and I
had to give a call to my mother,”
Brown said. “She helps make me
relax.”
Brown, a freshman from La
Habia, Calif., who had to sit out a
year because of Proposition 48,
relaxed enough to gain 120 yards
rushing and score three touchdowns
in the Comhuskcrs’ 56-0 victory
over the Golden Gophers.
Nebraska coach Tom Osborne
gave Brown plenty of chances to
get rid of his butterflies. Brown
returned the opening kickoff, had
five carries in the first six plays and
ran the ball 13 times in the first
quarter.
In fact, Brown had a lot of work
for a 5-foot-10,175-poundcr, even
one so muscular. He had 21 carries
and two receptions, hurled himself
through the air for one touchdown
and even recorded a tackle after an
interception.
Yet Brown said playing against
the Gophers wasn’t as rough as he
expected.
“I thought they’d come out a
little more aggressive than they did
and be a lot tougher than they were,”
he said.
Not bad for a third-string player
who became the first freshman to
start as I-back for Nebraska since
Monte Anthony in 1974.
Brown was starting in place of
injured backs Lcodis Flowers and
Scou Baldwin. Fourth-string I-back
George Achola followed Brown
over the century mark with 123
yards.
“For us lo come in and make
oul 100 yards looks good for (run
ning backs) coach (Frank) Solich,"
Brown said.
Osborne said the Minnesota game
doesn’t give Nebraska an exces
sive number of I-backs.
“You don’t ever have loo many
1-backs,’’ Osborne said. “You can
lose two or three in a quarter.”
But if Flowers recovers from
his injured knee and Baldwin re
turns from his turf toe as expected
for Saturday’s game against Ore
gon State, Brown could find him
self out of the rotation, having to
wait his turn for playing lime.
Brown, Nebraska’s leading
rusher with 192 yards, said he’s not
worried about that. Wins come first,
he said, not carries.
“If I don’t get any next game, I
don’t get any,” he said.