Sports
Pettit foresees tough opener for Huskers
By John Adkisson
Staff Reporter_
No patsies allowed,
That is the rule the Nebraska
volleyball team may well see posted
throughout Memorial Coliseum in
Lexington, Ky., this weekend.
The Comhuskers, ranked third
in the preseason American Volley
ball Coaches Association poll, will
open their season in the Kentucky
Kickoff Classic against three other
teams in or near the Top 20: Wis
consin, Texas Tech and Kentucky.
Nebraska Coach Terry Pettit said
the tournament field is strong and
his team will need to play well to
win all'lhree games.
“We are definitely going to have
to play quality volleyball to win,”
Pettit said. “But if we stay organ
ized, we can put ourselves in that
position.”
The Huskers will play three
games in two days in the round
robin tournament. They will open
against Wisconsin and Texas Tech
on Saturday, and then face Ken
tucky Sunday.
Nebraska defeated Wisconsin
in one meeting last year, beating
the Badgers in four games in Lin
coln. But the Badgers return three
starters, including All-Big Ten
selection Arlisa Hagan, who regis
tered 478 kills last season.
Pettit said Wisconsin, follow
ing the death of Coach Steve Lowe,
is a team that may be emotionally
ready for Nebraska.
“We have to prepare ourselves
to face a team that could be emo
tionally charged,” he said. “As far
as we’re concerned we’re getting
ready for a very lough volleyball
team.”
Texas Tech finished last season
30-3 and ended its season losing to
Final Four participant Louisiana
State in the NCAA Tournament.
The Lady Raiders are rated 20th by
the AVCA, and return four starters
from last season’s team.
“They are a good ball-control
team,” Pettit said. “We don’t know
a whole lot about them, but we do
know that they return a lot of people
from last season.”
Pettit said Kentucky, which just
missed being rated by the AVCA,
is a “well-coached” team that will
“play at the same level throughout
the match.”
The Wildcats also qualified for
last season’s NCAA Tournament,
winning a match before losing to
Texas in the South Regional.
Nebraska freshmen Kim Tonni
ges and Christy Johnson will sec
some playing time, Pettit said.
Pettit said he will also experi
ment with a 6-2 offensive scheme,
which uses two setters. But that
doesn’t mean he is abandoning
Nebraska’s standard 5-1 offense,
See OPENER on 9
^JHH
^ Mich#H« Paulman/Daily Nebraskan
Nikki Strieker dives for the ball during Nebraska’s exhibition against Nebraska alumnae
Saturday, with Eileen Shannon in the background.
Hughes takes style to split end
By John Gardner
Staff Reporter_ _
Hidden beneath Tyrone Hughes’
football helmet, shaved into the
hair on the back of his head, is the
silhouette of a woman.
This season, Hughes, a junior
kick returner for Nebraska, will be
taking that flamboyance outside.
He has been moved from wing
back to split end and is second
behind Jon Bostick. Hughes said
he knows why.
“They moved me to utilize my
speed at that position,” he said.
“(Nate) Turner and (Vincent)
Hawkins took over the (wingback)
position because they arc bigger
and can block the linebackers bel
ter.”
“I don’t like blocking too much.”
Hughes said he plans to catch a
lot of balls this year.
“I’m not going to say we’ll pass
more than we’ll run, but we will
pass when we need to,” Hughes
said. “We plan on opening drives
with the pass to open up the de
fense and enable us to run.”
In 1990, Hughes led the nation
in kickoff returns for the first four
games and eventually finished third.
But that didn’t exactly change his
thinking.
“It felt good, of course,’’Hughes
said. “But I had to think of the team
and slay on top of my game.”
Hughes recorded 523 kick re
turn yards, breaking the school
record held by his friend Dana
Brinson.
When Hughes was a freshman,
he backed up Brinson, and imme
diately their similarities were no
ticed. Hughes said he didn’t espe
cially like this.
“It was real hard being com
pared to him,” he said. “We were
best friends and many people said
I was better than him.
“I guess I concentrated more
than Dana, but we’re two different
players, that’s all.”
Brinson wasn’t the only player
Hushes was compared to.
“When I was first coming up,
some of the veteran players even
called me ‘Baby Rocket’ and that
bothered me,” he said.
DN ttw photo
Tyrone Hughes breaks a tackle last season against
Baylor. Hughes is making the switch from wingback to
split end.
The “Baby Rocket” tag was in
reference to former Notre Dame
standout Raghib “Rocket” Ismail.
Hughes was heavily recruited
his senior year in high school.
Oklahoma, Louisiana Slate, Min
nesota and Tulanc wooed him as
well as Nebraska. Hughes said he
chose the Huskcrs for several rea
sons, one of which was the style of
offense.
“When I was in high school (at
New Orleans St. Augustine), we
ran a wing-T offense and I noticed
Nebraska was doing a lot of the
same thing,” he said
Hughes also said he fell ihc
coaches were more honest with
him.
“They really stressed academ
ics and seriously let me know where
I stood, what my chances were,” he
said.
Hughes quickly gained status as
a return man. After redshirting in
4988, he led the Big Eight in 1989
with a 15.1-yard per return aver
age. Hughes also shared the wing
back position with Turner in 1989
and 1990.
^ee HUGHES on 10
Top ten reasons
Nebraska ought to win
championship in order to ..
I’m sick and tired of hearing con
stant talk about why the Nebraska
football team won’t win the national
championship this year.
I hear my fraternity brothers argu
ing whether the Comhuskers will lose
either three or four games this year,
and my fellow sportswriters can’t
decide if the Huskers belong in the
middle or the bottom of the Top 25.
Ridiculous.
Now maybe this California kid
hasn’t lived in (he Midwest long enough
to realize the Husker tradition of los
ing the big games, but 1 think Ne
braska has what it takes to win it all
this year.
So I have compiled my lop 10
reasons why the Comhuskers should
give all they ’ vc got to bring home the
national championship.
The Comhuskers should win it all
so that_
10. Nebraska can cure itself of the
common disease, January bowl gamc
itis: The fear of a college football
team to win a big game on New
Year’s Day.
Jeff
Singer
9. The football players can drop
previously challenging popular courses
such as Underwater Basket Weaving
101 and Advanced Gum Chewing
311 to now accommodate an equally
difficult course to help them with
their new national championship rings:
Ring Wearing 101 — so many choices,
so few fingers.
8. Tom Osborne can shed his title
as “the nation’s best coach not ever to
have won a national title despite having
some of the best talent and schedules
any head coach in the country dreams
of,” and leave that distinction to col
lege football’s humanitarian — Flor
ida State’s Bobby Bowden'.
7. After Nebraska wins the na
tional title, Husker Bob can retire and
we can rest our ears.
6. Defensive coordinator Charlie
McBride, whose defense gave up a
total of 117 points in nine quarters
against Colorado, Oklahoma and
Georgia Tech, doesn’t gel fired and
realize the only football vacancy that
will be offered to him is head equip
ment manager of the Broken Bow
Bearcats of the 10-and-under youth
football league.
5. Even if Nebraska has a weak
non-conference schedule as in the
past, people won’t look to the Husk
ers’ battles with Alaska A&M or Jerry’s
Kids and Sisters of the Poor as an
excuse for a good season.
4. When Bob Dcvancy hits the
bars, he has a different excuse besides
Nebraska not winning it all again.
3. Nebraskans can stop filling
Memorial Stadium to capacity every
Saturday hoping for a national cham
pionship and can start supporting the
equally popular sport on campus:
Women’s archery.
2. A Big Eight team can actually
be respected for winning a national
championship (sec Colorado’s 1990
fifth down and all of Oklahoma’s
titles that seem to follow with terms
on probation).
1. If football players receive free
cars, they can make reference to the
national championship on their per
sonalized license plates.
Remember Husker fans, national
championships arc to be taken seri
ously, humorous columns arc not.
Singer is a Junior news-editorial major
and Dally Nebraskan sports staff reporter.
