Football team
is still rusty,
Osborne says
By Mitch Sherman
Staff Reporter _
Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne has
watched his Comhuskers sputter the past cou
ple of practices.
And, Osborne said, he’s a little bit con
cerned.
“I’d be really apprehensive if we had to play
today or tomorrow,” Osborne said. “We’re just
not very fine-tuned in a lot of things.”
Osborne said he would like to see the speed
of play increase during the next few days.
“The execution needs to pick up,” he said.
“The tempo needs to pick up.
“We’re not practicing with the precision we
need. Right now, I wish things were a little
crisper.”
Osborne said he didn’t think the lackluster
play was related to injuries.
“Right now, I don t see any major injuries
that will hold us back,” Osborne said. “Some
times at this time of year you will already have
key players out for the season. I don’t see that.”
First-string quarterback Tommie Frazier
returned Wednesday after leaving practice ear
ly Tuesday with a sore back.
“He didn’t throw deep, but he did throw
some," Osborne said. “I’m fairly confident
he’ll be full-speed in a couple of days.”
Calvin Jones, who is aggravated by a bruised
heel, left practice early, Osborne said.
He said Jones’ heel would have to improve
in order for him to play in Saturday’s scrim
mage. .
See OSBORNE on 13
Tennis team set
for year despite
troubled spring
By Matt Woody
Staff Reporter__ _
Even though its ranks are a bit thinner than
last year, the Nebraska men's tennis team isn’t
ready to call it a match.
After a controversial spring in which three
scholarship players were removed from the
team, coach Kerry McDermott sought a change
in attitude.
“We had some problems last year with re
spect and discipline," he said.
The problems surfaced when senior Karl
Falkland was removed from the team early in
Big Eight competition. Falkland later rejoined
the team.
But the attitude problems continued,
McDermott said, culminating in his removal of
scholarship players Mike Gare ia, Jan Anderson
and Anthony Cunningham at the end of the
season.
Anderson went to the University of Arizona
while Garcia headed to the University of Ten
nessee, McDermott said.
See TENNIS on 13
Travis Keying/DM
Nebraska quarterback Ben Rutz stretches before Wednesday’s practice. Rutz, who tore the anterior cruciate
ligament in his right knee, is on schedule to return to full speed two weeks earlier than expected.
Quarterback on the mend
Rutz s recovery ahead of schedule but not over
By Jeff Grieech
Senior Reporter
He came to the Nebraska football
program as one of the most decorated prep
quarterbacks in Comhusker history, but
things haven't gone exactly as Ben Rutz
planned.
First, Rutz, a 6-foot-1-inch, 185-pound
redshirt freshman from Oklahoma City,
entered the program with another high
school All-American, Tommie Frazier.
Rutz was a SuperPrep, Blue Chip and
Super Recruiting Illustrated All-American
and was (Hie of 5-Alive's top 10 players of
the year, but it was Frazier who got the
chance to make an impact on the Husker
program when he earned the starting job
midway through the 1992 season.
Rutz redshirted and watched Frazier
and the rest of his Husker teammates from
the sidelines.
Then after an impressive spring
practice last year, Rutz tore the anterior
cruciate ligament in his right knee while
making a cut in the Huskers’ second
spring scrimmage.
In a matter of seconds, Rutz went from
challenging for the starting quarterback
job to fighting just to play.
“I did it while I was trying to make
something out of nothing on a broken
down pass play,” Rutz said. “At first I
thought I hurt it on the hit but after I
watched the films I saw it go out by itself
on a cut about 10 yards down field.”
The injury was more serious than just a
torn anterior cruciate, Husker trainer
George Sullivan said.
Along with the tom ACL, Rutz also
had cartilage damage to the knee and
injured his medial collateral ligament.
Rutz had surgery on April 20, knowing
he might not play another season at
Nebraska. But he was determined to
prevent that from happening.
“I was just out of my redshirt year for
spring ball and then my knee went, and it
was just like another blow that knocked
me right back down again," Rutz said. “I
made up my mind I was going to work
hard to come back.”
Although he was determined to return,
Rutz’s recovery was slowed by the
— II
Balls that I feel like I
am throwing 35 yards
are falling 10 yards
short.
—Rutz
NU football player
99 ~
cartilage damage to his knee.
Sullivan said the rehabilitation had to
wait until the cartilage damage was
repaired and healed.
After his rehabilitation started, though,
Rutz excelled like he had on the field
during spring football.
Rutz said it took three weeks before he
could start doing exercises with his leg
and three months before he could start
jogging again, but he refused to let the
injury keep his spirits down.
See RUTZ on 13
Nee s basketball program develops troubling trend
Nebraska men’s basketball coach
Danny Nee didn’t seem too disap
pointed when he found out that Amos
Gregory, his only returning center,
had transferred to Ball State.
After all, Gregory was, at best, a
marginal player last year.
Or, as Nee told a group of boosters
in Omaha last season, Gregory was a
“big disappointment. . .overweight
and lazy.
Now, does anyone wonder why
Gregory left Nebraska?
Certainly, Gregory didn’t leave just
because of Nee’s comment.
AaNee said, “I iust think (Grego
ry) never felt comfortable in the pro
gram.”
Imagine that. Nee tells boosters—
and subsequently the entire state of
Nebraska — that Gregory is over
weight, lazy and a disappointment,
and Gregory somehow doesn’t feel
comfortable here. Go figure.
But on a broader level, Gregory’s
in Nee’s program.
Since 1987, six scholarship play
ers have left Nee’s program before
their eligibility expired. Since 1991,
five underclassmen—including Jose
Ramos, Tony Farmer, Michael
Hughes, Andre Woolridge and Gre
gory —have flown the Husker hoops
coop.
Individually, the loss of each play
er wasn’t a huge blow to Nee. But
lump them together, and it’s obvious
that the departures are a product of the
structure of Nee’s program.
Put simply, Nee has been snakebit
by his own philosophy.
Ever since he arrived in 1986, Nee
has made it a point to make Nebraska
basketball a players’ program.
Under Nee, players are put in a
dangerous position—above the pro
gram.
In other words, when the players
Todd
Cooper
get NCAA warm-ups and shirts—as
they did before this year’s NCAA
tournament — they’re made to be
superstars, even if they end up losing
by 30 points.
And if they want black uniforms
— even though black is nowhere re
motely close to a school color — as
they did last year, they get them. No
questions asked. No traditions fol
lowed.
Then, with that kind of pampering,
if they don’t get their way, they take
off.
Case in point, Andre Woolridge.
Woolridge, who announced that
he was transferring to Iowa in April,
dtcm l minx ne was getting enougn
time last season.
is play, Woolridge obviously
didnrt deserve any more playing time
than he was getting.
But Woolridge also obviously be
lieved he did.
It’s easy to blame Woolridge’s
departure on Woolridge himself. Af
ter all, he didn’t deal with the reality
of the situation—namely, that Jamar
Johnson was a much better point guard
and deserved most of the playing rime
last season.
But, then again, how can you blame
Woolridge for thinking he didn’t get
a fair shake?
All Woolridge heard comine in—
from Nee and otters — was that he
was one of the best point guards Ne
braska had ever recruited. Considered
the No. 2 point guard in the nation by
many scouts in h igh school, Woolridge
was projected to be Nebraska's savior
at point guard.
aav wmi avvivy i**v »**•«
handle it,” Nee said. “He’ll make an
immediate impact on our team.”
When he didn’t make an impact—
and when his playing time disinte
grated — Woolridge whined and
moaned like anyone who’s pampered
and spoiled out of high school. And
when it looked like things weren’t
about to go his way, he headed to
Iowa.
Again, Nee can’t be entirely
blamed for Woolridge’s departure.
But when a coach pumps up a
player to be something bigger than the
program has ever had, that player
suddenly thinks he’s in control.
So when he doesn’t get the playing
time he thinks he deserves, he walks.
Or flies.
Remember Ramos?
The slick-talking point guard from
Miami was touted to be Nebraska’s
best floor leader two years ago.
See COOPER on 13