Sports
Wednesday, November 29, 1995 . Page 7
Tim Pearson
Senior Frazier
looks forward
to pro career
Tommie Frazier didn’t bother to
watch San Diego defeat Oakland
during Monday night football.
Instead he was too busy writing
papers for class.
But come May when he will
graduate, Frazier can forget about
writing papers.
Instead he can continue adding
to his storybook career while play
ing professional football.
And he can add another chapter
if he follows the example of a fel
low alumnus from the Big Eight
quarterback club.
Former Colorado quarterback
Kordell Stewart has become a dan
gerous weapon for the Pittsburgh
Steelers — but not as a quarter
back. Instead Stewart, who threw
for a school-record 6,481 yards at
Colorado, has lined up at wide re
ceiver and running back.
Stewart, a second-round draft
pick, has rushed for a touchdown,
passed for a touchdown and caught
a touchdown pass. If Stewart can
do that, then Frazier can too.
“It’s hard to say what these teams
are looking for these days,” Frazier
said. “Maybe they want to go with
a traditional drop-back passer;
maybe they’ll go for a guy who can
break a big run or get out of the
pocket.”
But what about playing running
back, wide receiver or even
cornerback?
“If that’s what they ask me to
do,” Frazier said, “I guess I’ll have
to do it.”
And if the National Football
League doesn’t want Frazier, he’s
open to a shot in the Canadian Foot
ball League. Three former Husker
quarterbacks, Turner Gill, Steve
Taylor and Keithen McCant, have
tested the waters in the CFL after
being selected in the NFL draft.
In 1984, Gill was drafted by the
New York Jets in the third round of
the supplemental draft. Taylor was
drafted by Indianapolis in the 12th
round in 1989, and McCant was
drafted in the 12th round by Cleve
land in 1992.
Option quarterbacks haven’t
been looked upon highly by NFL
teams, so the odds may be against
Frazier.
“If the opportunity comes, I’m
going to take it happily,” Frazier
said. “I’m not going to shrug it off.”
Frazier came back from blood
clots last season to lead Nebraska.
IfNFL scouts have any doubts about
Frazier, he has something to say
about that.
“Take a play from each of the
games,” he said, “and there’s your
highlight film.”
There’s still room remaining on
that highlight film for Frazier’s
possible professional career.
“I don’t know if I can bust it up
like Barry Sanders,” he said.
But it sure would be nice to find
out.
Pearson Is a senior news-editorial
major and the Dally Nebraskan sports
editor.
Frazier: I am the best college player
By Trevor Parks
Senior Reporter
After playing in 11 games and
avoiding talk about possibly winning
the Heisman Trophy, Nebraska quar
terback Tommie Frazier broke his si
lence on the issue Tuesday.
And what Frazier said may earn
him the Heisman Trophy on Dec. 9 at
the Downtown Athletic Club in New
York City.
After looking at everything I think
I have an excellent chance of winning
it,” Frazier said. “I went out this year,
and I did everything 1 could. I feel that
I am the best college player out there
who does the most for his team.”
This season, Frazier has led his
team to an 11-0 record and a No. 1
ranking. The senior from Palmetto,
Fla., has rushed for 14 touchdowns
and 604 yards. He also has passed for
17 touchdowns and 1,362 yards with
four interceptions.
But Frazier said his performance
this year shouldn’t be looked at as
being important; rather voters should
look at his career effort. In Frazier’s
career he has been involved in a school
record 79 touchdowns and has rushed
for 1,955 yards while throwing for
3,521.
“You can always have one guy who
peaks one year,” he said, “but if you
look at a guy who was successful over
a four-year period, that should really
come out to be the best college player.”
Frazier’s 32-3 record as a starter
should stand out, he said. His only
losses were to Florida State (twice)
and Iowa State. That record could
have been even better if Frazier hadn’t
missed eight games last season be
cause oi oiooa ciots.
If Heisman voters were still waver
ing on whom to pick, Frazier said his
record should persuade them.
“I just want them to look at things
I’ve done on the field,” Frazier said.
“Just look at the things I’ve done this
year and look at the things I’ve done
the past two to three years. If that isn’t
enough to convince them, then noth
ing will.”
In comparing himself to quarter
See HEISMAN on 8
Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier gives Coach Tom
Osborne a hug as he is introduced before the Oklahoma
game.
Jay Calderon/DN
Nebraska center Pyra Aarden goes for the block against Sam
Houston State’s Amy Shelron Tuesday night.
Beck unhappy despite
win over Sam Houston
By Gregg Madsen
Staff Reporter
Despite improving to 3-0 on the
season with an 88-65 victory over
Sam Houston State Tuesday night at
the Bob Devaney Sports Center, Ne
braska women’s basketball coach
Angela Beck was less than pleased.
“I thought this was a game where
we really didn’t dictate much of the
action,” Beck said. “I felt we played
their game most of the game and was
real disappointed in our first half. We
were not focused tonight.”
The Huskers struggled in the open
ing minutes until junior forward Tina
McClain hit her eighth point of her 18
point performance and gave Nebraska
a 12-10 lead.
mat lead was stretcned to eignt
points when sophomore forward Anna
DeForge hit two shots in a span of 22
seconds and made the score 20-12 and
forced Sam Houston State coach Vic
Schaefer to call his first timeout.
“Nebraska played a great ball
game,” Schaefer said. “They did some
things to us early in the first half to
frustrate our freshman point guard.”
The Lady Kats trimmed the lead to
seven points with 1:34 left in the first
half. But four quick points from
DeForge and three free throws from
senior center Pyra Aarden gave the
Huskers to a 13-point, 44-31 lead at
halftime.
The closest the Lady Kats came to
the Huskers was 11 points in the first —
minute of the second half.
The Huskers ran the lead to 20
points on several occasions, led by
McClain’s tough inside play and
DeForge’s hot shooting.
DeForge, who leads the Huskers in
scoring after three games averaging
21 points a game, led the Huskers with
20 points, followed by McClain, who
tied her career high at 18 and added a
team-high 10 rebounds. Aarden had
10 points and seven rebounds.
Although the Huskers had three
players scoring in double figures and
won their third game in a row by more
than 14 points, the team remained on
the court after the game and ran 10
wind sprints.
We had a goal to not give up more
than 55 points,” Beck said of the con
ditioning. “And so we made a deci
sion to run for every point given up
after 55.
“I think you have to set a standard
for yourself, and I felt my team lacked
motivation at having to play defense,
so I just instilled a little motivation
that will be positive reinforcement for
future performance.”
Husker depth, maturity shape drive to Final Four
By Trevor Parks
Senior Reporter
For Billie Winsett the time has Fi
nally come to put last season’s disap
pointment behind her.
As a junior, Winsett watched as
Penn State came into the NU Coli
seum ana nanaea
the Cornhuskers
their lone loss of the
season in the
NCAA Mideast
Regional final.
Now, four days
before the Ne
braska volleyball
team’s first NCAA
match since then,
winseu, now a se
nior, said this year’s team would be
better prepared.
“We want it more this year,”
Winsett said. “Maybe last year we
were playing not to lose instead of to
win. We’re out there this year to win it
all.”
The Huskers, the No. 1 seed in the
Central region, get their first test Sat
urday night against the winner of
Wednesday night’s Indiana-George
Mason match.
For the Huskers to go to the Final
Four at Amherst, Mass., they must win
a region with three Final Four teams
from last year.
Senior Allison Weston said Ne
braska should make the Final Four
this season because it had been con
centrating on more than just hitting.
Weston, who was voted the Big Eight
Tournament most valuably player for
the second strai ght year Saturday, said
this year’s defense may be the best
since she arrived at Nebraska.
“We’re so much more balanced
this year in every skill,” Weston said.
“I know we work hard in practice and
especially this year on defense. We
really want our defense to be good,
and that is what is going to win it for
us.”
Depth may be another key in the
Huskers’ run toward a national title.
Nebraska has been using 10 play
ers in every match, compared to only
using seven in every match last sea
son.
Stacie Maser, Jen McFadden, Kate
Crnich and Lisa Reitsma all have
played vital roles. Last season,
McFadden tore a knee ligament in the
Huskers’ match at Illinois. Maser
missed the season with a tom anterior
cruciate ligament. Crnich played in 24
matches, but only 48 games, and
Reitsma played in 18 matches and 30
games.
Last season, Nebraska relied mainly
on Weston, Winsett, Maria Hedbeck,
Kelly Aspegren, Peggy Meyer,Christy
Johnson and Stephanie Clerc.
Weston said she noticed a distinct
difference on the court because Coach
Terry Pettit had been using so many
players.
“It seems like more people are con
tributing to the success this year,”
Weston said. “In the years past we had
maybe five or six people we could
depend on, but this year we’re so
deep, and when we look to the bench
there are so many people that can add
a lotto it.”
Two more key players are fresh
men Jaime Krondak and Fiona Nepo.
Krondak has replaced Cmich at times
and has one of the best serves on the
team.
“All year long we knew we were
going to need them at this point to play
a big part in a match,” Winsett said.
“As soon as you start thinking of a
player as a freshman, you forgive their
mistakes, and then you don’t force
them to be at a level that they should
be.”
See NCAA on 8
