"***. !
Shannon Heffelfinger
NU player
travels far
for dreams
This Saturday, Joe Walker
returns to Baylor’s Floyd Casey
Stadium, the place where he had
hoped to realize a lifelong dream.
Two years ago, Walker, now a
Nebraska defensive back, com
mitted to the Baylor football
team.
A native ot Arlington, Texas,
Walker was excited about the
chance to don a green jersey, to
1 compete at a school that repre
sented his home state and, most
importantly, to run onto the field
in front of his mom.
The next thing he knew,
Baylor didn’t want him.
Walker didn’t make grades.
Too bad, the Bears said.
Dream over.
Walker, upset and embar
rassed,^.delayed his college
enrollment for a year. Walker
wasn’t on the field when Baylor
opened its season last fall.
Instead, Walker watched the
games on TV while other fresh
men ran onto the field, heard the
cheers and lived his dream.
“It was a very sad feeling,”
Walker said. “Sometimes, I
would just go home and cry late
at night in my bed.”
Frustrated but determined,
Walker refused to abandon his
goal of playing Division I foot
ball.
Aiiex wuxtuxig xiaru tu acxixeve
the grades he needed, Walker
began practicing with the
Huskers last spring against the
wishes of his mom, who Walker
described as “shaken” when he
gave up Waco for Lincoln.
“She was really sad to see me
leave and go so far away,” Walker
said. “She only wanted what was
best for me.”
Four games into the season,
Walker appears to have made the
right decision. Walker secured
the No. 2 spot at rover last week
end against No. 12 Kansas State.
Walker picked off KSU quarter
back Michael Bishop in the
fourth quarter and returned the
snag for a 71-yard touchdown.
“It’s a chip off my back to be
here,” Walker said. “I’m finally
doing what I love to do.”
Walker returns to the place
that no longer holds his dreams
Saturday when NU travels to
Waco.
One year later than he
thought he would, Walker will
run onto the field at Floyd Casey
Stadium.
But he will wear a red jersey.
And somewhere in the
stands, his mom will be smiling.
Heffelfinger is a sopho
more news-editorial major
and a Daily Nebraskan
assignment reporter.
£
___—„ ____ -
Ryan Soderlin/DN
NEBRASKA’S MANDY MONSON digs for the volleyball during the NU vs. CU volleyball game at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Wednesday night.
Colorado ends NUs 41-match home win streak
■ The home loss is NU’s
first-ever in Big 12
conference play.
By Shannon Heffelfinger
Assignment Reporter
One volleyball team played with
passion Wednesday night at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center.
- One team attacked its opponent
with power, swinging and hitting
around, through and over the hands
of opposing blockers. One team
drove its serves forcefully across the
net, capturing momentum at key
moments in the match. One team
won because it deserved to,
Nebraska coach Terry Pettit said.
And that team wasn’t the
Comhuskers.
No. 22 Colorado built a moun
tain of momentum, and the fifth
ranked Huskers collapsed under the
pressure, their 41-home match win
ning streak crumbling to the ground
with them. NU (13-3 overall and 4-1
in the league) suffered its first con
ference home loss in the 23-year his
tory of the program in front of a sea
son-high crowd of 5,432 at the
Devaney Center, falling to the
Buffaloes 11-15, 15-9, 15-7, 6-15,
15-8 in 214 hours.
“Colorado won because they
worked harder than us and played
harder than us,” Pettit said. “And if
we would have won, it wouldn’t have
been an accurate reflection of the
match. We didn’t serve tough, and
we didn’t play with passion. I don’t
remember the last time that hap
pened. I don’t know that it ever has.”
Nebraska played Wednesday
without Jaime Krondak, who sat out
with a sore back. In addition, NU
missed Renee Saunders, whose bro
ken foot kept her out of action. Setter
Fiona Nepo played despite suffering
from the stomach flu. Reitsma led
Nebraska with 20 kills, and Mandy
Monson added 15.
CU (9-4 and 5-0) struck first in
the rally-scoring fifth game, took the
lead and never relinquished it.
Nebraska challenged the Buffaloes,
coming within 9-7 at the midway
point.
Please see GAME on 11
Regional powers choose prospects early
By David Wilson
Senior Reporter
Before the first football game of his
senior season at Auburn High School,
Chris Kelsay had already decided
where he was going to college.
The 6-foot-4V£, 235-pounder
accepted a scholarship offer from
Nebraska at the Comhuskers’ football
camp last June. Kelsay, like many high
school athletes across the nation, said
he didn’t want todeal with outside pres
sures during his senior year.
“I don’t have to worry about the
colleges and everybody bothering me,”
Kelsay said. “I can focus on my
grades.”
Powerhouse football schools with
strong regional appeal are taking
advantage of this mentality by offering
scholarships to top recruiting targets
before their senior seasons. As a result,
these schools pencil in many of their
available scholarships before February,
when high school seniors can sign let
ters of intent.
It’s a win-win situation, Penn State
Recruiting Coordinator Jay Paterno
said.
The Nittany Lions get most of the
credit for starting the national trend of
offering scholarships at summer camp.
“We had a kid in our football camp
that had been coming for three years,”
Patemo said. “We said, ‘Heck with him,
let’s take him.’ He committed early and
it’s just something we’ve continued to
do.”
Other teams follow trend
Other schools were surprised at
first, Patemo said, but the trend quickly
caught on.
“They took a look at it,” Patemo
said, “and it’s really a lot easier for
everybody.”
In recent years, the Huskers have
offered numerous scholarships to
seniors-to-be at their June camp, NU
Director of Football Operations Pat
Logsdon said.
“There have been some years when
we had the majority of our commit
ments by Christmas time,” Logsdon
said. “I think a lot of kids are afraid of
being left out at the end.”
Athletic Department employees—
including coaches - are not allowed \&f
discuss high school athletes with the
public until tiie players sign a letfSjr of
Please see PBESSUREim 11
