Shannon Henemnger
Pressures
won’t sack
Newcombe
When considering the pressure
that dropped like a dead bolt on
Bobby Newcombe’s shoulders
Monday, some might feel a little ner
vous for him. Or maybe even a little
sorry for him.
Newcombe won the No. 1 quar
terback position for the fall after a
spring of tough competition from
Frankie London and Eric Crouch.
At 18 years old, he has just been
handed the enormous pressure of
directing the Huskers thfough
another championship run. If
Nebraska loses a game which it
should not, say at California on Sept.
12, die blame falls on his shoulders.
Now is a critical time for
Newcombe and Nebraska. To say
that there have been a lot of changes
in the program is an understatement.
The Huskers will adjust to the
loss of one of the greatest football
coaches of all time and adapt to the
changes a new head coach brings.
The gap isn’t huge, but it’s a gap all
the same.
The Huskers have an almost
entirely inexperienced and untested
offense line. They lost a Lombardi
Award winner in Grant Wistrom and
an Outland Trophy winner in Aaron
Taylor. Ahman Green, NU’s best
running back, left for the NFL.
If there was ever a year when
NU’s powerhouse may be a little less
stable, then this is it. And if one of
the cards in the house falls and
things go the wrong way in College
Station, Texas, or Manhattan, Kan.,
Newcombe will be held accountable
by fans.
Just like Scott Frost was in 1996.
But Newcombe can handle it.
There is something special
about the sophomore from New
Mexico.
You can see it every time he
touches the ball. His 91-yard run in
the Red-White Spring Game attests
to his speed and big-play ability.
Newcombe can turn bad situations
into touchdowns for the Huskers.
dui li s mure man mai.
Newcombe is smart, and he
knows how to handle himself. He
showed a lot of poise Tuesday when
he addressed the 30 or so members
of the media who came to hear
Solich’s decision. He was gracious
in his victory, but he was gracious in
Crouch and London^ defeat.
“I’m the type of person who has
feelings for everything,” Newcombe
said. “If I were (London) I would
have been disappointed, too.”
Newcombe relates well to his
teammates. He handled the whole
situation with maturity. Newcombe
is going to be a good leader.
And he’s proven over the last
three weeks that he can perform
underpressure.
So don’t feel nervous or sorry
for Newcombe. His shoulders are
big enough.
Heffelfinger is a sophomore
news-editorial major and a Daily
Nebraskan senior reporter.
Matt Miller/DN
NU FOOTBALL COACH FRANK SOLICH walks the steps of Memorial Stadium after prac
tice last week.
Solich eases
into 1 st spring
as head coach
Ml running smoothly
as Huskers end practice
By Sam McKewon
Senior Reporter
Frank Solich sat down Tuesday afternoon in front of television
cameras and tape recorders to discuss a decision on who would
start at quarterback.
It wasn’t a “formal” news
conference by Solich’s stan
dards, it was just “another
coaching decision.”
But with more than 30
media members present, Solich
soon realized his chat with the
media was a lot more formal
than he had expected.
“It’s really unbelievable the
kind of interest this sparked,”
Solich said. “Nebraska football
seems to be really important to
people in the state and fans
around the state.”
It was another lesson in
Solich’s crash course as the new
coach of one of the most visible
programs in college football.
Since January, Solich has
been in charge of die day-to-day
operations of the Huskers, tak
u
I had the
opportunity to
play under a great
coach in Coach
Osborne, and now
I get to play under
another great
coach in Coach
Solich”
Bobby Newcombe
NU quarterback
mg over tor the retired tom Usbome. And there has been many
changes that the 53-year-old Solich has had to get used to.
During practices, Solich now runs all stations instead of his
Please see SOLICH on 10
WNBA Draft passes on DeForge
NU forward now looks to ABL for professional options
By Shannon Heffelfinger
Senior Reporter
South Stadium Lounge at
Memorial Stadium sat silent
Wednesday. The
stillness, typical
on most days, was
nothing but a dis
appointment for
Anna DeForge on
that afternoon.
DeForge had
expected a day
that was anything
ordinary. The for
mer Nebraska
women’s basketball player, who
signed a contract to enter the WNBA
last month, had scheduled a press
conference to discuss her draft sta
tus. The draft started at 12:30 p.m.
Wednesday, and by 1, DeForge’s
NBA hopes had been dashed and the
press conference had been canceled.
DeForge, the fourth-leading scor
er in school history, received strong
interest from at least half the league
teams.
But none picked her in the four
round, 40-selection draft.
“1 am upset that I was not drafted,
but it is not the end of the world,”
DeForge said.
“I am kind of surprised that I was
not drafted because of what the peo
ple from the league had been telling
me about my prospects, but I guess
that’s the way it goes in this busi
ness.”
NU Coach Paul Sanderfbrd said
he thought DeForge fell in the draft
because of the recent influx of for
eign players.
“I’m shocked she didn’t get draft
ed,” Sanderford said. “According to
her agent, we thought she’d go.”
Texas Tech’s Alicia Thompson
and Texas’ Angela Jackson were the
only Big 12 Conference players
taken. Thompson went to the New
York Liberty with the No. 9 pick, and
the Washington Mystics selected
Jackson with die No. 33 pick overall.
DeForge will now look to her
other professional option - the
American Basketball League.
Although she chose die WNBA over
the ABL two weeks ago, DeForge
can obtain a release from her contract
and enter the May 5 ABL Draft.
“I think Anna’s real disappoint
ed,” Sanderford said. “But at the
same time, she’ll come back from it.
There’s no doubt about it - she’s a
tough person and I think we’ll see her
playing professional ball next year.”
Angela Beck, DeForge’s coach
for three years at Nebraska^ coaches
die ABCs San Jose Lasers.
DeFoige finished her senior year
by leading the Huskers in scoring
(just over 18 points per game) and
rebounding (7.9 per game). She also
ranks fourth on NU’s all-time list
with 804 rebounds, 392 assists and
222 steals. She is the Huskers’ career
record holder with 155 3-pointers.
Weather wields constant worries for Huskers
■ Thirteen games have
been canceled because of
stormy conditions.
By Andrew Strnad
Staff Reporter
For the 13th time this season, the
Nebraska baseball team has had its
plans altered by Mother Nature.
Wednesday night’s game against
Creighton in Omaha was canceled
because of rain, as was Tuesday
night’s game in Lincoln with the
BlireJays.
Coach Dave Van Horn said the
weather has been the Cornhuskers’
nemesis througlpoufthe season.
“It really makes things difficult
for us because we should be up
around 50 games or so right now, and
instead we’re down around 40,” Van
Horn said.
NU is 21-17 on the year and will
leave this morning for Austin, Texas,
before playing a three-game series
against the Longhorns this weekend!
In other baseball news, Van Horn
announced that four more players
have signed national letters of intent
to play baseball at Nebraska.
Shortstop Brandt Vileger heads
the list. Vileger was a graduate of
Millard North High School in
Omaha, and he currently plays at
Grayson (Texas) County Community
College, where he is hitting .380
with 41 RBIs and 67 runs scored.
“He’s ready to play right now in
the Big 12 Conference,” Van Horn
said. “He brings a lot to the table. He
can hit for power, but he has 16 bunt
base hits.”
The Huskers also added a much
needed pitcher to its staff. Brandon
Wood comes to Lincoln from
Wharton (Texas) Junior College as a
hard-throwing right-hander and will
have three years of eligibility when
he arrives at Nebraska next year.
Van Horn said he expects Wood
to become an immediate impact
player with his 90 mph fastball,
which will help the Huskers become
a Big 12 power.
Please see WEATHER on 10
