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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 26, 1998)
Kelsay turns childhood dream into reality Ktil »SAY from page 9 Young children admired Kelsay, and high school friends cheered him. But when Kelsay arrived at Nebraska, reality sunk in. Kelsay, who was considered small for a rush end at 6-3,230 pounds, began practice behind NU greats Jared Tomich and Grant Wistrom. “Everyone was bigger, faster and better than I had ever thought,” Kelsay said. “The fast pace hits you the first week. It freaks you out a little. “But the first time I ever set foot on the football field here, Grant came up to me and kind of took me under his wing. He said, ‘If you go out there and give it 100 percent on every play and work hard and don’t get lazy, you’re going to play.’ He was right” Earning respect Over the next two years, Kelsay lis tened to Wistrom’s advice and built a reputation as one of the hardest work ing players on die team. Kelsay’s team mates twice voted him a finalist for NU’s Lifter of the Year, an award he won in 1998. He often arrives at prac tice early and leaves the weight room late. “You don’t ever have to tell him to get to the front of the line,” Rush Ends Coach Nelson Barnes said. “Everyone respects that If you’re really going to be that leader, you have to be at the front in effort, and at die front in attitude. That’s where Chad always is. He is an exam ple. Whatever you ask, he will do, and he will do it with a little extra some tiling.” Jackie said she and her husband, Steve, encouraged their three children to be independent; and Kelsay credits his parents for instilling a strong work ethic in him. Kelsay was forced to use persistence and hard work to overcome a slight physical disadvantage. He mea sures 3 inches shorter than his counter part, right rush end Mike Rucker. “The way I’ve been raised is to give 100 percent all of the time in everything I do,” Kelsay said. “I don’t want to be called lazy on the football field or any where else. A lot of guys have more ath letic talent than I do, and I definitely don’t have the physique. I’m not very tall, and I’m not big or very strong. But I work hard in practice, and I have an aggressive attitude.” Because of die examples they have set, Kelsay and Rucker have stepped into the leadership void left by former Lombardi award winner Wistrom and first-team All-American Jason Peter. Kelsayh brother Chris joined the young group of rush ends as a freshman dur ing summer workouts. / Chris’s presence has pushed Chad, who also volunteers at Lincoln Public Schools and the People’s City Mission, to work even harder. The oldest Kelsay wants to set a good example for his younger brother. The two lived together this summer while participating in summer conditioning workouts. “Everyone kind of gave Grant some crap last year when Tracy came in, say ing Grant was looking out for his broth er,” Chad said. “And I don’t want to hear that stuff, but it’s true. “Chris is different to me than any other freshman. I’m proud of him. It’s a tradition at Nebraska that younger brothers follow the older ones. There was Grant and Tracy, the Peters (Christian and Jason) and the Bookers (Michael and Dion). I would have been a little disappointed if he hadn’t come here.” Still a dream Jackie and Steve expected nothing else from Chris, who, just like Chad, grew up dreaming of playing for the Huskers one day. The Kelsays feel blessed to have not one, but two sons competing for Nebraska. Chris may be one of only six or seven freshmen who contributes immediately this fall. As for Chad, Barnes predicts great things for the small-town player in his final season. “When I came in during the spring, I really began to notice the similarities between him and Grant, and it really excited me,” Barnes said. “The first thing I noticed was how well he plays away from the ball. He’s very quick. He’s every bit as fast as Grant, and he flies to die ball when he isn’t in the play. Chad has gotten quicker every year he has been here.” Kelsay smiles at the compliment. He expects one more national title before he’s done at Nebraska and hopes for a shot at the NFL after his days with the Huskers are over. He shakes his head when recalling his successes over the last three years. He has lived a life he sometimes allowed himself to dream about as a high school student at Auburn. But that was long ago, when he knew that Memorial Stadium was only 75 miles northeast of Auburn yet still so far away. It was long before he ever ran TIm KeIsay Hit Career Totals 34 games 10 games started 77 tackles 13 tackles for loss 7.5 sacks 25 QB hurries JonFrank/DN through the tunnel at the southwest end of Tom Osborne Field, the pride of Auburn stepping on die field with him. “It’s my senior year, and every time I walk through that tunnel, it feels like the first timeKelsay said. “It never changes. It’s overwhelming. I can’t explain it with words. It’s the crowd and the music. There’s so much tradition. You see the schedules lined up on the walls, and you feel like a part of some tiling bigger.” “We have guys here from all over the country on our team, but there’s a certain pride that those of us from Nebraska feel, and I think it means much more.” Nebraska still confident despite jitters for opener By David Wilson Senior staff writer Expect some tossing and turning in beds across Lincoln Friday night Maybe Frank Solich, who will coach Ins first game at the helm of the Nebraska football program Saturday at ; 3:08 p.m. against Louisiana Tech, will i have trouble sleeping. Or possibly Bobby Newcombe will have a restless night “I’m definitely sure we’ll both be nervous, and we probably won’t be able to sleep too well before the game,” Newcombe said. “We’re both coming in i withalotofnerves, butwebothhave a lot of confidence in the team as a whole.” Four offensive linemen and sopho more I-back Correll Buckhalter will j also be making their first collegiate starts Saturday. Nerves will no doubt be rattling deep in the guts of Solich and those six i first-time offensive starters, but most ] said they expect to relax quickly once they have that first play under their belts. Josh Heskew, NU’s lone returning ] starter on the offensive line, said the four offensive linemen will become vet- ] erans after their first offensive series. “I don’t think there’s many ques- i tions,” Heskew said, “but I think after ; the first game, they will be answered “We know we have to carry on a tra dition. We plan on being just as good or even better.” Newcombe said that belief showed in tiie offensive line during fall camp. “I think the offensive line is ready to Move to themselves, and the people that ire watching, that they can get the job lone,” Newcombe said. Even with an injury to DeAngelo Evans and an inexperienced offensive ine, the I-backs, too, are confident “I see the I-backs having a lot of confidence in themselves,” Newcombe said. “When you have a lot of confi lence in yourself, and you put a lot of work into it sometimes that’s a little bet er than a lot of experience.” But Newcombe knows not every 3 lay will work out as planned “Everybody out there is going to nake mistakes - including myself,” Mewcombe said. “If someone messes ip or screws up, I’m going to let them enow. But I’m not going to chew on somebody or belittle them in any way.” Solich, too, said he felt confident in limself and his first-time starters. But that doesn’t necessarily mean ie’ll sleep soundly Friday night “I’ll probably do a little tossing and uming,” Solich said “But I feel prepared, ind I believe our team will be prepared” Humidity, competition make for tiring preseason PROGRAM from page 9 a vertical jump test, pro-agility run and an all-out 40-yard dash. The sec ond and most dreaded run was the Cooper test. This is a test where you run for 12 minutes as far and as fast as you can. The results of the testing left the team in a lot of pain, yet feeling good because the physical prowess of our team was immediately obvious. And although the grueling 12-minute run I had dreaded all summer was over, I felt what was ahead of me that after noon was going to be an even truer test of what each person could bring to our team. After a short break, we were back at it again. This would mark the beginning of double days, practicing at 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. I lay in my bed during our time off in anticipa tion of what I would expect. I learned this week of crazy double days was supposed to be the hottest week of the summer. Well, it felt like it, too. I lost more than 5 pounds of water weight, and it had only been the first practice, with nine more to come. After Jackie Erdkamp, our goal keeper, cramped up so badly, and they had to put two bags of IV fluid into her, we switched to early morn ing and evening practices. Aside from some extremely hard fitness sessions and weather elements to overcome, our team was quickly tak ing shape, and we seemed to have tal ented players at every position. The intra-squad scrimmages proved to be out toughest challenge of die week. Each player fought for her individual position, leaving everything each of us had on the field. A short friendly game against Bellevue University to end training camp reflected how hard we had been working all week. We beat diem 10-0. 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