Huard: Huskers physical
By David Wilson
Senior staff writer
Brock Huard remembers
Nebraska.
He remembers the road trip his
tamily took to
Omaha to visit
his aunt and
uncle when he
was in high
school.
He remem
bers stopping at
Ole’s Big Game
Bar and Grill in
Paxton.
Huard He had a buf
falo burger.
The junior Washington quarter
back also remembers the time the
Nebraska football team took a road
trip to Seattle to play the Huskies
last year.
He remembers being knocked
out of the game in the first quarter
after he was taken down by NU
rush end Grant Wistrom.
“As far as Nebraska football,
the image that comes to me is phys
ical football,” Huard said. “What I
really remember about that game
was how hard they came in those
first couple of series. They were so
geared up. Their engines were
revving really high. They were
pretty hell-bent and coming pretty
hard.
“They’re a physical football
team. They’ve dominated teams for
the last seven years at home.”
Of course, Huard also knows
that the last time the Huskers lost
at home was to Washington in
1991.
He remembers that game
vividly. He was a senior in high
school, and his brother Damon
was a freshman quarterback at
Washington.
Huard also knows
Saturday’s matchup is a big
game for the eighth-ranked
Huskies, who travel to
Lincoln to face Nebraska
at 2:35 p.m. in Memorial
Stadium.
But in his three years at
Washington, Huard said he
has learned not to make
games out to be bigger
than they are.
“I think you get into a
little bit of trouble when
you try to make something
bigger than it is,” Huard
said. “I’m looking forward
to this opportunity, yet at the same
time, I know what we’re facing.
These guys are for real, and they’re
big, and they’re physical.”
He learned the big game lesson
the hard way as a freshman.
The Huskies traveled to Notre
Dame in 1996, where Huard
hoped to prove himself.
Instead, Huard completed
eight of 26 passes, threw an inter
ception and no touchdowns in a
54-20 Washington loss.
“That was a big learning lesson
for me,” Huard said. “I did pretty
much fall flat on my face.”
Despite a less-than-spectacular
performance against Notre Dame,
Huard finished the season with the
second most yards passing by a
freshman in Washington’s school
history.
Last season, Huard was slowed
by an ankle sprain, but still man
aged to finish with 2,140 yards
passing. Through two games this
season, Huard, a drop-back passer,
has completed 43 of 80 passes for
496 yards.
The Huskies, a passing team,
have no doubt been watching tape
of NU’s season opener against
Louisiana Tech, when the Bulldogs
passed for 590 yards.
Below are Brock Huard’s best and worst games as a
Husky. Included, for comparison, are his stats against
Nebraska Wins are bold.
Beet
Team Comp/Att Yda TD/1NT Score
1998 Arizona St 27/47 318 4/0 42-38
1997 BYU 18/23 285 3/0 42-20
1997 San Diego St 16/26 313 4/0 36-3
1996 Arizona 20/31 311 3/1 31-17
«■«-«
worst
1996 Notre Dame 8/26 99 0/1 20-54
1996 Stanford 5/16 102 1/1 27-6
1997 Arizona St 9/18 150 2/1 26-14
1997 Washington St 18/36 271 4/5 35-41
1997 Nebraska 4/8 29 0 14-27
Jon Frank/DN
Nebraska
VS. 1
But that number isn’t enough to
get Huard too excited.
“I think I’m a realist,” Huard
said. “If you reevaluate that game,
it was 28-0 before Nebraska was
letting up much through the air.”
Washington will also review
game tape from the Huskers’ 27-14
win in Seattle last season.
“We’ve been thinking about this
game in our minds ever since the
season got over last year,” said
senior guard Tony Coats, who was
“manhandled” by Wistrom on the
play that Huard went down on last
September. “It was a tough game
for our whole team. We just have to
go out and get after them.”
Huard agreed.
“They epitomize college foot
ball in a lot of ways,” Huard said.
“I’ve already heard the term,
‘Dynasty.’
“This is what you dream of
playing. This is what college foot
ball is all about.”
Injury-free, Rucker
ready to take field
By Shannon
Heffelfinger
Senior staff writer
Four weeks after the
Nebraska football team opened
its season, Mike Rucker will
officially start his.
Just as he has in each of the
Cornhuskers’ first three games
this year, Rucker, NU’s No. 1
right rush end, will compete
Saturday at Memorial Stadium
when the Huskers play host to
eighth-ranked Washington at
2:35 p.m.
But for the first time, he
won’t have to limp off the field.
He won’t have to play with the
pain that creeps into his groin or
watch in frustration from the
sidelines.
An off-week for the Huskers
after the California game
allowed Rucker the time he
needed to heal from a pelvic
injury that has hampered him
throughout the season and limit
ed him to just two series of play
in the Cal game.
He says he is at about 90 per
cent and playing better than he
has all season. He wants nothing
more than to forget about the
last three games and return to
his old form.
“This is a huge game,”
Rucker said. “It’s on TV.
Everyone is going to be watch
ing. I’ll have a chance to get
things started right for myself,
and it’s about time.”
Impatience has plagued
Rucker in the first few weeks of
his senior season. A preseason
All-American candidate and top
R0WSSII
K.
WaSMMtM i
NFL prospect, the 6-foot-5
Rucker had hoped to impress
people early.
He hasn’t. Rucker totaled
just three tackles in his first
three games.
“This injury has been real
tough on me,” Rucker said. “It’s
the type of thing that you never
know when it’s going to go away
and when it’s going to feel good
enough to go 100 percent.”
Rucker has practiced every
day this week and hopes to be
close to 100 percent Saturday.
NU Defensive Line Coach
Nelson Barnes said Aaron Wills
and Travis Toline have filled in
well during Rucker’s absence.
But Barnes is happy to have
Rucker back to near full
strength for Washington.
“I always expect the same
thing from any of the guys when
they’re on the field,” Barnes
said. “I don’t want to put undue
pressure on Mike, but he’s the
kind of guy that will make some
plays for us.”
Rucker expects to do just
that on Saturday.
“It’s my senior year, and you
go in thinking that you want to
have all of those memories with
everyone on the field to cher
ish,” Rucker said. “You set goals
for yourself.
“But I can still get those
things, and the good thing about
goals is that they can always be
reached.”
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