Newcombe has no plans of transferring
By Sam McKewon
Senior editor
Surrounded by 10 tape
recorders, a horde of cameras and a
number of inquiring minds that
wanted to know, Nebraska quarter
back Bobby Newcombe returned
Tuesday to the Nebraska media to
set the record straight.
No, he doesn’t plan to transfer.
Yes, his knee will be rehabilitated
over the next four to six weeks.
And yes, the airport lost his lug
gage when he returned to Lincoln
from a week-long stay in
Albuquerque, N.M.
Just another strange occurrence
for Newcombe in a season of strange
occurrences.
But Newcombe did say the week
spent at home in Albuquerque with
his father, Robert, was a welcome
departure from an injury-plagued
season .
“I feel pretty
good mentally,”
Newcombe said.
“I went home
and hung out
with my dad. I
got to visit with
my mom for a
couple of hours,
and it kind of
boosted my spir
its.”
The question regarding
Newcombe’s mental state was the
first and last personal question
asked of the sophomore. What about
the knee?
“You want to know what I’m to
do next, huh?” Newcombe said. “I’ll
have four to six weeks of rehab and
try and strengthen my leg up and my
quadricep and try and compensate
for the missing PCL in my leg.”
That PCL is the posterior cruci
ate ligament in Newcombe’s left
knee. Once thought partially torn
after the Louisiana Tech game, doc
tors in Albuquerque revealed it to be
completely torn. Doctors at
Nebraska said they knew that almost
a month ago.
NU Coach Frank Solich said
Tuesday that Newcombe would not
be available for Saturday’s game
against Kansas State. Eric Crouch
will get the start, while Monte
Christo will be the backup.
A four- to six-week rehabilita
tion period would put Newcombe on
track to possibly play in NU’s bowl
game - wherever and whenever that
might be. If the knee does not
respond, surgery would then be a
strong possibility.
Solich said he would not set any
thing in stone concerning
Newcombe’s status, other than to
say it would continue to be moni
tored.
“I have not been in contact with
the doctors in New Mexico,” Solich
said. “If our doctors haven’t already
been in contact with them, they will
be soon.”
Newcombe also addressed the
comment he made to the
Albuquerque Journal Nov. 4 about
transferring from NU. Newcombe
told the Journal he would “keep his
options open” concerning his future
in college football.
Newcombe said he’s not going
anywhere.
“I don’t plan on transferring,” he
said. “I like the Nebraska coaches,
the players and everybody around
me. When I answered that question,
1 meant that you really never know
what’s going to happen on the field
or even off the field.”
Newcombe also told the Journal
he received “hate mail” from fans
and said that some of his NU team
mates were not supportive of him
and had accused him of “goldbrick
ing it” after his injury
Tuesday, Newcombe said it’s to
be expected and that the number of
fans and players he was speaking
about was a small one.
“Ninety-eight percent of the
team supports me now and has sup
Please see NEWCOMBE on 14
SENIOR JAIME KRONDAK celebrates after a point. The NU senior likes to be different, and that sometimes includes dancing before games.
“I want to be remembered as a spunky chick,” she said.
Flair helps Krondak through injury
By Andrew Strnad
Staff writer
The odds of being held hostage are approxi
mately 5 million to one. That s probably a relief
to those who like to live their lives without any
surprises.
NU volleyball player Jaime Krondak, on the
other hand likes to be that one out of 5 million.
And she was.
Not that the Nebraska outside hitter wanted
to be a hostage. It’s just her ultimate desire in life
has been to stand apart from the pack.
”1 don’t like boring,” Krondak said. “I need
to be different and stand out on my own.”
She certainly stood apart in the seventh
grade when her mother asked her to go to a
Lincoln Jack and Jill grocery store to pick up a
bag of potato chips.
Like she had done many times before,
Krondak rode her bike to the nearby Jack and
Jill. The trip didn’t go as planned.
‘I was walking down the aisle, and a guy just
yells, ’Hold it!' and I turn around, and this guy
has a knife at this other guy’s throat.”
Krondak spent the next 20 minutes on the
floor with a T-shirt in her mouth as she watched
the situation unfold.
A crowd gathered outside while the scene
_
msiae piayea itseii out. in tne end, nobody got
hurt, and the robbers were arrested.
Being a hostage, while it isn’t necessarily
desirable, is a symbol of what separates the 6
foot senior from everybody else.
“That’s something that doesn’t happen to a
lot of people, thankfully,” Krondak said. “And
it’s an experience that just can’t be shared very
easily.”
Some things that are easily explained but
hardly understood are certain hairstyles, particu
larly ones without hair.
That’s precisely the look Krondak was look
ing for when she thought about shaving her head.
“A while ago I really wanted to do that,”
Krondak said. “I just don’t like that raging hair
that is all over the place.
“But I’ve seen some girls with their heads
shaved lately, so I think I'll just keep it short.”
With her hair short, but not shaved, Krondak
also brings her eccentricities to the Comhusker
volleyball team.
Senior middle blocker Megan Korver can
think of several instances where Krondak has
provided a plethora of laughs to the team.
“Jaime is a dancer, and last year before the
Long Beach State match in the regionals, she
just went loose everywhere,” Korver said. “She’s
never afraid to let loose, which really helps us
relax before a match.”
For much of last season, Krondak couldn't
dance, as she was bothered by a back injury and
was forced to miss 10 matches. But that didn't
stop her from having an effect on the team.
In a match, against Texas A&M last season,
Krondak, not in uniform, gave her teammates a
pep talk.
“It was a pump-up session,” Korver said.
“She made a fool of herself at first, but it got us
going.”
NU won the match and ended its longest los
ing streak (three matches) in 20 years.
This year, Krondak is free of her back pain
and is putting together an All Big 12-type sea
son. From the left-side position, .Krondak is hit
ting .317 and leads the team in service aces with
22.
Although the Huskers have great depth,
Coach Terry Pettit said Krondak is quietly hav
ing a very good year.
“Fd be surprised if there were half a dozen
ranked teams in the country with a left-side play
er hittmg over .300,” Pettit said.
In addition to becoming a national champion
for the second time (the first was in 1995. when
Krondak was a freshman), Krondak would like
to see herself on the all-conference team.
“I was a first-team All American in high
Please see KRONDAK on 13
THEBflME
NlPs Solich:
Rush attack
must click
vs. Wildcats
By Adam Klinker
Staff writer
When two oi'the nation’s top football teams
get together, the old adage says something's got to
give.
However, for No. 11 Nebraska, the hope is
that the Cornhuskers will be abie to get a little
something more from No. 2 Kansas State - name
ly something in the way of gaming ground with
the run.
But rushing yardage has been hard to find
around KSU lately.
The Wildcat defense, ranked second in the
nation in total defense, has allowed its opposition
an average of just 72 yards on the ground.
“They’re real mobile,” said Husker center
Josh Heskew of the KSU defensive line. “They
have great execution on defense, they play then
holes real well, and they just have a good, keen
sense for the ball.”
Heskew and the rest of the NU offensive line
will have the duty of fighting off the Wildcat
defensive line for the supremacy of the line of
scrimmage Saturday.
Anchored by defensive end Darren Howard
(6-foot-4, 270 pounds) and defensive tackle
Damion McIntosh (6-4, 290), the KSU defensive
line has shut down every team’s rushing exploits
and held Texas running back and national rushing
leader Ricky Williams to 43 yards on 25 carries.
The Wildcats have allowed just one rushing
touchdown all season - by Northern Illinois in
Please see OFFENSE on 13
Statistical Showdown in Manhattan
Here’s a breakdown of how Nebraska and
Kansas State match up in the nation’s statistics:
Category National ranking
NU KSU
Rushing offense 3(270.2) 10(229.2)
Rushing defense 16(108.4) 2(72.0)
Passing offense 96 (131.2) 24 (248.8)
Passing eff. def. 20(104.8) 3(86.4)
Total offense 34 (401.4) 10 (478.6)
Total defense 17(300.6) 2(219.7)
Scoring offense 20 (33.7) 1 (52.4)
Scoring defense 7(12.9) 7(7.7)
Totals 223 53
Jon Frank/DN