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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 30, 1999)
Receiving corps quick but young By Darren Ivy Senior staff writer If blazing speed were all it took to be a good receiver, Nebraska would hav e one of the best corps of receivers in the country'. NU still may have a top group of receivers, but it will take some maturing this spring to achieve that title, said Ron Brow n the receivers coach. ‘It is clearly the fastest (group) we’ve had,” Brown said. We nave some guys who can really go. It takes more than just speed to be a good receiver You’ve got to have lots of things put together - route running, blocking and ot course, being a finisher. We have God-given talent. It’s now just a matter of development.” W ith fiv e seniors departed from last year’s team, NU has a lot of new people going through drills, running routes and blocking this spnng. Sean Applegate, Matt Davison. Frankie London and John Gibson are the most experienced. Gibson, a junior from Papillion, said they are ready to be leaders. Joining Applegate, Davison and Gibson are junior-college speedsters Larrv Henderson and Dwayne McClary, and redshirt freshmen Wilson Thomas and Brandon Solt. Seth Gutz. Craig Fischer, Tom Beveridge and Casey Vanderhoef are other players who w ill likely see action. Brown said he is stiil trying to get a grasp on many of these players' strengths With a lot of new guvs, it has made Brown's job more challenging. ’•It’s a completely different group than a year ago.' Brown said. “A year ago. these guys had been placing for three or lour years. Thev had been around the block a few times. All 1 had to do was fine tune a few things. "1 his year, it is starting from square one. Here’s how you run a pass partem. Here's how you do this.” With all the speedsters, Brown can’t help but be excited. However, he is try ing to be cautiously optimistic. "They have potential to make a lot of big plays," Brown said. "Big plays don t come just from abilitv. They come from putting yourself in a position to make a big play. A lot of that has to do with experience and knowledge of what’s going on. We're raw and have to smooth out our patterns. We’ve got to leant assignments.' Gibson said practicing against one of the best secondaries in the country each day brings out the best in the receivers and helps them mature faster. He said the players were working hard and he was confident they would be ready for the fall. "1 see a lot of guys studying their play books, studying their play books a lot," Gibson said. “We have all the potential in the world it just depends on how we bring it together when the sea son comes around. If we can do that, we will be a great receiving corps." Softball Ted ms Registration Lincoln Porks unci Recreation Athletics Office :umh So. Bill Street Returning Teams: March 23, 24 ,3 25 New Teams: March 30 <3 31 UMPIRES NEEDED!!! For more information call 44 1 -7892 Join the Husker Football Recruiters Students, help the Husker Football team and coaches recruit student-athletes. Call Curt at 472-5055 by April 5th for details and to set up an interview. g Centennial Ballrooi Nebraska Union | Free Baseball team moves 11 spots in poll From staff reports Following a weekend sweep of Big 12 Conference rival Texas, the Nebraska baseball team leapfrogged 1 1 spots from 30th to 19lh in the March 29 Collegiate Baseball America Poll. NU is 18th in the Baseball America poll and 20th in the Baseball Weekly/ESPN poll. The Comhuskers (20-6 overall, 8 1 in Big 12) are now ranked ahead of such teams as last year's national run ner-up Southern California (No. 25), perenmal powerhouse Louisiana State (No. 22) and conference foes Texas Tech (No. 21) and Oklahoma State (No. 29). With their losses to NU, Texas falls to 16th, one spot ahead of rival Texas A&M. Baylor is the highest ranked team in the Big 12 at No. 13. Florida State retains their claim as the No. 1 team in the land, having been atop the Collegiate Baseball America Poll for six of the last seven weeks. The Buskers, riding an 11-game winning streak, have won 16 of their last 17 and are atop the Big 12 Conference standings with an 8-1 record. i T H E € O U R $ F ^MDS Harris Together, We're Making Lives Better 621 Rose Street, Lincoln www.mdsharns.com/rcrt/recruit.htm