By Brandon Schulte
Staff writer
Looking at it from afar, the first
time Nebraska receiver Matt Davison
saw FieldTurf, he couldn’t believe it
wasn’t grass.
He was fooled by the grass-like
turf embedded in sand and grounded
up tires, which now covers the play
ing surface at Memorial Stadium and
the Cook Pavilion.
“When we pulled up to the place,
I thought it was a grass field,” said
Davison, who was included in a trip
to test the FieldTurf last March. “It
looked like a grass field that’s just
been mowed - from a ways away.”
The number of nen-contact
injuries associated with NU’s artifi
cial playing surfaces - coupled with
the fact that the turf was scheduled to
be replaced after this season - led to
the decision to install FieldTurf earli
er this month as a safer alternative.
Natural grass came under consid
eration, as did Astroturf, but in the
end FieldTurf set itself apart from the
rest. Coaches and administrators
moved up the surface change one sea
son, and workers scurried to install it
in both Memorial Stadium and Cook
Pavilion in time for fall camp.
FieldTurf looks and feels like
grass, yet should be safer than turf. It
eliminates carpet bum, while at the
same time does away with the cum
bersome wear-and-tear of a grass
field.
“We investigated different types
of grass,” Nebraska Football Coach
Frank Solich said. “We investigated
all types of artificial surfaces. This
was the one that started to separate
itself a little bit. Once the players had
a chance to get on it, they really liked
it.”
Before making a decision, Solich
and several players, including
Davison, toured fields in Amarillo,
Texas, and Wichita, Kan.
To test the surface, they ran in a
straight line, did agility drills and
even wet down the field. It didn’t
matter if they wore cleats or tennis
shoes, Davison said, the traction was
still the same.
“We got down on it, and we tried
out three or four different types of
I
ft
In a contact sport you re always capable of
injuries. But (FieldTurf) should really cut
down on non-contact injuries.”
Frank Souch
NU head coach
shoes, and they all worked pretty
well,” he said. “The footing was real
good, and it seemed to be non-abra
sive.”
As with any new surface, the
speed in which action can take place
on it is important. So far, Solich said,
-the FieldTurf plays somewhere in
between the speed of grass and turf.
Junior free safety Clint Finley,
another player who visited the fields,
said the best part about the new play
ing surface is the way it makes his
knees feel.
Because it gives more than turf,
the likelihood of injury is lessened
with the decreased stress on tendons
and ligaments.
For someone who missed three
games with an injured left knee last
year and battled tendonitis the rest of
the season, Finley said cutting on
FieldTurf is better than either grass or
turf.
“When you’re on turf, you get a
jolting stop,” Finley said. “On this
stuff, you make a nice little cut. You
might slip a little bit, but just enough
to save you.
“It has a lot better footing than
natural grass. If you make too hard of
a cut, it will just slide right from
under you and make a big divot. This
stuff wbn’t do that at all.”
Despite the reduced risk of injury
provided by the new turf, FieldTurf
can’t prevent all injuries. Starting
tackle Jason Schwab found that out
when he went down with a knee
injury in a contact pass-protection
drill Monday. Solich said the injury
would have occurred on any surface.
“I don’t think any surface is void
from injury,” Solich said. “In a con
tact sport you’re always capable of
injuries. But it should really cut down
on non-contact injuries.”
John Ingram, NU’s director of
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The University of Nebraska is an affirmativa actiorVequal opportunity insttubon.
athletic facilities, said the field
should cut down on the effect of
'weather, too. He said that rain should
drain much faster on this surface than
the old turf. How it reacts to snow,
however, is anyone’s guess, since the
surface has yet to come in contact
with it.
“So far, I like what I see,” Solich
said. “We’ll let it play out a little fur
ther before we jump up and down. I
think it will prove to be a very good
surface to play ball on.”
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