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STARTER from page 37
“Is that thing on?”
Somewhere toward the end of the
only game he would not win in 1998,
Bobby Newcombe evolved from
quarterback into something out of an
Akira Kurosawa film. His face hard
ened up. He took his injury, a torn
posterior cruciate ligament in his left
v knee, hard, probably harder than
most. “There’s no perfect way to
recover from an injury. It’s too psy
chologically damaging,” he says.
Somewhere between last fall,
before the Louisiana Tech game, and
right now, Newcombe changed. He
admits this, although he includes
phrases like “more confident,” “more
patient” and “more experienced.”
But Newcombe’s demeanor has
changed, too, from somewhat bouncy,
even jovial, to something that - at
least publicly - seems entirely differ
ent.
In the game against Texas A&M, a
28-21 loss, many NU diehards swore
Newcombe was taking the Huskers
in, reviving the team from a 21-point
deficit.
The stands rocking from the
crowd, Newcombe started a cam
paign in the fourth quarter that had
already put 14 points on the board and
was going toward another touch
down. He took on the image of the
cool, fearless field general, a man
I.
«
Fm preparing myself to lead a team to a
national championship. Fm not saying
anything else.”
Bobby Newcombe
NU junior quarterback
operating on a bum knee and the pres
sure of 19 consecutive wins on his
shoulders against a maroon storm of
speed and fury.
He took on the image of a man
who wasn’t going to flinch.
The gunslinger.
And, when it failed, which did not
seem possible, Newcombe unleashed
for all to see. Eyes got wide, people
questioned his temper, and the media
hounded him about it for weeks.
Look back at it now. The minia
ture tirade went beyond pout. Deeper
than pettiness. The moment, revealed
now, has a certain roar to it - failure
does not enter into my equation.
And it doesn’t enter into the equa
tion now. Newcombe “doesn’t battle
against other players.” Losing the job
(as if the job were the point, which
with Newcombe, it’s not anymore), to
Crouch, to anyone, is not part of the
equation.
“I’m preparing myself to lead a
team to a national championship,”
Newcombe says. He repeats it five
seconds later for emphasis, then adds,
“I’m not saying anything else.”
He doesn’t say he will start. He
doesn’t talk about having to play well
to keep the job. Starting, whether he
says it or not, seems implied, as he
says it has been all along - beginning
with that meeting at Solich’s office,
right before spring practice.
Newcombe does things on his
terms. You sit for the interview, he
stands. So you stand.
How’re you doing, Bobby?
“Fine.”
Practice go all right?
“Sure.”
He appears to think you really
don’t care about things like that.
And, in many cases, he’s right.
Ah, but there’s that recorder, its
little red bulb flush with light.
“Is that thing on?”
His question is affirmed.
“All right”
He stands at attention. His atti
tude, which probably could be mis
taken for sullen, is probably more
pure focus. The interview is unevent
ful; if a score would be kept, he’d have
his scrubs in by now. He is finally
asked about where he thinks all the
gossip is coming from.
“I don’t research that topic very
often,” Newcombe says. “As a matter
of fact, I’ve never researched that
topic at all.”
Newcombe signs autographs
when asked, the “B” and “N” swoop
ing over the rest of his name. He takes
pictures with the families. He is not
stoic all the time.
But when he leaves the interview,
turning to walk to another, and fires
off a curt “you’re welcome,” to the
customary thank you, there’s isn’t
much choice lip service on that tape.
Newcombe betrays the red bulb.
What is left is an impression - a
sense that if Bobby Newcombe says
he’s going to lead a team to a national
championship, then that’s what he’ll
damn well do.
Bobby Newcombe may not want
you to like him. Certainly, it doesn’t
seem to be a major goal of his. But
you can walk away from an interview
liking him.
Fans could, too. And though they
may clamor for his move to wing
back, they would likely follow him
into battle and toward the national
title he seems so bent on delivering.
***
Eric Crouch points it out simply,
sans clarity or emphasis. An observa
tion of sorts.
There is still no quarterback con
troversy.
But there is a competition.
There is a battle.
Otherwise, the coaches would
have named a starter already.
Right?
And Crouch plans to play that
competition out over fall camp, just
like he was told he would be able to.
He remembers the Solich meeting
right before spring practice began.
With Newcombe. Same room, same
time.
Solich told them the situation.
Only Crouch doesn’t really quite
remember what was said. And if it
was an edict, it didn’t hit himut the
time.
And on Aug. 11, when Solich sug
gested an early pecking order, Crouch
never heard the actual words. He
never read any newspapers. He didn’t
see the news at 6.
Crouch insists reports of his per
ceived demotion have been greatly
exaggerated. The Nebraska quarter
back project is not yet finished, no
. 1 " —n
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