Nebraska set to face top-ranked Santa Clara
By Brandon Schulte
Staff writer
The Nebraska soccer team is trying desper
ately not to overlook No. 22 Stanford in the
Huskers’ first game of the Stanford Nike
Invitational today.
That might not be an easy task as third
ranked Nebraska faces No. 1 Santa Clara on
Sunday in a match that, with a win, could give
NU the No. 1 ranking.
Cornhusker Coach John Walker dispelled
thoughts that his team might overlook the
Cardinals.
“Our focus is 100 percent on the first game,”
Walker said. “Obviously, they are two tremen
dous teams. Santa Clara might have the top tal
ent, but Stanford isn’t too far behind.”
The talent level at Santa Clara is unques
tioned. Ten players on the roster have Under-20
National Team experience. The Broncos are 5-0
and are led by Soccer America Preseason
Player-of-the-Year Mandy Clemens. In the first
five games, she has had five goals and three
assists.
NU midfielder Danica Carey knows
Clemens particularly well as they played on the
same high school and club teams.
“She has a lot of movement off of the ball,”
Carey said. “She has a great desire for the ball
and shows that she loves to play.”
Stanford sports one of the top freshman
recruiting classes in the country and a 3-1
record. Five freshman were high school All
Americans, and three of them are in the starting
line-up.
In the past year, Nebraska owns victories
over both teams. It defeated Stanford 3-0 in the
Fila Invitational last fall. The Huskers defeated
the Broncos last spring with both teams at less
than full strength.
ii
On paper, Santa Clara is a tremendous team. They get
respect from everyone. To get a victory against them
would be great for our program.”
Jenny Benson
NU midfielder
NU midfielder Jenny Benson, a native of
California, has played with or against many
players on the Santa Clara team. She realizes
that it will be difficult to knock off the top
ranked team.
“On paper, Santa Clara is a tremendous
team,” Benson said. “They get respect from
everyone. To get a victory against them would
be great for our program.”
This will be the first road trip of the season
for the Huskers, and Walker knows that how his
team fares this weekend could go a long way to
show how well the team has progressed.
“I think this is the true test of a team,”
Walker said.
“Making it doubly hard is playing teams of
this caliber. We’ll find out what we need to work
on.
Solich: USMposes as NLFs
toughest challenge this year
EAGLES from 9
Eagles will spread out to three and four
wide receivers, leaving no tight ends
and only one running back, Derrick
Nix, who rushed for 1,180 yards last
season as a freshman. That said, USM
will have to protect well. With four new
offensive linemen, that may not be easy.
Southern Mississippi quarterback
Jeff Kelly, also a newcomer, sees
USM’s offensive attack as a key in the
game.
' “Now I wouldn’t care if we won 2
0 on a safety, but I don’t think that’s
going to happen,” Kelly said.
Nebraska s defense is really, really
good, and we have to find a way to
move the ball.”
Both Kelly and other Eagle players
have said that Nebraska’s recent shake
up shouldn’t cause any waves in either
teams’ preparation. Solich reiterated
that fact on Tuesday at the press confer
ence: His team will be ready, come
Saturday.
“Turmoil shows on Saturdays,”
Solich said. “I don’t see where that
showed for us on either Saturday. I like
where we’re at. We’re 2-0 and moving
on to the third game to see what hap
pens.”
Football Starters y.1
-■— ntnri.M Lincoln, Neb. Jmmt
RSDlaSU SianerS Memorial Stadium
Offense - Defense
Pos. No. Name " Hi WL Pos. No. Name Ht Wt
QB 7 Eric Crouch - 6-1 195 LR 81 Aaron Wife 6-2 250
IB 4 Dan Alexander 6-0 245 NT 96 Steve Warren 6-2 305
FB 15 WHfieMMer 6*1 245 DT 91 LoranKaiser 6-4 295
WB 82 Sean Applegate 5-9 185 RR 83 Kyle Vanden Bosch 6-4 270
SE 3 Matt Davison 6-1 185 SLB 37 Tony Ortiz 6-1 220
TE 85 TJ. DeBates 6-3 250 MLB 13 Cams Polk 6-2 250
LT 69 Adam JuWt 6-5 320 VIA® 27 Eric Johnson 8-1 215
LG 63 James Sherman 6-4 296 LCB 3 KeyuoCraver 5-10 190
C 54 Dominic Rafafe 6-2 295 FS 19 Clint Finley 6*0 205
RG 55 Russ Hochstein 6-4 290 ROV 21 Mike Brown 5-10 205
RT 58 Dave \Mk 6-5 300 RGB 22 Ralph Brown 5-10 180
PK 26 Josh Brown 6-2 185 P 17 Dan Hadenfeldt 5-11 195
Ssatfeem Mississippi starters
Offense Defense
Pos. No. Name Ht Wt Pos. No. Name Ht Wt
WR « Sherrod Gideon 64) 176 OE 96 Cedric Scott 6-5 255
ST 79 Brian Bed. 6-6 285 NT 78 DeQuincy Scott 6-2 270
SG 86 Tw Chambers 64 264 DT 98 John Nix 6-2 278
C 67 ZebLanders 6-3 265 BE 97 AdaBusThomas 64 252
QG 55 Billy day 64 270 OLB 16 TyTranhan 6-1 225
QT 73 Jeremy Bridges 64 285 MLB 34 TJ. Slaughter 6-2 238
TE 88 BuckMiaolto 64 250 OLfi 25 RoyMagee 6-2 212
PK 37 Brant Hama 6-2 202 FC 24 Terrance Parrish 5-11 190
WR 80 'fcddPWBlDn 6-2 166 R 20 Leo Barnes 6-0 182
QB17 Jeff Kelly92 204 FS 9 Chad Williams 5-11 191
PK 37 Brant Hama 6-2 202 BC 19 Raymdhd Wbds 5-10 176
HB 43 Derrick Nix 6-1 223 P 18 Jamie Purser 6-0 192
Matt Haney/DN
* 1
Perseverance, faith pay off for
Husker running back Alexander
ALEXANDER from 9
Religion plays a critical part in
Alexander’s life. The junior from
Wentzville, Mo., who frequently
prays during games, will start the
third game of his career Saturday and
sincerely believes this is where he
belongs - this is the position God has
put him in. “A platform to glorify
him,” as Alexander says.
But Alexander wasn’t always sure
of that. There have been enough
obstacles in his path at Nebraska to
make him wrestle with the notion of
whether or not football was the “right
avenue” for him. Finding that path has
been his goal since his freshman year
of high school, he said.
The obstacles in college football
came in the form of two major knee
injuries. Now understand, Alexander
has turned recovery into an art form,
prompting Frank Solich to say at
Tuesday’s press conference, “Dan
recovers from injuries faster than any
human being I’ve ever seen.”
And up close, it’s clear
Alexander’s body goes beyond the
slang definition of “ripped.” Rather,
he nearly looks as if he’s been carved
out of granite, an Adonis-like sculp
ture without an ounce of fat. One
sportswriter once commented, “His
body is wound so tight, I swear that
one day he’s going to get hit, and his
arms an? legs are going to come fly
ing off his body.”
Almost all within the
Cornhuskers’ program marvel at
Alexander’s physique, but for a time,
Alexander wondered if his body was
trying to tell him something when he
was hurt.
“They were the greatest tribula
tions,” Alexander said of the knee
surgeries, the last ot which occurred
after the 1998 season. “I’ve built my
testimony - my entire life - on being a
role model, trying to use football as a
platform for my beliefs. Whenever I
hurt my knees, you start to think,
‘Maybe God doesn’t want to use this
as a platform. Maybe I just totally read
him wrong.’
“Thing is, I’ve always learned
more from my knee surgeries. I com
plain at the beginning, but it’s almost
the day after my knee surgeries that
I’m back on track. They’ve been some
of the biggest trials, but they’ve been
some of the biggest blessings.
“I wouldn’t give either of my scars
that I have on my knees because I’ve
grown and matured more from them
than anything else that’s ever hap
pened to me.”
Fullback Willie Miller,
Alexander’s roommate and one of his
closest friends, has no doubt why the
recoveries go so quickly.
“Miracles happen when you’re in
the right spot and right mind frame,”
Miller said. “The key to healing up,
they say, is die mind. However strong
your mind is, that’s how fast you
recover. Dan is strong-minded.”
Quick recoveiy is only one part of
Alexander’s rise up the depth chart.
Part of it, of course, deals with the
recent departure of No. 1 I-back
De Angelo Evans, whom Alexander
had outgained so far this season in
about the same amount of plays and
carries.
Another part is that Alexander has
simply improved as a player. During
the two fall scrimmages was when he
first showed breakaway speed and
recognition of plays he hadn’t previ
ously displayed. Of all the top NU
backs, not only is Alexander probably
the fastest, but he seems to be devel
oping a penchant for the big play.
Once Alexander gets going, he’s hard
to catch and not fun to tackle. Plus, his
hands are much better than they used
to be.
“Dan knows the offense better at
this point,” NU Running Backs
Coach Dave Gillespie said. “And
Dan’s ball skills are better at this point.
He has more confidence than he used
to. All that equals a better back.”
Alexander accepts this most
recent promotion, though he openly
offers he’s not too happy about the
way he received it. He also says he’d
like to talk to Evans sometime, “just
to see if I can help him out or some
thing, if he needs that at all.”
He doesn’t worry about how
many carries he’ll get Saturday nor
how many carries No. 2 I-back
Corrgll Buckhalter will get. In fact,
after the 42-7 win over Iowa, it was
Alexander who said he wished
Buckhalter had carried the ball more.
Statistics come after winning for
Alexander, he said, and both of them
come after his relationship with God.
But that doesn’t mean Alexander
has nothing left to prove. He figures
there are plenty of critics left to quiet,
plenty of people out there who still
think he’d be a better fullback, simply
because he doesn’t fit the Nebraska
blueprint at I-back.
“What is the stereotypical I
back?” Alexander said. “There does
n’t have to be a stereotype at I-back.
As long as I’m effective, I don’t think
I have to look like an I-back or run like
an I-back.
“There’s critics out there, and
they’ll always be out there. But I fig
ure I don’t have to be a complete I
back. I have to be a complete me.”
I-back Evans waits for coaches’ decision
EVANS from page 9
DeAngelo wanted back on the
team. She hinted at the notion that
her son may just want to clear the
air.
“It could be possible that he just
wants good closure on this,”
Eamestine said. “Maybe he wants
to say, ‘I hated the way I went about
this the first time, and I just want
good closure.’ This could possibly
be that.”
DeAngelo’s mother went on to
say she does not know how long her
son will be home in Wichita.
* “Could it be six or seven months, I
don’tknow,” she said. “We’re not
putting any time frame on how long
he’ll be home.”
As far as she knew, Eamestine
said, DeAngelo was still enrolled in
classes and was still going to finish
his schooling. But, like many of her
statements, she left it open to spec
ulation.
“It’s just smart for us to do it
like this,” Earnestine said. “It’s
almost like I’m the president.”
As far as a resolution, there is
no current time frame. De Angelo’s
situation, his mother said, “is on the
back burner right now” as NU pre
pares to play Southern Mississippi.
The No. 4 Huskers will take on
the Golden Eagles Saturday at
Memorial Stadium. Solich said
despite the De Angelo Evans’ situa
tion, NU has not become distract
ed.
“Right now, I am really focus
ing on the game,” Solich said, “but
we will, I’m sure, have another con
versation.”
Earnestine did reiterate that
DeAngelo felt very strongly about
his decision to leave the team.
“He came back from two
injuries for this season,” Eamestine
said. “So you know this must go
pretty deep.”
Earnestine also touched on
some of the recent comments made
by DeAngelo’s former teammates -
current members of the Comhusker
football team. One statement in
particular, made by rush end Aaron
Wills, caught Earnestine’s atten
tion.
The quote talked about
DeAngelo having to start regaining
respect from “ground zero” and
also said that “fans are going to eat
, him alive” if he returned.
“He’s a very motivational
speaker,” Eamestine said of Wills.
“He’s trying to give a pitch to the
fans to tell them how to feel.
“But that’s 77,000 people we’re
talking about. Not all of them can
feel that way.”
Big game preceded by trash talk
(U-WIKIIJ UAHNESVILUI, Tia. -
Now that he cap stop holding his
tongue, Darrell Jackson would like his
chance to respond to some talk coming
from Knoxville, Tenn.
“I heard (Tennessee defensive back)
Deon Grant was saying he doesn’t like
us,” Jackson said. “I camsee why they
don’t like us. They really don’t win too
much.”
And so continued the annual week
of trash talk leading into Saturday’s UF
Tennessee showdowi
Grant, however, gave Jackson the
perfect taiget to start firing back.
“I just don’t like Florida,” Grant
said. “I never have liked them. I respect
them and all that, but I just don’t like
them.
“They still think we were very lucky
last year. We’ve got some more respect
to gain.”
Jackson, a junior wide receiver,
called UT’s national championship run
a “Cinderella year,” claiming the Vols
r
were iortunate to win rnree games: tne
34-33 season-opening win against
Syracuse, the 20-17 overtime win
against UF and the 28-24 defeat of
Arkansas.
Adding fuel to the fire, Jackson also
claimed the Volunteer defensive backs
cannot cover the UF receivers, and he
also threw in a response to Tennessee
Coach Phillip Fulmer.
“Last year, they won the game
because we committed all the turnovers.
I heard Fulmer talking about, now they
have the best athletes,” Jackson said.
“They haven’t beaten us in a long time.
They win one game and now they so
called have all the best athletes.”
Jackson’s fellow receiver Travis
Taylor does not mind the trash talk.
“I like to hear the little comments
they’ve got to say,” Taylor said. “Tee
Martin’s talking about (how) he’s wait
ing for us to blitz him. Deon Grant’s
talking about (how) he doesn’t like
Florida, so it’s all good.”
