/
- ' “• ;; ' \ ":?? ' -• ' ;-v-^ - . / *.V-* ••* *:'I.
Page 12 Wednesday, December 1,1999
.. * •1" 111 — ..-.— - - ■■■-.
On at
_ DN File Phoi
QUARTERBACK MAJOR APPLEWHIT
plays a key role la aTexas Offense
that averages 430 yards per game.
1 ■ Nebraska players and
I coaches are quick to praise
| the Texas sophomore, who
I has thrown 21 TDs.
By David Diehl
StaffWriter
For the third time in two years,
Nebraska’s Blackshirts will line up
Saturday opposite a Texas quarter
back who was supposedly too short,
not fast enough and lacked a lot of
I athletic talent
But Major Applewhite, the Big
12’s Co-Offensive Player of the Year,
^ has beaten the Comhuskers the last
E two times they’ve met. He handed
- them a 20-16 loss last year in Lincoln
and led UT back from a 10-point half
time deficit to a 24-20 win in Austin
earlier this season.
Defensive tackle Steve Warren
said that it is a little frustrating seeing
a quarterback who isn’t the biggest or
the fastest or the best athlete thrive as
much as Applewhite has.
“But you have to give him credit,”
Warren said. “He is a big playmaker,
and he runs their offense very well.”
Applewhite has guided the
Longhorns to more than just big vic
tories over NU the last two years. He
has compiled a 17-4 record as a starter
on his way to becoming one of the
most prolific passers in Texas history.
Coach Frank Solich sees
Applewhite as a dangerous quarter
back and a good leader and sees him
in a similar fashion as NU quarter
back Eric Crouch.
“He certainly makes the big plays
for them and moves the football,”
Solich said.
“Ideally you’d like to get some
pressure on him up front, but that’s
easier said than done. If he has time to
pick you apart, he will do that.”
As for UT records, Applewhite
holds or has tied 29 of them. He ranks
third in career passing yards, fourth in
career total offense, second in touch
down passes and has five of the 11
highest single-game passing yard
totals in Texas history; all before the
end of his sophomore season.
Applewhite has run the offense to
the best in the Big 12. The UT offense
is averaging almost 430 yards per
game, and he has engineered a 136.7
quarterback rating, good for second in
the conference.
“He’s definitely one of the best
quarterbacks in the -country,” said
Crouch, who tied Applewhite for both
All Big 12 Quarterback and Offensive
Player of the Year honors.
“He makes smart decisions with
the ball and where to throw it. Texas is
one of the best teams in the country as
far as turnovers, and that says a big
deal about his decision making.”
Applewhite has thrown only six
interceptions, five in a 35-17 loss to
Kansas State, this season, compared
with 21 touchdown strikes. Crouch
has 1,214 passing yards, 817 rushing
and 21 total touchdowns of his own.
When the two square off Saturday
for the Big 12 championship, Crouch
said the focus will be on the team
aspect and that he avoids individual
competitions.
“I just have to make plays for the
team and execute the offense,” Crouch
said. “You’re heading in the wrong
direction if you get into one-on-one
battles.”
Nebraska newcomer defies heavyweight stereotypes
By David Diehl
StaffWriter
It was one of the very first morn
ing workouts for Pat Miron at
Nebraska. Coach Tim Neumann had
his wrestling team in the weight room
conditioning by doing sets of 15 pull
ups.
Miron didn’t find the activity too
much of a challenge.
So the true freshman from St.
Croix Falls, Wis., strapped a 45
pound plate around his waist and pro
ceeded to roll off chin-ups that way.
Recalling the event, Miron
laughed, shrugged his shoulders and
modestly said, “Well, yeah. I did a
couple.”
“He was getting bored with it,”
said Neumann of his starting heavy
weight wrestler doing chin-ups with
out an extra 45-pound burden. “That
just shows you what kind of work
ethic he Jias. That’s very uncommon
for heavyweights.”
In general, Neumann said, heavy
weights haven’t been the model of
hard work. They’ve never had to cut
weight - “never had to do the extra
stuff because they didn’t have to be a
specific weight,” Neumann said.
Miron shattered that mold.
“He’s the opposite,” Neumann
said. “He’s trying to win the sprints,
and he’s in the weight room the
longest, and he’s always working on
technique after practice.”
Such an attitude is. crucial,
Neumann said, because the whole
team looks up to the heavyweight as a
major pillar inside the team.
“If your anchor is lazy, that leaves
a bad taste in your mouth,” Neumann
said. “If you’ve got a hard-working
guy at the end of your lineup, it makes
everybody feel like they can work
that much harder.
“That’s why I believe he’s going to
be really successful. He’s going to
outwork all the other heavyweights in
the country.”
Miron said there is no other way
for him to do it.
“That’s the way I’ve always been
growing up,” Miron said. “If you
want to succeed, you’ve got to do it
yourself and work for it. Nothing’s
going to come easy.
“If you want to be the best, you’ve
got to work harder than everybody
else.”
Miron’s body is the first thing
noticeable about him. His legs look
like tree trunks. Those legs and his
torso, shaped like the world’s biggest
hourglass, are the product of number
less hours inside the weight room.
For Miron, lifting is fun.
“I enjoy it,” Miron said. “It’s kind
of like a relaxer. Some people like to
Please see MIRON on 13
