Washington
on coaching
fast track
Brian Washington’s coaching
plan doesn’t include one second of
wasted time.
He’s already enjoyed his retire
ment. For two years after retiring
from a nine-year *
career as a safety I
with the Cleveland
Browns, New York
Jets and Kansas
City Chiefs in 1996,
he enjoyed it. It’s
likely he could ve HHHfekjR
kept on enjoying it Samuel
But it wasn’t in the McKewon
plan, which was to wmmmmm—m
return to football,
this time as a coach.
The plan brings the former
Husker defensive back from 1984
87 full circle, back to NU as a gradu
ate assistant in the secondary.
In a sense, Washington never
left, maintaining a residence in
South Lincoln throughout his pro
fessional career. Washington still
has the home; now he occupies one
of the lower spots on the NU coach
ing totem pole.
It’s that way because of the plan.
Washington had other options
when, while teaching business
courses in a Virginia high school in
1999, he finally sought to get back
into football.
There was an intern position
with the Chiefs. There was an
inquiry to be coach of the Lincoln
Lightning. There was an opening at
the University of Nebraska at
Omaha. But the plan said choose
the Husker pipeline.
"Coach (Frank) Solich and I
always had a close relationship,”
Washington said. “He’s the one that
recruited me.”
Solich had no immediate open
ings, as grad assistants Jon Bostick
and Chad Stanley were on the final
leg of their three-year stint with NU.
So the coach made Washington a
deal - sign on as an administrative
assistant, wait ayear, then get on the
staff all the way at the bottom as a
graduate assistant Washington bit
So the former all-pro made
peanuts doing statistics and com
puter workforayear. Now he makes
peanuts on nusker stan.
This isn’t about the money,
Washington said. It is about a plan
going one year at a time, and likely
doesn’t indude a return NFL trip.
Washington said he knows the
league well enough to know he
doesn’t aspire to coach in it
“It’s a business,” he said, “all dol
lar arid cents. It’s hard to form rela
tionships with people when you go
against a different guy in practice,
sometimes every week.”
Hence, it’s an ultra-competitive
universe where physical brutality
comes in heavy daily doses. Take the
hardest, most emotionally draining
game you’ve ever played in college -
Washington brings up NU’s 24-20
loss to Texas last year - and multiply
it by every NFL practice, every NFL
game. You’re starting to get the pic
ture.
“And by then, it’s about playing
ball,” he said.
Washington seeks the kind of
character-building that comes
before that moment College coach
ing provides it, because there’s still
some sense of molding players into
their future careers, whether it be
football or, more likely, alineofwork
outside the game. He wants that
responsibility now.
Which means he’d rather not
wait for the pipeline to work its nor
mal channels, which often indudes
a three-year job at NU, then a work
up the chain of command at
Division I schools. At 35,
Washington is a late starter. In his
mind, there isn’t time for a long
term process.
"Ifl had a five-year plan, I'd be 40
years old,” he said.
Yes, there’s still some NFL left in
Washington, a competitiveness that
, comes from expecting success, not
just hoping for it So there’s a moti
vation to get moving now.
Husker safety Clint Finley said
he likes Washington’s approach to
the game, his ability to mold indi
vidual players to their skills and
understand how receivers are “try
ing to take advantage of our weak
nesses.”
For his part, Washington said he
hasn’t been around a group of play
ers so genuinely eager to learn. He
doesn’t know how long he’s going to
be around, either. The end of this
year, for sure. Then, he’ll re-evaluate.
“Let’s say that my focus right
now is helping make sure we get
through this year the right way and
take care of business," said
Washington. “After one year, we’ll
see where I’m at. But right now, I’m
about putting my time into this year.
“We got to rake our yard before we
rake our neighbor’s yard."
1 -
No. 1 NU keeps on rolling
■ NU's first Big 12 road
game against University
of Kansas doesn't faze
Cepero,Huskers
LAWRENCE,Kan.—
Kansas had everything in
place for an upset. A loud,
capacity crowd packed into
a small gym. A fired-up
Jayhawk team off to its best
start in school history.
But KU’s match with
the No. 1 Cornhuskers
turned out the same as it
has for every other NU
opponent.
Before a standing room
only crowd of 1,300 at the
KU Horejsi Family Athletic
Center the top ranked
Cornhuskers notched
another lopsided Big 12
victory over Kansas 15
7,15-5,15-6.
The win over the
Jayhawks (10-2, 1-2) was
the Huskers (10-0,3-0) first
conference road victory on
the season.
One of the main con
cerns for NU Coach John
Cook coming into tonight’s
match was how first year
sophomore setter
Greichaly Cepero would
Nebraska 151515
Kansas 7 5 6
handle the loud gym’s
rowdy crowd.
“One of the challenges
for us this week was if
Greicha was going to play
well tonight,” Cook said.
“We knew they were going
to have this place packed.
“Anytime you go to a
different gym you have to
adjust to the lighting and
the building. Setting is all
feel and location. It’s
human nature that setters
use points of reference on
how to locate the ball and
where to set it.”
With a .495 hitting per
centage it was easy for
Cook to say he was pleased
with Cepero’s performance
behind the net.
Nebraska ended the
match with only four
errors, compared with the
20 Kansas put up.
“As a coaching staff we
really can’t ask for anything
more then hitting .495 with
only four hitting errors,”
Cook said. "That’s excep
tional.”
Cook’s lone concern
after the match was his
team’s defensive perform
ance.
“As a coaching staff we really can’t ask
for anything more then hitting .495 with
only four hitting errors. That’s
exceptional."
John Cook
NU volleyball coach
Cook put most of the
blame on KU’s unorthodox
style of hitting.
“We have no way of
simulating that kind of in
practice," he said.
The Huskers, however,
shut down Amy Myatt, KU’s
best player.
“I thought we did a
good job on Amy Myatt. We
really put some pressure on
her.”
Myatt came into
tonight’s match hitting
.406. After meeting the
Husker block attack she
ended with .057 hitting
percentage to go along with
a match-high nine errors.
NU was led offensively
by their sophomore sensa
tion Laura Pilakowski. She
notched a match-high 17
kills and hit .438 on 31
attempts.
Nebraska's lethal com
bination in the middle,
Jenny Kropp and Amber
Holmquist each added
eight kills respectively.
Third-year Kansas
Coach Ray Bechard said
Nebraska gave his team
more than they could han
dle.
“I don’t think we ever
got comfortable with pass
ing the ball,” Bechard said.
“I told them we had to
value the ball tonight.
When the ball is on our side
of the net it was extremely
important. If you give it
back to them they’re going
to make something hap
pen.
“We played a better
team tonight. I think we
can give a better account of
ourselves after tonight’s
match.”
Huskerfans
get football fix
with T.V. games
BY JOHN GASKINS
You know the old saying, “everybody wants to be
on TV?” Well, in the world of major college football -
especially Nebraska - almost everyone is. Every
week.
Tickets are as hard to get as ever, but the heart
break of the millions of devout Big Red fans state
and nation-wide that don’t get to see Nebraska live
gets less painful every year.
All they have to do is flip on the tube on any given
Saturday, and their beloved Comhuskers will be on.
Saturday’s 2:30 telecast against Iowa will be the
43rd of NU’s last 53 games that have been televised
since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1996.
Last year, every game but one was televised.
Tim Allen, associate commissioner of the Big 12
Conference, projects 86 appearances by Big 12 teams
on television this season, not counting any pre-sea
son or bowl games.
The increased publicity is partially because of
college football’s ever-growing popularity. The pub
licity is also popular with almost everyone involved
in football.
“It’s always a plus,” NU Coach Frank Solich said.
“Anytime people get to turn on a TV set and see
Nebraska play, it certainly helps Nebraska.
“It gives you exposure. Recruits are always look
ing for that. Parents are always wanting to get the
opportunity to see their sons play on TV It's good for
Please see TV on 11
'The Ripper'thrashes BMXfoes
BY JILL ZEMAN
Mounds of dirt are situated
at the Star City BMX track,
potential obstacles for any bike
racer trying to leap over them.
UNL senior Robbie Richard
calmly jumps the five, six and
even 10-foot obstacles on the
track.
He smiles. They’re easy for
him.
Richard, a Lincoln native
and University of Nebraska stu
dent, is the best of the best
among those who race BMX
bikes. He gets paid to make
these jumps as quickly as possi
ble, without wiping out.
It's more than a job for
Richard, though. Words like
“gnarly” and “stoked” creep into
Richard’s conversation, particu
larly when he speaks of his rac
ing, his bike, his way of life.
“I don’t know what I’d do
without my bike,” he said.
While Richard, 24, makes his
living as a professional BMX
racer, he is working toward a
marketing degree he hopes to
earn in May.
Balancing the books and the
bike is tough, but Richard han
dles it as well as any of the
jumps at the Star City BMX
track.
I ride my bike between
classes, and when I get done,
the books get set aside and I ride
until it’s dark,” he said. “Then I
study.”
Richard competes on week
ends across the nation, which
doesn’t always work out with his
class schedule.
Because Richard doesn’t fall
under the category of UNL ath
lete, he isn’t excused from his
classes when he competes.
So instead, Richard must
pick and choose which races he
will compete and which classes
he cannot miss.
“I’m not as lucky as some of
the football players on cam
pus,” he said. “I don’t get an
excuse from school.”
In fact, Richard, nicknamed
“The Ripper,” could be the
antithesis of the traditional
Husker athlete, with his
bleached blond hair, tattoos
and labret piercing - a spike
placed directly below his lower
lip.
Richard’s difference from
the UNL efforts goes beyond
physical appearances.
“I hate football, I hate
Nebraska football,” he said.
“There’s other stuff out there
besides football in this state.”
Richard's class conflict
played itself out last weekend,
when Richard could have com
peted in one of ESPN’s Vans
Triple Crown BMX competition.
Richard didn’t compete. He
Please see BMX on 10
JoshWolfe/DN
JoshWolfe/DN
TOP: UNL senior Robbie Richard, 24, is a
professional BMX racer, juggling school
and his passion for the track. Richard
often rides his bike between classes
and competes in events on weekends
across the nation.
LEFT: Robbie Richard often jumps as
high as 10 feet during competition.The
local BMX track, Star City BMX, isn't up
to professional standards, he said,
which forces him to train in larger
cities.
Scout-teamers make big difference for Corn buskers
BY DAVID DIEHL
In a little over a year at
Nebraska, Brett Lindstrom
has suffered through
countless days of practice
and the beatings that come
along with it.
He’s suffered through
one minor, nagging injury
after another - like the time
he hit his throwing elbow
on a defender’s helmet and
bled profusely.
And don’t think he mag
ically escapes major
injuries, either. He spent
time on the shelf with a
broken foot during his red
shirt season.
All that pain has paid
off a little - he was shuffled
up the depth chart this
spring and started in the
Red-White game when two
quarterbacks in front of
him were held down with
injuries.
But his career statistics
still show zeros across the
board - no passes attempt
ed, no options run and no
touchdown celebrations in
a shower of cheers from
*
77,000 people in red.
So goes the football life
of the scout-teamer - one
of the most vital aspects of
the Nebraska football pro
gram.
Lindstrom, a redshirt
freshman from Omaha, is
just one of many walk-ons
in the NU program that pay
their dues on the
Cornhusker’s scout team.
By giving the starting
defenses looks of what
they'll be up against in the
game, and getting battered
and broken in the process,
Lindstrom helps Nebraska
maintain its standing as a
football powerhouse.
In fact, the 50-plus
members of the scout team
- a group of mostly younger
guys and redshirt players -
have a big part in the No. 1
ranking, even though they
rarely see the game field.
“The scout team is vital
to how we operate,” Coach
Frank Solich said.
The scout team does its
work in the days prior to
Please see PRACTICE on 10
Steven Bender/DN
■; : :<
Brett Lindstrom
works out with
the quarter
backs on
Wednesday.
During practice,
Lindstrom, a
scout teamer,
often simulates
an opposing
team's quarter
back.
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