SportsThursday
Solich
chooses
wisely
Man for
man, the
Nebraska foot
ball recruiting
class of 2001 is
just as good as
any in the coun
try.
rms class
does exactly
what it should -
fills the needs at
Sean
Callahan
major positions.
The main need coming in
was finding a top-notch quarter
back.
By getting a pair of commit
ments from Millard North's Mike
McLaughlin and Council Bluffs
St Albert’s Mike Stuntz, NU gets
some needed depth at the signal
caller position.
Questions remain, however,
on whether either could battle for
a starting spot or even surpass
current backup Jammal Lord.
My guess is no. Lord will have
two years on these guys already,
two years of working behind one
of the best
Good news is Stuntz and
McLaughlin can easily be shifted
to other positions.
At 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds,
Stuntz would make a great safety
with his 4.5 speed. The same goes
for McLaughlin. He could be uti
lized in die defensive backfield or
even at receiver.
Nevertheless, one thing’s for
sure - both players will definitely
have a shot to make it as a quar
terback.
The two quarterback signees
are far from being the only inter
changeable parts in this class.
With eight signees that
played either comerback or safe
ty in high school, NU has plenty
of speed to bum. And die coach
ing staff will likely bum it both in
the defensive secondary or the
split end and wingback positions.
Probably the best of the ath
letic bunch is Denver standout
Cory Ross, Colorado's player of
the year and the highest-ranked
defensive back in NU’s class.
While Ross will probably start
out at cornerback, he has the
speed and versatility to help NU
anywhere on the field. Listed at 5
foot-7, Ross may be short in
stature, but he’s long on talent.
This is the player who split time
with Colorado’s Marcus Houston,
a sure star in the making.
wane auueies were a priority
for the Huskers, the strongest
point of this class is at defensive
tackle where NU failed to sign
any in die class of2000.
In 1999, Nebraska signed
Patrick Kabongo, Junior Thgoa’i
and Ryon Bingham. So far, all
three haven’t produced in their
young careers, or they haven’t
stayed healthy. There is talk that
Tagoa’i and Kabongo may even
be moved to offensive line this
spring.
By signing Jared Helming,
Titus Adams and LeKevin Smith
in this year’s class, the Huskers
picked up three players capable
of eventually becoming stars at
the position.
This is probably the best
group of defensive tackles
Nebraska has ever landed in one
class, considering the fact that all
three players are ranked among
the top 15 at their position by
rivalsl00.com.
The recruiting season did
have its disappointments, how
ever.
Like every year, Nebraska lost
a few guys who played the
recruiting soap opera.
Last year it was Carlyle
Holiday and Adrian Mayes. This
year Barrington, 111., offensive
lineman Dan Stevenson gave his
commitment to the Huskers but
decided to back out after his offi
cial visit because he said he just
didn’t “mesh” with the guys on
the team.
Probably the biggest disap
pointment came when East St.
Louis running back Damian
Nash committed to Missouri over
NU.
At one time, Nash looked to
be a lock for Nebraska, but after
visiting Missouri for his final trip,
first-year Tiger Coach Gary Pinkel
must have said something right
to sway Nash from the Huskers.
Maybe the only other major
disappointment was losing out
on Atlantic, Iowa, offensive line
man Blake Larsen to Iowa.
Larsen, rated as the top player
at his position according to
Please see CALLAHAN on 10
On the dotted line, please...
Solich signs 18 future Huskers in his third recruiting class
BY SEAN CALLAHAN
National letter of intent sign
ing day has come and gone, and
in the wake of months of recruit
ing, Nebraska Coach Frank
Solich said he was pleased with
what he came up with.
On Wednesday, Solich wel
comed 18 new recruits that
signed national letters of intent
to join the 2001 Nebraska foot
ball team.
“We really feel it’s an excel
lent class - exceptional in terms
of the speed, the size, the athleti
cism and the toughness that is
combined within this class,”
Solich said. “Those are all things
that we really look very hard at in
the recruiting process to try to
make sure we’re bringing in the
kind of athletes that are going to
be able to compete for champi
onships.”
Of the 18 signees, two players
- Macon, Ga., defensive tackle
LeKevin Smith and Davenport,
Iowa, running back Marques
Simmons - announced their
decisions to commit to Nebraska
on signing day, opting not to
reveal their choices before then.
Really, Solich’s class is broken
up into three categories - quar
terbacks, defensive tackles and
skill-position athletes. Only three
of the 18 recruits don’t fit in at
those areas.
Since NU didn't receive any
commitments from defensive
tackles or quarterbacks in its last
recruiting class, Solich said those
were two of the main targets in
this year's recruiting process.
But it was obvious by looking
at the list of newcomers that
defense was what NU coaches
were looking for mostly as two
thirds of the class were defensive
specialists.
That’s what wins champi
onships, Solich said.
“If you looked at the Super
Bowl, if you looked at the Big 12
Championship game, if you
looked at the national champi
onship game, you saw great
defense played,” Solich said.
“Certainly what we're going with
bringing in the type of players
we’re bring in is insuring that
Nebraska will continue a great
tradition of defensive football
teams.”
By gaining a late commit
ment from Smith at defensive
tackle along with Omaha
7 can’t remember a
better group of
defensive lineman in
terms of combination
of size, speed and
guys who have made
plays."
Frank Solich
NU football coach
Creighton Prep’s Titus Adams,
Springfield (Mo.) Kickapoo’s
Jared Helming and Laurel
Concord’s Seppo Evwaraye, NU’s
bagged four lineman, three of
which are ranked in the top 15 at
their position by rivalslOO.com.
Solich called the incoming
group the best at that position he
can remember in 22 years with
the Huskers.
“I can’t remember a better
group of defensive linemen in
terms of combination of size,
speed and guys who have made
plays,” Solich said.
Jeremy Crabtree,
rivalslOO.com editor, said the
commitment of Smith brings the
class over the top.
“Smith gives Nebraska a great
one-two punch with Helming,”
Crabtree said. "They instantly
give NU one of the top overall
defensive line classes in the
nation along with Adams.
"Smith is the type of player
you have to like. He's big, strong
and aggressive off the ball.”
When one looks at a list of
the recruits, it’s hard not to notice
the large number of defensive
backs, too.
Overall, six of the players are
listed to play in the secondary.
Four others have the ability to
play there, as well.
Please see RECRUITS on 10
David dasen/DN
Cookie Belcher leans in for a shot over Oklahoma State forward Andre Williams. Belcher tied career highs in NU's 78-75 win, scoring 27 points and notch
ing eight steak.
Belcher lifts NU in overtime win
BY BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON
Cookie Belcher is turning it up just
as his career is winding down.
The senior guard popped in a
game-high 27
points against
Oklahoma State,
tying his career
high. Each one of them was necessary
to help the Cornhuskers (11-11,4-5)
fend off OSU (14-5, 5-3) for a 78-75
overtime win before 8,814 fans at the
llnl— ,. I, , 70
Nebraska, n
Oklahoma St 75
Bob Devaney Sports Center.
It was the third time in the last four
games Belcher has poured in more
than 20 points.
The senior from Mexico, Mo., took
over the game at times, with his most
impressive stint coming as he put on a
three-point shooting clinic at the end
of the first half. Belcher hit three
triples in a row, sparking a 12-0
Nebraska run and giving NU a 40-33
halftime lead.
“I don't know what happened,”
Belcher said. “Something hit me, and
my shot just felt good. Every time I
touched it, I just wanted to shoot it,
and I did, and we got on a roll.”
Belcher tied a career high with
eight steals, was nine of 13 shooting
for the game and four of five from
behind the arc. He helped the Huskers
shoot 49 percent from the field com
pared to OSU’s 41 percent shooting.
Please see BELCHER on 11
Prep's Adams
knew he'd be
a Comhusker
BY DAVID DIEHL
It’s 8 a.m. sharp inside the Creighton meeting
room at Creighton Prep High School, but it’s really
not the Creighton room right now. It’s the Titus
Adams room.
With a deft sweeping motion, Adams affixes his
John Hancock to numerous papers recognizing his
intent to play football at Nebraska. His parents,
coaches and a few teammates look on as he lays
down the pen, looks up and smiles. He is a
Comhusker.
“It's just an honor to be able to play football at
Nebraska,” Adams said. “It’s just always what I
wanted to do.”
Adams, a 6-foot-4,285-pound defensive tackle,
was one of 18 high school athletes to sign national
letters of intent to play football for Nebraska Coach
Frank Solich on Wednesday. He is also part of a trio
of highly skilled defensive tackles who signed with
NU, allowing for optimism in the Blackshirts’
future.
One of two Parade All-Americans in the group
of three tackles, Adams was arguably the best play
er in the state this year. He anchored a Creighton
Prep defense that helped put the Junior Jays in the
state championship game for the second year in a
row.
Last season, Neoraska lost out on the top player
in the state as Omaha Central’s standout running
back, JaMaine Billups, opted for Iowa State and the
immediate playing opportunities available with the
Cyclones.
But Adams admitted that keeping the state’s top
player inside its borders wasn’t all that difficult this
recruiting season. He sort of went through the
motions of the recruiting process knowing full well
where he was going to end up.
“I pretty much always kind of knew," Adams
said of his choice. “I wanted to go to Nebraska; I just
wanted to go through the whole process of recruit
ing and see who was interested.”
Please see TITUS on 10
Sooners deliver
double-digit
knockout to NU
BY JOHN GASKINS
To grasp the story of the Nebraska women’s
basketball team’s 84-62 blowout loss to No. 10
Oklahoma Wednesday night, just dig out any arti
cle about the team from the last month.
Because it was the same old
story for the Huskers, which
dropped to 10-13. A broken
record. They lost for the ninth time
in 11 games during their Big 12 stretch. Six of
those losses came by 14 points or more. Four of
them came at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
This time, it was in front of 4,794 frustrated fans
who stuck around after the men’s overtime win
over Oklahoma State.
Once again on Wednesday, NU played stiff
Oklahoma 84
Nebraska 62
Please see WOMEN on 11
