BIGREDFAN_in_OMAHA
All-American
Grove surprised to be starting first game as a Husker
BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
Thursday, Aug 30, 2007 - 12:09:09 am CDT
Thomas Grove isn’t certain how many recruiting stars he’d give him himself.
Maybe one or two. Hard to say, Grove said, because he didn’t attend any big summer football camps. Too busy playing baseball.
He’s 6-foot-1, 210 pounds. He has a 40-yard dash time of 4.6 seconds. He benches 270 pounds, give or take a few.
“Something like that,” Grove said. “Nothing too impressive.”
Grove played in July’s Shrine Bowl but left Arlington High School with few major accolades. No all-state recognition. No Rivals.com profile.
He had all of 29 tackles last season as a senior. He sent a tape to Nebraska’s coaches, anyway.
Saturday, the true freshman Husker walk-on will be in the starting lineup when Nebraska opens the season against Nevada at Memorial Stadium.
You read correctly.
Yeah, Grove did a double-take, too, after learning he’d earned a spot on Nebraska’s No. 1 kickoff team.
“Absolutely not,” Grove said when asked if could’ve envisioned such a scenario unfolding when fall camp began Aug. 6. “Absolutely not.”
Grove thought “100 percent” that he’d redshirt. But as the days and weeks went by, his stock rose. He’s even listed on the depth chart at linebacker — the top backup at WILL to co-No. 1s Steve Octavien and Lance Brandenburgh.
“I’m very surprised at this point,” Grove said. “I really want to keep a level head. I keep telling myself that.”
Grove’s parents’ reaction?
“They were just as surprised as I was.”
What about elsewhere in Arlington?
“We’re kind of on cloud nine here a little bit,” said Steve Gubbels, Grove’s high school football coach.
Gubbels said he’s surprised only because talk of a true freshman walk-on starting at Nebraska is quite rare. (Lane Kelly did it as a long snapper in 2004.) He’s not, however, surprised that Grove’s work ethic was behind his sudden rise.
“He’s always done that from the first time I had him in the program on the scout team,” Gubbels said. “I don’t know if anybody on scout team has worked any harder.”
When the Huskers kick off, look for No. 41. He’ll likely be the third man in from the end, next to Rickey Thenarse.
Perfect, says Grove.
“I wasn’t even thinking about playing linebacker or offense or anything like that,” he said. “I was thinking about special teams and running down on kickoff in front of (80,000) people. That was the main thing.
“That, and the tunnel walk.”
How, exactly, did Grove rise so far, so fast? He’s not even sure. He cites his longstanding approach of working hard, believing, and having confidence in himself. Grubbels said Grove is smart, strong and very coachable.
“He had an outstanding camp,” Nebraska defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said. “He picked things up very well. Tremendous athlete, a physical guy who’s just going to grow with the program. But he has a lot of abilities. We’re really excited about his future.”
Grove was among five true freshmen walk-ons who made the fall camp 105-man roster. Others were Mike Hays (Papillion-LaVista), Austin Cassidy (Southwest), Mike Masin (Southeast) and Kevin Thomsen (Elkhorn).
Grove played four sports in high school and last season rushed for 1,133 yards and 17 touchdowns, helping Arlington reach the second round of the Class C-1 state playoffs. That was enough to grab the attention of UNO, UNK, Northwest Missouri State and South Dakota State.
But after his tape to Nebraska got a favorable review ...
“I knew I had to give it a shot,” Grove said. “I didn’t want to look down the road, going to a smaller school and regret it and think, ‘What if?’ ”
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BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
Thursday, Aug 30, 2007 - 12:09:09 am CDT
Thomas Grove isn’t certain how many recruiting stars he’d give him himself.
Maybe one or two. Hard to say, Grove said, because he didn’t attend any big summer football camps. Too busy playing baseball.
He’s 6-foot-1, 210 pounds. He has a 40-yard dash time of 4.6 seconds. He benches 270 pounds, give or take a few.
“Something like that,” Grove said. “Nothing too impressive.”
Grove played in July’s Shrine Bowl but left Arlington High School with few major accolades. No all-state recognition. No Rivals.com profile.
He had all of 29 tackles last season as a senior. He sent a tape to Nebraska’s coaches, anyway.
Saturday, the true freshman Husker walk-on will be in the starting lineup when Nebraska opens the season against Nevada at Memorial Stadium.
You read correctly.
Yeah, Grove did a double-take, too, after learning he’d earned a spot on Nebraska’s No. 1 kickoff team.
“Absolutely not,” Grove said when asked if could’ve envisioned such a scenario unfolding when fall camp began Aug. 6. “Absolutely not.”
Grove thought “100 percent” that he’d redshirt. But as the days and weeks went by, his stock rose. He’s even listed on the depth chart at linebacker — the top backup at WILL to co-No. 1s Steve Octavien and Lance Brandenburgh.
“I’m very surprised at this point,” Grove said. “I really want to keep a level head. I keep telling myself that.”
Grove’s parents’ reaction?
“They were just as surprised as I was.”
What about elsewhere in Arlington?
“We’re kind of on cloud nine here a little bit,” said Steve Gubbels, Grove’s high school football coach.
Gubbels said he’s surprised only because talk of a true freshman walk-on starting at Nebraska is quite rare. (Lane Kelly did it as a long snapper in 2004.) He’s not, however, surprised that Grove’s work ethic was behind his sudden rise.
“He’s always done that from the first time I had him in the program on the scout team,” Gubbels said. “I don’t know if anybody on scout team has worked any harder.”
When the Huskers kick off, look for No. 41. He’ll likely be the third man in from the end, next to Rickey Thenarse.
Perfect, says Grove.
“I wasn’t even thinking about playing linebacker or offense or anything like that,” he said. “I was thinking about special teams and running down on kickoff in front of (80,000) people. That was the main thing.
“That, and the tunnel walk.”
How, exactly, did Grove rise so far, so fast? He’s not even sure. He cites his longstanding approach of working hard, believing, and having confidence in himself. Grubbels said Grove is smart, strong and very coachable.
“He had an outstanding camp,” Nebraska defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said. “He picked things up very well. Tremendous athlete, a physical guy who’s just going to grow with the program. But he has a lot of abilities. We’re really excited about his future.”
Grove was among five true freshmen walk-ons who made the fall camp 105-man roster. Others were Mike Hays (Papillion-LaVista), Austin Cassidy (Southwest), Mike Masin (Southeast) and Kevin Thomsen (Elkhorn).
Grove played four sports in high school and last season rushed for 1,133 yards and 17 touchdowns, helping Arlington reach the second round of the Class C-1 state playoffs. That was enough to grab the attention of UNO, UNK, Northwest Missouri State and South Dakota State.
But after his tape to Nebraska got a favorable review ...
“I knew I had to give it a shot,” Grove said. “I didn’t want to look down the road, going to a smaller school and regret it and think, ‘What if?’ ”
link
