From Tom Shatel:
Last year Nebraska gave out Blackshirts like pens at registration. I think Kevin Cosgrove gave out 16 Blackshirts. I was disappointed I didn't get one.
Those days are gone. On Tuesday, Bo Pelini said no defensive player had been given a Blackshirt and he didn't know when the sacred practice jerseys would be handed out. Well, that's not true. Pelini said they would be awarded when a player had earned it.
Love it. Love it. Love it.
Of course, this has thrown everyone's Nebraska football clocks out of whack. It's opening week. This is when Blackshirts are hung on every locker. When asked why he was doing it this way, Pelini shot back, "Why not? What's a Blackshirt mean if it's a symbol that you don't earn? Isn't that the point? Everybody wants to rush this thing. What's the point if you're just going to hand them out?"
Exactly. This is the right message to send to not only a defense that needs to earn some things back, but a program, too. Nobody is going to hand Nebraska its rightful place in college football. The Huskers are going to have to earn it.
Meanwhile, it was fashion day at Pelini's first news conference. Pelini walked in wearing a blue shirt and a pair of cargo pants. He looked like he was driving the family to Colorado. Some wiseacre asked Pelini if he had heard about Bill Callahan catching grief for not wearing red to a news conference last year, and Pelini said, "Does that mean I'm going to get a lot of heat from you guys?"
Not at all. Maybe you have to earn that red shirt.
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