Mulkey raising some brows...

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Poorly edited art below courtesy the Lincoln Urinal.....

 

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NUreceiver Mulkey catching coaches' attention

BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL

 

Run a route across the middle of the field, and you risk becoming the lead segment on some highlight show of the day's hardest hits.

 

 

Doesn't scare Grant Mulkey. The Nebraska receiver said he's not afraid to run such routes.

 

As a matter of fact, he prefers them.

 

"A lot of times, you're going to get your head knocked off," Mulkey said. "You've just got to be able to hold on to the ball and get right back up."

 

 

Perhaps his liking for rough contact comes from his days of playing free safety in high school at Arlington,Texas.

 

He's delivered his blows. Now, he's ready to take some.

 

"I've taken my hits," Mulkey said. "I took a couple in the spring game."

 

Fellow receiver Ross Pilkington remembers.

 

"He got a pretty good shot,"Pilkington said, "and still caught it."

 

Speaking of catching, Mulkey caught the first pass in the Bill Callahan era - a 7-yard toss from quarterback Joe Dailey on the third play of the spring game. He finished the scrimmage with four catches for 24 yards.

 

Now, as first-year offensive coordinator Jay Norvell looks for a crop of receivers to run the West Coast offense, Mulkey's name is again surfacing.

 

A 5-foot-11, 190-pound sophomore walk-on, Mulkey is Nebraska's top No. 3 receiver. In other words, whenever the Huskers run a three-receiver set, you'll most likely see Mulkey in a slot-type formation.

 

"I think he's going to be a big part of our offense," said Pilkington, Nebraska's No. 1 'X' receiver. "The third receiver is in probably half, if not three-quarters, of the time. He's going to be in there a lot.

 

"He's got the speed to go deep. He's not scared to go over the middle. You saw that in the spring game."

 

Mulkey was the Red team's third-leading receiver, behind Pilkington and Matt Herian, who are regarded as two of Nebraska's top receiving threats. Herian is a tight end.

 

Mulkey spits out names such as Pilkington, Isaiah Fluellen, Mark LeFlore, Andy Birkel, Willie Amos and Shamus McKoy when asked about the strength of Nebraska's receiving corps.

 

"We're just stacked,"Mulkey said. "A lot of guys are going to get playing time this year due to the fact we run so many deep routes and run so many patterns. It's hard to stay fresh, and they're going to want fresh guys in there, so there's going to be a lot of guys that are playing."

 

The little-known Mulkey expects to be a part of that group, perhaps in a prominent way.

 

Last year, as a redshirt freshman, Mulkey played in four games as a backup but didn't have any receptions. He made a good impression during spring practices, and Norvell said Mulkey has performed well in the fall, too.

 

"We're trying to find a group of guys that are consistent players at the wide receiver position, and Grant's had a good camp," Norvell said. "He's learning, he's improving every day. We've got a lot of techniques that are specific to our pass offense, and he's doing a good job right now. He's kind of one of that group that are working hard to make a contribution."

 

Pilkington has noticed improvement, too. He said Mulkey picked things up a notch after learning of his role as third receiver - also known as the Zebra.

 

"He stepped up and kind of took that role on," Pilkington said, "really started to learn his plays and really started to play well and make big plays."

 

Mulkey played high school football for Coach Mickey Finley, the father of former Husker player Clint Finley.

 

When the elder Finley sent Mulkey to Nebraska camp one summer, Mulkey expected to focus on defense. Former Nebraska receivers coach Ron Brown, though, saw Mulkey running routes and told him to stay with the offense during camp.

 

"I did that," Mulkey said, "he liked what I had, and I just decided to stay at receiver right there."

 

Of course, the last thought in Mulkey's mind was that he'd be featured in the West Coast offense in his third year with the Huskers.

 

Not that he's complaining, mind you.

 

"(Coach) Callahan and (Coach)Norvell are offensive geniuses," Mulkey said. "We'll be sitting in meetings, and they'll be explaining things and plays ... and we're just sitting there amazed at the type of offense we're running. We're just all real excited about it.

 

"We get a chance to get the ball in our hands and make some big plays. We're getting our timing down and getting everybody on the same page. ... We watch film, and you see big things happening when everybody's on the same page. I think it's going to be a great year."

 

http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2004/0...ll/10054139.txt