Huskers' droughts in draft

[Eric the Red]

Huskers' droughts in draft puzzling

 

By STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star ANALYSIS

Nebraska's Brandon Jackson (32) runs through the defense of Patrick Trahan (42) of Auburn in the Huskers' game against the Tigers in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1. (LJS file)

Occasionally in examining sport one stumbles on a streak that elicits pause.

 

Consider for instance that five years have passed without Nebraska having a running back selected in the NFL Draft, an ignominious drought for a program long regarded for rushing prowess.

 

It isn’t for lack of stockpiling bodies.

 

Nebraska carried 10 I-backs on the 2002 roster, and a couple of them (Dahrran Diedrick and Josh Davis) enjoyed a cup of coffee in the NFL as free agents, while another (Cory Ross) will try to make it through a second season in 2007 as a Baltimore Ravens free agent.

 

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All the hyperbole in the world — which is approximately the amount Thunder Collins received upon his arrival in Lincoln from East Los Angeles College — couldn’t land the thunderous one on an NFL roster. “Thunder” wasn’t exactly the image that came to mind when one laid eyes on Collins’ spindly legs.

 

A sports radio program breathlessly counted down the days to Collins’ arrival on campus. Hoodwinked, all of us.

 

Now, with less fanfare, we count down days to the end of Nebraska’s running back drought in the draft. Somebody’s going to snatch the swift, shifty, strong and instinctive Brandon Jackson, if not Saturday (first three rounds) then for sure Sunday (final four).

 

The 5-foot-10, 210-pound Jackson appears capable of sticking around The League for a sustained period, as has fellow Mississippi native Correll Buckhalter, who, along with wrecking-ball runner Dan Alexander, was drafted out of NU in 2001.

 

Then came the drought.

 

It wasn’t for lack of searching.

 

For instance, Nebraska’s 1999 roster included a guy from Brussels, Belgium (Alik Tillery). The Huskers recruited intriguing names from afar (Thunder) and impossible-to-spell names from across town (Nanfwang Mutfwang of Lincoln Northeast).

 

Some talented I-backs left Lincoln limping, overweight and in a huff (DeAngelo Evans), and too many simply weren’t fast or tough enough.

 

Many we forget (Tim Reese), others we regret (Marques Simmons).

 

We should note that in 1999, Nebraska carried a dozen I-backs on the roster: Matt Albertson, Alexander, Buckhalter, Chad Buller, Chris Butler, Davis, Diedrick, Evans, DeAntae Grixby, Robin Miller, Reece and Tillery.

 

Diedrick was underappreciated, even derided in some quarters for lack of speed despite rushing for 1,299 yards in 2001 while averaging 5.6 per carry.

 

Buckhalter also was somewhat underappreciated by fans and arguably underused. He played in 46 games but started only nine. His best year was 1998, when he rushed for 799 yards as a sophomore. He averaged 6.1 yards for his college career while often playing hurt. What he lacked in breakaway speed he made up for in instinct. He was a natural for the position.

 

Buckhalter’s college career overlapped that of Alexander, who rushed for a career-high 1,154 yards in 2000 and also averaged 6.1 for his career. The 6-foot, 245-pound Alexander had excellent speed but was anything but natural, especially when he tried to catch a pass. It hurt to watch him try.

 

Now, we wonder: Will the selection of Jackson this weekend be followed by another I-back draft drought?

 

Marlon Lucky arguably possesses NFL-caliber talent. But is he tough enough mentally and physically to last in a rugged land where defenders seize upon weakness like sharks on blood?

 

Will Cody Glenn’s aching right foot ever fully heal? Does he possess the requisite speed and athleticism even with two good feet to be an every-down NFL guy?

 

Will Nebraska ever again feature a running back the caliber of Mike Rozier or Lawrence Phillips? With due respect to Ahman Green, only Rozier was as intimidating as Phillips when Phillips was of healthy mind and not the tormented athlete overcome by his demons. Damned demons ruined a potential NFL superstar.

 

Another statistic that might give Nebraska fans reason for pause:

 

When this weekend’s draft concludes, Nebraska still will have had only two offensive linemen selected in five years (Josh Sewell in 2004, Richie Incognito in 2005). The pipeline slowed to a trickle.

 

Carl Nicks, projected as Nebraska’s starting left tackle in 2007, next April will end the Huskers’ two-year offensive line draft drought.

 

“He’ll be a great pro,” says Husker offensive line coach Dennis Wagner, who also projects center Brett Byford as an NFL-caliber performer.

 

Watch for the Big Red pipeline to soon start flowing with talent for years to come. The recent accumulation of these behemoths has been a sight to behold.

 

All told, only two of the 17 Nebraska players selected in the last four drafts were offensive players; in the last 10 drafts, it’s 16 on offense out of 52 total.

 

OK, OK, so defense wins championships, or so they say.

 

But draft droughts on offense evidently can exact a toll on a program.

 

Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.

[Drowning_in_the_Sea_of_Red]

Seems like it's been longer than 5 years...to me anyway.

[gamecocks]

What about Lord? He was a running back that got drafted. Wait! What? He was a quarterback at Nebraska? No kidding.

[hastingshusker]

What about Lord? He was a running back that got drafted. Wait! What? He was a quarterback at Nebraska? No kidding.

 

Too Funny!!!

[cmb23]

Marlon Lucky arguably possesses NFL-caliber talent.

 

I'll go ahead and say it....I don't see him in the NFL. People keep wanting him to be Reggie Bush. He isn't. Plain and simple.

[PIMPZILLA]

This article is a perfect example of Solich's recruiting skills.

[chuckd]

Marlon will get drafted, mark my words. Could be after this season, could be after next season, regardless he will be a first day pick. Doesn't do much good to debate it now as we won't know for at least a year, but when all is said and done, he will be drafted.

[KansasHusker]

Marlon Lucky arguably possesses NFL-caliber talent.

 

I'll go ahead and say it....I don't see him in the NFL. People keep wanting him to be Reggie Bush. He isn't. Plain and simple.

No NFL at all for Lucky? You will be surprised man.

[BigRedCornhead]

We hinted on this in another thread yesterday, sore subject, but i would have to agree with alot of what was said there. I always rooted for Cory Ross and can't wait until he gets his "NFL legs" under him and breaks out. Correll Buckhalter has always been a suprise with how well he is does in the NFL, now that he said it i think we did under use him with his time here. Ahman i hope he can pick his game back up in Houston i really do, i bet it was hard for him to leave Green Bay. Code and Marlon will play in the NFL wether they are drafted high or low they will get there. I hope they both have a great year and stand out year and go high though.

[bethelbacker]

Speaking of the draft, the guys over at ESPN are having their 11TH MOCK DRAFT right now. At what point is this overkill? I've seen so many mock drafts, all I want is for the real one to happen so they will stop talking about this. That said, I agree that the next couple of years we will see a lot more first-day Husker picks, the talent level is obviously increasing in Lincoln under BC

[BIGREDFAN_in_OMAHA]

No thoughts on Slausen getting drafted? Or were they limiting it to next year's draft?

[junior4949]

When exactly was Nebraska ever a pipeline to the NFL for running backs? Other than Rozier and Ahman, I can't really think of many/any running backs to have good long careers in the pros. What wasn't mentioned about Buckhalter was the reason he wasn't fully utilized at Nebraska. He was more interested in taking hits from a bong rather than hits on the field. He was lazy on the practice field, and therefore didn't see as much action on the field come game day.

 

We can go back many many years and look at some of the good backs to play for NU but not great. Calvin Jones made it to the pros, but his lack of cutting ability due to knee problems kept him from being great. Doug "steroid" Dubois was quite the player as well as Scott Baldwin. How about Johnny's offspring Terry Rogers? We've had some good backs, but we haven't had very many great backs ever. DeAngelo Evans probably could have been if he wouldn't have been such a puss. David Horne ring a bell? He was either a 4 star or 5 star back but again was a puss. When I think of direct pipelines for running backs to the NFL, NU never has come to mind.

[NU fan in Denver]

Speaking of the draft, the guys over at ESPN are having their 11TH MOCK DRAFT right now. At what point is this overkill? I've seen so many mock drafts, all I want is for the real one to happen so they will stop talking about this. That said, I agree that the next couple of years we will see a lot more first-day Husker picks, the talent level is obviously increasing in Lincoln under BC

 

The more they throw out there the better chance they have of saying they got it right.

[NU fan in Denver]

Alright, gotta add something here. I was going through Fox Sports Mock draft version 11.0 and they have Shanle being drafted in the 6th round to the patriots at 208. BJax and More going in round 5 and Bradley going in round 3.

[kc_husker]

When exactly was Nebraska ever a pipeline to the NFL for running backs? Other than Rozier and Ahman, I can't really think of many/any running backs to have good long careers in the pros. What wasn't mentioned about Buckhalter was the reason he wasn't fully utilized at Nebraska. He was more interested in taking hits from a bong rather than hits on the field. He was lazy on the practice field, and therefore didn't see as much action on the field come game day.

 

We can go back many many years and look at some of the good backs to play for NU but not great. Calvin Jones made it to the pros, but his lack of cutting ability due to knee problems kept him from being great. Doug "steroid" Dubois was quite the player as well as Scott Baldwin. How about Johnny's offspring Terry Rogers? We've had some good backs, but we haven't had very many great backs ever. DeAngelo Evans probably could have been if he wouldn't have been such a puss. David Horne ring a bell? He was either a 4 star or 5 star back but again was a puss. When I think of direct pipelines for running backs to the NFL, NU never has come to mind.

 

I dont think any one said we had a pipeline just that our running backs

havent been going the the nfl like in the past. You forgot 3 more that did

great in the nfl. Cory S. Roger C. and Tom R.