Sandman & Cody Glenn

[np_husker]

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=3918...;u_sid=10405633

 

Enter Sandman: Getting tips is a family matter for Glenn

BY RICH KAIPUST

WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

 

LINCOLN — The Cody Glenn-Broderick Thomas relationship started with a confusing voice mail.

 

Glenn was going through messages when one didn't quite register. Somebody calling himself "The Sandman." The young Nebraska football player was supposed to call him back.

 

"I was like, 'Sandman? Who is that?'" Glenn said.

 

Glenn went to Doak Ostergard, then the NU athletic trainer and now the Huskers' outreach director. Hey, Doak: Ever hear of this Sandman?

 

"Doak was like, 'Oh, man, that's Broderick Thomas,'" Glenn said.

 

Glenn and Thomas, already linked by kin, also are connected by Husker football. Thomas was nicknamed the Sandman as an All-America NU defensive end in the late 1980s. He was a 1989 first-round draft pick who played nine NFL seasons with four teams.

 

The bond has only strengthened with Glenn's switch from I-back to linebacker last spring. Thomas had to let him know about the pride, attitude and responsibility that go with being a Blackshirt. Broderick likes to speak, if you recall.

 

"He's one of the guys I called and talked to about the whole situation," Glenn said. "He tells me a lot of different things, and I take his advice. I mean, he's been through it. He knows what's going on."

 

Loosely, they're related. Thomas' wife is first cousins with Glenn's father. But Glenn sees Thomas more as a friend and mentor.

 

Thomas sees Glenn as "a good kid."

 

"I like the way he carries himself," Thomas said. "If he wasn't, I would tell him, 'I think you need to shape up a little bit.'

 

"I like to see what's going on with him, how things are going. Basically, if I'm either thinking about him or thinking about Nebraska football, I just pick up the phone and call. It might be three times in one week or once a month."

 

Thomas' message to Glenn as he considered the position change was to make sure that it was in his heart. Thomas' opinion was that the 6-foot, 235-pound Glenn could "play on Sundays at that position."

 

That's far beyond what Glenn is trying to accomplish right now.

 

Nebraska is 11 practices into fall camp, leaving Glenn just more than two weeks before playing his first game at weakside linebacker. The senior said he's comfortable and having fun. There are still some things to learn, but his instincts have served him well.

 

And Glenn has devoted himself to the project, including extensive study of how All-SEC linebacker Ali Highsmith played in Bo Pelini's system last season at LSU.

 

"I was very, very pleased with what he's done up until this point," said Mike Ekeler, the Husker linebackers coach. "He's showed a tremendous amount of focus and leadership. But again, it's just so far away — so far away from being the type of player that we want him to be and that he's capable of being."

 

Ekeler left him with that message as the spring semester ended, and Glenn headed home for Rusk, Texas. Ekeler didn't want Glenn satisfied as he started getting some pats on the back.

 

"I said, 'Hey, Cody, chances are that you can go back to Rusk and kick your feet up on the couch, and come back in two-a-days and we'll roll a ball out there and you'll probably be the best WILL linebacker we've got,'" Ekeler said. "I said, 'If that's what you want, then go home and do that.' But I told him his focus ought to be on being the best WILL linebacker in the United States."

 

Linebacker is a big question mark for NU since four seniors logged most of the playing time last season. Opposite Glenn on the strong side is Tyler Wortman, a walk-on with zero career starts, leaving junior middle linebacker Phillip Dillard as the most experienced player.

 

Dillard said Glenn has never practiced like somebody struggling with the transition.

 

"I feel comfortable that he's going to do every play right," Dillard said. "He did that in the spring just coming right over and playing defense for us. You feel comfortable with him, and you know he's always going to run hard and play hard."

 

Thomas expects no less. The night before a game he might offer encouragement in one of those phone calls, but also a challenge.

 

"I'll say, 'You going to have a big game tomorrow?'" Thomas said. "I just let him know I'm going to be watching and let me see what you got. I think he relishes a challenge. That's why he switched over to linebacker."

 

Thomas found out about the connection with Glenn at a family reunion in Rusk. Some of Glenn's uncles happened to mention Glenn was at Nebraska. Thomas had to meet him.

 

The Sandman left a message. Glenn called back.

 

"I let him know who I was and that I'm up there all the time, and if he had any questions or if there was anything he wanted to know to just give me a call," Thomas said. "He knows my phone is in my hands all the time."

 

Glenn said the two hit it off right away. Thomas introduced him to his son, Broderick Jr., a high school quarterback in Houston. "Good people, they come together sooner or later," Broderick Sr. said.

 

They used to tell Glenn that he had a relative who played in the NFL, but Glenn didn't know about Thomas playing at NU. Didn't know much about him at all.

 

My, how that has changed.

 

"He's real funny," Glenn said. "You can't answer the phone if you ain't got 20 or 30 minutes to talk to him."

[bbhusker]

Good read. It's going to be interesting watching Cody this year. I can't wait to see him lay some guys out! GBR!

[HuskerTrucker]

Good story, good to see that Cody is getting someone with a positive outlook to talk to. I hope he does well.