Being a Beast (good suh article)

[NEBRASKANHEAT]

http://www.azstarnet.com/sports/323238

 

 

Being a 'beast' is the least of Suh's qualities

 

Huskers standout is 'well-rounded,' already graduated

 

By Patrick Finley

Arizona Daily Star

 

 

 

SAN DIEGO — The following statement is either a compliment to Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh or a sad statement about elite college athletes.

"He's an unusual kid," Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said Tuesday. "He's really well-rounded."

 

Suh, the Arizona Wildcats' main challenge in tonight's Holiday Bowl, is as interesting as he is dominant. From his name to his goals to his interests, the Heisman Trophy finalist is one of the most compelling characters in college football.

 

Both the obvious and the obscure, here are 10 things you need to know about Suh before tonight's kickoff:

 

1. He's big. Nebraska center Jacob Hickman joked Tuesday that Suh spent the team's trip to Sea World "back with his family and the rest of the orcas." The 6-foot-4-inch, 300-pound defensive tackle's size runs in the family. His paternal grandfather — the man he was named after — was 7-3. The Cameroonian, whose name means "House of Spears," fought Germany in World War II and served as police chief.

 

2. He's smart. Suh graduated this month with a degree in construction management and wants to build downtown condos in his hometown of Portland, Ore. Suh preaches the importance of education at Nebraska, where he was named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Spring Academic Honor Roll this year.

"If I wasn't educated and my parents didn't push me, I wouldn't be where I am today," he said. "That's the reason why I'm here — because I have both sides."

 

3. He's the most decorated defensive player ever. He was the first Heisman Trophy finalist to play defense since 1994. The first-team All-American won a litany of awards — the Lombardi, Outland, Nagurski, Bednarik and Willis trophies.

"I had the awards tour, and now I've been ready to focus on football the last two or three weeks," he said.

Suh was the first defensive player to win the Associated Press Player of the Year award.

"The guy who wins the Heisman usually takes that home," he said of the AP award. "It's a great honor to be not only a lineman but the first defensive player guy to get that.

"I'm very proud to have that opportunity to be that person. Hopefully it opens the eyes for other future defensive linemen and defensive guys to go ahead and grab that award."

 

4. He had a monster game on the biggest stage, but knows it might not be his best. Against Texas in the Big 12 title game, Suh recorded 4 1/2 sacks, seven tackles for loss and 12 total tackles. On national television, Suh rose to star status.

"To me, it was a great stat game," he said. "I believe I've had other games that I didn't have the stats but I played a great game. Almost a flawless game. It was a fun game, but it didn't end the way I wanted it to."

 

5. He's humble. Suh said he thought teammate Jared Crick was the better tackle as recently as preseason camp, and didn't want to dwell on playing his last college game.

"I'm not too much of a sob story or anything like that," he said. "I just want to go play some football. There have been some tough and fun situations, but I've enjoyed it all."

Pelini spoke with awe about how Suh has handled the recognition.

"He has all his priorities straight," Pelini said. "That doesn't happen a lot these days. He understood it was never about him. It was always about the team. Even when everybody was pushing all these accolades on him, he kept talking about the team."

Pelini said stardom "can change somebody," but not Suh.

"It does not, it will never change him," Pelini said.

 

6. He doesn't have a favorite NFL team. Suh figures to be drafted in the top five, if not first. Asked if he had a favorite team, Suh simply listed players.

"I like to watch the defensive guys of the Steelers, and the Vikings with that great guy they have in Jared Allen," he said.

Crick said it was "an honor and a blessing knowing that a few years down the road when Suh's making it big in the pros, I can say I played next to that guy." Crick said Suh is memorable for more than just his play.

"The thing I'm going to remember when I see Suh go No.1, probably — I'm not going to remember him for being the beast that he is," he said. "I'm going to remember him for being Ndamukong Suh — just a humble guy and a great person off the field. Suh's a beast, but he's a great guy off the field."

 

7. He's relaxed. Unlike some of his teammates, Suh chose to attend Sea World and the San Diego Zoo this week.

"I'm taking everything as it comes," he said. "I had a blast playing with Shamu and all those other killer whales out there. But obviously when it came to practice and it came to meetings, it's all focus."

Could a killer whale block him? He's "one I wouldn't want to go against."

 

8. He knows what the Wildcats look like. Suh compared Arizona to a team that beat Nebraska 31-10 on Oct. 17.

"I see them kind of similar to Texas Tech, which gave us trouble earlier in the year," he said. "They're going to throw different things at you. The way I see it for our defense is, we can't make mistakes. And if we are going to make mistakes, we have to limit them."

 

9. He listens. Pelini gave him the ultimate compliment for a coach.

"When you tell him something and you say, 'This is the way you have to approach it, these are the challenges you're going to have,' he listens to every word you say," Pelini said. "He doesn't let it go in one ear and out the other. He really listens to people that try to mentor him."

 

10. He'll be double-teamed. Every team to some degree has put at least two blockers on Suh. Even when Crick recorded five sacks at Baylor, the Bears chose to double-team Suh on every play.

Hickman, who blocks Suh in practice, had a piece of advice for Arizona.

"Good luck," he said.

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

Great article! Can't wait to see how he and Crick play tonight. Should be fun.

[Igetbored216]

http://www.azstarnet.com/sports/323238

 

 

Sigh...I'm going to miss watching Suh play in red. It's almost depressing this is his last game as a Husker.

 

Great article though...and the OP has a great picture of.............a shirt with some number on it. I forgot the number though...and what the shirt looked like. Wait, was there even a shirt in the picture? I must have been distracted.

[HuskerfaninOkieland]

One of the comments posted about the article...

 

I will enjoy watching him play. Too bad it isnt against ASU so I can enjoy it even more. We have had three extra weeks to prep for this guy. I bet we have a plan. And Foles is quick on the release and is fairly mobile. Lets see just how good he is against our O-Line. This will be fun to watch. Bet we keep a large fullback type player in the backfield to pick him off on the way in.

 

GO CATS

 

 

Uhhhhh....yeah...hope that works for you because it hasn't yet