Huskers taking hard line on early hype

[Nexus]

LINCOLN — The Sporting News has said No. 9 for Nebraska. Rivals.com started the Huskers at No. 7 in January and moved them to No. 5 a few weeks later.

 

Hunt around the Web and you can find other pre-preseason rankings with NU in the Top 10.

 

So NU players must think they've arrived, right?

 

Actually, no.

 

Proclamations by pundits mean nothing, says Husker defensive end Pierre Allen.

 

“You can see different stuff on the Internet here and there, predicting things,'' Allen said. “People are seeing the improvement that we've made. But we're not going to put anything on our shoulders out of the ordinary.''

 

So, let the record show player and coach are on the same page on that point. In a separate interview, head coach Bo Pelini said this about the high expectations: “I haven't talked about that, and we won't talk about it.”

 

And, really, with the 2010 season still more than five months away, why would they?

 

Mid-March hype and expectations melt like snow in the warmth of spring drills. NU players say they just need to satisfy Pelini and his staff when practice starts Wednesday.

 

“We hear (the hype) all the time ... and we take it with a grain of salt,'' receiver Niles Paul said. “The staff expects more out of us than anybody. They know we've got a lot more capability. So they expect to see it.''

 

Paul said the Huskers got a reminder to keep their heads straight in winter conditioning, a brutal test and not-so-subtle notice that they weren't to rest on the school's first 10-win season since 2003.

 

NU defensive coordinator Carl Pelini recently praised the attitude and work ethic. Both were a good sign to him that players focused on the right things for their eight weeks under the guidance of Husker strength and conditioning coach James Dobson.

 

The confidence should come from that preparation, he said, rather than from somebody taking a stab at a Top 25 when there's two feet of snow on the ground.

 

“They got a little swagger about them, but they also know you walk that fine line,'' Carl Pelini said. “You don't want to be overconfident. You don't want them to think they've arrived. They haven't. But I don't see that at all. It's just made them hungry, I think.''

 

Here's one example: Paul said I-back Dontrayevous Robinson printed about 80 sheets of paper with :01 on them — a reminder of the second restored to the clock that enabled Texas to escape with a 13-12 win in the Big 12 final. Robinson hung them on lockers back in January.

 

“I knew exactly what it meant when I saw it,'' Paul said. “Mine's actually still in my locker.''

 

It's also a reminder of how close NU came to possibly finishing last season in the Top 10, which would have meant far more to the Huskers than starting next season in it.

 

After a 33-0 drubbing of Arizona in the Holiday Bowl, the 10-4 Huskers were ranked No. 14 in both the final Associated Press and USA Today polls. For 2010, they look poised to earn the highest starting point since they opened at No. 10 in 2002 — and perhaps since they were No. 4 in 2001.

 

When the time's right, Paul said, the Huskers will embrace the ranking, because they do strive to regain the level of respect the program was once used to. The senior-to-be said the team has the right makeup and maturity to handle that respect.

 

Allen was around the last time Nebraska was coming off a Big 12 North championship, as were some others who will be fifth-year seniors in 2010. The Huskers also had a 9-3 regular season in 2006 before losing in the Big 12 final and Cotton Bowl.

 

They were expected to carry it forward in 2007, and ranked No. 20 in that year's AP preseason poll. But the Huskers collapsed after a 4-1 start and checked out with a 5-7 record.

 

That swoon, of course, meant the end for one head coach and the hiring of the current one.

 

“I think we're in a completely different situation, completely different environment,'' Allen said. “I'd be willing to bet my last dollar that wouldn't happen next year.''

 

 

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[dubsker]

Here's one example: Paul said I-back Dontrayevous Robinson printed about 80 sheets of paper with :01 on them — a reminder of the second restored to the clock that enabled Texas to escape with a 13-12 win in the Big 12 final. Robinson hung them on lockers back in January.

 

“I knew exactly what it meant when I saw it,'' Paul said. “Mine's actually still in my locker.''

 

I was wondering if someone would do something like that. The guys might play with a huge chip on their shoulder this year. I can't wait.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60ITuAu-W54

 

We all know what happened after that. ^^

[GMoose]

Here's one example: Paul said I-back Dontrayevous Robinson printed about 80 sheets of paper with :01 on them — a reminder of the second restored to the clock that enabled Texas to escape with a 13-12 win in the Big 12 final. Robinson hung them on lockers back in January.

 

“I knew exactly what it meant when I saw it,'' Paul said. “Mine's actually still in my locker.''

 

I was wondering if someone would do something like that. The guys might play with a huge chip on their shoulder this year. I can't wait.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60ITuAu-W54

 

We all know what happened after that. ^^

Its not like the greatest team ever to play the game followed. Oh wait...

[dubsker]

Here's one example: Paul said I-back Dontrayevous Robinson printed about 80 sheets of paper with :01 on them — a reminder of the second restored to the clock that enabled Texas to escape with a 13-12 win in the Big 12 final. Robinson hung them on lockers back in January.

 

“I knew exactly what it meant when I saw it,'' Paul said. “Mine's actually still in my locker.''

 

I was wondering if someone would do something like that. The guys might play with a huge chip on their shoulder this year. I can't wait.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60ITuAu-W54

 

We all know what happened after that. ^^

Its not like the greatest team ever to play the game followed. Oh wait...

 

It's March and we can dream, at least.

[mitch7]

I find it interesting that freshman (sophmore) Tray Robinson made the posters.

[dubsker]

I find it interesting that freshman (sophmore) Tray Robinson made the posters.

 

Motivation is contagious and starts from the top down, so good on the coaches and seniors. And Tray, for not being scared to do something like that as an underclassmen.

[GMoose]

Here's one example: Paul said I-back Dontrayevous Robinson printed about 80 sheets of paper with :01 on them — a reminder of the second restored to the clock that enabled Texas to escape with a 13-12 win in the Big 12 final. Robinson hung them on lockers back in January.

 

“I knew exactly what it meant when I saw it,'' Paul said. “Mine's actually still in my locker.''

 

I was wondering if someone would do something like that. The guys might play with a huge chip on their shoulder this year. I can't wait.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60ITuAu-W54

 

We all know what happened after that. ^^

Its not like the greatest team ever to play the game followed. Oh wait...

 

It's March and we can dream, at least.

 

Oh yeah, I've been dreamin since 15 minutes after the Holiday Bowl. Restore the Order!

[irieboy8]

I find it interesting that freshman (sophmore) Tray Robinson made the posters.

 

Motivation is contagious and starts from the top down, so good on the coaches and seniors. And Tray, for not being scared to do something like that as an underclassmen.

 

 

i find that straight up dope that DR did that... says alot about the young guys getting in early and believing... i think a lot of the young guys are soo stoked they are here and nebraska and can really see themselves pushing forward... to wonder where they might be when they are seniors is incredible....

 

its been a wild ride so far for suuuree

[dubsker]

I find it interesting that freshman (sophmore) Tray Robinson made the posters.

 

Motivation is contagious and starts from the top down, so good on the coaches and seniors. And Tray, for not being scared to do something like that as an underclassmen.

 

 

i find that straight up dope that DR did that... says alot about the young guys getting in early and believing... i think a lot of the young guys are soo stoked they are here and nebraska and can really see themselves pushing forward... to wonder where they might be when they are seniors is incredible....

 

its been a wild ride so far for suuuree

 

I know sh#t happens and things change (we could go 0-15, that's right, we could find ways to lose games we don't even play), but the program 'feels' really good right now to me as a fan. Bo appears to have created a really spectacular football culture here at DONU. Sorry for being redundant, but that was something that was sorely lacking under the previous regime.

[kansas husker]

I think its great to see Trey doing that to motivate the team. It shows a sign that he will be a great leader when he is an uppperclassmen. On another note I don't think I've ever heard this much praise for a SC coach Dobson is doing an awesome job.

[dubsker]

I think its great to see Trey doing that to motivate the team. It shows a sign that he will be a great leader when he is an uppperclassmen. On another note I don't think I've ever heard this much praise for a SC coach Dobson is doing an awesome job.

 

It's hard to compare, though. The game itself has sped up, period, as well as an increased volume in total media coverage. When I was following the 90's teams I didn't have RSS, Huskerboard, Husker Extra (online, I think they just called it the sports section back then), Big Red Today and the NE state paper (online version) to provide all these ample opportunities to complement someone like Dobson. I'd like someone much older than me to comment, I guess. I'm kind of curious how it scales...

[ESPY]

I'm not just drinking here when I say the Huskers will be ranked in the top 10 to start the season. There's just no way around it. So, it's great to see how the players SAY they're handling it so far. Prove it on the field ONE GAME AT A TIME & make those sentiments come true.