Walk-ons get a kick out of special teams

[n.e.husker]

He was out of breath. That's what Thomas Grove remembers.

 

Grove probably ran only 50 or 60 yards while covering his first kick as a Husker. It felt as though he'd just run a mile.

 

"I just got so hyped up about it," he said. "Sometimes I still get that way."

 

Jase Dean remembers being so jazzed up, his eyes scanning a stadium blanketed in red, that he almost forgot to be part of a special-teams huddle before the kickoff.

 

Graham Stoddard remembers the sprint, making his read, the wedge opening up perfectly, flying through that opening, tripping up the return man, standing up, relishing the sound of 86,000 people screaming.

 

"That's a real moment," Stoddard said.

 

Three stories from three Nebraska boys who walked on to the Husker football team.

 

Stoddard from Lincoln Southwest. Grove from Arlington. Dean from Bridgeport.

 

All were major contributors to a special-teams unit that excelled last year and has similar intentions for 2010.

 

A big reason for that success? It's those walk-ons who have dreamed of being a Husker ever since squeezing their first Nerf football.

 

John Papuchis, Nebraska's special-teams coordinator, knows those are the type of kids who would bust through any wedge, wall or Wildcat if it meant a chance to run down the field with that red ‘N' on the side of their helmet.

 

"To have success as a walk-on, you have to have a blue-collar mentality," Papuchis said. "It's not the most glamorous way to join a football team and the same goes for special teams. A lot of times those guys who are running down on kickoffs, that's not the most glamorous thing to do. But it's as important as anything else that we do."

 

And for most walk-ons, special teams represent a good opportunity.

 

For some, it's a way to announce themselves as potential candidates for playing time on offense and defense.

 

It's been that way for junior Austin Cassidy, who excelled on all four coverage and kicking units last year.

 

Now, Cassidy is poised for some meaningful snaps on defense as part of Nebraska's back seven.

 

Or there's Mathew May, a native of Imperial. He had nine special-teams tackles last year. Now, you see his name on the short list of potential starting linebackers.

 

Certainly special teams can help a player get a foot in the door to being an every-down player.

 

Take Stoddard, who also had nine tackles on special teams last year. He hopes he can work his way into some playing time at linebacker.

 

Chasing that dream is ongoing. In the meantime, the sophomore is taking all sorts of delight in making noise on special teams.

 

"It's nice to get out there and say that I made a difference," Stoddard said. "A couple years ago I wouldn't have been able to look back and say, ‘Hey, I caught a kickoff against Oklahoma.'"

 

He grins and continues: "Returned it for only 1 yard, but, hey, I caught it. It's a good chance for players like me to make big-time plays and help out the team that we love."

 

Brandon Rigoni knows the feeling.

 

Perhaps no one epitomizes the idea of what a hard-charging walk-on can bring to a special-teams unit like Rigoni.

 

While just 5-foot-6 and 185 pounds, the Lincoln Southeast grad endeared himself to Husker fans by being a special-teams standout from 2004-06.

 

His peers named him the special-teams MVP as a sophomore. He had 15 special-teams tackles and forced two fumbles as a junior. He was named a team captain as a senior.

 

"The fact is that on special teams, a lot of it comes down to work ethic," said Rigoni, now an assistant strength coach for NU. "Games are won or lost in the kicking game and not everyone understands that, so guys save it, especially if they're part of the two-deep on offense or defense.

 

"But if you've got a kid who understands what it means to play hard, understands what Nebraska football's all about, they give it to you every time they're out there. And it shows up on special teams when other guys are taking it off."

 

It's a pride thing, Stoddard says.

 

"In the special-teams meetings, we're locked in just as well as we are when we're in linebackers meetings, tight end meetings, whatever."

 

It's a fun thing, Grove says.

 

"I remember when we were down in the Missouri game. I love being on the field when we're down or they just scored and we're returning and trying to get them back. I really enjoy being out there in situations where I can be responsible for giving momentum back to our team."

 

Dean, a 6-foot, 190-pound sophomore cornerback, just considers the whole thing a blessing.

 

"God has blessed with me a talent to just be out here and play for Nebraska. I've enjoyed playing on special teams and if that was the only way I could play, that's how it would be. I wouldn't be mad."

 

Getting a taste of the action on special teams, Dean said, just makes him work that much harder to try to earn playing time as a defender.

 

Of course, not all special-team workhorses will succeed in that mission.

 

If Rigoni had his way, he would have been on the field every down as a safety for the Huskers.

 

"But I just wasn't good enough to make that contribution, so the area that I was able to contribute was on special teams, and I tried to go hard every time I was out there," Rigoni said. "And I'm fine with people remembering me for that. It's nice when people come up to me and say, ‘I remember ... '

 

"And, generally, they don't remember how many tackles you had or what games you made big plays in. They don't remember that. What they say is, ‘We really appreciated how hard you played. You never gave up. We never saw you take a play off.'"

 

http://huskerextra.com/sports/football/article_f936da2c-b30c-11df-9527-001cc4c002e0.html

 

I enjoyed this read. These guys lay it on the line for the team just to make the team better, be it on special teams or in practice, they help others get better.

 

Lazy sunday postings lol.

[rawhide]

Great article

 

as he wipes off his keyboard

 

 

GBR

 

 

those are the things that make people proud to be Huskers

[NUance]

said Rigoni, now an assistant strength coach for NU.

Didn't know that. What a GREAT guy to have as a coach.