LB's want on the field

[Eric the Red]

Linebackers making way back to field

 

BY STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star

Saturday, Mar 04, 2006 - 12:52:20 am CST

 

Nebraska's Stewart Bradley (left), Bo Ruud and Steve Octavien talk before the Alamo Bowl last December. (AP)

 

It’s a scene Nebraska football fans might just as soon erase from their collective memory: Three injured Husker starting linebackers wearing street clothes while standing on the sideline of the Alamodome.

 

Unable to play in Nebraska’s resounding Alamo Bowl win against Michigan in San Antonio, the trio often moved around the sideline as a single entity, an entity that teased the imaginations of passionate Nebraska fans who longed to experience all three defenders flying around the playing field and wreaking havoc on the Big Ten foe.

 

“I was kind of a mess that night, to be honest, just trying to get my nerves right,” said weakside linebacker Bo Ruud, who had broken his arm 10 days before the 32-28 bowl triumph. “I hope I never have to do that again.”

 

Earlier in the season, linebackers Steve Octavien (Sept. 3 against Maine) and Stewart Bradley (Oct. 8 vs. Texas Tech) suffered season-ending injuries. Both had seemed on their way to excellent seasons, while Ruud was wrapping up a solid year when he went down.

 

Now, as Nebraska’s winter conditioning program enters its final few days, the three injured linebackers appear to be progressing toward full strength. All three are expected to be ready for action March 22, when the Huskers begin spring practice, said NU defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove, although it’s unclear whether all three will be cleared for full-contact drills right off the bat.

 

Ruud, for one, doesn’t expect to be quite ready for live scrimmage action. A junior-to-be from Lincoln Southeast, Ruud has participated in all of Nebraska’s running drills since the Jan. 18 start of winter conditioning. However, his upper-body conditioning has been limited to lighter weights, he said.

 

“We’re really working on speed,” Ruud said. “My legs feel strong. They feel fast, like they have a lot of juice.”

 

Ruud, Nebraska’s second-leading tackler in 2005, started the season’s final 11 games after Octavien tore a ligament in his left knee and broke the fibula in the same leg 50 seconds into the second quarter of the season opener.

 

Octavien also underwent off-season surgery to repair an old shoulder injury. He said his leg feels 100 percent healthy, his shoulder “90 to 95 percent.” He has participated in all of the team’s running drills this winter, and next week will begin upper-body workouts, he said, such as work with the medicine ball.

 

“I knew I’d be way behind in conditioning,” Octavien said. “I mostly wanted to see if I was timid. (Head strength coach) Dave Kennedy said if I came in timid, I’d be holding myself back, and I’m already too far back. I’m nowhere near as fast as I used to be.”

 

Octavien, though, expects his speed to return as he sheds weight. The 6-foot defender currently weighs 243. He was listed at 235 in last year’s team media guide.

 

“I’ll feel way faster at 230-235,” said the 2005 junior college transfer. “Eventually, I’ll be bigger, stronger and faster than I’ve ever been.”

 

Because he was injured so early last season, Octavien still will have two seasons of playing eligibility at Nebraska. That could mean two years of intense competition with Ruud for playing time.

 

“I don’t even think about that,” Octavien said. “Whoever wins the job, wins the job. I just want to play.”

 

Said Ruud, “The coaches love the competition. If you’re a couple of the top players on the team, they’ll find a way to get you on the field.”

 

Bradley — a senior-to-be whose 2005 season ended after five games because of a knee injury — returned to the practice field last week “looking real good,” Octavien said. “He actually came back faster than I thought he would.”

 

Nebraska’s defenders clearly are optimistic as they prepare for the upcoming season, what with eight returning starters on defense from a team that ended up with an 8-4 record.

 

“Look how good the defense did with us out,” Octavien said. “Without a doubt, we’ll be one of the nation’s top five defenses.”

 

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