NU notes from OWH

[pigsonthewing]

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=38&u_sid=2210691

 

LINCOLN - Nebraska coach Bill Callahan still has yet to announce a decision on Major Culbert, the football recruit whose legal case was closed two weeks ago with a plea bargain.

 

Dr. Orlando Pile, Culbert's godfather, declined an interview request Friday. Culbert and Pile reportedly are hoping to meet with the Husker staff regarding the scholarship that was suspended in May.

 

Culbert on July 5 accepted misdemeanor charges of trespassing and harassment for his part in a January recruiting trip to the University of Oregon. Culbert received sentences of 30 days in jail and five years' probation after initially facing more serious charges of burglary and sexual abuse.

 

When Culbert signed, he was considered a player capable of helping out next season in the NU secondary, where the Huskers are particularly thin at safety.

 

Purify catching up

 

Among NU's most recent arrivals is Maurice Purify, who needed all of one workout to show why such a fuss was made when the City College of San Francisco receiver signed with NU.

 

"I just saw him for the first day out there - and obviously he's a little rough around the edges with running routes - but he's got a big body and good hands," Husker safety Andrew Shanle said. "He looks pretty promising."

 

Nebraska has added size at receiver with newcomers like the 6-foot-4 Purify, 6-5 Will Henry and 6-4 Menelik Holt.

 

"I was out there with Steve Octavien (in seven-on-sevens) and he turned around and said, 'Man, these are some big guys,' " Shanle said. "Every year with the new classes with coach Callahan we're seeing a new mode of receiver."

 

Purify missed a good portion of the Huskers' summer conditioning program to complete class work at CCSF.

 

On the move

 

Nebraska still expects to have its football operations moved into the Tom and Nancy Osborne Complex by Monday. Some players helped Thursday as the coaching staff started going from South Stadium to its new offices.

 

"A lot of guys saw the coaches' offices, and a couple snuck peeks into the weight room and even the locker room," receiver Nate Swift said. "From what I've overheard, people are saying it's all amazing."

 

Husker players finish summer conditioning Tuesday and will report to the Osborne Complex when they return Aug. 2. Preseason camp starts the following day.

 

Odds and ends

 

Shanle said JC transfer Andre Jones "has been making plays since the first day he stepped on the field" and is benefiting from the tutelage of No. 1 cornerbacks Cortney Grixby and Zack Bowman. . . . Oklahoma State intends to play its non-televised home games at 6 p.m., so that's the tentative time listed for OSU-Nebraska on Oct. 28. Any TV possibilities for the Big 12 matchup won't be known until 12 days prior to the game. . . . The NU roster shows several players sporting different numbers than spring practice, including Chris Brooks (1), Leon Jackson (5), Joe Ganz (12), Tyrell Spain (18), Dontrell Moore (19), Phillip Dillard (52) and Ndamukong Suh (93).