LJS article
Nebraska No. 2 strong safety Shane Siegel has left the team, his dad said Tuesday.
"The only thing I can say as a parent is there are some issues between Shane and his position coach," said his father, Robert Siegel, referring to Bill Busch. "Shane was dinged up with an injury, and then something transpired between Shane and his coach and it just didn't work out."
Siegel, a senior from Grand Island, met with Nebraska head coach Bill Callahan both Sunday and Monday before deciding that leaving the team was the best course of action for him, Robert Siegel said.
Nebraska offensive coordinator Jay Norvell, designated as team spokesman Tuesday, declined comment on the matter, deferring to Callahan.
Callahan, however, wasn't scheduled to address reporters Tuesday. He'll likely address the Siegel situation today, a team spokesman said.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Siegel played in all 38 games with two starts the past three seasons. He was listed No. 2 on the depth chart behind classmate Daniel Bullocks.
A business administration major, Siegel was carrying a 3.825 cumulative grade-point average. He was a three-time academic All-Big 12 pick who came to Nebraska in 2001 as a walk-on.
Siegel and his wife, Jessica, have an infant daughter. Shane couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday night.
"He had a good career there," said Robert Siegel, who played basketball for the Huskers from 1974-77. "I'm proud of him."
GANZ IMPRESSIVE: Joey Ganz's performance in practice apparently is no fluke. In fact, Ganz has thrown for the highest percentage among NU quarterbacks in some practices, quarterbacks coach Jay Norvell said Tuesday. "He plays within the offense, and he doesn't try to freelance, which is exactly what we ask," Norvell said. "He's accurate with the ball. He throws a very catchable ball. He makes good decisions." Norvell said Ganz "is a snap away" from being the No. 1 quarterback, meaning that if Zac Taylor were injured, Ganz would be the first one off the bench. Ganz, a redshirt freshman, was NU's scout team quarterback last year. "It's not about having the biggest arm," Norvell said. "It's about getting the ball to the right guy with great timing."
MAKING STRIDES: As for Taylor, Norvell said the junior college transfer has made strides, that his comfort level has increased. "He has stepped up his game," Norvell said. "We challenged everybody now after being in camp for a couple of weeks, and he started really zeroing in on his reads and accuracy and started to lead our offense. It is good to see, and he needs to continue that progress."
QUICK TURNER: Senior offensive tackle Seppo Evwaraye has faced true freshman defensive end Barry Turner many times in practice, and he has formed a favorable opinion. "At this point, I would say he's one of our quicker guys," Evwaraye said. "He's a guy who has extremely good quickness off the edge. Hopefully, we can use him a lot in the nickel and pass-rush situations, just kind of bring a spark." Defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said last week that Turner, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound native of Antioch, Tenn., will play this season.
PRACTICE REPORT: The Huskers practiced Tuesday afternoon inside Cook Pavilion and held a short scrimmage, focusing on short-yardage and goal-line situations. "We banged pretty good the last two days," Norvell said. "We hit much more than we did last year in camp. We are going to continue to hit." Nebraska has its third two-a-day session today and has one more two-a-day practice on Friday. Classes begin Monday. "We are going to bang 'em pretty good (this week) and see what we have," Norvell said. "We'll find out a lot about our young players and really get our continuity going with our first unit."
INJURY UPDATE : Among those sitting out with injuries Tuesday were middle linebacker Lance Brandenburgh and defensive back Jeff Souder.