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NU's Souder likes putting on the hits
BY RICH KAIPUST
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN - Say this for Jeff Souder: He keeps Nebraska football practices interesting.
Jeff Souder
He's the player who doesn't care for non-contact drills. The player who has no use for half-pads.
"A couple days ago, we were practicing, and I probably did this iso (isolation play) like 10 or 15 plays in a row," Souder said. "I was just psyched up. Ten or 12 plays in a row I went full speed and was just nailing the fullback, and everybody's going crazy.
"I'm just trying to knock his head off. They're getting all mad. It got the whole team fired up, a little bit."
That's all part of Souder's hit-or-be-hit mentality, a reputation that beat him to Nebraska. The linebacker was hurting enough people at Bellevue West to get the Husker coaching staff to believe they needed him.
But something else has developed with Souder. NU coach Bill Callahan has found that if a practice isn't going quite as he would like, he's got a stick of dynamite wearing a No. 39 jersey who can change things in a hurry.
"I don't know, sometimes I'm sure they keep me out there because they know I'm going to use my head a couple times," Souder said. "I'll do it. Put me in there, I'll tear it up a little bit."
There are two thoughts on Souder. The first is that he's the prototypical in-state recruit, the kid who would donate an organ to help the program. The second is that he's borderline crazy.
"Hit me in the head, I'm not going to slow down," he says. "If you're going to get hurt, I'm going to get hurt. Or if you knock me down, I'm going to knock you down."
Souder likes to talk about collisions as much as he enjoys being in them. That gives him a place in Callahan's heart - and plans.
Considered a redshirt candidate, Souder has appeared in nine games as a special teams player. In some practices, he gets as high as working with the No. 2s at weakside linebacker.
Callahan has grown to appreciate his style of play.
"He gets geeked up every time he goes out on the field, whether it's covering a kick or playing coverage or taking on the isolation," Callahan said. "He gives it everything he has."
Consequently, that can rub off on teammates.
"Guys get fired up," Callahan said. "They enjoy watching him play physical and wire a guy up."
Souder has just five tackles to his credit, but his duty sometimes is to blow up a kick-return wedge. Before he sprints down the field, he usually can be seen psyching himself up for the journey and calling on the crowd to get involved.
Why keep it all inside, he said.
"I feel like I'm off to go in a fight, and if I go into a fight with no adrenaline, I'm not going to win," Souder said. "If I go into a fight with adrenaline and rage, I'll feel less pain, be more effective."
NU coaches have no problem with it, he said, as long as he keeps his composure and handles his assignment.
"I don't even know what I'm doing," Souder said. "I've seen some film of me, hitting myself in the head a couple times, hitting my chest. I'm just ready to go down there."
The 6-foot Souder has gone from 194 pounds in June to nearly 215. That's added more pop to his hits, which he doesn't always get to deliver if Nebraska is limiting contact in practice.
"We can hit isos in some practices, but you can't really tackle them and bring them to the ground," Souder said. "So it's kind of holding something back."
Souder pauses for a second and adds: "I don't really like it too much."
NU's Souder likes putting on the hits
BY RICH KAIPUST
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN - Say this for Jeff Souder: He keeps Nebraska football practices interesting.
Jeff Souder
He's the player who doesn't care for non-contact drills. The player who has no use for half-pads.
"A couple days ago, we were practicing, and I probably did this iso (isolation play) like 10 or 15 plays in a row," Souder said. "I was just psyched up. Ten or 12 plays in a row I went full speed and was just nailing the fullback, and everybody's going crazy.
"I'm just trying to knock his head off. They're getting all mad. It got the whole team fired up, a little bit."
That's all part of Souder's hit-or-be-hit mentality, a reputation that beat him to Nebraska. The linebacker was hurting enough people at Bellevue West to get the Husker coaching staff to believe they needed him.
But something else has developed with Souder. NU coach Bill Callahan has found that if a practice isn't going quite as he would like, he's got a stick of dynamite wearing a No. 39 jersey who can change things in a hurry.
"I don't know, sometimes I'm sure they keep me out there because they know I'm going to use my head a couple times," Souder said. "I'll do it. Put me in there, I'll tear it up a little bit."
There are two thoughts on Souder. The first is that he's the prototypical in-state recruit, the kid who would donate an organ to help the program. The second is that he's borderline crazy.
"Hit me in the head, I'm not going to slow down," he says. "If you're going to get hurt, I'm going to get hurt. Or if you knock me down, I'm going to knock you down."
Souder likes to talk about collisions as much as he enjoys being in them. That gives him a place in Callahan's heart - and plans.
Considered a redshirt candidate, Souder has appeared in nine games as a special teams player. In some practices, he gets as high as working with the No. 2s at weakside linebacker.
Callahan has grown to appreciate his style of play.
"He gets geeked up every time he goes out on the field, whether it's covering a kick or playing coverage or taking on the isolation," Callahan said. "He gives it everything he has."
Consequently, that can rub off on teammates.
"Guys get fired up," Callahan said. "They enjoy watching him play physical and wire a guy up."
Souder has just five tackles to his credit, but his duty sometimes is to blow up a kick-return wedge. Before he sprints down the field, he usually can be seen psyching himself up for the journey and calling on the crowd to get involved.
Why keep it all inside, he said.
"I feel like I'm off to go in a fight, and if I go into a fight with no adrenaline, I'm not going to win," Souder said. "If I go into a fight with adrenaline and rage, I'll feel less pain, be more effective."
NU coaches have no problem with it, he said, as long as he keeps his composure and handles his assignment.
"I don't even know what I'm doing," Souder said. "I've seen some film of me, hitting myself in the head a couple times, hitting my chest. I'm just ready to go down there."
The 6-foot Souder has gone from 194 pounds in June to nearly 215. That's added more pop to his hits, which he doesn't always get to deliver if Nebraska is limiting contact in practice.
"We can hit isos in some practices, but you can't really tackle them and bring them to the ground," Souder said. "So it's kind of holding something back."
Souder pauses for a second and adds: "I don't really like it too much."
