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Glenn on senior season: 'I've got a lot to prove'
BY BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star
Friday, Jul 18, 2008 - 12:47:11 am CDT
The end sneaks up on you. Cody Glenn will be the first to say it. Wasn’t it just yesterday he was living in the dorms? It sure feels like it.
But when the Husker linebacker recently settled into a classroom for his “senior seminar,” the realization smacked him as hard as he hopes to drop running backs this fall: This is it, man. No mulligans. One year to leave your mark.
“People ask me, ‘How do you feel about the season?’” says the native of Rusk Texas. “Oh, I’m amped about it. I’ve never felt this good going into a season health-wise, confidence-wise, everything.”
For the first time, Glenn is about to enter a Husker fall as a linebacker. The guy’s happy, as happy about football as he’s been since coming to Nebraska.
Glenn drew plenty of attention this past spring with his switch from running back to linebacker, seemingly a major roll of the dice so late in his career.
But talk to defensive coordinator Carl Pelini and linebackers coach Mike Ekeler about Glenn and they’ll tell you he has the kind of natural instincts that can make him a difference-maker wherever you put him on the field.
Asked how long it took to know the switch would work, Ekeler says: “About one play. Truly. I remember Bo (Pelini) looked over at me and just smiled, and we knew that Cody’s days of running back were over. Maybe he didn’t quite know it yet, but we did.”
It didn’t take too many spring practices for Glenn to become the No. 1 WILL linebacker, a spot coaches say he’ll take into fall camp. Latravis Washington will be pushing him.
The success of Glenn has hardly surprised Carl Pelini. Glenn was already impressing the staff early in spring at running back before making his position move.
Carl Pelini says: “Let me put it this way. We knew Cody was going to help our football team no matter where he ended up. He’s that kind of a player. He understands the game. ... What we just had to decide was where he could help us the most.”
Glenn’s aware that plenty of people see the Husker linebackers as a giant question mark going into this season. Aside from junior Phillip Dillard, who started just two games last season, experience is seriously lacking at the position. And some have wondered aloud: Is Glenn’s quick ascent at linebacker so much a testament to him being really good or instead a case of him just moving into a position that is possibly lacking players?
Hey, the questions are fair, says Glenn. “People want to see what I can do. I’ve got a lot to prove. They’re probably not expecting much out of the linebackers and rightfully so. We haven’t shown anybody anything. I’m really excited to kind of get out there and show everyone what I can do, what we’ve been working toward. We know we can be good.”
Glenn also knows the running backs will be good this year, which is one reason he didn’t have any problem switching positions.
Certainly with senior Marlon Lucky back, and young talents Roy Helu Jr. and Quentin Castille lurking behind, there is plenty of talent in the backfield.
Given that, Glenn saw the move as a positive for both he and the team.
“The biggest thing about me is I just want to win,” he says. “That’s the bottom line. Whatever it takes. If I have to kick the ball, whatever I’ve got to do.”
Glenn’s happiness now is quite distant from the frustration he felt last year about how he was handled by the coaching staff. While he was bothered by a foot injury at times, he says he didn’t feel he got a fair shake, carrying the ball just 27 times. Lucky toted it 206. Castille (75) and Helu (45) also had more carries.
“I can tell you this,” Glenn says. “If Coach (Bo) Pelini hadn’t been here and we kept the same staff, I wouldn’t have been here. It’s just the way I felt. I don’t feel I was treated fairly. I wasn’t given the same opportunity as maybe some others. It’s hard. You just kind of question your ability: ‘Can I do this?’ or ‘Am I not good enough?’ So I kind of saw with Coach Pelini getting here as kind of a blessing."
Glenn’s new outlook has made even the intense summer workouts seem not so bad. He’s not one of those rah-rah guys, but Glenn wants his actions to be a positive influence on younger players — trying to be the first guy to the line when running, trying to find his maximum effort when lifting.
“I know this is my last go-round. I have to carry this team any way I can,” Glenn says. “I want to go back 10, 15 years from now and say that I was a leader on that team and I contributed to what we did that year.”
Ekeler says Glenn has also been diligent in the film room, fully aware he’s still got a lot to learn and always wanting answers to the whys and hows.
“We’ve been telling Cody our goal for him now is for people to say, ‘You’re kidding me, that guy was a running back?’” Ekeler says.
The potential is there, but potential is a tag that has found many athletes. And many of those had much more time to show what they can do than Glenn will have at linebacker.
As high as the hopes are for Glenn, Ekeler realizes it’s only when the heat of game day arrives that you know what you really have.
But right now, the coach says Glenn is making all the proper steps ... a consistent visitor to his office.
“You talk about a guy who is unbelievably unselfish and puts his team first. I can’t say enough about his character and his leadership and his love for the game,” Ekeler says. “The guy, all he wants to do is go out there and play. I can’t wait to see what he does here. I’m as excited as anybody. He’s an unbelievable talent.”
Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7439 or bchristopherson@journalstar.com.
BY BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star
Friday, Jul 18, 2008 - 12:47:11 am CDT
The end sneaks up on you. Cody Glenn will be the first to say it. Wasn’t it just yesterday he was living in the dorms? It sure feels like it.
But when the Husker linebacker recently settled into a classroom for his “senior seminar,” the realization smacked him as hard as he hopes to drop running backs this fall: This is it, man. No mulligans. One year to leave your mark.
“People ask me, ‘How do you feel about the season?’” says the native of Rusk Texas. “Oh, I’m amped about it. I’ve never felt this good going into a season health-wise, confidence-wise, everything.”
For the first time, Glenn is about to enter a Husker fall as a linebacker. The guy’s happy, as happy about football as he’s been since coming to Nebraska.
Glenn drew plenty of attention this past spring with his switch from running back to linebacker, seemingly a major roll of the dice so late in his career.
But talk to defensive coordinator Carl Pelini and linebackers coach Mike Ekeler about Glenn and they’ll tell you he has the kind of natural instincts that can make him a difference-maker wherever you put him on the field.
Asked how long it took to know the switch would work, Ekeler says: “About one play. Truly. I remember Bo (Pelini) looked over at me and just smiled, and we knew that Cody’s days of running back were over. Maybe he didn’t quite know it yet, but we did.”
It didn’t take too many spring practices for Glenn to become the No. 1 WILL linebacker, a spot coaches say he’ll take into fall camp. Latravis Washington will be pushing him.
The success of Glenn has hardly surprised Carl Pelini. Glenn was already impressing the staff early in spring at running back before making his position move.
Carl Pelini says: “Let me put it this way. We knew Cody was going to help our football team no matter where he ended up. He’s that kind of a player. He understands the game. ... What we just had to decide was where he could help us the most.”
Glenn’s aware that plenty of people see the Husker linebackers as a giant question mark going into this season. Aside from junior Phillip Dillard, who started just two games last season, experience is seriously lacking at the position. And some have wondered aloud: Is Glenn’s quick ascent at linebacker so much a testament to him being really good or instead a case of him just moving into a position that is possibly lacking players?
Hey, the questions are fair, says Glenn. “People want to see what I can do. I’ve got a lot to prove. They’re probably not expecting much out of the linebackers and rightfully so. We haven’t shown anybody anything. I’m really excited to kind of get out there and show everyone what I can do, what we’ve been working toward. We know we can be good.”
Glenn also knows the running backs will be good this year, which is one reason he didn’t have any problem switching positions.
Certainly with senior Marlon Lucky back, and young talents Roy Helu Jr. and Quentin Castille lurking behind, there is plenty of talent in the backfield.
Given that, Glenn saw the move as a positive for both he and the team.
“The biggest thing about me is I just want to win,” he says. “That’s the bottom line. Whatever it takes. If I have to kick the ball, whatever I’ve got to do.”
Glenn’s happiness now is quite distant from the frustration he felt last year about how he was handled by the coaching staff. While he was bothered by a foot injury at times, he says he didn’t feel he got a fair shake, carrying the ball just 27 times. Lucky toted it 206. Castille (75) and Helu (45) also had more carries.
“I can tell you this,” Glenn says. “If Coach (Bo) Pelini hadn’t been here and we kept the same staff, I wouldn’t have been here. It’s just the way I felt. I don’t feel I was treated fairly. I wasn’t given the same opportunity as maybe some others. It’s hard. You just kind of question your ability: ‘Can I do this?’ or ‘Am I not good enough?’ So I kind of saw with Coach Pelini getting here as kind of a blessing."
Glenn’s new outlook has made even the intense summer workouts seem not so bad. He’s not one of those rah-rah guys, but Glenn wants his actions to be a positive influence on younger players — trying to be the first guy to the line when running, trying to find his maximum effort when lifting.
“I know this is my last go-round. I have to carry this team any way I can,” Glenn says. “I want to go back 10, 15 years from now and say that I was a leader on that team and I contributed to what we did that year.”
Ekeler says Glenn has also been diligent in the film room, fully aware he’s still got a lot to learn and always wanting answers to the whys and hows.
“We’ve been telling Cody our goal for him now is for people to say, ‘You’re kidding me, that guy was a running back?’” Ekeler says.
The potential is there, but potential is a tag that has found many athletes. And many of those had much more time to show what they can do than Glenn will have at linebacker.
As high as the hopes are for Glenn, Ekeler realizes it’s only when the heat of game day arrives that you know what you really have.
But right now, the coach says Glenn is making all the proper steps ... a consistent visitor to his office.
“You talk about a guy who is unbelievably unselfish and puts his team first. I can’t say enough about his character and his leadership and his love for the game,” Ekeler says. “The guy, all he wants to do is go out there and play. I can’t wait to see what he does here. I’m as excited as anybody. He’s an unbelievable talent.”
Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7439 or bchristopherson@journalstar.com.
