Husker_Power
Starter
by Samuel McKewon
August 24, 2007
LINK
Broken ribs. A separated shoulder. A torn bicep. Busted teeth. Collapsed lungs.
Those are the injuries suited to a running back like Nebraska junior Cody Glenn. At 6-foot, 230 pounds, a build like a Sherman Tank, the man is owed dramatic scars for the games he's missed. A souvenir for suffering. Not this flat tire.
Of course, just desserts so rarely mirror real life.
Thus, as Achilles had a Heel…Glenn had a Foot. Nearly torn off, in fact, during a touchdown run at Texas A&M. And now, this Hammy.
The injuries have made the Rusk, Texas, native one of the "concerns" of the Huskers' fall camp. Along with junior Marlon Lucky, his name shows up often in the fan message boards. Inside a lot of those discussion threads, the Husker nation digitally wonders aloud whether Glenn's role in the Husker offense is about to disappear to the likes of true freshmen Quentin Castille and Roy Helu.
Castille, particularly fits the bruiser profile. Or, at least, the profile Glenn has been ascribed in Head Coach Bill Callahan's West Coast Offense.
Truth is, No. 34 might be just be the best pure runner Nebraska's got.
Yes, NU Offensive Coordinator Shawn Watson took time Wednesday to call Lucky among the most talented running back with whom he's worked. And Head Coach Bill Callahan spoke of the offensive packages specifically designed for him. From an NFL perspective, Lucky's clearly a better receiver than Glenn. Presumably he's a superior pass blocker. And if given a fat hole, Lucky's more likely to stretch a 20-yard run into something double or triple that.
But if you gave them both 30 carries in a college football game, my money's on Glenn. By 50 yards.
Garbage? Well, try this logic on:
Every time Glenn went in last season for the Huskers, he was in there to do one thing.
Take a handoff.
He wasn't going to block. He wasn't going to catch.
Glenn was the bull, and Nebraska's offensive line was the red cape.
The defense knew he'd get the ball. The backups knew. The redshirts in street clothes. The trainers. And most 4-year-old children.
You think that might wear on you?
"After awhile it kinda did," Glenn said. "I'd go in, they'd know I'm getting the ball and they ain't gotta respect any pass or anything, so they just'd come right downhill at me."
Eleven picadores poised with their lances. And still Glenn averaged 5.2 yards per carry.
It's a tribute to his motor, otherwise known as those thick, nasty, churning legs of his. He's nimble, too – and not just for his size. He's slippery, period. Because he picks up his feet and runs in short chops, he can change directions, pick through smaller holes and bust runs to the edge from out of a pack.
In a trench, an alley, an afternoon of Oklahoma drills - give me Glenn.
His signature performance came at Iowa State. Nineteen carries, 148 yards, two touchdowns. Including eight carries and 65 yards on the back-breaking fourth quarter drive.
That performance, too, had a catch. Three of them, actually. All by Lucky at the end of first half, just before quarterback Zac Taylor hit receiver Maurice Purify to put NU ahead 21-7 at halftime.
That's what Callahan means by “packages.”
So Glenn spent the offseason trying to hone those catching and blocking skills, because almost without exception, NFL backs have to block and catch. And Callahan's running an NFL offense.
He watched film, talked to Running Backs Coach Randy Jordan about technique and waited for the foot to heal. In the Red/White Spring Game, he caught three passes. This fall, he, along with Lucky – who, let's face it, is Callahan's No. 1 guy – intended to do with two what the Huskers did with four running backs last year.
So much for that. Lucky suffered a mild concussion and Glenn was nagged with another injury unfit for his stature. For awhile the coaches were either unsure on what was bothering Glenn, or, well, vague.
Glenn's take: His foot is fine. His hamstring's 95 percent. Nevada's not going to know he missed a day of practice.
Are Castille or Helu taking his role?
If that's what the coaches really want. Glenn said. But he wasn't planning on it.
“I'm the same guy,” he said. “Even better. Even more experienced. I know the game more. The game's slowed down a bit. I'm a lot better back than I was a year ago, two years ago. Even with this injury to the hamstring. I mean, my foot is good. Not bothering me at all. The hamstring's gonna get better. It's not gonna bother me during the season.”
If so, well...vive le bull.
August 24, 2007
LINK
Broken ribs. A separated shoulder. A torn bicep. Busted teeth. Collapsed lungs.
Those are the injuries suited to a running back like Nebraska junior Cody Glenn. At 6-foot, 230 pounds, a build like a Sherman Tank, the man is owed dramatic scars for the games he's missed. A souvenir for suffering. Not this flat tire.
Of course, just desserts so rarely mirror real life.
Thus, as Achilles had a Heel…Glenn had a Foot. Nearly torn off, in fact, during a touchdown run at Texas A&M. And now, this Hammy.
The injuries have made the Rusk, Texas, native one of the "concerns" of the Huskers' fall camp. Along with junior Marlon Lucky, his name shows up often in the fan message boards. Inside a lot of those discussion threads, the Husker nation digitally wonders aloud whether Glenn's role in the Husker offense is about to disappear to the likes of true freshmen Quentin Castille and Roy Helu.
Castille, particularly fits the bruiser profile. Or, at least, the profile Glenn has been ascribed in Head Coach Bill Callahan's West Coast Offense.
Truth is, No. 34 might be just be the best pure runner Nebraska's got.
Yes, NU Offensive Coordinator Shawn Watson took time Wednesday to call Lucky among the most talented running back with whom he's worked. And Head Coach Bill Callahan spoke of the offensive packages specifically designed for him. From an NFL perspective, Lucky's clearly a better receiver than Glenn. Presumably he's a superior pass blocker. And if given a fat hole, Lucky's more likely to stretch a 20-yard run into something double or triple that.
But if you gave them both 30 carries in a college football game, my money's on Glenn. By 50 yards.
Garbage? Well, try this logic on:
Every time Glenn went in last season for the Huskers, he was in there to do one thing.
Take a handoff.
He wasn't going to block. He wasn't going to catch.
Glenn was the bull, and Nebraska's offensive line was the red cape.
The defense knew he'd get the ball. The backups knew. The redshirts in street clothes. The trainers. And most 4-year-old children.
You think that might wear on you?
"After awhile it kinda did," Glenn said. "I'd go in, they'd know I'm getting the ball and they ain't gotta respect any pass or anything, so they just'd come right downhill at me."
Eleven picadores poised with their lances. And still Glenn averaged 5.2 yards per carry.
It's a tribute to his motor, otherwise known as those thick, nasty, churning legs of his. He's nimble, too – and not just for his size. He's slippery, period. Because he picks up his feet and runs in short chops, he can change directions, pick through smaller holes and bust runs to the edge from out of a pack.
In a trench, an alley, an afternoon of Oklahoma drills - give me Glenn.
His signature performance came at Iowa State. Nineteen carries, 148 yards, two touchdowns. Including eight carries and 65 yards on the back-breaking fourth quarter drive.
That performance, too, had a catch. Three of them, actually. All by Lucky at the end of first half, just before quarterback Zac Taylor hit receiver Maurice Purify to put NU ahead 21-7 at halftime.
That's what Callahan means by “packages.”
So Glenn spent the offseason trying to hone those catching and blocking skills, because almost without exception, NFL backs have to block and catch. And Callahan's running an NFL offense.
He watched film, talked to Running Backs Coach Randy Jordan about technique and waited for the foot to heal. In the Red/White Spring Game, he caught three passes. This fall, he, along with Lucky – who, let's face it, is Callahan's No. 1 guy – intended to do with two what the Huskers did with four running backs last year.
So much for that. Lucky suffered a mild concussion and Glenn was nagged with another injury unfit for his stature. For awhile the coaches were either unsure on what was bothering Glenn, or, well, vague.
Glenn's take: His foot is fine. His hamstring's 95 percent. Nevada's not going to know he missed a day of practice.
Are Castille or Helu taking his role?
If that's what the coaches really want. Glenn said. But he wasn't planning on it.
“I'm the same guy,” he said. “Even better. Even more experienced. I know the game more. The game's slowed down a bit. I'm a lot better back than I was a year ago, two years ago. Even with this injury to the hamstring. I mean, my foot is good. Not bothering me at all. The hamstring's gonna get better. It's not gonna bother me during the season.”
If so, well...vive le bull.
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