Great new Husker Football Book coming out soon
- Thread starter NoPlaceLikeNebraskaPKoch
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NoPlaceLikeNebraskaPKoch
Four-Star Recruit
Here's a little something from my conversation with Christian Peter for the book:
"I remember when we first came in, specifically. I think we were labeled as the worst recruiting class in the history of Nebraska football. Fortunately the majority of us who were able to stay with the program, we kind of took that personally. We always had the reputation of not being able to win the big one, where we’d go undefeated through the Big 8 and then getting down to the bowl game and losing to a fast Florida team or something like that. It was always something that stuck with us, and we had something to prove to everyone as well as, I think, the guys took it personally.
I remember going down there in ‘93 and still -that’s still a tough pill to swallow- that ‘93 championship game. But I remember, as bad and as painful as it was, we knew what it took to get there in ‘94. After that game, I think it was a couple of days later, guys started rallying up and getting into the weight room and offseason conditioning and stuff like that. There were no coaches involved, we just did it on our own. It was just something where nobody had to say anything to anyone, nobody had to fire anyone up, no one had to get anyone motivated. That’s who we were. That’s what we did. It all came together at once and ‘94 was a lot of hard work went into that team, but in the end it paid off."
"I remember when we first came in, specifically. I think we were labeled as the worst recruiting class in the history of Nebraska football. Fortunately the majority of us who were able to stay with the program, we kind of took that personally. We always had the reputation of not being able to win the big one, where we’d go undefeated through the Big 8 and then getting down to the bowl game and losing to a fast Florida team or something like that. It was always something that stuck with us, and we had something to prove to everyone as well as, I think, the guys took it personally.
I remember going down there in ‘93 and still -that’s still a tough pill to swallow- that ‘93 championship game. But I remember, as bad and as painful as it was, we knew what it took to get there in ‘94. After that game, I think it was a couple of days later, guys started rallying up and getting into the weight room and offseason conditioning and stuff like that. There were no coaches involved, we just did it on our own. It was just something where nobody had to say anything to anyone, nobody had to fire anyone up, no one had to get anyone motivated. That’s who we were. That’s what we did. It all came together at once and ‘94 was a lot of hard work went into that team, but in the end it paid off."
NoPlaceLikeNebraskaPKoch
Four-Star Recruit
Here is a little snippet from NU Team Psychologist Dr. Jack Stark. This one really hit home for me and helped to put some things into perspective:
"Q: Can you give me an idea of the pressures these young men were going through?
JS: Well, the biggest pressure, too, is that some of these kids come from homes that have nothing. And they know if they can make it through and get drafted and have a shot at it, it’s just huge. Financially, identity-wise, the dedication of everything they’ve done since they were 6-7 years of age, if they don’t make it? It’s just crushing to them. So I always tried to have them make sure to have a dream, a backup plan. If they played pro ball, great, but if it didn’t happen they could always go on to something else.
Q: Did the players read the papers much? It’s easy to say that they don’t, but are they affected much by what they read?
JS: Well, they read the internet and blogs and everything else. And you try not to let it, but it impacts them. Some of those people are crazy, it’s crazy what you see online these days.
Q: What advice would you give those fans? Any positive, constructive advice from the Good Doctor?
JS: Well, I’d just remind them to remember what it’s like to be 18, 19, or 20 years old. You know, if you’re forty that’s one thing, but if you’re a young man and you’re trying and you make mistakes, some people say an awful lot of things that create a lot of stress, a lot of hurt."
"Q: Can you give me an idea of the pressures these young men were going through?
JS: Well, the biggest pressure, too, is that some of these kids come from homes that have nothing. And they know if they can make it through and get drafted and have a shot at it, it’s just huge. Financially, identity-wise, the dedication of everything they’ve done since they were 6-7 years of age, if they don’t make it? It’s just crushing to them. So I always tried to have them make sure to have a dream, a backup plan. If they played pro ball, great, but if it didn’t happen they could always go on to something else.
Q: Did the players read the papers much? It’s easy to say that they don’t, but are they affected much by what they read?
JS: Well, they read the internet and blogs and everything else. And you try not to let it, but it impacts them. Some of those people are crazy, it’s crazy what you see online these days.
Q: What advice would you give those fans? Any positive, constructive advice from the Good Doctor?
JS: Well, I’d just remind them to remember what it’s like to be 18, 19, or 20 years old. You know, if you’re forty that’s one thing, but if you’re a young man and you’re trying and you make mistakes, some people say an awful lot of things that create a lot of stress, a lot of hurt."
NoPlaceLikeNebraskaPKoch
Four-Star Recruit
Yesterday was a crazy day and I didn't post anything from my book...so I'll post two today. Here is a little something about bad officiating from former NU Defensive Backs Coach George Darlington:
"South Carolina was probably one of the worst. It was a split crew and we had some Big 8 officials and some southern league and it was absolutely fraudulent. They did everything they could to win. I was on the radio after the game -for some reason that was my turn or that year I was on after every game or something- and I blasted the officials. (Today I would be fined even for telling the truth.) So anyway, on about Tuesday the Big 8 Head of Officials called Tom. And they were trying to have fun with me and they got me out of the defensive meeting and said, “The Commissioner is on the phone. He is really upset.” So I get on the phone with him. He said, “Everything you said was exactly right, and I talked to our officials who were there.” Everything was out-and-out cheating. And if I recall, Tom or somebody said, “Well, if they were doing that, why didn’t you try to even things up and call them the other way? If you see an obvious call is fraudulent?”, you know? And our guys didn’t do that.
We won right at the end of the game. They ran a play they shouldn’t have run and they fumbled the ball; they should have just taken a knee.
What was funny about that was that Nebraska Wesleyan, in Lincoln, was dedicating their stadium at halftime. They’re dedicating the stadium at halftime while the Nebraska/South Carolina game is right at the end of the game, and a lot of Nebraska fans are there listening to the radio. My wife and daughter were there listening to the radio with their heads down because someone was leading the prayer at the middle of the field, and we recovered that fumble and they just screamed, “Yaaaaaaaaay!” right in the middle of the prayer! (laughs)"
"South Carolina was probably one of the worst. It was a split crew and we had some Big 8 officials and some southern league and it was absolutely fraudulent. They did everything they could to win. I was on the radio after the game -for some reason that was my turn or that year I was on after every game or something- and I blasted the officials. (Today I would be fined even for telling the truth.) So anyway, on about Tuesday the Big 8 Head of Officials called Tom. And they were trying to have fun with me and they got me out of the defensive meeting and said, “The Commissioner is on the phone. He is really upset.” So I get on the phone with him. He said, “Everything you said was exactly right, and I talked to our officials who were there.” Everything was out-and-out cheating. And if I recall, Tom or somebody said, “Well, if they were doing that, why didn’t you try to even things up and call them the other way? If you see an obvious call is fraudulent?”, you know? And our guys didn’t do that.
We won right at the end of the game. They ran a play they shouldn’t have run and they fumbled the ball; they should have just taken a knee.
What was funny about that was that Nebraska Wesleyan, in Lincoln, was dedicating their stadium at halftime. They’re dedicating the stadium at halftime while the Nebraska/South Carolina game is right at the end of the game, and a lot of Nebraska fans are there listening to the radio. My wife and daughter were there listening to the radio with their heads down because someone was leading the prayer at the middle of the field, and we recovered that fumble and they just screamed, “Yaaaaaaaaay!” right in the middle of the prayer! (laughs)"
NoPlaceLikeNebraskaPKoch
Four-Star Recruit
Speaking of Coach Ron Brown, here is a little something about the man from former WR/DB Darren Schmadeke:
"Coach Brown is a class act individual all the way around. I’ll never forget him, he was always one of the coaches who took pride in doing little mini-drills after practice. He took pride in being the last group to come off the field. We’d typically run little routes and have defensive backs cover you, or as receivers we’d cover guys and try to use alligator arms in catching the ball and then stripping it out of them. He was always throwing balls at us, it seemed like. But that taught me something -because you know, you pick up a lot of things you use later in life– he taught what it took in order to be great. He always said that you "had to do the little things". I’ll never forget that, “The little things that you do in life will pay off. This is why we’re here today. And everyone else is gone in the locker room and showered up and we’re still working, because I want your guys to be the best you can be, the best blockers or what have you.” One thing at the time.
We weren’t throwing a lot at that time and he took a lot of pride in his role in pulling his fair share of the weight for the team in training & coaching excellent blockers with the split ends, wingbacks, et cetera. That’s something, because if you look through the years you see our success with running the ball was because we’ve always been very good at having receivers who could block downfield."
"Coach Brown is a class act individual all the way around. I’ll never forget him, he was always one of the coaches who took pride in doing little mini-drills after practice. He took pride in being the last group to come off the field. We’d typically run little routes and have defensive backs cover you, or as receivers we’d cover guys and try to use alligator arms in catching the ball and then stripping it out of them. He was always throwing balls at us, it seemed like. But that taught me something -because you know, you pick up a lot of things you use later in life– he taught what it took in order to be great. He always said that you "had to do the little things". I’ll never forget that, “The little things that you do in life will pay off. This is why we’re here today. And everyone else is gone in the locker room and showered up and we’re still working, because I want your guys to be the best you can be, the best blockers or what have you.” One thing at the time.
We weren’t throwing a lot at that time and he took a lot of pride in his role in pulling his fair share of the weight for the team in training & coaching excellent blockers with the split ends, wingbacks, et cetera. That’s something, because if you look through the years you see our success with running the ball was because we’ve always been very good at having receivers who could block downfield."
husker rob
All-American
great stuff. keep posting it
NoPlaceLikeNebraskaPKoch
Four-Star Recruit
One more "No Place Like Nebraska" sniooet about Ron Brown from former walk-on Darren Schmadeke (Do you notice how I slyly market the book's name like that? LOL):
"I want to tell you a story, which I think is pretty funny: at the time we were doing one-on-one drills where I was on the receiver’s side and we would run routes. (I never really had great hands at catching the ball, okay?) I was a running back in high school and I never really was thrown the ball that much, but I remember I’d get a little nervous with Coach Osborne standing there and watching with Mike Grant or another one of the quarterbacks throwing to us as one of the defensive backs would cover us. Well, I’d always get nervous for that, for whatever reason, and sometimes I’d drop the ball or whatever.
One time during practice -and this was my second season as a wingback- Coach Brown pulled me aside and said, “You know Darren, I’d like to make a suggestion to you and kind of get your thoughts on this, but it might be a good move,” and he told me, ”Darren, the thing is… you’ve got hands like feet.” (laughs) I’ll never forget that! “I think I’d like to propose to you that you move over to the defensive side and be a cornerback.” And I kind of looked at him and said, ‘I thought you’d never ask.’ (laughs) So that’s really the transition of when I went over to the defensive side, and that was really a much better fit and role for me. I was much happier swatting the ball versus catching the ball and I got to play a lot more and everything. I’m glad that he as a coach recognized that and switched me over."
"I want to tell you a story, which I think is pretty funny: at the time we were doing one-on-one drills where I was on the receiver’s side and we would run routes. (I never really had great hands at catching the ball, okay?) I was a running back in high school and I never really was thrown the ball that much, but I remember I’d get a little nervous with Coach Osborne standing there and watching with Mike Grant or another one of the quarterbacks throwing to us as one of the defensive backs would cover us. Well, I’d always get nervous for that, for whatever reason, and sometimes I’d drop the ball or whatever.
One time during practice -and this was my second season as a wingback- Coach Brown pulled me aside and said, “You know Darren, I’d like to make a suggestion to you and kind of get your thoughts on this, but it might be a good move,” and he told me, ”Darren, the thing is… you’ve got hands like feet.” (laughs) I’ll never forget that! “I think I’d like to propose to you that you move over to the defensive side and be a cornerback.” And I kind of looked at him and said, ‘I thought you’d never ask.’ (laughs) So that’s really the transition of when I went over to the defensive side, and that was really a much better fit and role for me. I was much happier swatting the ball versus catching the ball and I got to play a lot more and everything. I’m glad that he as a coach recognized that and switched me over."
Chaddyboxer
Banned
These are awesome!
NoPlaceLikeNebraskaPKoch
Four-Star Recruit
Here's a question for everyone before I post a little something for today: Would you also think of ordering a copy of the book as a Christmas/birthday gift for someone in addition to one you buy for yourself? Just wondering.
Here's a funny little "No Place Like Nebraska" ditty about player recruiting from former NU DB Michael Booker:
"MB: I got a great story to tell my friends: When I went to my recruiting trip Donta Jones was my host. So what we did when I got there, they took us out to the night life: all the black people, an urban club. So here it is, my first day of school, and I couldn’t find any of the black people.’Where are all the black people? Where do all the black people live?’ (laughs) The funny thing is, when I hosted Ralph Brown I did things the same way. I went to all the nice clubs and everything like that, then the first day of school, “Where is everybody?” (laughing) But the whole thing about the recruiting trip is, “Hey, we win games. That’s the reality of it, but there’s no social life at all.” (laughs)
Q: That is funny, man. Do you recall what club you went to?
MB: I think it might have been a club called The Underground, but I’m not sure. They took me to this club and I saw all these black girls and all the black guys. Now, I’m from California, so I don’t care, we’re wide open. I got there and it wasn’t as diverse as they made it seem. (laughs)
Q: Like, “Where are the Latinos, the Polynesians, the Asians?” (laughs)
MB: No Mexicans or nothing. (laughs)"
Here's a funny little "No Place Like Nebraska" ditty about player recruiting from former NU DB Michael Booker:
"MB: I got a great story to tell my friends: When I went to my recruiting trip Donta Jones was my host. So what we did when I got there, they took us out to the night life: all the black people, an urban club. So here it is, my first day of school, and I couldn’t find any of the black people.’Where are all the black people? Where do all the black people live?’ (laughs) The funny thing is, when I hosted Ralph Brown I did things the same way. I went to all the nice clubs and everything like that, then the first day of school, “Where is everybody?” (laughing) But the whole thing about the recruiting trip is, “Hey, we win games. That’s the reality of it, but there’s no social life at all.” (laughs)
Q: That is funny, man. Do you recall what club you went to?
MB: I think it might have been a club called The Underground, but I’m not sure. They took me to this club and I saw all these black girls and all the black guys. Now, I’m from California, so I don’t care, we’re wide open. I got there and it wasn’t as diverse as they made it seem. (laughs)
Q: Like, “Where are the Latinos, the Polynesians, the Asians?” (laughs)
MB: No Mexicans or nothing. (laughs)"
funhusker
All-American
Sorry, didn't mean to go there. I like Brown as a coach, kinda the reason for my post; I want him on the staff. I don't want someone's loose story telling starting rumors that are bad for Coach Brown, but I probably did more harm than good with the "drama" in my post. I fully support Ron Brown as an NU coach! Sorry, Coach Brown - just please don't get caught whipping footballs at kids in carseatsMr. Accountability said:
Landlord
Banned
Sorry, didn't mean to go there. I like Brown as a coach, kinda the reason for my post; I want him on the staff. I don't want someone's loose story telling starting rumors that are bad for Coach Brown, but I probably did more harm than good with the "drama" in my post. I fully support Ron Brown as an NU coach! Sorry, Coach Brown - just please don't get caught whipping footballs at kids in carseatsMr. Accountability said:
By my recollection it really wasn't a loose or exaggerated story. Not entirely in context maybe. But I had zero issue with it, and all of Nebraska FCA staff and the dozens if not hundreds of parents and huddle leaders didn't seem to either.
funhusker
All-American
Either your story is exaggerated, or Brown threw a ball as hard as he could at a six year old from 5 feet away while the child was running towards him and got "dinged up"...Sorry, didn't mean to go there. I like Brown as a coach, kinda the reason for my post; I want him on the staff. I don't want someone's loose story telling starting rumors that are bad for Coach Brown, but I probably did more harm than good with the "drama" in my post. I fully support Ron Brown as an NU coach! Sorry, Coach Brown - just please don't get caught whipping footballs at kids in carseatsMr. Accountability said:
By my recollection it really wasn't a loose or exaggerated story. Not entirely in context maybe. But I had zero issue with it, and all of Nebraska FCA staff and the dozens if not hundreds of parents and huddle leaders didn't seem to either.