Wilson turning heads!
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Saturday, Jul 15, 2006 - 12:30:14 am CDT
This may sound like something from the “my friend’s cousin’s roommate’s sister’s boyfriend’s barber heard ...” files.
But this fourthhand information comes from people with real names and real titles, and people who would seem to know what’s up.
Kenny Wilson, Nebraska’s incoming junior college I-back, is having a phenomenal summer in “voluntary” workouts.
That’s the word from Wilson’s junior college coach, Troy Morrell, who heard it from Morrell’s offensive coordinator, Aaron Flores, who helped with NU’s summer camps and quarterback academy, who heard it from Jay Norvell, NU’s offensive coordinator, who gets the report from strength and conditioning coach Dave Kennedy.
So, there’s the scoop:
“They are very excited about him,” said Morrell, head coach at Butler County (Kan.) Community College. “And (Flores) said Coach Norvell says those (strength and conditioning) guys never say anything good about a newcomer.”
Now, just exactly what Wilson will do come fall camp, when it comes to learning the offense, picking up blitzes, blocking, etc., remains to be seen. But the hype over Wilson’s 6-foot, 220-pound frame and 10.4-second electronic time in the 100 meters is very real.
“He can flat run,” Morrell said. “He’s just got exceptional speed, great burst for a guy his size. He’s a big-time player and a special athlete.
“The best thing about Kenny, he’s always humble, and he always wants to get better, which reminds me of Rudi Johnson when he was with us.”
That turned out well. Johnson has nearly 4,000 career rushing yards in five years with the Cincinnati Bengals.
If Morrell sounds excited, there’s a reason. There could be as many as four former Butler County players in Nebraska’s starting offensive lineup this fall.
Zac Taylor appears poised for a special season at quarterback. Wilson, who averaged 10.2 yards per carry last year at Butler, will battle Cody Glenn and Marlon Lucky for the starting I-back job. Frantz Hardy, statistically, is Nebraska’s third-best returning receiver and reportedly has been very impressive in 7-on-7 drills this summer. Even Justin Tomerlin, Morrell said, is already among the top two at tight end, with the starting spot, of course, dependent on Matt Herian’s progress in his recovery from injury.
“It makes us all very, very proud of Butler,” said Morrell, who has an overall record of 62-9 and conference record of 55-4 in six years with Butler County. “That’s our job, to try to prepare those guys to go on to the next level to be successful. That lets me know that our coaches and instructors are doing their jobs.”
In addition to his praise for Wilson, Morrell had an equally impressive report — from Flores, via Taylor — on Hardy.
“Just according to Zac, (Hardy) has really stepped up and is starting to become more comfortable in the offense,” Morrell said. “It’s like the old Frantz when he was at Butler. And I can see that, because of the learning curve that he had to go through. He didn’t exactly catch on to everything here and make the adjustment the way he should have (right away).”
Hardy came to NU with the reputation as a speedy guy with a penchant for the deep ball. But Hardy, who caught 25 passes for 349 yards and one touchdown last season, struggled at times in getting off the line of scrimmage.
“Now, according to Zac, you can’t touch him in a phone booth,” Morrell said. “He’s got that quickness back.”
And concerning Taylor ... well, what else can be said?
“I think he’s on tap to have a great, great season,” Morrell said. “What a great kid, a great worker, a great leader. He made our season, that 2004 year, when we went to the national championship game, because we had such a young team, and nobody expected us to do as well as we did.
“I think he can leave Nebraska on that same kind of level.”
Because of Taylor’s success adapting to systems — first at Butler County, then Nebraska — Morrell believes he can look forward to an NFL opportunity.
“With Coach (Bill) Callahan and the type of system they run there,” he said, “it’s going to help him prepare to get to that type of level.”