BIGREDFAN_in_OMAHA
All-American
Holt wants to contribute for NU
By Mike Babcock
For The Independent
LINCOLN -- Here's an attitude a coach can appreciate.
"I'm expecting to work hard in camp, and hopefully I'll learn this offense, do things I'm supposed to do and I'll get on the field. But I can't expect anything because I haven't deserved it yet," Menelik Holt said after Nebraska football practice on Tuesday. "If I deserve it, I'll get on the field."
Deserve it? Now, that's how a freshman is supposed to approach things.
"If I keep working hard, day in and day out, I'll be on the field," said Holt.
His comments were in response to questions about whether he expected to play without redshirting, a topic most newcomers are asked to address the first time they deal with reporters.
Given the opportunity, of course, Holt will play this season. He'll do anything to help the team. That might be as a wide receiver, the position for which he was recruited. Or that might be on special teams. Holt has been practicing with the punt return and kickoff coverage units.
The coaches are "putting me wherever they can, so why not?" he said.
He could benefit from playing on special teams in his first collegiate season. "You get used to the speed of the game. You get used to contact with bigger people. You get used to crowd noise and stuff like that, adjusting," he said. "I think any getting on the field is good for a young guy."
Holt is among three wide receivers in coach Bill Callahan's 2006 recruiting class. Junior college transfer Maurice Purify and freshman Will Henry are the others. All three meet the criteria set by Callahan. They're "big-bodied," tall and physical. Defensive backs won't push them around.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Holt brings impressive credentials. He was among the first to give the Cornhuskers an oral commitment a year ago in June, following a productive senior season at San Diego's St. Augustine High School -- from which place-kicker Jordan Congdon also came.
Holt caught 62 passes for 790 yards and 13 touchdowns his final year.
His only official recruiting visit was to Nebraska. "I don't think I could have liked any school any more," Holt said. "My thing is, if it's not broken, don't fix it."
He didn't dislike anything about Nebraska, "so why go anywhere else?"
Initially, he and quarterback Josh Freeman were going to come to Nebraska as a kind of package deal. Freeman changed his mind, however, and signed with Kansas State instead.
Holt doesn't hold that against Freeman, who is competing for the starting job in Manhattan, Kan. "It happens a lot when kids make decisions," he said. "Determining the next four years of your life is hard for any kid, whether 17, 18, 21. It's hard to predict what you want to do, where you're going to be.
"If he felt iffy at all, I would hate for him to have come here and not been comfortable. If he felt comfortable at Kansas State, God bless you. Do the best you can and hopefully you play."
If he ever had to tackle Freeman, however, "I wouldn't be too nice," said Holt.
That's unlikely, considering they both play offense.
Apparently, some or all of the Cornhuskers' new wide receivers -- Purify got a late start because of transfer paperwork -- have shown signs of being able to contribute immediately. Wide receivers Isaiah Fluellen and Tyrell Spain have been moved to the secondary the past two days.
The first couple of practices were "pretty tough," Holt said. "I learned terminology. I'm learning formations and where to line up. I see older guys like Terrence (Nunn) and Nate (Swift) and Todd (Peterson), all the receivers, running routes and getting open. So I believe in the system.
"I believe it's going to work. I believe in Coach Callahan. I believe in all of our coaches. So as long as we do our part, they're going to fulfill their job and help us win games."
Doing his part could mean playing on special teams, if nothing else.
"Any man who generally wants to play football, it doesn't matter where he is on the field. If they tell me, 'Meno, you're not too great of a receiver, we need you on special teams, I'm going to have to do that whether I like it or not. So hopefully I can be the best at that," said Holt. "People do go to the next level for playing special teams. You can always be successful doing whatever you do on the field."
Attitude is important at every level. And Holt seems to have the right one.
"I just want to give it all I can," he said, see where that takes him.
By Mike Babcock
For The Independent
LINCOLN -- Here's an attitude a coach can appreciate.
"I'm expecting to work hard in camp, and hopefully I'll learn this offense, do things I'm supposed to do and I'll get on the field. But I can't expect anything because I haven't deserved it yet," Menelik Holt said after Nebraska football practice on Tuesday. "If I deserve it, I'll get on the field."
Deserve it? Now, that's how a freshman is supposed to approach things.
"If I keep working hard, day in and day out, I'll be on the field," said Holt.
His comments were in response to questions about whether he expected to play without redshirting, a topic most newcomers are asked to address the first time they deal with reporters.
Given the opportunity, of course, Holt will play this season. He'll do anything to help the team. That might be as a wide receiver, the position for which he was recruited. Or that might be on special teams. Holt has been practicing with the punt return and kickoff coverage units.
The coaches are "putting me wherever they can, so why not?" he said.
He could benefit from playing on special teams in his first collegiate season. "You get used to the speed of the game. You get used to contact with bigger people. You get used to crowd noise and stuff like that, adjusting," he said. "I think any getting on the field is good for a young guy."
Holt is among three wide receivers in coach Bill Callahan's 2006 recruiting class. Junior college transfer Maurice Purify and freshman Will Henry are the others. All three meet the criteria set by Callahan. They're "big-bodied," tall and physical. Defensive backs won't push them around.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Holt brings impressive credentials. He was among the first to give the Cornhuskers an oral commitment a year ago in June, following a productive senior season at San Diego's St. Augustine High School -- from which place-kicker Jordan Congdon also came.
Holt caught 62 passes for 790 yards and 13 touchdowns his final year.
His only official recruiting visit was to Nebraska. "I don't think I could have liked any school any more," Holt said. "My thing is, if it's not broken, don't fix it."
He didn't dislike anything about Nebraska, "so why go anywhere else?"
Initially, he and quarterback Josh Freeman were going to come to Nebraska as a kind of package deal. Freeman changed his mind, however, and signed with Kansas State instead.
Holt doesn't hold that against Freeman, who is competing for the starting job in Manhattan, Kan. "It happens a lot when kids make decisions," he said. "Determining the next four years of your life is hard for any kid, whether 17, 18, 21. It's hard to predict what you want to do, where you're going to be.
"If he felt iffy at all, I would hate for him to have come here and not been comfortable. If he felt comfortable at Kansas State, God bless you. Do the best you can and hopefully you play."
If he ever had to tackle Freeman, however, "I wouldn't be too nice," said Holt.
That's unlikely, considering they both play offense.
Apparently, some or all of the Cornhuskers' new wide receivers -- Purify got a late start because of transfer paperwork -- have shown signs of being able to contribute immediately. Wide receivers Isaiah Fluellen and Tyrell Spain have been moved to the secondary the past two days.
The first couple of practices were "pretty tough," Holt said. "I learned terminology. I'm learning formations and where to line up. I see older guys like Terrence (Nunn) and Nate (Swift) and Todd (Peterson), all the receivers, running routes and getting open. So I believe in the system.
"I believe it's going to work. I believe in Coach Callahan. I believe in all of our coaches. So as long as we do our part, they're going to fulfill their job and help us win games."
Doing his part could mean playing on special teams, if nothing else.
"Any man who generally wants to play football, it doesn't matter where he is on the field. If they tell me, 'Meno, you're not too great of a receiver, we need you on special teams, I'm going to have to do that whether I like it or not. So hopefully I can be the best at that," said Holt. "People do go to the next level for playing special teams. You can always be successful doing whatever you do on the field."
Attitude is important at every level. And Holt seems to have the right one.
"I just want to give it all I can," he said, see where that takes him.
