husker rob
All-American
Nicks is the 'beast' of the o-line
By BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star
Friday, Sep 07, 2007 - 12:32:01 am CDT
The day hasn’t really been a day at all until Carl Nicks and Steve Octavien are tangled and overflowing with competitive rage, saying words to each other their mothers never taught them.
“If there’s not a fight, it’s not a practice,” Octavien says.
It’s usually a fight worth watching, too.
In one corner, there’s the left tackle Nicks: 6-foot-5, 330 pounds, probably more. Depends what he had for lunch.
In the other corner, there’s the linebacker Octavien: 6-foot, 240 pounds, quick of feet.
It is when Octavien lines up to rush the quarterback against Nicks that Husker football practices get truly interesting.
Sometimes the speed wins. Sometimes the beast wins. One time, Octavien says, the two got up and just started cussing each other.
“He got me a couple times, I can’t lie,” Nicks said. “But I pancaked him a couple times and felt real good about it. But if you ask him, he’ll never admit it.”
Oh, you might be surprised what a linebacker would admit.
The truth is, Octavien cherishes those battles against Nicks. Through their skirmishes, each guy has earned the other’s respect.
“It has made me a lot better player. There are not many tackles like him,” Octavien says. “There are many times where he’s literally flipped me over.”
He repeats. “Flipped me over.”
Octavien takes solace in knowing he will not be the last defensive player Nicks will toss around like a beanbag.
Husker coach Bill Callahan has called the senior the most talented offensive lineman on the team, and that statement gets no argument from offensive line coach Dennis Wagner.
“No question,” Wagner says. “When you get a guy who’s 6-5 and 340ish and can move the way Carl does, it’s phenomenal.
“He’s just got to fine-tune his technique and continue to improve on that, and his abilities will take him where he wants to go.”
Despite his lively practice bouts with Octavien, junior left tackle Lydon Murtha says Nicks is not usually one of those brash, smack-talking linemen on the field.
Murtha describes Nicks as workmanlike in practice, “a beast” on game days.
“He’s one of those guys that, the play’s the other way, he’s on the other side of the field trying to make a huge play,” Murtha says. “He’s just one of those kids that keeps going.”
Fear of failure is a big part of what keeps his motor running high. It’s often that way for left tackles, who earn their reputation mostly by keeping defenders from blindsiding their quarterback.
It is a heavy responsibility, heavy enough that the best left tackles can make plenty of bucks in the NFL, something not lost on Nicks.
Surely he thinks about the NFL.
“Mostly, I’m thinking, ‘If this guy beats me, I’m letting my quarterback down, my team down,’” Nicks says. “Of course, it’s in the back of my head, ‘Don’t look like a (fool) on TV, the scouts are watching.’ But my team comes first.”
Last year, Nicks struggled with the playbook, the terminology, the footwork, the techniques. It was, in ways, “a real downer” of a season.
A lot of talent doesn’t always mean a lot of playing time. Nicks backed up Matt Slauson for 11 games at right tackle last year, before an injury opened the way for him to start against Colorado and Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game.
Coaches were right to sit him, he says now. “I wasn’t producing.”
The Salinas, Calif., native originally gave a oral commitment to Southern Cal out of high school, only to change his mind after realizing playing time would be tough to find.
By the time he changed direction, New Mexico State was about the only school calling him, and the coaches there wanted him at defensive tackle. He said yes.
He played some defense, and then they switched him to offense, and then he decided to try something else altogether. He left for Hartnell (Calif.) Junior College, where one season of football made him a hot commodity again. He was in Lincoln the next year.
Regrets?
“Nah, because look where I ended up.”
This season can be special, he thinks. The offense suddenly stopped seeming confusing to him this spring. Confidence began to rise.
“I don’t want to take away any thing from anybody who played on the line last year, but the chemistry we have this year and just the unity ... compared to last year, it’s way far beyond.”
One game does not make a season, but it was a good opening act for Nicks and crew. The Huskers ran for 413 yards and beat down the opposition like the Nebraska lines of old.
As he talks about his oldest of two daughters, Serena — she’ll turn turn 4 Saturday — one of the beneficiaries of his blocking comes and stands right beside him.
It’s running back Quentin Castille, smiling, confident, smart enough to not interrupt a 330-pound man.
“He’s good. He knows,” Nicks says. “He’s still a little young, but I’ll make holes for anybody.”
By BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star
Friday, Sep 07, 2007 - 12:32:01 am CDT
The day hasn’t really been a day at all until Carl Nicks and Steve Octavien are tangled and overflowing with competitive rage, saying words to each other their mothers never taught them.
“If there’s not a fight, it’s not a practice,” Octavien says.
It’s usually a fight worth watching, too.
In one corner, there’s the left tackle Nicks: 6-foot-5, 330 pounds, probably more. Depends what he had for lunch.
In the other corner, there’s the linebacker Octavien: 6-foot, 240 pounds, quick of feet.
It is when Octavien lines up to rush the quarterback against Nicks that Husker football practices get truly interesting.
Sometimes the speed wins. Sometimes the beast wins. One time, Octavien says, the two got up and just started cussing each other.
“He got me a couple times, I can’t lie,” Nicks said. “But I pancaked him a couple times and felt real good about it. But if you ask him, he’ll never admit it.”
Oh, you might be surprised what a linebacker would admit.
The truth is, Octavien cherishes those battles against Nicks. Through their skirmishes, each guy has earned the other’s respect.
“It has made me a lot better player. There are not many tackles like him,” Octavien says. “There are many times where he’s literally flipped me over.”
He repeats. “Flipped me over.”
Octavien takes solace in knowing he will not be the last defensive player Nicks will toss around like a beanbag.
Husker coach Bill Callahan has called the senior the most talented offensive lineman on the team, and that statement gets no argument from offensive line coach Dennis Wagner.
“No question,” Wagner says. “When you get a guy who’s 6-5 and 340ish and can move the way Carl does, it’s phenomenal.
“He’s just got to fine-tune his technique and continue to improve on that, and his abilities will take him where he wants to go.”
Despite his lively practice bouts with Octavien, junior left tackle Lydon Murtha says Nicks is not usually one of those brash, smack-talking linemen on the field.
Murtha describes Nicks as workmanlike in practice, “a beast” on game days.
“He’s one of those guys that, the play’s the other way, he’s on the other side of the field trying to make a huge play,” Murtha says. “He’s just one of those kids that keeps going.”
Fear of failure is a big part of what keeps his motor running high. It’s often that way for left tackles, who earn their reputation mostly by keeping defenders from blindsiding their quarterback.
It is a heavy responsibility, heavy enough that the best left tackles can make plenty of bucks in the NFL, something not lost on Nicks.
Surely he thinks about the NFL.
“Mostly, I’m thinking, ‘If this guy beats me, I’m letting my quarterback down, my team down,’” Nicks says. “Of course, it’s in the back of my head, ‘Don’t look like a (fool) on TV, the scouts are watching.’ But my team comes first.”
Last year, Nicks struggled with the playbook, the terminology, the footwork, the techniques. It was, in ways, “a real downer” of a season.
A lot of talent doesn’t always mean a lot of playing time. Nicks backed up Matt Slauson for 11 games at right tackle last year, before an injury opened the way for him to start against Colorado and Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game.
Coaches were right to sit him, he says now. “I wasn’t producing.”
The Salinas, Calif., native originally gave a oral commitment to Southern Cal out of high school, only to change his mind after realizing playing time would be tough to find.
By the time he changed direction, New Mexico State was about the only school calling him, and the coaches there wanted him at defensive tackle. He said yes.
He played some defense, and then they switched him to offense, and then he decided to try something else altogether. He left for Hartnell (Calif.) Junior College, where one season of football made him a hot commodity again. He was in Lincoln the next year.
Regrets?
“Nah, because look where I ended up.”
This season can be special, he thinks. The offense suddenly stopped seeming confusing to him this spring. Confidence began to rise.
“I don’t want to take away any thing from anybody who played on the line last year, but the chemistry we have this year and just the unity ... compared to last year, it’s way far beyond.”
One game does not make a season, but it was a good opening act for Nicks and crew. The Huskers ran for 413 yards and beat down the opposition like the Nebraska lines of old.
As he talks about his oldest of two daughters, Serena — she’ll turn turn 4 Saturday — one of the beneficiaries of his blocking comes and stands right beside him.
It’s running back Quentin Castille, smiling, confident, smart enough to not interrupt a 330-pound man.
“He’s good. He knows,” Nicks says. “He’s still a little young, but I’ll make holes for anybody.”
