Eric the Red
Team HuskerBoard
Panico getting booed
LINCOLN - Santino Panico extends his hand and says thank you for not insulting him. He wasn't going to do this, talk about himself, until at least next fall. He wanted to accomplish something first.
"Pops" tells him it's OK to talk.
If you don't say anything, 'Tino, how will they know how you feel?
Panico rubs his shaven head and says he doesn't want anybody to feel sorry for him.
"It comes with the territory," he says as he sits in a near-empty meeting room at South Stadium on Saturday.
"Everybody's going to have their say with whatever they want to talk about. But until you're out there and you experience it . . . You can't really say much."
Here's what can be said about Santino Panico's 2004 football season - he was booed at home, criticized in the news media and took a share of the heat in Nebraska's first losing season since 1961.
He was a true freshman punt returner.
Panico says the talk "went in one ear and out the other," and that he's ready to fight for his spot this spring as at least four players, including I-back Cory Ross, vie to become the new return specialist.
"I've got a lot of pride," Panico says. "So I go in with the attitude that they've got to take it away from me."
Critics say Nebraska's special teams need to move forward with somebody else. Panico averaged 3.1 yards a return last season, and the Huskers finished 107th nationally. They averaged 9.7 yards or better on punt returns each of the past nine seasons before 2004.
Cornerback Cortney Grixby moved ahead of Panico as the No. 1 punt returner on the pre-spring depth chart.
Nebraska Coach Bill Callahan defended his freshman returner this week, saying that Panico would've had more opportunities if the Cornhuskers had better protection for him.
Panico refuses to point fingers and says some of the struggles had to do with his indecisiveness on the field. His father, Anthony, says his son was told to do one thing when he was pulled out of a redshirt to help the struggling special teams. Secure the ball.
Panico managed that in 22 returns, but was booed in the final home games of the season.
"He would call me after games and obviously be a little down on himself," says Anthony, whom Santino calls "Pops." "He was just wondering why people would be like that in Nebraska.
"He went through a lot, but to be honest with you, I didn't feel sorry for him. I just talked to him like he was a man. He's a fighter. He's going to give everything he has."
Santino never talks about quitting. Playing major-college football was his dream growing up in Chicago. He was relatively unknown in Chicago suburban circles as a junior at Libertyville, but played his way into the Army high school All-America game as a senior.
To show his dad how serious he was about football, Panico gave up sweets at the age of 10. He indulgences in the occasional soy chocolate milk, but that's as decadent as it gets.
He's put on roughly 20 pounds of muscle in the offseason and is serious when he says he'll give Ross and Marque McCray and whoever a fight for the punt-return spot.
At least he's talking. Before Saturday, Panico had declined interview requests since his arrival at Nebraska. He didn't think a freshman should talk until he'd done something.
He became the topic of conversation anyway.
"You have your ups and downs," he says. "But in life, there's never a bad day. When you think about it, the day is broken off into eating, sleeping and going to the bathroom. So it can't be that bad."
LINCOLN - Santino Panico extends his hand and says thank you for not insulting him. He wasn't going to do this, talk about himself, until at least next fall. He wanted to accomplish something first.
"Pops" tells him it's OK to talk.
If you don't say anything, 'Tino, how will they know how you feel?
Panico rubs his shaven head and says he doesn't want anybody to feel sorry for him.
"It comes with the territory," he says as he sits in a near-empty meeting room at South Stadium on Saturday.
"Everybody's going to have their say with whatever they want to talk about. But until you're out there and you experience it . . . You can't really say much."
Here's what can be said about Santino Panico's 2004 football season - he was booed at home, criticized in the news media and took a share of the heat in Nebraska's first losing season since 1961.
He was a true freshman punt returner.
Panico says the talk "went in one ear and out the other," and that he's ready to fight for his spot this spring as at least four players, including I-back Cory Ross, vie to become the new return specialist.
"I've got a lot of pride," Panico says. "So I go in with the attitude that they've got to take it away from me."
Critics say Nebraska's special teams need to move forward with somebody else. Panico averaged 3.1 yards a return last season, and the Huskers finished 107th nationally. They averaged 9.7 yards or better on punt returns each of the past nine seasons before 2004.
Cornerback Cortney Grixby moved ahead of Panico as the No. 1 punt returner on the pre-spring depth chart.
Nebraska Coach Bill Callahan defended his freshman returner this week, saying that Panico would've had more opportunities if the Cornhuskers had better protection for him.
Panico refuses to point fingers and says some of the struggles had to do with his indecisiveness on the field. His father, Anthony, says his son was told to do one thing when he was pulled out of a redshirt to help the struggling special teams. Secure the ball.
Panico managed that in 22 returns, but was booed in the final home games of the season.
"He would call me after games and obviously be a little down on himself," says Anthony, whom Santino calls "Pops." "He was just wondering why people would be like that in Nebraska.
"He went through a lot, but to be honest with you, I didn't feel sorry for him. I just talked to him like he was a man. He's a fighter. He's going to give everything he has."
Santino never talks about quitting. Playing major-college football was his dream growing up in Chicago. He was relatively unknown in Chicago suburban circles as a junior at Libertyville, but played his way into the Army high school All-America game as a senior.
To show his dad how serious he was about football, Panico gave up sweets at the age of 10. He indulgences in the occasional soy chocolate milk, but that's as decadent as it gets.
He's put on roughly 20 pounds of muscle in the offseason and is serious when he says he'll give Ross and Marque McCray and whoever a fight for the punt-return spot.
At least he's talking. Before Saturday, Panico had declined interview requests since his arrival at Nebraska. He didn't think a freshman should talk until he'd done something.
He became the topic of conversation anyway.
"You have your ups and downs," he says. "But in life, there's never a bad day. When you think about it, the day is broken off into eating, sleeping and going to the bathroom. So it can't be that bad."
