HuskerfaninOkieland
Heisman Trophy Winner
NE Statepaper Commentary
The Reason for Suh's Senior Season
Commentary: Time for No. 93 to deliver on the road
by Samuel McKewon
September 15, 2009
Ndamukong Suh likes his music loud, and it blares from the earbuds he has lodged in his ears. From the press box on the sixth floor of Memorial Stadium, he stares intently down to the field.
He’s waiting for the first of many phone interviews with out-of-town media. Then some radio and TV interviews with local media. Then a private chat with former Husker defensive tackle Jason Peter, who walks with Suh around the sixth floor, looking for a spot to talk. Then, Suh gets to stand in a doorway and watch his coach, Bo Pelini, talk about him.
“Come on up, Ndamukong,” Pelini sardonically says to Suh as they pass in the press room.
And then, finally, 15 more minutes with the print media.
The publicity, questions, accolades, face time with Husker greats and coaches – it’s all gravy, you know? Sometimes tasty, occasionally lumpy, almost always spilling over the plate of a regular college football player.
“It comes with the situation I’m in,” Suh said. “Just embrace it, do what you’re asked and move forward.”
We’ve spent enough time around the Nebraska defensive tackle to know this: Suh returned for his senior season, in part, to get his degree. Education matters to him. And that’s good.
But he also returned for weeks like this. For games like Virginia Tech. For road trips to Nastytown, known this week as Blacksburg, where 66,000-plus mean-muggers await in Lane Stadium to harass Suh and his teammates.
He didn’t come back for Florida Atlantic and Arkansas State. Sorry, Owls and Wolves. He didn’t come back for Cyclones, Wildcats, Bears or Buffaloes, either.
He came back for Sooners, Tigers, Red Raiders, Cowboys’ Stadium in December, and, first, the Hokies. His season is defined, really, by those five benchmarks.
Oh, Suh’s going to be an all-conference player. He’s probably going to be an All-American. Talent and experience alone should get him there.
But gravy doesn't taste quite the same by itself.
Suh came back to make big plays in big games. Sacks. Picks. Bulldozer tackles behind the line of scrimmage. On the road. Against one of the best offensive lines on the East Coast, no matter what Alabama’s defense did to it.
“I wouldn’t have come back if I didn’t feel like this team has the pieces to go out and win these type of games,” Suh said. “I didn’t come back to be 9-4 again. I came back to be 14-0. That’s the plan.”
And a good one. The defense is smarter, Suh said. More mature. Grown up, despite having a lot of peach fuzz at the linebacker position.
Well, we’ll see, won’t we? A lot of it falls on the shoulders of No. 93. When he came back, he assumed that role. He's the leader by example. Suh’s never going to be a brash soul, which is fine with his head coach.
“The best leader I’ve ever been around is Jerry Rice,” Pelini said. “And he very seldom said a word.”
Rice won three Super Bowls.
Nebraska fans will settle, right now, for Suh winning a road game at Virginia Tech.
The Reason for Suh's Senior Season
Commentary: Time for No. 93 to deliver on the road
by Samuel McKewon
September 15, 2009
Ndamukong Suh likes his music loud, and it blares from the earbuds he has lodged in his ears. From the press box on the sixth floor of Memorial Stadium, he stares intently down to the field.
He’s waiting for the first of many phone interviews with out-of-town media. Then some radio and TV interviews with local media. Then a private chat with former Husker defensive tackle Jason Peter, who walks with Suh around the sixth floor, looking for a spot to talk. Then, Suh gets to stand in a doorway and watch his coach, Bo Pelini, talk about him.
“Come on up, Ndamukong,” Pelini sardonically says to Suh as they pass in the press room.
And then, finally, 15 more minutes with the print media.
The publicity, questions, accolades, face time with Husker greats and coaches – it’s all gravy, you know? Sometimes tasty, occasionally lumpy, almost always spilling over the plate of a regular college football player.
“It comes with the situation I’m in,” Suh said. “Just embrace it, do what you’re asked and move forward.”
We’ve spent enough time around the Nebraska defensive tackle to know this: Suh returned for his senior season, in part, to get his degree. Education matters to him. And that’s good.
But he also returned for weeks like this. For games like Virginia Tech. For road trips to Nastytown, known this week as Blacksburg, where 66,000-plus mean-muggers await in Lane Stadium to harass Suh and his teammates.
He didn’t come back for Florida Atlantic and Arkansas State. Sorry, Owls and Wolves. He didn’t come back for Cyclones, Wildcats, Bears or Buffaloes, either.
He came back for Sooners, Tigers, Red Raiders, Cowboys’ Stadium in December, and, first, the Hokies. His season is defined, really, by those five benchmarks.
Oh, Suh’s going to be an all-conference player. He’s probably going to be an All-American. Talent and experience alone should get him there.
But gravy doesn't taste quite the same by itself.
Suh came back to make big plays in big games. Sacks. Picks. Bulldozer tackles behind the line of scrimmage. On the road. Against one of the best offensive lines on the East Coast, no matter what Alabama’s defense did to it.
“I wouldn’t have come back if I didn’t feel like this team has the pieces to go out and win these type of games,” Suh said. “I didn’t come back to be 9-4 again. I came back to be 14-0. That’s the plan.”
And a good one. The defense is smarter, Suh said. More mature. Grown up, despite having a lot of peach fuzz at the linebacker position.
Well, we’ll see, won’t we? A lot of it falls on the shoulders of No. 93. When he came back, he assumed that role. He's the leader by example. Suh’s never going to be a brash soul, which is fine with his head coach.
“The best leader I’ve ever been around is Jerry Rice,” Pelini said. “And he very seldom said a word.”
Rice won three Super Bowls.
Nebraska fans will settle, right now, for Suh winning a road game at Virginia Tech.
