Found in the OWH.
Nice article... refreshing to know that young men still choose this University because it's NEBRASKA and not just for a coach. And imagine that he thinks its a "calling" to be a black shirt. Hope things work out for this young man.
Published Wednesday | November 7, 2007
Mitch Sherman: Likely shakeup doesn't faze Kuli
BY MITCH SHERMAN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
LINCOLN - Simi Kuli may or may not be the best junior college defensive end in the nation.
We've already been burned plenty by these recruiting rankings. Kuli, for what it's worth, is a five-star recruit - a premier talent.
He's also the latest player to join the Huskers' class of 2008 and the only prospect to jump on board after the NU losing streak extended past one game.
The 6-foot-4, 270-pound Kuli, a sophomore at El Camino (Calif.) College, committed two weeks ago after visiting NU for the Oct. 20 Texas A&M game.
"Everyone in the country is shocked he's doing this," El Camino defensive line coach Tim Hyde said. "Everyone thinks he's going to decommit. It's just not going to happen."
Kuli knows what's about to happen to the coaching staff at Nebraska. And it doesn't bother him. That's rare. As this NU class, once 25 players strong, shrinks before his eyes, Kuli remains strong in his pledge.
Kuli made his commitment to Athletic Director Tom Osborne more so than he did to Bill Callahan. According to Kuli, Osborne told him that "there were going to be some changes in the coaching staff."
Exactly what Osborne meant or if it was even phrased that way, who knows? Asked to clarify the athletic director's words, Kuli stepped back a bit. He said he knew nothing for certain about Callahan's future.
Still, all believe that the end is near. Callahan's recruits know it, too, which is why running back Jonas Gray, quarterback Blaine Gabbert, wide receiver D.J. Woods and defensive tackle Darius Parish have jumped overboard. But Kuli sees this situation as something other than a sinking ship.
"Tom Osborne knows the game front to back with his eyes closed," Kuli said. "Whoever he hires as a coach, it's not going to be an ordinary coach. It's going to be a coach who can get the job done."
Some of that faith in Osborne comes from El Camino coach John Featherstone, who worked with the former NU coach some 15 years ago at a clinic in Palm Springs, Calif. After the clinic, Featherstone shared a meal with Osborne.
"He's like a God in the football community," Featherstone said.
Kuli graduated from Los Angeles' Hawthorne High School in 2005 but sat out of college that fall, thinking that he would embark on a Mormon mission.
Then only days before practice began in 2006, Kuli showed up at El Camino wearing construction boots. He made 56 tackles last fall with 4½ sacks. Through seven games this year, he has seven sacks.
"It's amazing how far he's come," Hyde said.
Initial contact with the Huskers came last spring after Hyde informed an old friend, Nebraska graduate assistant Jon Osterhout, of Kuli.
Defensive line coach Buddy Wyatt soon started recruiting Kuli. Osborne closed the deal.
"Simi likes the fact that he was able to shake the hand of the guy who has the statue outside the stadium," Hyde said.
As for the coach whose advice Kuli relied on most? That was Oklahoma assistant Kevin Wilson, who told Kuli to pick a school at which he could envision himself in the long term.
After visiting LSU and then Lincoln, Kuli needed to see no more. He canceled trips to OU and Tennessee. Probably not the outcome Wilson envisioned.
"As soon as that airplane landed, I felt at home at Nebraska," Kuli said. "I don't know what it is, for some reason, Nebraska's always been inside of me when it came to choosing a school. When I thought about it, I knew deep down, I always wanted to be a Blackshirt. It was a calling."
Nice article... refreshing to know that young men still choose this University because it's NEBRASKA and not just for a coach. And imagine that he thinks its a "calling" to be a black shirt. Hope things work out for this young man.
Published Wednesday | November 7, 2007
Mitch Sherman: Likely shakeup doesn't faze Kuli
BY MITCH SHERMAN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
LINCOLN - Simi Kuli may or may not be the best junior college defensive end in the nation.
We've already been burned plenty by these recruiting rankings. Kuli, for what it's worth, is a five-star recruit - a premier talent.
He's also the latest player to join the Huskers' class of 2008 and the only prospect to jump on board after the NU losing streak extended past one game.
The 6-foot-4, 270-pound Kuli, a sophomore at El Camino (Calif.) College, committed two weeks ago after visiting NU for the Oct. 20 Texas A&M game.
"Everyone in the country is shocked he's doing this," El Camino defensive line coach Tim Hyde said. "Everyone thinks he's going to decommit. It's just not going to happen."
Kuli knows what's about to happen to the coaching staff at Nebraska. And it doesn't bother him. That's rare. As this NU class, once 25 players strong, shrinks before his eyes, Kuli remains strong in his pledge.
Kuli made his commitment to Athletic Director Tom Osborne more so than he did to Bill Callahan. According to Kuli, Osborne told him that "there were going to be some changes in the coaching staff."
Exactly what Osborne meant or if it was even phrased that way, who knows? Asked to clarify the athletic director's words, Kuli stepped back a bit. He said he knew nothing for certain about Callahan's future.
Still, all believe that the end is near. Callahan's recruits know it, too, which is why running back Jonas Gray, quarterback Blaine Gabbert, wide receiver D.J. Woods and defensive tackle Darius Parish have jumped overboard. But Kuli sees this situation as something other than a sinking ship.
"Tom Osborne knows the game front to back with his eyes closed," Kuli said. "Whoever he hires as a coach, it's not going to be an ordinary coach. It's going to be a coach who can get the job done."
Some of that faith in Osborne comes from El Camino coach John Featherstone, who worked with the former NU coach some 15 years ago at a clinic in Palm Springs, Calif. After the clinic, Featherstone shared a meal with Osborne.
"He's like a God in the football community," Featherstone said.
Kuli graduated from Los Angeles' Hawthorne High School in 2005 but sat out of college that fall, thinking that he would embark on a Mormon mission.
Then only days before practice began in 2006, Kuli showed up at El Camino wearing construction boots. He made 56 tackles last fall with 4½ sacks. Through seven games this year, he has seven sacks.
"It's amazing how far he's come," Hyde said.
Initial contact with the Huskers came last spring after Hyde informed an old friend, Nebraska graduate assistant Jon Osterhout, of Kuli.
Defensive line coach Buddy Wyatt soon started recruiting Kuli. Osborne closed the deal.
"Simi likes the fact that he was able to shake the hand of the guy who has the statue outside the stadium," Hyde said.
As for the coach whose advice Kuli relied on most? That was Oklahoma assistant Kevin Wilson, who told Kuli to pick a school at which he could envision himself in the long term.
After visiting LSU and then Lincoln, Kuli needed to see no more. He canceled trips to OU and Tennessee. Probably not the outcome Wilson envisioned.
"As soon as that airplane landed, I felt at home at Nebraska," Kuli said. "I don't know what it is, for some reason, Nebraska's always been inside of me when it came to choosing a school. When I thought about it, I knew deep down, I always wanted to be a Blackshirt. It was a calling."
