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NU Football: Is Helu Huskers' answer?
BY RICH KAIPUST
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN — As with any good I-back, Roy Helu Jr. was elusive and making people miss Saturday.
And that was as much the case in Nebraska postgame interviews as during the 35-12 win over San Jose State.
Does he like the NU I-back rotation, or would he mind seeing one emerge? "I'm just here to play ball," Helu said.
How's the rotation determined and explained to you? "You'd have to ask coach," Helu said. "I couldn't give you an answer."
Helu at least has been an answer at times for an unproductive Nebraska running game. In two wins, however, the sophomore has been the last of three I-backs to play and gotten the majority of his carries after halftime.
The 6-foot, 215-pounder from Danville, Calif., was banged up late in preseason camp but has run for 111 yards on 16 attempts (6.9 per carry) against Western Michigan and San Jose State.
"I think he's coming back," NU coach Bo Pelini said Sunday. "He just needed to get back to 100 percent. He's feeling good. I think you saw it out there Saturday."
Helu carried nine times for 59 yards against San Jose State, including a 14-yard touchdown where he bounced outside and made safety Devin Newsome whiff in the open field. NU assistant coach Tim Beck was looking for somebody to offset the Spartans' pursuit and Helu was able to do it with runs of 17, 12 and 7 yards before his TD.
"I think the thing I liked the most was he was making people miss and he was breaking tackles," Beck said. "He was getting some extra yards for us at a time when yards were tough. So we kept riding him."
Beck wouldn't say where that might take Helu in coming weeks. Senior I-back Marlon Lucky has been starting with sophomore Quentin Castille the first backup to play.
Lucky has a team-high 19 carries but is averaging just 3.5 per attempt. Castille has gained 12 yards on his 12 carries and lost a fumble.
Helu acknowledged that he might have supplied a boost Saturday, saying "I did all right when I had an opportunity to play." While NU offensive coordinator Shawn Watson called his TD run "spectacular," Helu said he was just doing what any other Big 12 back would do.
It would be hard for anybody in the NU camp to be too excited about the Huskers' 118.5 rushing yards per game ranking 10th in the Big 12.
"As a running back group, I'd just say we can get better overall," Helu said. "I think we all know we need to be more physical. When we set our minds to something we're going to do — when we don't go out there and we don't tiptoe through holes — we're a better team that way and we run harder that way."
Beck said Nebraska tries to roll each I-back into the game early and then get a feel for how each is running and what kind of game it becomes. The Huskers got Helu three first-half carries Saturday after he had zero the previous week.
"I thought Roy did a really nice job. He really ran hard," Watson said. "He's been playing like that in practice, so the way he practiced he brought it to the field."
Helu was passing out candy leis after the game Saturday, both to NU teammates and coaches as well as some San Jose State players he knew from the Bay Area. They were made by his mother, Kristi.
"I'm Tongan," he said. "My mom loves me."
They smile and think positive on the islands in the South Pacific. Helu will continue to do the same as Nebraska tries to get its running game out of neutral.
"I try not to get frustrated and to focus on what you can control," he said. "Me looking at the score and thinking, 'Oh, why can't we run the ball,' that just puts my head down. I don't want that and I don't want that for our team, and I'm sure they don't want someone carrying the ball to have their head down."
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=3918...;u_sid=10426882
BY RICH KAIPUST
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
LINCOLN — As with any good I-back, Roy Helu Jr. was elusive and making people miss Saturday.
And that was as much the case in Nebraska postgame interviews as during the 35-12 win over San Jose State.
Does he like the NU I-back rotation, or would he mind seeing one emerge? "I'm just here to play ball," Helu said.
How's the rotation determined and explained to you? "You'd have to ask coach," Helu said. "I couldn't give you an answer."
Helu at least has been an answer at times for an unproductive Nebraska running game. In two wins, however, the sophomore has been the last of three I-backs to play and gotten the majority of his carries after halftime.
The 6-foot, 215-pounder from Danville, Calif., was banged up late in preseason camp but has run for 111 yards on 16 attempts (6.9 per carry) against Western Michigan and San Jose State.
"I think he's coming back," NU coach Bo Pelini said Sunday. "He just needed to get back to 100 percent. He's feeling good. I think you saw it out there Saturday."
Helu carried nine times for 59 yards against San Jose State, including a 14-yard touchdown where he bounced outside and made safety Devin Newsome whiff in the open field. NU assistant coach Tim Beck was looking for somebody to offset the Spartans' pursuit and Helu was able to do it with runs of 17, 12 and 7 yards before his TD.
"I think the thing I liked the most was he was making people miss and he was breaking tackles," Beck said. "He was getting some extra yards for us at a time when yards were tough. So we kept riding him."
Beck wouldn't say where that might take Helu in coming weeks. Senior I-back Marlon Lucky has been starting with sophomore Quentin Castille the first backup to play.
Lucky has a team-high 19 carries but is averaging just 3.5 per attempt. Castille has gained 12 yards on his 12 carries and lost a fumble.
Helu acknowledged that he might have supplied a boost Saturday, saying "I did all right when I had an opportunity to play." While NU offensive coordinator Shawn Watson called his TD run "spectacular," Helu said he was just doing what any other Big 12 back would do.
It would be hard for anybody in the NU camp to be too excited about the Huskers' 118.5 rushing yards per game ranking 10th in the Big 12.
"As a running back group, I'd just say we can get better overall," Helu said. "I think we all know we need to be more physical. When we set our minds to something we're going to do — when we don't go out there and we don't tiptoe through holes — we're a better team that way and we run harder that way."
Beck said Nebraska tries to roll each I-back into the game early and then get a feel for how each is running and what kind of game it becomes. The Huskers got Helu three first-half carries Saturday after he had zero the previous week.
"I thought Roy did a really nice job. He really ran hard," Watson said. "He's been playing like that in practice, so the way he practiced he brought it to the field."
Helu was passing out candy leis after the game Saturday, both to NU teammates and coaches as well as some San Jose State players he knew from the Bay Area. They were made by his mother, Kristi.
"I'm Tongan," he said. "My mom loves me."
They smile and think positive on the islands in the South Pacific. Helu will continue to do the same as Nebraska tries to get its running game out of neutral.
"I try not to get frustrated and to focus on what you can control," he said. "Me looking at the score and thinking, 'Oh, why can't we run the ball,' that just puts my head down. I don't want that and I don't want that for our team, and I'm sure they don't want someone carrying the ball to have their head down."
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=3918...;u_sid=10426882
