Sunday News Headlines

[NamelessHusker]

[SIZE=14pt]NU coaches say Bowman is real deal[/SIZE]

LINCOLN - Zack Bowman officially joined the Nebraska football team less than two weeks ago, but already, it seems, his legend is growing.

There's the doozy from last year about how Oklahoma, months after Bowman had accepted a scholarship from the Huskers, cleverly shipped the junior college star a plane ticket for his weekend trip to see the Sooners. Bowman knew nothing of the visit. He didn't go.

This one came from NU practice Friday: In seven-on-seven drills, Bowman recorded an interception, broke up a pass, picked off another and forced a fumble on consecutive plays.

It's all true. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound cornerback arguably headlined the Huskers' top-five rated recruiting class of last winter. He's yet to play a game in Lincoln, and already Bowman is living up to the hype.

Just ask his coaches.

"Size, intelligence, speed, competitiveness," NU cornerbacks coach Phil Elmassian said Saturday. "He's everything we thought we were getting."

Said defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove: "He gets better every day. He's a tremendous athlete. We've tried to speed up the learning process a little bit, and he's still making a lot of plays."

Even head coach Bill Callahan, slow to offer too much praise for any individual this month, appears ready to gush about Bowman.

To his credit, Bowman is staying grounded. The nation's No. 2 junior college recruit last year, according to rivals.com, Bowman earned the coveted yellow jersey on Saturday in practice as the top defensive player from Friday's practice session.

He wore it in the morning but left the jersey in his locker for the Huskers' afternoon practice, instead donning his normal red, No. 1 outfit.

"I chose not to wear it," Bowman said. "I didn't feel comfortable with it. All the stuff I did (Friday), I'm supposed to do it. I shouldn't get rewarded for it. That's my job."

Sounds like the stuff of another story. Or how about Bowman's performance last week in the Huskers' live scrimmage? He picked off a Harrison Beck pass, intended for Frantz Hardy, and weaved through most of the NU offense to return it about 80 yards for a score.

On the next play, Bowman ran across the entire field to catch receiver Shamus McKoy from behind and save a touchdown.

"That was more impressive to me than the (interception)," Elmassian said. "It showed me his competitiveness."

If the first two weeks of training camp are an indicator, Bowman may make as significant an impact as any NU newcomer. He's rotating with sophomores Cortney Grixby and Tierre Green at cornerback and also figures into the Huskers' special teams plan, possibly as a punt- and kick-block rusher off the edge.

"I felt a lot of pressure coming in," said Bowman, a junior college All-American last fall at the New Mexico Military Institute. "Luckily, I had Cortney there. He told me not to worry about things, that it was going to come."

Bowman's presence helps Nebraska make up for the loss of 37-game starter Fabian Washington, who left school a year early last winter for the NFL.

An NU pass defense that surrendered 267.6 yards last season will be improved, Bowman said. He intends to make certain.

He's happy to help in many ways - even on offense - as long as he doesn't return kicks. Bowman said he had a bad experience with it in junior college.

According to Callahan, though, it's too early to consider Bowman as an offensive weapon.

"I'm going to leave that to the coaches to decide," Bowman said. "Right now, my focus is on defense. If they need me on offense, they'll let me know

Source: Via Omaha World Herald

 

[NamelessHusker]

[SIZE=14pt]NU says Turner a burner[/SIZE]

LINCOLN - One needs a little background to fully understand Nebraska's need for a pass rusher like Barry Turner.

No Husker defensive lineman has earned All-Big 12 first- or second-team honors since 2001. No Husker defender had more than four sacks a season ago. NU's 14 sacks in 2004 conference games placed it ninth in the Big 12.

"You just look at the stats and the sacks; they weren't really too high," said Turner, a freshman defensive end from Antioch, Tenn. "They were looking for some guys with some speed to come in.

"I've got a great amount of speed coming off the edge."

Turner's strength is no secret, but offenses have a hard time handling it. He's been through only a week of practices, but Husker coaches have taken notice.

"We expect him to play," defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said. "We think he will play. He's a tremendous pass rusher, with that speed off the edge. I see him as a role player this year."

This month, Turner's competing with veterans like Jay Moore and Wali Muhammad at the open end position - the spot was designed for pass rushers.

Turner admits most defensive ends are stronger; few are quicker. Turner had a combined 25 sacks his junior and senior years of high school.

He said the college game isn't as physically overwhelming as he expected; Turner thought the pace would be faster.

But it's hard for an 18-year-old to prepare for the mental side. Knowing when to shift. What the audibles mean. How to handle hours of meetings each day.

Learning a new defense has been the biggest challenge, Turner said. The 245-pounder said technique is more important than it used to be.

"You've got to use your hands in everything you do," Turner said. "College football's about using your hands. In high school I could just overpower people because I was more physical and a better athlete."

Turner won't be the first freshman Nebraska fans think of when considering impact newcomers. He won't start. Won't lead the team in sacks. But his speed makes him a valuable commodity.

"I'm going to utilize that as best I can."

Tickets available for NU-Maine game

The University of Nebraska has announced that a limited number of tickets to the Sept. 3 football game against Maine are available for purchase through Huskers.com. The tickets were made available after Maine returned a portion of its ticket allotment for the game.

Husker fans who have been on the waiting list for single-game tickets were contacted via e-mail regarding the tickets on Friday, before they became available to the general public. To purchase tickets for the Maine contest, visit Huskers.com and click on the "Tickets" icon on the top banner

Source: Via Omaha World Herald

 

[NamelessHusker]

[SIZE=14pt]Meet the new Huskers: Frantz Hardy, Zack Bowman and Craig Roark[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]Frantz Hardy[/SIZE]

Class: Sophomore

Position: Wide receiver

Height, weight: 6-0, 175

Hometown (school): Miami (Booker T. Washington/Butler County CC)

Notable: Hardy, a junior-college teammate of Zac Taylor, averaged more than 21 yards per catch last year for Butler County (Kan.).

You're from Miami but have spent the past two years in Kansas before moving to Nebraska this summer. Do you feel like a Midwesterner yet? "I'm always a Dade (County, Fla.) boy. . . . You can't take that out of my blood."

How's Lincoln different from Miami? "Everybody's nice. You don't get that down in the South." <

What's your best sport other than football? "Basketball."

How close are you to perfecting Bill Callahan's offense? "You're never going to master the West Coast offense. It's too much. It's too much to learn."

How long does it take to fix your hair in the morning? "Give me 10 seconds."

[SIZE=14pt]Zack Bowman [/SIZE]

Class: Junior

Position: Cornerback

Height, weight: 6-2, 190

Hometown (school): Anchorage, Alaska (New Mexico Military Institute)

Notable: Bowman was a three-time all-state high school selection and the Alaska player of the year as a senior in 2002.

How often do you make it back to Alaska? "At least once a year. I like to go back at Christmas time."

What's life in Anchorage like in the winter? "I think it's fun. A lot of people don't like it, but I'm the type of person who's outside all the time. We have snowball fights. That's about it. I did go ice fishing a couple of times."

Man or zone defense? "I like zone. You can make plays and be an athlete."

What professional football player do you admire? "(Former Redskins cornerback) Darrell Green. He was a great player. On every single play, he was around the ball."

What's your 40 time? "When I was in New Mexico, I ran a 4.25. One time, I ran a 4.17, but I think the class was messed up on that one. I would say I'm a legit 4.3 guy."

[SIZE=14pt]Craig Roark[/SIZE]

Class: Freshman

Position: Offensive guard

Height, weight: 6-2, 300

Hometown: Ada, Okla.

Notable: Younger brother, Ada senior lineman Chad Roark, has committed to Florida State.

You bummed about your brother heading somewhere other than Nebraska? "We're real close. We've always been best friends since we were little. So that's pretty< tough for us."

Do you own any Oklahoma or Oklahoma State shirts or hats? "I used to, but not anymore. I pretty much got rid of them when I committed."

Burn 'em? Shred 'em? Give 'em away? "Uh, just gave them away."

You followed OU growing up. How hard did they recruit you? "They recruited me, but they didn't offer me until the very end (after NU commitment)."

- How often have you been calling home since you got up here? My parents call me every day, just to see how practices are going and all that. Its tough being away from home when Ive always been a family-oriented person, but Im getting used to it.

What did you do on your off day this week? A couple of us went to see The Dukes of Hazzard.

Source: Via Omaha World Herald

 

[NamelessHusker]

Day off needed

Andrew Shanle's remote control might need new batteries after today.

The Huskers started fall camp on Aug. 4, a few days earlier than usual. The early start allowed for occasional days off before the Sept. 3 season opener against Maine.

"Having a day off makes a world of difference," free safety Shanle said.

Nebraska took Wednesday off and won't practice today, either. Those refreshers break up the grind of 13-hour days, especially in the midst of two-a-day practices - NU's first two-a-day was Saturday.

Shanle's schedule today is simple: Go to church. Lay around. See family.

"Cherish every hour I have," he said. "The days we have off the time flies by so fast."

Kickers close

They're trading kicks is all the Nebraska staff has to say about David Dyches and Jordan Congdon right now.

"They're hanging in there with each other," NU assistant coach Scott Downing said. "Each of them has their moments."

Dyches was the No. 1 kicker coming out of spring practice, but the junior's hold was going to be tested by Congdon. But Downing said any preconceived notions by fans that the Parade All-American from San Diego would take the job away were not shared by the staff.

"They've got to do what they've got to do here, on our field," Downing said. "It's what happens here. It's not what happens in the media."

Downing said Congdon's attitude has been his most refreshing trait so far.

"He wants to excel at what he's doing because he wants to be an excellent teammate," Downing said. "He wants to be a value to his teammates, so that they think of him as a weapon to them."

Downing said every kickoff, field goal and extra point is being charted among Dyches, Congdon and walk-on Eric Lueshen. He declined to say who's making or missing at the best clips.

"They're all three banging the ball through the pipes consistently," NU head coach Bill Callahan said. "We'll see who comes out as we move on."

Extra points

Senior linebacker Adam Ickes, a business administration major, missed Saturday morning's practice for his graduation ceremony. . . . Backup defensive tackle Ola Dagunduro left the morning practice with an ankle injury and sat out the afternoon workout on crutches. . . . NU assistant coach Ted Gilmore said the punt return candidates so far are Terrence Nunn, Blake Tiedtke and Cortney Grixby, without Zack Bowman figuring in just yet. Callahan said Tierre Green and Brandon Jackson, last year's kickoff returners, are among nine or 10 working out there now. . . . Jackson, a sophomore I-back coming off shoulder surgery, might not be cleared for contact for two more weeks. . . . Callahan, offensive coordinator Jay Norvell and offensive line coach Dennis Wagner spent nearly a half-hour after the Saturday morning practice watching Greg Austin and quarterback Zac Taylor work on snaps. Callahan said it was just a matter of Taylor getting comfortable with different techniques

Via: Omaha World Herald

 

[NamelessHusker]

[SIZE=14pt]It's getting harder for recruits, coaches to untangle the Web[/SIZE]

BY BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star

Friends are always calling when you can squat 365, bench 270 and jump 43 inches. Friends you didn't even know you had are calling.

Shareece Wright knows this.

He has plenty of friends these days.

He's never met some of them. Still, they light up his phone with an array of area codes to say hi, and to see if — just maybe — the California prep cornerback has decided to come play football at a college near them.

Why, it was just the other day when his friends at RealDawg.com, the Rivals recruiting Web site devoted to the Washington Huskies, called him.

"They tell me that I'll like Washington a lot," said Wright, who has been offered a scholarship by Nebraska and 10 other schools.

"They just let me know what's up and everything. They pretty much represent the school."

Wright thinks it's all pretty cool. Many college coaches do not.

---------------------

Though somewhat absurd, it's one matter that the Internet "recruiting gurus" gossip about 16- and 17-year-olds as though these boys can summon fire from their fingertips. It's quite another if, under the title of reporter, Web workers are trying to recruit prep stars to come to the college down the street from them.

While Husker head coach Bill Callahan said he doesn't have time to pay attention to the Web site insanity, there are other coaches around the country alarmed by the dangerous influence Internet writers are wielding.

"It is the worst problem to hit college football in my lifetime," an ACC coach said in a July ESPN the Magazine story.

Said Nebraska offensive coordinator Jay Norvell: "It's out of control. … The problem is you got kids who are 16, 17 and 18 getting more exposure at an early age, and there's not always a lot of credibility from where it's coming from on the Internet."

Big Ten Conference coaches even spent some of their annual meetings this year discussing the troubling phenomenon.

Of the 13 players interviewed for this story, seven said at least one Web reporter had tried to influence them to a certain school during the recruiting process.

Said Husker commit Josh Freeman: "They would say stuff about their school, like, ‘Hey, you should really be going to Michigan. It'd be great. It'd be a perfect fit for you.' They say this when they don't know really anything about me."

Said fellow NU commit Menelik Holt: "The San Diego State (Web reporter) was a roommate with one of my coaches. That guy always tried to convince me to come to San Diego State."

Said Lincoln North Star senior Derrick Russell: "One guy was talking to me from K-State Web site … He was telling me how nice it was down there and how the things were going for the football team. It was one of those things where you could tell he was kind of trying to persuade me."

Said Russell's North Star teammate, Tyler Bullock: "It's kind of weird. It's like they know what they're doing, but they don't want to admit what they're doing."

Said Husker linebacker Steve Octavien, a product of the most recent recruiting circus: "I hate to put Iowa out there. But yeah, you could tell with this one guy. He was always like, ‘Yeah, I'm with Iowa,' and then he'd try to find out stuff with leading questions, kind of trying to pitch where he was from

------------

The Iowa Rivals site said it had just one brief discussion with Octavien and there was no sales pitch for the university going on. That doesn't mean Octavien's story didn't happen. The conversation could have occurred with someone from Iowa's Scout site.

Most Division I teams are covered by Rivals.com and Scout.com, the two predominant Web sites when it comes to college football recruiting.

When a player is being pursued by a university, he can expect to get a call from both sites that cover that particular school. The two such sites concerning Nebraska football are huskersillustrated.com (Rivals) and bigredreport.com (Scout).

"If it came out you were interested in Michigan, you'd get a call from both (Michigan Web sites) the next day," Holt said.

And the questions that came from these Web reporters?

Almost always the same, Holt said.

" ‘What's your top five?' ‘What's your strengths as a player?' They always ask that one. ‘Have you been to any camps?' "

Sometimes, players' answers are not fresh enough.

So Web writers, in the pursuit to give their readers some meat, will try to make a story out of nothing, Freeman said.

He was particularly disturbed with one Web reporter from Nebraska who was very good in this regard.

"If I would say something like I liked another team's style to a question, he'd make a big story of it and say Josh Freeman is not 100 percent sure about Nebraska even when I was," he said.

Prep stars really knew it was crunch time in the recruiting process when their cell phones never stopped vibrating. Most of the time it wasn't coaches, or newspaper or magazine writers. It was guys from the Internet.

Freeman estimated 80 percent of the calls he received during the process were from Internet reporters.

"The Web guys would give you the check-up phone calls," said NU freshman quarterback Harrison Beck. "There were two different kind of check-up calls.

"There's the ‘Hey, I want to shoot the bull with you a little bit.' And there's the, ‘Are you still going to Nebraska right now because I heard a rumor,' phone call."

Husker freshman Barry Turner said there was one horrific week when he received between 75 and 100 calls.

While Turner initially enjoyed the fanfare, it got to be cumbersome after … well, about a month.

"I had to turn off my phone," he said

------------------

There are more than 140,000 people in this country who pay the $9.95 a month to get "insider" information on the Rivals Web sites.

Bobby Burton, Rivals general manager, said his site generated 37 million page hits on the last signing day. Scout, which also charges the same monthly fee for "premium" information, reported to have 50 million page hits on that same day.

Rivals — which was formed in 2001 and now employs about 200 writers across the country — is said by Burton to be the "stickiest" sports content site on the Internet.

That means once people click on the Rivals site it takes them a long time to get off it. They stay at the site longer than people stay on even espn.com or cbssportsline.com.

"I think it's great for college football," said Burton, who believes recruiting Web sites help police the process.

"I'll never forget when I covered recruiting, I called three kids in a single night who had all been told by a Michigan coach that they were going to be the next Charles Woodson. …

"When I put it on the Internet, I got a call an hour later from a Michigan coach saying, ‘You're hurting us.' I said, ‘I was just reporting …' It used to be where college coaches could tell white lies like that to recruits until the cows came home."

As to the idea that his writers are trying to entice players in interviews to come to certain schools? Burton said that would be news to him.

"We don't hire fans. I will just be blunt," he said. "We hire people committed to being journalists, not fans. We have several measures that we do to make sure that any risk of that is mitigated. We have a code of ethics, editors and feet on the street. … We try to be a watchdog of ourselves."

Freeman said he felt the Rivals writers were much better than the Scout writers about leaving their opinions out of conversations.

While both Michigan and Oregon Scout writers tried to sell their universities to him, Freeman said "Rivals was more worried about my opinion than their own."

Asked if it bothered him when Web workers tried to recruit him to their universities, Freeman said: "I don't know if it's any different than meeting an alumni person around town, getting in a casual conversation and having them try to sway you to their school."

There is a difference, though. Web writers sit in the same press box that newspaper writers do during games.

Before each game, no matter what press box you're in, there is often an announcement made over the loud speaker that applies not just to that game but also to the primary rule of journalism:

"We ask for no cheering in the press box, please."

Source: Lincoln Journal Star

 

[NamelessHusker]

[SIZE=14pt]Bowman brings size, speed at cornerback[/SIZE]

BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star

Nebraska receiver Mark LeFlore has faced cornerback Zack Bowman many times during summer workouts, and now fall camp.

Quite frankly, he's getting sick of it.

Oh, sick in a "I'm-glad-this-guy's-gonna-be-on-our-team" sort of way. But for now, LeFlore shakes his head.

"Man, it's tough," said LeFlore, a 5-foot-11 senior. "We haven't had 6-2 corners around here with long arms. It makes you work on your technique."

LeFlore looks at the positives. He said Bowman, a junior college transfer, already is making Nebraska's receivers better.

Come Sept. 3, he hopes Bowman makes opposing receivers look silly.

"I'm just going to put it out there and say he's going to be a great player. No doubt about it," LeFlore said. "He's big. He's got long arms and he's fast, and he can catch. He can tackle. He's great."

LeFlore's not alone in his adoration for Bowman, perhaps the most highly-touted recruit in Nebraska's 2005 recruiting class.

From quarterback Zac Taylor: "Players like him don't come along very often. The first thing that jumps out to you about him is his size. You're not used to seeing 6-2, 6-3 corners who are built like he is."

From cornerbacks coach Phil Elmassian: "Size, intelligence, speed, competitive(ness). Everything we saw on film. He's everything we thought we were going to get. He's fun to coach."

From quarterback Joey Ganz: "What an incredible athlete he is. The kid's a football player. You can just tell by the way he moves, the way he runs, the way he closes on the ball. He's going to be a powerful football player."

Want on-the-field proof? Take Friday's practice, and Bowman's accomplishments during his first four plays of a 7-on-7 drill — interception, pass breakup, interception, forced fumble.

Saturday morning, Bowman was wearing the coveted yellow Tour De Camp jersey given to the outstanding defensive player from the previous day. By Saturday afternoon, he'd replaced it with his normal red jersey.

"I didn't feel comfortable with it," Bowman said of wearing yellow. "All of the stuff I did (Friday) I'm supposed to do. I shouldn't get rewarded for doing it. That's my job."

OK, so what's not to love about this guy?

He's 6-2, 190 pounds, runs a 4.3 in the 40-yard dash, has two years of junior college experience, is humble, and just happens to play a position where the Huskers desperately need a big boost from a big difference maker.

Last season, if you haven't heard, Nebraska had the nation's 110th-ranked pass defense.

"What I seen that hurt them was the deep route," Bowman said. "They'll play the short routes good, but the deep route, they'll get beat, and the guy would end up catching a 40-yard touchdown pass."

It just so happens that Bowman's specialty is guarding against the deep ball. LeFlore remembers one time, during 7-on-7 workouts in the summer, when receiver Frantz Hardy ran a post on Bowman.

"And Zack caught up with Frantz and intercepted the ball," LeFlore said. "That's something I'll never forget, because I know how fast Frantz is."

When lining up across from Bowman, LeFlore said, you'd better have a plan.

"You just can't go up on the line against Zack and think you're going to run anything," he said. "He'll put some hands on you and drive you out of bounds. You have to work on your releases, your swipes, a couple of different things Coach (Ted) Gilmore has taught us when we go one-on-one with (defensive backs)."

Taylor, in line to become Nebraska's starting quarterback, said he hates to admit it but Bowman has picked him off a few times.

"He's just a smart corner," Taylor said. "He knows when to bait you. He has good route recognition."

Taylor isn't alone. True freshman Harrison Beck threw a pass Thursday that Bowman intercepted and returned some 85 yards for a touchdown, according to players and coaches. They were still talking about the play Saturday.

"Harrison threw a go-route, left it a little inside, Zack picked it off, carried it out to the 20-yard line, and he made about four or five guys miss," Ganz said. "Harrison had a chance to tackle him but Zack give him a little shoulder fake, and his knees buckled, and he just took it all the way."

Cool, yes. But what really impressed Elmassian was that Bowman, after having just ran nearly the length of the field, returned for the next play. Beck connected with Shamus McKoy on a post pattern, and McKoy ran about 60 yards.

The only reason he didn't score? Bowman darted across the field and caught up with McKoy, making a touchdown-saving tackle.

"He gets better every day," Nebraska defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said. "He's a tremendous athlete."

After all the praise and firsthand accounts of Bowman's prowess, it probably sounds odd that nobody (on the coaching staff, at least) has declared Bowman a clear-cut starter. Bowman admits he's still learning, that at the Division I-A level, there's more attention to concepts, techniques and principles than in junior college.

But if you're looking for a pure playmaker ... well, there's little reason for Bowman to sit out too much.

"I'm just out here making plays," Bowman said. "I've told myself I'm going to make mistakes. I've just got to make plays and make up for those mistakes."

Source: Lincoln Journal Star

 

[NamelessHusker]

[SIZE=14pt]Ross' will to win strong on and off football field[/SIZE]

By Mike Babcock

For the Independent

LINCOLN -- Regardless of the game, Cory Ross wants to win.

Nebraska's senior I-back is intensely competitive even at Monopoly, or at least he used to be. His will to win got in the way. The outcome depends too much on chance, on the roll of dice.

And "sometimes they don't roll the way you want to," Ross said following a recent practice. "I hate how the dice roll. That's why I won't even play it anymore."

There's no way to control dice, though he used to think somehow he could.

"It's so dumb. I mean, there are so many chances. But I really believe that if I'm doing it right, I'm going to be able to do it," he said. "That's how competitive I am. I hate to lose."

Ask Randy Jordan, the Cornhuskers' running backs coach, and he'll say the same thing.

Ross is a "competitor, man. He's a guy that when he suits it up, he's proud to wear that N on his helmet," Jordan said early in training camp. "I'll tell you, he may be small in stature, but he has a huge heart."

That helps to explain how someone who stands 5-foot-6 can be among the most productive running backs in the Big 12, despite playing half the 2004 season with the pain of a turf toe injury.

Ross rushed for 1,102 yards, handling the ball 228 times including receiving. He earned all-conference honorable mention, and Nebraska's coaches named him the team's most valuable offensive player.

He did "an exceptional job last year," said Jordan. "But that was last year."

Like everyone else, Ross had to start over in training camp. The slate was wiped clean.

Despite having proved himself last season, and having finished atop the depth chart in the spring, Ross accepted the challenge.

"That's when the competitor comes out," he said.

He focused on conditioning during the summer, under the demanding direction of "Coach K," strength and conditioning coach Dave Kennedy, "being able to finish things," he said. "It's just one of the things I thought I needed to work on, finishing practices and finishing out my runs.

"The way you practice is the way you play in games. And I'm trying to instill that in my work habits."

Ross apparently accomplished that. He started fast in training camp, earning the yellow jersey for offense the first two days, as well as the respect of the newest Cornhuskers.

Freshman running back Cody Glenn was asked which of the running backs had impressed him most.

"I'd say Cory, Cory Ross, the stuff he does," Glenn said. "I watched Nebraska football before I came here, but not much, and I saw him a little bit. The stuff he can do is just amazing sometimes, just some of his cuts and moves and the way he sees stuff that other people can't."

Ross also has earned the respect of freshman quarterback Harrison Beck.

He is "absolutely amazing," Beck said. "I didn't know he was that good until I saw him in person."

Ross finds himself surrounded by young I-backs. Brandon Jackson, who is coming off shoulder surgery and still wearing a green jersey, is a sophomore, while Marlon Lucky and Leon Jackson are freshmen like Glenn. But he doesn't consider himself an old guy, Ross said.

"It's more like the guy who's been here for a while. They never say, 'Hey, that's the old head,' like I used to say. I like to think I've got a baby face so I'm still a young guy."

That baby face conceals his extraordinary competitiveness as well as his age. He will turn 23 in September, during the off-week preceding Nebraska's Big 12 opener against Iowa State, but he is beginning his fifth year in the program.

"He cares about this team," said Jordan. "He knows that he's the leader now. He's a senior, and one thing that I feel from him is that he wants to go out with a bang.

"He's going to do everything on and off the field to make that happen."

Ross concedes nothing, not even Nebraska's 5-6 record last season.

He's not in denial, but the enthusiasm in practice has been such that "it's like there wasn't even a last year," he said. "It seems like everybody is coming off a great year because we're so energized and ready to go."

Ross is ready, about that there can be no doubt.

"He loves to compete, man," said Jordan. "He loves to play in the venues with the Texases and Oklahomas. He gets jacked up for that, and that's one thing I really respect about him."

About the only time Ross checks his competitiveness is when he's with his girlfriend.

"In relationships, you end up doing that," he said.

Most of the time, anyway.

"She tries to control the situation," Ross said. "But I'm so competitive that if I'm right, I really feel I'm right and I'm not going to drop down to anybody. I'm not going to do it."

Source:Grand Island Independent