Mitch Sherman: Husker fans get bowl fix in Texas
BY MITCH SHERMAN
WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
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2005 NU football commitments
LINCOLN - No bowl game? No problem.
A few hundred Nebraska football fans, apparently undeterred by the Huskers' absence from a postseason game for the first time since 1968, are set to satisfy their bowl fix this week.
U.S. Army
All-American Bowl
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• What: High school all-star football game
• When: noon Saturday
• Where: San Antonio
• TV: NBC
Greg Zyntek of Greensboro, N.C., helped organize a gathering of NU fans in San Antonio for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
Seventy-eight of the nation's top high school seniors will participate in the all-star game, to be played Saturday at noon in the Alamodome. NBC will show the game live. The players began practice at two San Antonio high schools Monday.
NU fans won't be far behind.
With six Nebraska recruits on the West roster and none, as of yet, committed to the Huskers from the East squad, Zyntek and his group will not have trouble picking sides.
He said Tuesday he has heard from 500 to 700 NU fans with plans to attend. Throw in those traveling on their own, and Zyntek expects close to 1,000 decked out in red. They've even planned Husker-oriented gatherings on the Riverwalk for Friday night and Saturday.
"We kind of have a pattern to go to a bowl game every year," said Zyntek, a 44-year-old Nebraska native, "and people are looking for a place to go this time of year."
Nebraska's top two running back recruits - Marlon Lucky of Valley Village, Calif., and Leon Jackson of Pasco, Wash. - will both play. Other committed NU recruits on the West team are offensive linemen Craig Roark of Ada, Okla., and Rodney Picou of Canyon Springs, Calif., place-kicker Jordan Congdon of San Diego and linebacker Phillip Dillard of Tulsa, Okla.
Nebraska, which fell to No. 2 in the rivals.com recruiting rankings this week behind Oklahoma, remains in contention for several other prospects in San Antonio.
Defensive back Reggie Smith of Edmond, Okla., was a star at practice Monday with three interceptions for the West team, according to the official press release distributed by game officials. Smith is choosing from among Nebraska, USC and Oklahoma.
He won't announce a decision at the game, but Nyan Boateng will. The two-sport star from Brooklyn, N.Y., visited Nebraska in October. Over the past two months, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound wide receiver has listed NU, Florida and Michigan as his leaders.
Other U.S. Army all-stars who continue to consider the Huskers include defensive end Raymond Henderson, linemen Ndamukong Suh and Jerrell Powe of the West team and lineman James McKinney of the East squad.
In addition, approximately 400 top juniors are scheduled to participate in a combine at the Alamodome Saturday and Sunday.
"As a fan, you don't always feel like you get to be a real big part of the program - especially those of us who live a distance away," Zyntek said. "We're not going to sway anybody to Nebraska. But if we can do our little part, that's great. I hope a lot of people notice us."
