Summertime Blues?
Are you tired of waiting for the season to start? Rejoice! It began today...sort of. NU begins its summer conditioning program. In a way, it signals the start of the '06 season because the team must formalize their roster enough to report on who is eligible and participating at this time. There is good news and bad news for Husker fans this summer.
The Good News:
- Only one player is rehabbing an injury right now, and won't be able to participate. Kurt Mann, Brandon Jackson and Jordan Picou are all full-speed ahead, after coming off injuries.
- NU's strength and conditioning programs have never been in better shape. Coach Kennedy is one of the absolutely best in the business. You can expect a well conditioned team this year.
The Bad News:
- The one player not participating due to injury at this point is ... Harrison Beck! He's still rehabbing his shoulder and won't be full speed throwing for the indefinite future. Everyone needs to hope this young man can get healthy and get much-needed repetitions.
- NU loses Rodney Picou do to academic eligibility. This one hurts, folks. Rodney was an Army All-American prospect coming out of high school. He would have just been a sophomore. You hate to lose a player with that kind of potential.
- Linebacker Steve Allen officially won't be making it to Lincoln. This doesn't necessarily hurt NU right now, because of the depth at linebacker. But, it does place a renewed emphasis on finding linebackers in this recruiting cycle, as Allen was the only one in last year's class.
Spinning It Forward
What does the start of summer conditioning mean? Not a whole lot, really. About a month from now, we can all read the perfunctory "I've never worked so hard in my life" stories based on players' reactions. While I don't doubt that players are saying that sincerely, and I think Kennedy is awesome at his job, it simply can't be true every single year.
The losses of Allen and Picou hurt, as does Beck's health. You just have to hope that the players we have develop the unity and camaraderie that comes from working hard in the heat. And, that our fleet of backs and receivers fine tune their skills with Taylor and the other QB's during 7-on-7 drills.
For right now, Husker fans will just have to focus on their golf games, I guess.
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