Returning Students Get a Taste of Husker Football
After returning to campus last Wednesday, it hit me - Husker football is almost here. After more and more students arrived decked out in red, I could almost hear the tunnel walk music followed by the deafening sound of the crowd. The University greets its returning students by throwing an annual event called Big Red Welcome. The affair consists of free movies and a massive street fair full of free goodies. But my favorite part of the event is when students are allowed to witness a real Husker football practice.
Now, I've been to my share of Husker games, but the first thing I noticed when entering the stadium Sunday afternoon was our new million-dollar friend. The HuskerVision big screen is absolutely awesome. I can give you the specs (about 33'7" tall by 117'7" wide), but the screen must be seen in person to be fully appreciated. It's almost 40 yards wide! The picture clarity is excellent, and the screen kept that clarity at every angle I could test it from. The two south screens have also been replaced with better screens, and the picture quality is much improved over the older ones.
Although the practice witnessed by students was nothing to jump to conclusions about, I coudln't help but notice a few things. Most of what we saw consisted of passing skeleton drills. Zac Taylor received most of the reps, but Joe Ganz took quite a few as well. Ganz looked very good in action, highlighted by a beautiful fade pass for a touchdown in the redzone drill. Taylor looked sharp on his slant passes, but he had quite a few overthrows on the deeper routes. Everyone has an off day, right?
I can only recall one dropped pass throughout the drill. However, I can't claim that I watched every play - I had to stop myself from drooling over the big screen several times. Todd Peterson really stood out in the drills. He ran very good routes and showed some speed. He's certainly not our most talented receiver, but it's easy to see he works hard and wants to make a difference on the team.
Marlon Lucky had a slight edge in reps over the other backs, but Coach Callahan isn't lying when he says the position is competitive. Every running back got a lot of reps. Hopefully this will only mean great things for our running attack, inspiring each player to work harder and harder to get his time.
After practice, Callahan and the captains said a few words to the student body. Callahan expressed his excitement for the upcoming season. Brandon Rigoni added that the team had a solid fall camp and for us to expect big things from this team. Zac Taylor said the team is working hard. Adam Carriker touched it off by saying that Husker fans are the best in America. Speaking of the fans...
The mindset of students on campus is very positive. Husker morale is the highest I've seen since attending UNL. In the past few years, students haven't gone to home games expecting to win or sometimes even be competitive. Now it's different.
"The North is ours for the taking," said junior nutrition/classics major Chris Thomsen. Thomsen believes the big red will go 11-3 this year, with losses to Texas, USC and our Big XII title game opponent. He also predicts the Huskers will finish the year strong defeating Boston College in the Gator Bowl.
Not every student is so bold and specific in their expectations for the season.
"I think we'll be better than last year," said sophomore pre-med student Brandon Schaub.
And really, what more can you ask for?
» Enjoy this article?
Send it to your friend or get Husker news by email!
Post a comment