Mixed Signals

A picture is worth a thousand words, as the old adage goes. The picture to the right is more telling than most pictures I’ve seen coming out of the 15 practices this spring and last Saturday’s Spring Game in Lincoln, Nebraska. A few of the characters you may recognize, but the man in the white shirt and hat may throw you for a loop, since you are looking at the back of his head. That person is none other than formerly disposed and troubled offensive lineman Richie Incognito arm in arm with Bo Pelini. Forget who he was after the tenuous Bill Callahan era? Well, here is a refresher course.

Incognito hails from Englewood, New Jersey and was the first freshman offensive lineman in Nebraska history to start. This was either an indication of greatness, or that the offensive line was starting to crumble under the watch of former head coach Frank Solich. I thought this way then, as I still do now. To make a long story short, Incognito was accused of getting into many an altercation with male and female members of the University along with citizens of Lincoln. The final straw reportedly was in 2004, after Callahan took over the team, Incognito allegedly assaulted a teammate. It was at that point when Callahan placed him on injured reserve and suspended him indefinitely which led to Incognito requesting a transfer to Oregon. He never played a down as a Duck, but was drafted in 2005 by the St. Louis Rams with the 81^st pick overall.

It was yet another troubled Nebraska player, but in Incognito's case, praying on people smaller than him for no reason other than his rampant steroid abuse and resulting “roid rage.” To see him welcomed back to a program who rightly tossed him aside borders on ridiculous, sickening even. After his dismissal his Father even took it upon himself to accost Nebraska fans on internet message boards. Classy.

Now it seems in an effort to get back to the Nebraska way, there has been somewhat of an abandonment of certain integral foundations the current staff is attempting to perpetuate. I attended this past weekends Spring Game, and also attended a luncheon for my booster club that I belong to. The featured speakers included a video from basketball coach Doc Sadler, who was originally schedule to appear but could not attend due to recruiting engagements. Baseball coach Mike Anderson was also a speaker, talking up togetherness and the respectful coach Bo Pelini. Nebraska saint Tom Osborne was introduced by former All-American and Super Bowl champion Grant Wistrom and Pelini himself was introduced by one of his prodigies and current Tampa Bay Buccaneer linebacker Barrett Ruud.

Pelini talked about the value of being a good citizen and representing the University in a positive manner. He spoke about how a solid foundation was being built by the young student athletes. He referred to how he wanted to mold the young men to exude confidence and a good clean lifestyle not only on the field, but off “from the moment they wake up in the morning until they go to bed at night.” I couldn’t help but thing as the members of my booster club in attendance ate this up thinking that Incognito, and his father, had been at practice no more than 24 hours previous to this speech. I wondered how many people were actually aware of this fact, or how many people would even care if they did.

I’m all for redemption. I stuck by Osborne’s decision (and still do) to not kick Lawrence Phillips on the team. I always maintain that kicking him off the team wouldn’t have helped him. However, I saw Osborne’s intentions, as good as they were, fail amid a national spotlight that would help drive him out of the game two years later. However, Phillips has been persona non grata since he was drafted in 1995 by the same Rams team that picked up Incognito. Welcoming Richie back would be easier had he issued some sort of apology for his actions, embarrassing the University or his lack of respect for any order on and off the field while in Lincoln. This has not happened. Not even a simple acknowledgement. Just a return by a player who is mediocre when compared to other great linemen with ten times the heart, integrity and ability to represent the Cornhusker program better than Incognito.

Out of all the Adam Treu’s, Zach Weigert's and Aaron Taylor’s of the world, why bring back Incognito to stump for Pelini’s new regime? Is there something more there? Is our new coach that has Nebraska fans feeling on cloud nine about our program hiding an agenda that includes undoing the rights that were done by Callahan? As much of a pariah as Callahan is, deservedly so to a certain extent, I believe that the rose colored glasses may be so thick that people will be unable to recognize the picture I posted for what it’s worth.

Here is another thing to munch on. Josh Williams (pictured on the left) who was the 2008 signee I wrote about a few weeks ago who’s legal issues are still to be resolved, was in attendance for the Spring Game. Now, this may just be my opinion, but I believe he should be somewhat shunned until the truth of his situation is revealed. He shouldn’t be kicked off the team and have his scholarship pulled either, however I don’t think he should have been able to attend the game.

Are these first few months pointing towards what could be swirling around Lincoln in the next few years? I certainly hope not. Could it just be some amazing coincidences? Could be. All I know is that dunking your head in the Kool-Aid tank for an extended period of time may help you to take your eye off the ball if something is coming.

Kansas City Update

Alright, so I’ll be the first to admit yesterday that I may have jumped the gun with the Josh Williams thing. Let’s just say that we’ll have to wait and let things unfold before I (we) jump to any conclusions. Right now, it appears that a third party intervened in an argument between Williams and the alleged victim and was the one who threw the punch. Was Williams in the wrong or just guilty by association? Those possibilities are yet to be played out, so I’ll do my best to keep things updated on here this weekend with me moving.

One thing I’d like to take a few moments out of the Nebraska news to do is report on other area colleges and some of the news falling out of the local programs. Since I live in the near immediate area of about three Big XII North teams, I think it is more that pertinent to report on schools like Missouri, Kansas and Kansas State. So here we go, a little something new.

There was no bigger news this week in the conference than the Kansas Jayhawks (below). KU won their third national championship in men’s basketball and their first in 20 years since ‘Danny and the Miracles' that were led by Danny Manning and coach Larry Brown. Current coach Bill Self and company had endure a tough matchup from the Davidson Wildcats in the Elite Eight, and former KU headmaster Roy Williams and his current team, the North Carolina Tar Heels, in the Final Four. The Jayhawks went on to defeat the Memphis Tigers in overtime Monday night, as most of you know.

The big news regarding this story (as if there could be something bigger than winning a national title) was that of coach Self himself. The week before the Final Four, Oklahoma State forced coach Sean Sutton out the door. For those that don’t know, Oklahoma State is the alma mater of Self, and where he spent 11 years of his playing and coaching career. Despite Athletic Director Mike Holder’s sincerest efforts, it will appear that Self will be staying at Kansas.

Details of the new contract are yet to be ironed out, but it isn’t a big secret that Self (left) will become one of the (if not the) highest paid coaches in college basketball. The term should be lengthy as well, at least five years in my opinion, as Self has stated that he wants long term security. Also, Kansas AD Lew Perkins persuaded Self to stay by the possibility of a new team practice facility and student athlete housing.

This is great news for Kansas, as well as the Big XII. Since the conference has been formed, we as a conference were yet to win a national title in men's basketball. Kansas reached the title game in 2003 but fell to Syracuse, and teams like Oklahoma State and Texas reached the Final Four, but no one brought home the hardware. Until this year. Self not only brought Kansas and the Big XII a national title and some well deserved respect, he exercised some demons for Rock Chalk Nation by beating Roy Williams in the national semifinal last Saturday. The last week has stamped Bill Self’s reign in Lawrence, Kansas and has undoubtedly gave him carte blanche for at least the next several years. This of course will depend on if Oklahoma State and super-booster T. Boone Pickens (above right) come calling in the not so distant future. The type of money rumored to be offered to Self might be too sweet to pass up twice. Kansas fans should rest easy for now though.

Lincoln Forecast: Officially Pouring

Real quick, if you have not yet familiarized yourself with the signing class from 2008 and didn't see Josh Williams, look now because it might be the last time you see him.

Arguably one of our best defensive recruits from this class, Williams was arrested for assaulting and robbing a Denton, Texas man of $900. Williams reportedly approached the man last Friday while he was in his truck counting his payroll check. The two talked briefly before Williams reached into the truck, stole the money, and then punched the man in the face making off with the money.

Williams flop flopped his commitment from Nebraska to Colorado in December of 2007, then switched back to Nebraska after an unofficial visit in January. Williams was regarded as one of the Top 100 Texas Football Players by the Dallas Morning News while recording 75 tackles, 25 of them for a loss, and 12 sacks his senior season.

Sadly, this looks like another player/recruit that will be removed from the team or heavily reprimanded by the coaching staff. Either way, this is yet another bruise on a program that is just taking off in another direction.

Way to give up a free education worth around $45,000, playing for one of the greatest college football programs in history and a shot at the NFL. Then again, we'll have to wait and see what happens as this story fully develops.

Trying To Catch Up

Wouldn't you know that while the most newsworthy items that are coming from Lincoln in the past couple months are happening at the same time I'm moving into a new house? It's sort of messing with my ability to post as much as I would like to. So much is happening as we are halfway through spring practice and less than two weeks away from the Spring Game, which is looking like a sellout if the weather cooperates.

No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. The first picture posted is really showing former running back Cody Glenn (#34, above left) lining up in the WILL linebacker position. Word is that Glenn is adapting very well to his new spot during practice scrimmages. Time will tell if he has a big impact in game day settings. Some positive things are occurring however, on Friday Glenn intercepted his first ball and has been disrupting the offense and causing more turnovers since.

JUCO tight end transfer Tyson Hetzer sustained a knee injury the first week in practice and will not be seeing the field for the duration of spring practice. It's unfortunate as the size that Hetzer brings to the table could have been an asset for the offense. And I sort of wanted to see how he actually played in the Spring Game. Film on him was pretty limited during the recruiting process.

One name that I've been waiting to hear from the coaches and media out of practice this spring is Roy Helu (right). I've been excited about the potential of this running back since he was picked up in 2007. Bo has reportedly been very impressed with his cutback ability and change direction. Also, little known speedster receiver Curenski Gilleylen has been spotlighted as a player that offensive coaches have been excited to inject into their gameplan this spring. Hopefully he can be used in a similar fashion to that of border state rival Missouri's All-American Jeremy Maclin. Time will tell as we all know Maclin is the real deal and Gilleylen is to this point untested.

The next practice session for the Huskers is Wednesday, April 9th at 3:30pm.