Evwaraye plans to be more than spring phenom

 No comments  
 E-mail Story
 Print Story
  Share

 digg it!
 Facebook
 del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit

Text Size: 

Tools Sponsor

BYSTEVENM. SIPPLE

Seppo Evwaraye understands that the Nebraska gridiron landscape is littered with players who flourished during the gentle breezes of spring before vanishing in the battles of autumn.

Indeed, Evwaraye understands because he has been a Husker spring phenomenon - and little else to this point.

So, of course, flowers are just now in blossom, Evwaraye has risen to No. 1 on the depth chart at right offensive tackle, and Nebraska coaches sing his praises these days on what seems like a daily basis.

Evwaraye, however, remains mostly unimpressed with himself.

"I don't know what to tell you,"Evwaraye said Monday, wiping sweat from his eyes after the 12th of Nebraska's 15 spring practices. "I have to make a lot more progress and work really hard this summer and show up in the fall, and not tail off.

"There have been plenty of guys here who always had strong springs who never really showed up, or got hurt, or transferred, or whatever. Idon't want to be one of those guys."

Last spring, Evwaraye played through the pain of a shoulder injury and looked to have emerged prominently in Nebraska's defensive line rotation. Yet he finished last season with one tackle in five games.

In the spring of 2002, Evwaraye raised eyebrows as a redshirt freshman poised for playing time at defensive tackle. But he managed only three tackles during the fall after being slowed by a foot injury, and then sidelined by shoulder surgery.

No wonder the 6-foot-5, 300-pound junior is wary of yet another promising stretch of spring drills.

One almost needs to remind him that if Nebraska were to play today, he would be in the starting lineup.

"Yeah, but just starting isn't good enough," Evwaraye said. "Imean, you can be a starter at Utah State and go 3-7. What's that really mean?

"At Nebraska, you're expected to win every game you play. Ihave to start playing at that level. To me, that No. 1 spot doesn't mean anything right now."

Evwaraye retains his self-critical stance even when told Nebraska head coach Bill Callahan has been effusive in his praise of Evwaraye's transition from defense to offense.

"I don't think I'm playing at a No. 1 level," Evwaraye said flatly.

Before spring practice started, Callahan announced that Evwaraye, junior Jared Helming and redshirt freshman Chris Patrick were moving from defensive line to offensive line.

Of the three, Evwaraye has been the most impressive, followed by Helming, while Patrick practices mostly with the lower units.

It helps Evwaraye that his shoulder feels better. He said it hurts on occasion, but that the pain's nothing compared to last season.

If he would have been healthy in 2003, Evwaraye said he could have been a key contributor for a salty Nebraska defense.

"Ithink everybody knows that,"Evwaraye said. "If they don't, they will now."

Callahan said he knows nothing of Evwaraye's past struggles.

"Watching him currently is a pleasant surprise," Callahan said. "He's made a transition that's awfully tough."

Indeed, Evwaraye not only has made the transition from defense to a complex offense, he's performed at a high level, Callahan said.

"He has a lot on his plate, and it's challenging for him," Callahan said. "He's answered the bell several times. And you're not going to find a harder worker than Seppo. He's fully committed to be the best."

Said Evwaraye: "You know, coaches always want to sell up their players a little bit. I need to do a better job. I was kind of lost mentally (on Monday).

"I don't know, I guess I have to get back in my playbook and come back Wednesday and have a great practice."

Evwaraye knew he faced a daunting transition this spring, having read newspaper reports about Callahan's rather involved offense, he said.

To be sure, Callahan's system is slightly more intricate than the offense Evwaraye learned at Class C-2 Laurel-Concord High School.

Evwaraye said the most challenging area to learn has been pass protection, especially the new techniques Nebraska is using.

In learning pass protection skills, Husker linemen must be mindful of footwork, hand placement, leverage and balance.

"If you're bad at one of those things, you're going to be bad at pass blocking, period,"Evwaraye said. "It's a combination you have to get down, or you won't be even a decent pass blocker.

"I think I'm plenty strong enough and plenty fast enough to do it. (But)if you haven't done it, it's hard to learn. In high school, when you're so much stronger and faster than everybody, it's so much easier."

Evwaraye said he understands the new playbook "pretty well."

"It's a pretty well-balanced offense,"he said. "We can pound the ball, we can pass the ball. We're going to do it in variations in relation to the opponent we're playing - we're going to play to the opponent's weaknesses.

"By having such a balanced offense, I think we can hit them in different areas."

Evwaraye appears poised for some meaningful action come fall, given his rise to No. 1 on the depth chart.

Of course, it's the spring depth chart, and you know Evwaraye's reputation. ...

"I'm trying to shake that off,"he said. "There's a lot to learn. But there are no excuses. Everybody's got an excuse."

Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@;journalstar.com.