NU Notes, 9/2: DeAngelis focuses on final season

 No comments  
 E-mail Story
 Print Story
  Share

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

Text Size: 

Tools Sponsor

Fifth-year senior Sandro DeAngelis said he's ready to put the past behind him and focus on keeping his starting job as place kicker.

"I'm excited," DeAngelis said. "I just want to stay on an even keel and go out and do my thing."

DeAngelis won a battle for the No. 1 spot with sophomore David Dyches, who will still be NU's top kicker on kickoffs.

Last year, Dyches replaced DeAngelis in NU's second game against Utah State after DeAngelis missed an extra point in the first quarter. Dyches hit four field goals against the Aggies and held the starting job the rest of the season.

The new coaching staff re-opened the starting job during fall camp, and DeAngelis said he felt he was the most consistent kicker.

"I treated every kick as if it was my last," DeAngelis said. "From an extra point to a 50-yarder, you've got to treat it with the same focus and same mentality. I think that's where I got into trouble last year.Ilost my focus in the second ball game of the year on a measly extra point, and it cost me."

DeAngelis has had an up-and-down career at Nebraska. He started four of NU's first five games in 2001 as a redshirted freshman, then missed a PAT and had a field goal blocked against Missouri, and was replaced by Josh Brown.

DeAngelis sat out his sophomore season because of a stress fracture in his left foot, recovered to earn the No. 1 job going into last season, then lost it again.

For his career, DeAngelis is 3-of-6 on field goals, with a career long of 28 yards, and 18-of-20 on PATs.

BIRKEL STILL IN MIX:As a true freshman last season, Andy Birkel debuted at No. 2 on the first depth chart of the year at the 'X' wide receiver position. This year, Birkel is nowhere to be found on the depth chart. Wide receivers coach Turner Gill, though, said Birkel remains in the mix. "He's progressing,"Gill said, noting Birkel is behind true freshman Terrence Nunn and sophomore Grant Mulkey at the 'Z' receiver. "We've got a lot of guys that can play for us,"Gill said. "We just need these guys to keep being competitive and see what happens."

GRIXBY IMPRESSIVE:Count junior cornerback Fabian Washington among those impressed with true freshman Cortney Grixby, who's listed as the top backup to Washington at left corner. Washington, by the way, is the last true freshman to play the position. "He's been learning the defense very fast," Washington said. "Coach has been throwing him in with the ones and the twos to get him some good reps and some realistic reps going against our No. 1 offense. He's been playing a lot of good ball. Ithink he'll get a nice amount of playing time on Saturday."

- Brian Rosenthal