John Mabry: Husker coach is night owl
Have a minute to spare? Bill Callahan will take it.
The Huskers' head football coach lost seven hours of game preparation time this week, and he's not happy about it. Callahan said he prefers night contests because he can keep working on getting "the hay in the barn" the day of the game.
The barn doors, which remained open until 6:10 p.m. last week, will be closing at 11 a.m. Saturday when Southern Mississippi comes to visit.
"Saturday morning last week, we went out to the Abbott Sports Complex and had an additional walk-through. We had early-morning meetings. We had a walk-through, then we came back here for our pre-game," Callahan said. "I kind of like that. I kind of like night games because you do pick up that extra time. I like that time for preparation."
One thing that has changed under Callahan is the elimination of the Friday night team movie.
Friday nights are now for team meetings and playbook study sessions.
"When I came in here, the coaches looked at me kind of funny," he said. "I said, ‘No, we'll keep preparing. The hay's not in the barn here. It's never in the barn.'
"I'm a preparation guy. I'm not a movie guy. I want to make sure our players are well-prepared and focused in on what we've got to get done."
Sounds like the Huskers just need to find a barn where they show movies.
Hall of fame weekend
The Nebraska Football Hall of Fame will add 12 new members this weekend, including monster back Jim Pillen, one of the heroes of NU's victory over Oklahoma in 1978.
Pillen recovered a fumble by Billy Sims in the final minutes to seal Nebraska's 17-14 win over the No. 1 Sooners.
Husker historian Don Bryant remembers Pillen as a great football player with an eye for a bargain.
Bryant said Pillen was proud of a gold ring he bought for $25 on a bowl trip in the late 1970s.
"Here they come over to my table (in the hotel coffee shop), and they're flashing this ring, this beautiful ring," Bryant said.
Everything was fine until the next day, when Pillen became "Greenfinger."
"I said the same guy sold me one on the bridge going over to Tijuana in '46," Bryant said. "I kid him every time I see him, ‘Let me see your ring.'"
Spartan streak ends
Callahan took note when De La Salle High's 151-game winning streak came to an end last weekend. Bellevue (Wash.) High beat the Spartans 39-20 in Seattle.
Callahan's son, Brian, played for the Concord, Calif., school before moving on to UCLA as a walk-on quarterback.
Bill Callahan is a big fan of De La Salle head coach Bob Ladouceur, who will be lucky to keep his job now that his record has fallen to 287-15-1.
"They're all taken aback, but they'll bounce back. That's the way they run that program," Callahan said. "At the school, there was never a reference to (the streak), amazingly. No one ever talked about it. It was really an amazing thing."
Extra points:
* Our weekly Husker Extra football coverage will include a recruiting update on Thursdays and a look back at the great 1994 NU team on game days. The Huskers are planning to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the '94 season Oct. 30 when Missouri visits for Homecoming.
* The NFL season starts this week, but Callahan would offer no predictions. He did smile when asked if Al Davis had called to congratulate him on Saturday's victory. "I'm not going there," Callahan said.
Reach John Mabry at 473-7320 or jmabry@journalstar.com.
The Huskers' head football coach lost seven hours of game preparation time this week, and he's not happy about it. Callahan said he prefers night contests because he can keep working on getting "the hay in the barn" the day of the game.
The barn doors, which remained open until 6:10 p.m. last week, will be closing at 11 a.m. Saturday when Southern Mississippi comes to visit.
"Saturday morning last week, we went out to the Abbott Sports Complex and had an additional walk-through. We had early-morning meetings. We had a walk-through, then we came back here for our pre-game," Callahan said. "I kind of like that. I kind of like night games because you do pick up that extra time. I like that time for preparation."
One thing that has changed under Callahan is the elimination of the Friday night team movie.
Friday nights are now for team meetings and playbook study sessions.
"When I came in here, the coaches looked at me kind of funny," he said. "I said, ‘No, we'll keep preparing. The hay's not in the barn here. It's never in the barn.'
"I'm a preparation guy. I'm not a movie guy. I want to make sure our players are well-prepared and focused in on what we've got to get done."
Sounds like the Huskers just need to find a barn where they show movies.
Hall of fame weekend
The Nebraska Football Hall of Fame will add 12 new members this weekend, including monster back Jim Pillen, one of the heroes of NU's victory over Oklahoma in 1978.
Pillen recovered a fumble by Billy Sims in the final minutes to seal Nebraska's 17-14 win over the No. 1 Sooners.
Husker historian Don Bryant remembers Pillen as a great football player with an eye for a bargain.
Bryant said Pillen was proud of a gold ring he bought for $25 on a bowl trip in the late 1970s.
"Here they come over to my table (in the hotel coffee shop), and they're flashing this ring, this beautiful ring," Bryant said.
Everything was fine until the next day, when Pillen became "Greenfinger."
"I said the same guy sold me one on the bridge going over to Tijuana in '46," Bryant said. "I kid him every time I see him, ‘Let me see your ring.'"
Spartan streak ends
Callahan took note when De La Salle High's 151-game winning streak came to an end last weekend. Bellevue (Wash.) High beat the Spartans 39-20 in Seattle.
Callahan's son, Brian, played for the Concord, Calif., school before moving on to UCLA as a walk-on quarterback.
Bill Callahan is a big fan of De La Salle head coach Bob Ladouceur, who will be lucky to keep his job now that his record has fallen to 287-15-1.
"They're all taken aback, but they'll bounce back. That's the way they run that program," Callahan said. "At the school, there was never a reference to (the streak), amazingly. No one ever talked about it. It was really an amazing thing."
Extra points:
* Our weekly Husker Extra football coverage will include a recruiting update on Thursdays and a look back at the great 1994 NU team on game days. The Huskers are planning to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the '94 season Oct. 30 when Missouri visits for Homecoming.
* The NFL season starts this week, but Callahan would offer no predictions. He did smile when asked if Al Davis had called to congratulate him on Saturday's victory. "I'm not going there," Callahan said.
Reach John Mabry at 473-7320 or jmabry@journalstar.com.
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