Running back Lucky commits to NU
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BY STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star
Maybe Nebraska head coach Bill Callahan felt blue Sunday in the wake of Saturday's loss at Iowa State.
Or perhaps he felt Lucky.
Around 5 p.m. Sunday, Marlon Lucky, a touted running back from North Hollywood, Calif., phoned the Nebraska coaching staff with his verbal commitment to accept the Huskers' scholarship offer.
"My coaches and guardian said it's the best place to go," Lucky said. "And I agree with them."
The 6-foot, 205-pound Lucky is ranked No. 2 among the nation's high school running backs and No. 1 overall in the state of California by Rivals.com.
In choosing Nebraska, Lucky turned down scholarship offers from, among others, Southern Cal, Florida, Louisiana State, Mississippi State, Oregon State, Washington and San Diego State.
Nebraska defensive line coach John Blake played the lead role in Lucky's recruitment.
"He's like a family guy," Lucky said of Blake. "He talks about family and life and things like that."
After initially speaking with Blake on Sunday, Lucky said, he had a chat with Callahan.
"He said he was already making plans for me," Lucky said.
Lucky is a five-star recruit, the highest possible rating in Rivals.com's system. He has enough ability to make an immediate impact for the Huskers, said Jeremy Crabtree of Rivals.com.
"Well, when you craft a running back for a scheme that features both the run and the pass, Marlon Lucky is pretty darn perfect," Crabtree said. "He can catch the ball out of the backfield. He can run the draw play. He's good on third down. And he's the kind of back you can hand it to 20 to 30 times a game.
"He's put together physically extremely well."
Lucky runs the 40-yard dash in 4.44 seconds, bench-presses 305 pounds and has recorded a 36-inch vertical leap. He has rushed for more than 1,300 yards and scored 29 touchdowns this season for 6-3 North Hollywood High after gaining nearly 1,800 yards and leading the city in scoring as a junior.
Three weeks ago, Lucky visited the Nebraska campus and attended the Huskers' 59-27 win against Baylor.
"The Nebraska fans, they were chanting my name," Lucky said. "That made me feel real good."
A few days after his Lincoln visit, Lucky placed Nebraska and Southern Cal in a tie for first on his list of finalists. He had said he wouldn't make a final decision until sometime in December.
However, Lucky decided to expedite the process because he had been "thinking about this whole thing way too much" and wanted to concentrate on school and football, he said Sunday.
Crabtree said Lucky's decision was "shocking" because Lucky made no other official campus visits.
"It feels good," Lucky said of his decision. "I'm happy. I wanted to commit while I was in Lincoln on my visit, but my guardian said to wait it out."
Lucky left a difficult family situation in Dallas when he was 12. His uncle became his legal guardian.
Lucky has no qualms about leaving the bright lights of Hollywood for the relative calm of Lincoln.
"I'm not really an L.A. boy," he said.
Lucky becomes the 15th player, and the second five-star prospect, known to have verbally committed to joining Nebraska's 2005 recruiting class. Defensive back Zackary Bowman, a junior college transfer from Roswell, N.M., also has a five-star rating.
Before Lucky's announcement Sunday, Nebraska's recruiting class was ranked No. 4 nationally by Rivals.com, behind Virginia, Ohio State and Oklahoma.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
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