Husker Footbal Notes, 10/19: Octavien back in Black(shirt)
digg it!
Facebook
del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit
BY STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star
Steve Octavien got his Blackshirt back.
What’s more, he apparently is ready to play Saturday.
After missing the last four games with a hamstring injury, the Nebraska backup weakside linebacker practiced well Wednesday and appears set to contribute against Texas, Husker coach Bill Callahan said after the team’s session at Hawks Championship Center.
“It was good to have him practicing at full-speed,” the coach said. “He’s anxious to get back in the mix again.”
Callahan later added, “He’s working on all the special teams and doing everything on defense. There’s no question in my mind he’s 100 percent.”
The 6-foot, 235-pound Octavien, a junior from Naples, Fla., recorded nine tackles through the first three games playing behind fellow junior Bo Ruud. Octavien has tried practicing off and on in recent weeks.
Octavien practiced Wednesday in his black jersey — symbolic of defensive excellence at Nebraska since the 1960s — for the first time since Husker coaches stripped him of it early last month because of an undisclosed academic issue.
“I didn’t lose the Blackshirt, it’s on pause,” Octavien said Sept. 9 after Nebraska defeated Nicholls State. “There are some things I need to take care of academically. I’m working on that right now.”
Callahan declined to say Wednesday what led to Octavien getting back his Blackshirt.
“It’s team business,” the coach said.
McKEON UPDATE: A day after Nebraska defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said starting middle linebacker Corey McKeon “absolutely” would be ready to play Saturday, Callahan on Wednesday didn’t sound quite so certain. “I would take it day by day,” Callahan said. “I’ll see where he’s at (today). I’ll have a better handle on it then.”
McKeon, a junior, suffered an apparent ankle sprain early in the second half of last week’s win at Kansas State. Octavien’s return to action gives Nebraska greater flexibility at the linebacker positions, which should help matters, Callahan said. If McKeon were unable to play, junior Lance Brandenburgh would start in his place.
MEMORIES OF MACK: Nebraska running backs coach Randy Jordan played for Texas coach Mack Brown from 1989-92 when Brown was head coach at North Carolina. Jordan, a native of Manson, N.C., earned three letters for the Tar Heels after arriving at the school as a Proposition 48 player, meaning he was initially ineligible to play. Jordan earned his bachelor’s degree in speech communications in 1993, and credits Brown for his guidance.
“He stuck up for me when odds were against me,” said Jordan, listing Brown, Callahan and a former high school assistant principal as major influences in his life (Jordan never knew his father). Brown always sought out the positive aspects of situations, even as losses piled up, said Jordan, noting the Tar Heels finished 1-10 in 1998 and 1999 before going 9-3 in 1992. “He always pushed me to be a better person,” Jordan said.
Most Commented news