Lucky, Glenn lean on each other through painful spring
As the clock ticked down to the end of Saturday’s Nebraska Red-White Spring Game, running back Marlon Lucky reached for his helmet and rose to his feet.
When he stood, he hobbled. He winced. He sat back down.
One teammate stood by him, looking for help. It’s the same teammate who’s been battling him for playing time the past two seasons.
The cynical might not believe this, but juniors Cody Glenn and Marlon Lucky are rooting for each other.
Outside the locker room after a 38-0 win by the Red squad, Glenn found himself talking as much about Lucky as himself.
He didn’t seem to mind at all.
“From the first time I saw him when I got here, that summer our freshman year, I walked into the (weight) room, we just kind of looked at each other, and he said, ‘What’s up LenDale?’ And I was like, ‘What’s up Reggie?’”
That’s how it was going to be. They were going to bring to Nebraska what those other two guys had to Southern California. Glenn was going to be the masher like LenDale White. Lucky was going to be the shifty highlight-maker like Reggie Bush.
This made it clear from the beginning: It would be more about friendship than rivalry.
You need all of that friendship when a night like Feb. 11 comes around. Ambulances showed up to Lucky’s apartment. A rush to the hospital for reasons still unspecified followed. He was originally listed in critical condition.
As soon as Lucky got home, Glenn said he was the first person to visit him.
“Obviously, it brought us closer,” Glenn said. “I went over and cut his hair and just talked to him, just seeing how he’s doing, just making sure his spirits are high and he’s having fun.”
Any worries about who was getting more carries now seemed insignificant.
“Any time you have something in your life, an issue, you put everything in perspective,” Husker running backs coach Randy Jordan said.
“We always tell the guys, ‘We’re not trying to cure cancer. We’re playing football. That’s what we do.’ It’s a business that you count the wins and losses, but we’re just simply playing a man’s game. When you look at it like that, you can have more fun.”
Here’s your fun. It came in the second quarter of Saturday’s scrimmage. Red team’s ball, 19 yards from scoring. Lucky gets the call and has no business getting 3 yards, but he does his best Reggie shake, and, before you know it, he’s taking it to the 1-yard line.
Lucky wouldn’t have made people miss on that run last year, Jordan said after the game.
“He lost ground to gain ground.”
Lucky’s day: 16 carries, 94 yards, and a fourth-quarter injury that put Husker hearts in throats.
It came with 12:36 left on a hog-collar tackle on a going-nowhere play.
It happened right in front of Jordan.
“I couldn’t breathe. I literally couldn’t breathe. That’s not being dramatic,” Jordan said. “I don’t like to see anybody go down, but the guy has really fought real hard to overcome some things this offseason and he’s doing exceptionally well.”
Glenn said he started praying after the injury. “Because we can’t afford to get another guy down, especially not him.”
As the game ended, Lucky joked on the bench with Glenn with an ice pack wrapped around his left knee. When it came time to leave the field, he had to be helped to a nearby cart that took him to the locker room.
Lucky was not made available for interviews after the game, his only appearance coming when he hobbled past media members on crutches.
NU coach Bill Callahan was predicting a medial collateral ligament sprain but said an MRI today would tell more.
If Lucky’s injury is serious, it puts one more dent into an already wounded running backs corps.
Since the Cotton Bowl, seemingly every unfavorable thing that could happen has happened.
Brandon Jackson left for the NFL. Senior Kenny Wilson got a staph infection in his knee, then broke his femur while carrying a TV.
Glenn has had a nagging foot injury that he says almost always leaves him hurting at the end of each practice.
After his 11 carries for 44 yards Saturday, Glenn said, “toward the second half, it started giving out a little bit. It’s hurting right now.”
So Glenn went into the training room directly after the game.
His foot aching something serious, he had a question for the trainers.
How’s Marlon doing?
Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7438 or bchristopherson@journalstar.com.
When he stood, he hobbled. He winced. He sat back down.
One teammate stood by him, looking for help. It’s the same teammate who’s been battling him for playing time the past two seasons.
The cynical might not believe this, but juniors Cody Glenn and Marlon Lucky are rooting for each other.
Outside the locker room after a 38-0 win by the Red squad, Glenn found himself talking as much about Lucky as himself.
He didn’t seem to mind at all.
“From the first time I saw him when I got here, that summer our freshman year, I walked into the (weight) room, we just kind of looked at each other, and he said, ‘What’s up LenDale?’ And I was like, ‘What’s up Reggie?’”
That’s how it was going to be. They were going to bring to Nebraska what those other two guys had to Southern California. Glenn was going to be the masher like LenDale White. Lucky was going to be the shifty highlight-maker like Reggie Bush.
This made it clear from the beginning: It would be more about friendship than rivalry.
You need all of that friendship when a night like Feb. 11 comes around. Ambulances showed up to Lucky’s apartment. A rush to the hospital for reasons still unspecified followed. He was originally listed in critical condition.
As soon as Lucky got home, Glenn said he was the first person to visit him.
“Obviously, it brought us closer,” Glenn said. “I went over and cut his hair and just talked to him, just seeing how he’s doing, just making sure his spirits are high and he’s having fun.”
Any worries about who was getting more carries now seemed insignificant.
“Any time you have something in your life, an issue, you put everything in perspective,” Husker running backs coach Randy Jordan said.
“We always tell the guys, ‘We’re not trying to cure cancer. We’re playing football. That’s what we do.’ It’s a business that you count the wins and losses, but we’re just simply playing a man’s game. When you look at it like that, you can have more fun.”
Here’s your fun. It came in the second quarter of Saturday’s scrimmage. Red team’s ball, 19 yards from scoring. Lucky gets the call and has no business getting 3 yards, but he does his best Reggie shake, and, before you know it, he’s taking it to the 1-yard line.
Lucky wouldn’t have made people miss on that run last year, Jordan said after the game.
“He lost ground to gain ground.”
Lucky’s day: 16 carries, 94 yards, and a fourth-quarter injury that put Husker hearts in throats.
It came with 12:36 left on a hog-collar tackle on a going-nowhere play.
It happened right in front of Jordan.
“I couldn’t breathe. I literally couldn’t breathe. That’s not being dramatic,” Jordan said. “I don’t like to see anybody go down, but the guy has really fought real hard to overcome some things this offseason and he’s doing exceptionally well.”
Glenn said he started praying after the injury. “Because we can’t afford to get another guy down, especially not him.”
As the game ended, Lucky joked on the bench with Glenn with an ice pack wrapped around his left knee. When it came time to leave the field, he had to be helped to a nearby cart that took him to the locker room.
Lucky was not made available for interviews after the game, his only appearance coming when he hobbled past media members on crutches.
NU coach Bill Callahan was predicting a medial collateral ligament sprain but said an MRI today would tell more.
If Lucky’s injury is serious, it puts one more dent into an already wounded running backs corps.
Since the Cotton Bowl, seemingly every unfavorable thing that could happen has happened.
Brandon Jackson left for the NFL. Senior Kenny Wilson got a staph infection in his knee, then broke his femur while carrying a TV.
Glenn has had a nagging foot injury that he says almost always leaves him hurting at the end of each practice.
After his 11 carries for 44 yards Saturday, Glenn said, “toward the second half, it started giving out a little bit. It’s hurting right now.”
So Glenn went into the training room directly after the game.
His foot aching something serious, he had a question for the trainers.
How’s Marlon doing?
Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7438 or bchristopherson@journalstar.com.
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