Brown excited to coach before the Sea of Red again
Maybe it’s just a glorified practice before the masses, but Husker tight ends coach Ron Brown admits there might be a butterfly or two when he runs onto the field Saturday before a stadium covered in red.
“Not a fear butterfly, but a thrill butterfly,” Brown said.
Brown has been through plenty of Husker spring games. He was an assistant here for 17 years, after all.
But Bill Callahan’s arrival left Brown out of coaching for four years. He spent his time as the state director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Who knew if he’d ever coach again, especially in front of a packed Memorial Stadium?
“We are not emotionless creatures, so yeah, I’ll have some emotions,” Brown said. “But I don’t want to live on emotions.
“Emotions to me are like salt and pepper. They’re not the meat and potatoes. They just flavor the real deal. I don’t want to rely on emotions. I want those emotions to flavor the stuff of the foundations we’re all about: execution, maximizing the God-given talent we have.”
Brown just considers himself fortunate to have the opportunity to be around football again.
“Here I am in my 50s, and I’m still doing the game that I’ve always loved and done since I’m a little guy. I thank God for it.”
SUH STUDYING THE GAME: Sure, he would love to be out there knocking hats, but Ndamukong Suh is getting what he can out of a spring on the sidelines.
Knee surgery has kept him out of practices, but it hasn’t gotten in the way of him learning the defense, the junior defensive tackle said.
“This is tough. I’m not used to being on the sideline,” Suh said. “I have to take so many mental reps, but it’s definitely a good thing for me to get that experience of being a student of the game.”
Suh said when a play is called during practice, he’s making a mental note about what his role would be in that situation.
He no longer has a limp and even did some running around the field during parts of Wednesday’s practice. Suh looks trim. He weighed 305 pounds last year, but right now is at about 290.
“I’m good with what I have going on right now,” Suh said. “There’s no worries right now. I’ll definitely be out there in fall camp getting the job done.”
Suh had some good company watching Wednesday’s practice from the sideline. Former Husker defensive tackle standout Larry Jacobson (1969-71) was on hand to view the workout.
Still not present at practices was redshirt freshman linebacker Austin Stafford, who is not listed on the spring game rosters. He has not been practicing for what Pelini has said are personal reasons.
BY THE NUMBERS: 200
A conservative estimate on the number of media credentials requested for Saturday’s Red-White scrimmage.
That’s a lot. By comparison, a real game like last year’s Nevada contest had 375 credential requests.
SCOUTING REPORT: CB ANTHONY WEST
Sophomore cornerback Anthony West has emerged as a leading candidate to be a starter come the fall, working primarily with the No. 1 defense opposite of corner Armando Murillo.
The young corner has made some mistakes, but defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said West has also made good progress.
“We’re asking him to understand a lot and grasp a lot in a short period of time, so there’s going to be (mistakes),” Pelini said. “But the big thing is, in terms of the whole secondary, you want to see mistakes not repeat themselves.”
It’s expected West will see more competition at the corner spot this fall if sophomore Anthony Blue is able to successfully come back from a torn ACL injury. Blue currently has a brace on his left leg.
OPPONENT WATCH: Missouri
The Tigers have had a couple scrapes with the law in recent weeks.
According to the Kansas City Star, reserve linebacker Marquis Booker was arrested in March after police said he threatened to “light the place up” and grabbed a handgun from his car during a parking lot argument. Booker was dismissed from the team.
Now, a reserve offensive lineman Austin Wuebbels is in trouble, arrested over the weekend on suspicion of possession of less than 35 grams of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of alcohol by a minor and false identification. He was pulled over for speeding just before 3 a.m. Sunday.
Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said Wuebbels is suspended for the rest of spring practice.
— Brian Christopherson
“Not a fear butterfly, but a thrill butterfly,” Brown said.
Brown has been through plenty of Husker spring games. He was an assistant here for 17 years, after all.
But Bill Callahan’s arrival left Brown out of coaching for four years. He spent his time as the state director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Who knew if he’d ever coach again, especially in front of a packed Memorial Stadium?
“We are not emotionless creatures, so yeah, I’ll have some emotions,” Brown said. “But I don’t want to live on emotions.
“Emotions to me are like salt and pepper. They’re not the meat and potatoes. They just flavor the real deal. I don’t want to rely on emotions. I want those emotions to flavor the stuff of the foundations we’re all about: execution, maximizing the God-given talent we have.”
Brown just considers himself fortunate to have the opportunity to be around football again.
“Here I am in my 50s, and I’m still doing the game that I’ve always loved and done since I’m a little guy. I thank God for it.”
SUH STUDYING THE GAME: Sure, he would love to be out there knocking hats, but Ndamukong Suh is getting what he can out of a spring on the sidelines.
Knee surgery has kept him out of practices, but it hasn’t gotten in the way of him learning the defense, the junior defensive tackle said.
“This is tough. I’m not used to being on the sideline,” Suh said. “I have to take so many mental reps, but it’s definitely a good thing for me to get that experience of being a student of the game.”
Suh said when a play is called during practice, he’s making a mental note about what his role would be in that situation.
He no longer has a limp and even did some running around the field during parts of Wednesday’s practice. Suh looks trim. He weighed 305 pounds last year, but right now is at about 290.
“I’m good with what I have going on right now,” Suh said. “There’s no worries right now. I’ll definitely be out there in fall camp getting the job done.”
Suh had some good company watching Wednesday’s practice from the sideline. Former Husker defensive tackle standout Larry Jacobson (1969-71) was on hand to view the workout.
Still not present at practices was redshirt freshman linebacker Austin Stafford, who is not listed on the spring game rosters. He has not been practicing for what Pelini has said are personal reasons.
BY THE NUMBERS: 200
A conservative estimate on the number of media credentials requested for Saturday’s Red-White scrimmage.
That’s a lot. By comparison, a real game like last year’s Nevada contest had 375 credential requests.
SCOUTING REPORT: CB ANTHONY WEST
Sophomore cornerback Anthony West has emerged as a leading candidate to be a starter come the fall, working primarily with the No. 1 defense opposite of corner Armando Murillo.
The young corner has made some mistakes, but defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said West has also made good progress.
“We’re asking him to understand a lot and grasp a lot in a short period of time, so there’s going to be (mistakes),” Pelini said. “But the big thing is, in terms of the whole secondary, you want to see mistakes not repeat themselves.”
It’s expected West will see more competition at the corner spot this fall if sophomore Anthony Blue is able to successfully come back from a torn ACL injury. Blue currently has a brace on his left leg.
OPPONENT WATCH: Missouri
The Tigers have had a couple scrapes with the law in recent weeks.
According to the Kansas City Star, reserve linebacker Marquis Booker was arrested in March after police said he threatened to “light the place up” and grabbed a handgun from his car during a parking lot argument. Booker was dismissed from the team.
Now, a reserve offensive lineman Austin Wuebbels is in trouble, arrested over the weekend on suspicion of possession of less than 35 grams of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of alcohol by a minor and false identification. He was pulled over for speeding just before 3 a.m. Sunday.
Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said Wuebbels is suspended for the rest of spring practice.
— Brian Christopherson
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