Record crowd watches 24-14 Red team win
The Vine Street block party to welcome the new guy was hardly a formal affair.
When Bo Pelini emerged from the tunnel in the moments before Saturday’s Red-White Spring Game, he did it wearing shorts and without his players. They’d come a minute later.
You wouldn’t know it by the crowd of 80,149 at Memorial Stadium, but this was indeed a practice. Dockers slacks can wait until the fall to be showcased.
There was a running clock in the third quarter and purple pullover jerseys worn on special teams. There were coaches standing on the field during plays.
As is the way with spring games, pretty play did not rule the day. But that seemed to matter little to the fans that filled the stadium for cathartic reasons as much as anything.
After a 5-7 season, putting on a “Bo Big Red” shirt and chanting BO-PE-LI-NI on a cloudless day in April seemed a slice of goodness for the Husker soul.
“I thought it was a pretty special atmosphere,” Pelini said. “That’s something I’ve never been a part of before, and I don’t know if any of these coaches have.”
There was a score that came with this carnival atmosphere: a 24-14 triumph for the Reds over the Whites.
The score didn’t matter to Pelini. Seeing progress did.
“Every day, I see that indecision going away, and confidence is growing. We’ll get there, but it’s a process. The process is well underway, but it’s not nearly finished,” Pelini said.
“We’re not going to be satisfied until we’re up there at the top. We’re going to keep raising our standard. We have a very high standard; we want perfection. That’s what we’re going to strive for, and the players understand that.”
During the scrimmage, Pelini usually stood about 15 yards behind the quarterback, between the hash marks. Defensive coordinator Carl Pelini and linebackers coach Mike Ekeler often were on each side of him.
Bo Pelini worked with the defense, in a linebacker’s crouch, during each play. Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson handled the other side, conservative in what he revealed with his play-calling.
Missteps? You bet. Plenty.
“There was definitely some feeling out,” senior receiver Todd Peterson said. “Just when we came out of the tunnel, all the skill-position guys ran out on the field, kind of went to the center of the field and went, ‘Now what do we do?’”
There were strong performances, maybe the best by senior linebacker Tyler Wortman, who got started right away by ruining what was supposed to be a statement first play, an option to the right.
Instead of a successful play, there was a disruption by Wortman, a fumble recovery by Wortman, and a sheepish grin by Wortman after the game: “I don’t know how happy the coaches are with me about it.”
No hard feelings. Not on a feel-good day like this one.
Sophomore running back Roy Helu seemed as good as advertised and Quentin Castille ran with a purpose, though there was a second-quarter fumble. Quarterback Joe Ganz was steady and receiver Curenski Gilleylen showed his capabilities on a 77-yard first-quarter touchdown pass that put the Red up 14-0 less than six minutes into the game.
But it was Pelini’s show. No surprise there. It’s been his spring.
And you knew that when it was over. He left the field to an ovation from the fans still in the stadium. Pelini waved, signing autographs here and there.
As he walked through the tunnel toward the locker room, he high-fived fans reaching out from behind the ropes.
Hope lives in April, but Pelini knows as well as anyone that all the fanfare will soon give way to the reality of results.
Peterson said Saturday’s end of spring practice doesn’t mean relaxation for the players anytime soon.
There are workouts scheduled for 6 a.m. Monday, the Grand Island native said.
“One thing Coach Pelini always says is you got to keep your foot on the gas pedal,” Peterson said. “We’re not letting up. We’ve only got so much time and we’re going to work hard to get ready.”
There was enough evidence Saturday to show that this is still very much a work in progress.
But still you could tell Pelini was enjoying the surroundings, full of pep as he led the crowd during a halftime Drug Free Pledge, his intro being: “It’s a beautiful day in Husker Nation, isn’t it?”
The crowd, the second-largest to see a college football spring game, thundered its approval.
“It’s kind of mind-boggling. It’s still a practice ... and we’ve got twice as many (people) as in my hometown,” Peterson said.
“It’s just a testament to the fans. They’re never going to leave us.”
Reach Brian Christopherson at bchristopherson@journalstar.com or 473-7439.
When Bo Pelini emerged from the tunnel in the moments before Saturday’s Red-White Spring Game, he did it wearing shorts and without his players. They’d come a minute later.
You wouldn’t know it by the crowd of 80,149 at Memorial Stadium, but this was indeed a practice. Dockers slacks can wait until the fall to be showcased.
There was a running clock in the third quarter and purple pullover jerseys worn on special teams. There were coaches standing on the field during plays.
As is the way with spring games, pretty play did not rule the day. But that seemed to matter little to the fans that filled the stadium for cathartic reasons as much as anything.
After a 5-7 season, putting on a “Bo Big Red” shirt and chanting BO-PE-LI-NI on a cloudless day in April seemed a slice of goodness for the Husker soul.
“I thought it was a pretty special atmosphere,” Pelini said. “That’s something I’ve never been a part of before, and I don’t know if any of these coaches have.”
There was a score that came with this carnival atmosphere: a 24-14 triumph for the Reds over the Whites.
The score didn’t matter to Pelini. Seeing progress did.
“Every day, I see that indecision going away, and confidence is growing. We’ll get there, but it’s a process. The process is well underway, but it’s not nearly finished,” Pelini said.
“We’re not going to be satisfied until we’re up there at the top. We’re going to keep raising our standard. We have a very high standard; we want perfection. That’s what we’re going to strive for, and the players understand that.”
During the scrimmage, Pelini usually stood about 15 yards behind the quarterback, between the hash marks. Defensive coordinator Carl Pelini and linebackers coach Mike Ekeler often were on each side of him.
Bo Pelini worked with the defense, in a linebacker’s crouch, during each play. Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson handled the other side, conservative in what he revealed with his play-calling.
Missteps? You bet. Plenty.
“There was definitely some feeling out,” senior receiver Todd Peterson said. “Just when we came out of the tunnel, all the skill-position guys ran out on the field, kind of went to the center of the field and went, ‘Now what do we do?’”
There were strong performances, maybe the best by senior linebacker Tyler Wortman, who got started right away by ruining what was supposed to be a statement first play, an option to the right.
Instead of a successful play, there was a disruption by Wortman, a fumble recovery by Wortman, and a sheepish grin by Wortman after the game: “I don’t know how happy the coaches are with me about it.”
No hard feelings. Not on a feel-good day like this one.
Sophomore running back Roy Helu seemed as good as advertised and Quentin Castille ran with a purpose, though there was a second-quarter fumble. Quarterback Joe Ganz was steady and receiver Curenski Gilleylen showed his capabilities on a 77-yard first-quarter touchdown pass that put the Red up 14-0 less than six minutes into the game.
But it was Pelini’s show. No surprise there. It’s been his spring.
And you knew that when it was over. He left the field to an ovation from the fans still in the stadium. Pelini waved, signing autographs here and there.
As he walked through the tunnel toward the locker room, he high-fived fans reaching out from behind the ropes.
Hope lives in April, but Pelini knows as well as anyone that all the fanfare will soon give way to the reality of results.
Peterson said Saturday’s end of spring practice doesn’t mean relaxation for the players anytime soon.
There are workouts scheduled for 6 a.m. Monday, the Grand Island native said.
“One thing Coach Pelini always says is you got to keep your foot on the gas pedal,” Peterson said. “We’re not letting up. We’ve only got so much time and we’re going to work hard to get ready.”
There was enough evidence Saturday to show that this is still very much a work in progress.
But still you could tell Pelini was enjoying the surroundings, full of pep as he led the crowd during a halftime Drug Free Pledge, his intro being: “It’s a beautiful day in Husker Nation, isn’t it?”
The crowd, the second-largest to see a college football spring game, thundered its approval.
“It’s kind of mind-boggling. It’s still a practice ... and we’ve got twice as many (people) as in my hometown,” Peterson said.
“It’s just a testament to the fans. They’re never going to leave us.”
Reach Brian Christopherson at bchristopherson@journalstar.com or 473-7439.
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