Times are hectic for NU equipment managers
Jay Terry usually celebrates Christmas away from home. He’s spent more than a couple Thanksgivings packing a truck. Some days come with 12 hours of work, maybe more on those sticky ones in August when Husker football coaches call for two practices.
And we haven’t even mentioned that part about how college kids are always throwing more and more dirty clothes at his crew to be washed.
Hey, no sweat, says Terry on Friday morning as he heat-presses a nametag to the inside of a red polo — adidas, of course. A person not wearing adidas is an outcast in the Husker equipment room.
“I’ve never considered myself to have a real job,” Terry says. “I’ve gotten to travel to so many places I’d have never gone to if I didn’t have this job.”
There’s always something when you’re the Husker football equipment manager, plenty of somethings on a week like this — the one leading into fall camp and another season.
There’s probably only one week that rivals this one for the diligent crew that makes sure more than 100 Husker football players are always properly suited with the armor to combat Tigers, Buffaloes and Wildcats.
The week before any bowl trip is also rough. You think packing the family car for a trip to the cabin is a demanding exercise? Try packing for about 130 for a trip that that runs through Christmas.
It’s not just football stuff Husker team managers are worrying about for a bowl game. They are also packing things like gifts, golf clubs, even the occasional tree for a coach wanting to celebrate the holiday with his young kids in a fitting fashion.
“No matter how much you think you’re prepared, there’s always something that sneaks up on you,” says the 32-year-old Terry.
He is one of two full-time equipment managers to handle football matters, receiving plenty of help from three student equipment managers and 12 other student managers.
Back in the equipment room is where you learn that former offensive lineman Toniu Fonoti is the last Husker player they had trouble fitting into a helmet. Or that Marlon Lucky goes through about three jerseys a season.
“The first three, four or five games, if it rips, we’ll get it sewn,” says Chris McQuillan, assistant equipment manager. But eventually the wear and tear of toting the ball at running back has done enough damage to require a new jersey.
McQuillan remembers another time when former Husker cornerback Fabian Washington — now in the NFL — had a jersey mysteriously go missing. A game fast approaching, managers had to scurry to mix letters from other players’ extra jerseys to spell WASHINGTON.
Husker head coach Bo Pelini occasionally pops into the equipment room. Friday morning is one of those times.
Pelini has a photo shoot to go with an article that is supposed to appear in an upcoming issue of USA Today, and so he’s in search of the right attire, joking about his golf game with Terry in the process.
There are closets for every coach, each one full of adidas shirt upon adidas shirt. Red ones, white ones, enough ones to get a guy through a couple of weeks without a washer or dryer.
Linebackers coach Mike Ekeler makes a brief appearance, too, throwing a polo across the room at Terry, saying: “Thank you, brother.”
Such close proximity to Husker coaches and players makes McQuillan one popular dude whenever the 25-year-old returns to his hometown of Greeley, which has a population of about 500.
“They think I have special insight because I work here,” says McQuillan, who has to tell them he has no inside scoops to provide. “When people ask what I do, it’s hard to explain.”
There’s plenty of doing laundry, but that’s just the start of it.
When fall camp starts on Monday, Terry and his crew will be at each practice, prepared to deal with any equipment failings that might arise.
They walk around with fanny packs filled with things like extra cleats, pliers, air pumps, chinstrap buttons, shoulder pad strings …
During the summer, the equipment managers spend one day sizing new players for helmets, shoulder pads, everything else.
No doubt being suited for a Husker uniform is a dream realized for some, especially those raised around Nebraska, kids who went to bed thinking about what it’d be like to put on that helmet with the N.
Terry says most of the kids play it cool while dressing in Husker gear for the first time. “But my guess is a lot of them get out of here probably calling their buddies and back home to tell them what they just did.”
The managers often have drafts — order picked by seniority — to see who will fix the equipment of what position group.
No one wants the offensive linemen. Their stuff gets abused big-time. Terry points at one of the students.
“Young Tyler will probably get the last pick. Not probably. He will.”
Terry was amused about any talk last season that centered around Bill Callahan’s wardrobe. Callahan showed up to a midseason press conference not wearing red — scandalous to a few. And then in his final day as coach against Colorado, for the first time he wore a gray Nebraska hooded sweatshirt during a game, which surely meant something.
Why the Belichick-like hoodie suddenly?
“Because they’re comfortable. He didn’t like bulky jackets,” Terry says. “It’s football, not a fashion show out there. People always think there’s some message being sent. He just wanted to be comfortable.”
Terry and his crew have seen some high-maintenance guys, but they say all the recent head coaches at Nebraska have been very easy to please.
Linebacker Barrett Ruud was one of Terry’s favorite players. “He didn’t come up here unless he really needed something,” Terry says.
There are plenty of stories about coaches and players and their superstitions that go with their wardrobes and equipment.
One of Terry’s favorite stories is about a trip to Ames, Iowa, when the managers forgot to pack Cody Glenn’s jersey.
The managers found a No. 84. They started cutting into the 8 to make it a 3 for Glenn’s 34. They borrowed a sewing machine.
Then a running back, Glenn was a little startled when he saw his jersey in his locker.
That night, Glenn rushed for 148 yards against Iowa State — best game of his career.
Says Terry: “He wanted to wear that jersey the rest of the year.”
Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7439 or bchristopherson@journalstar.com.
And we haven’t even mentioned that part about how college kids are always throwing more and more dirty clothes at his crew to be washed.
Hey, no sweat, says Terry on Friday morning as he heat-presses a nametag to the inside of a red polo — adidas, of course. A person not wearing adidas is an outcast in the Husker equipment room.
“I’ve never considered myself to have a real job,” Terry says. “I’ve gotten to travel to so many places I’d have never gone to if I didn’t have this job.”
There’s always something when you’re the Husker football equipment manager, plenty of somethings on a week like this — the one leading into fall camp and another season.
There’s probably only one week that rivals this one for the diligent crew that makes sure more than 100 Husker football players are always properly suited with the armor to combat Tigers, Buffaloes and Wildcats.
The week before any bowl trip is also rough. You think packing the family car for a trip to the cabin is a demanding exercise? Try packing for about 130 for a trip that that runs through Christmas.
It’s not just football stuff Husker team managers are worrying about for a bowl game. They are also packing things like gifts, golf clubs, even the occasional tree for a coach wanting to celebrate the holiday with his young kids in a fitting fashion.
“No matter how much you think you’re prepared, there’s always something that sneaks up on you,” says the 32-year-old Terry.
He is one of two full-time equipment managers to handle football matters, receiving plenty of help from three student equipment managers and 12 other student managers.
Back in the equipment room is where you learn that former offensive lineman Toniu Fonoti is the last Husker player they had trouble fitting into a helmet. Or that Marlon Lucky goes through about three jerseys a season.
“The first three, four or five games, if it rips, we’ll get it sewn,” says Chris McQuillan, assistant equipment manager. But eventually the wear and tear of toting the ball at running back has done enough damage to require a new jersey.
McQuillan remembers another time when former Husker cornerback Fabian Washington — now in the NFL — had a jersey mysteriously go missing. A game fast approaching, managers had to scurry to mix letters from other players’ extra jerseys to spell WASHINGTON.
Husker head coach Bo Pelini occasionally pops into the equipment room. Friday morning is one of those times.
Pelini has a photo shoot to go with an article that is supposed to appear in an upcoming issue of USA Today, and so he’s in search of the right attire, joking about his golf game with Terry in the process.
There are closets for every coach, each one full of adidas shirt upon adidas shirt. Red ones, white ones, enough ones to get a guy through a couple of weeks without a washer or dryer.
Linebackers coach Mike Ekeler makes a brief appearance, too, throwing a polo across the room at Terry, saying: “Thank you, brother.”
Such close proximity to Husker coaches and players makes McQuillan one popular dude whenever the 25-year-old returns to his hometown of Greeley, which has a population of about 500.
“They think I have special insight because I work here,” says McQuillan, who has to tell them he has no inside scoops to provide. “When people ask what I do, it’s hard to explain.”
There’s plenty of doing laundry, but that’s just the start of it.
When fall camp starts on Monday, Terry and his crew will be at each practice, prepared to deal with any equipment failings that might arise.
They walk around with fanny packs filled with things like extra cleats, pliers, air pumps, chinstrap buttons, shoulder pad strings …
During the summer, the equipment managers spend one day sizing new players for helmets, shoulder pads, everything else.
No doubt being suited for a Husker uniform is a dream realized for some, especially those raised around Nebraska, kids who went to bed thinking about what it’d be like to put on that helmet with the N.
Terry says most of the kids play it cool while dressing in Husker gear for the first time. “But my guess is a lot of them get out of here probably calling their buddies and back home to tell them what they just did.”
The managers often have drafts — order picked by seniority — to see who will fix the equipment of what position group.
No one wants the offensive linemen. Their stuff gets abused big-time. Terry points at one of the students.
“Young Tyler will probably get the last pick. Not probably. He will.”
Terry was amused about any talk last season that centered around Bill Callahan’s wardrobe. Callahan showed up to a midseason press conference not wearing red — scandalous to a few. And then in his final day as coach against Colorado, for the first time he wore a gray Nebraska hooded sweatshirt during a game, which surely meant something.
Why the Belichick-like hoodie suddenly?
“Because they’re comfortable. He didn’t like bulky jackets,” Terry says. “It’s football, not a fashion show out there. People always think there’s some message being sent. He just wanted to be comfortable.”
Terry and his crew have seen some high-maintenance guys, but they say all the recent head coaches at Nebraska have been very easy to please.
Linebacker Barrett Ruud was one of Terry’s favorite players. “He didn’t come up here unless he really needed something,” Terry says.
There are plenty of stories about coaches and players and their superstitions that go with their wardrobes and equipment.
One of Terry’s favorite stories is about a trip to Ames, Iowa, when the managers forgot to pack Cody Glenn’s jersey.
The managers found a No. 84. They started cutting into the 8 to make it a 3 for Glenn’s 34. They borrowed a sewing machine.
Then a running back, Glenn was a little startled when he saw his jersey in his locker.
That night, Glenn rushed for 148 yards against Iowa State — best game of his career.
Says Terry: “He wanted to wear that jersey the rest of the year.”
Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7439 or bchristopherson@journalstar.com.
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