Cody Green can play wide receiver. And center, too.
He dabbled at those positions so that others could play quarterback in Tuesday's All-Star flag football game at the Special Olympics National Games.
Joe Sewell, 16, was one of those quarterbacks. He launched the final pass of the game into the end zone.
Eric Warfield was there to deflect it.
"Even though we didn't get the touchdown, we played pretty good out there," Sewell said. "We just had a little fun. We just all wanted to have fun."
Sewell, who plays for Team Missouri, didn't care that he was on the same team as a Husker quarterback, or that an NFL cornerback batted away what would've been a game-winning pass.
"One of my favorite parts," Sewell said, "was how guys were using microphones to make fun of the other team."
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Green was among those guys on the bullhorn, barking orders from the sideline, trying to get fans from different states into the game.
"Team Nebraska, I see you over there," Green yelled, "and I KNOW you can get loud."
Green joined Ben Cotton, Alfonzo Dennard, DeJon Gomes and Adam Watson as current Huskers who helped in a flag football clinic and ensuing game at Mabel Lee Fields.
Former Huskers Calvin Jones, Armando Murillo, T.J. Hollowell, Ben Lester, Vershan Jackson and Warfield also assisted, as did former NFL players Tony Covington, John Turner, Matt Blair and Joey Browner.
"Look at these young men and women out here. They're special," said Browner, a former Minnesota Viking who resides in Eagan, Minn. "They're showing their athletic abilities, how they're dedicating themselves to the sport. And then they also have good sportsmanship, and that's what we try to teach our youth."
Veteran Northwest Missouri State coach Mel Tjeerdsma also joined in the fun. He kept peering over at the clock in the final minutes and telling players to back up on the sideline.
"The juices start flowing," Tjeerdsma said with a smile. "We start practice in three weeks, so I guess I better get into it."
This is Tjeerdsma's first time helping with the Special Olympics. His wife formerly taught special education at an elementary school.
"Boy, these players played hard, and that's what it's all about," Tjeerdsma said. "There are some very good players. Number 3 from Tennessee is really fast. I know that. We didn't have anybody who could cover him."
Hollowell stood at the end of a bag drill, slapping hands with athletes as they completed the drill.
"This is the most important thing," he said, "the high-five."
Toward the end of the game, Jones, a former I-back, walked toward the sideline, removed his flag belt and tossed it on the bench.
"I'm going back into retirement after that," he said.
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 402-473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
Athletes train with Huskers, ex-NFL players
