Posted: Friday, September 30, 2005 7:00 pm
So let me get this straight. Not only can Cory Ross run and catch and block and win football games and sign autographs for every last kid and smile for photographers and reporters after question No. 73…. He also has psychic powers.
Ross called it Friday. He told the folks at ABC exactly how it was going to go down against Iowa State. “I said, I want double-overtime and Coach giving me the ball, and I score the winning touchdown.”
He did not mention the part about going the wrong way on a play deep in Iowa State territory with NU driving for a potential winning score late in the fourth quarter.
But we can forgive that little boo-boo because, when it gets right down to it, Ross is just about the nicest guy on the planet, and a pretty good football player, too.
Ross will not win the Heisman Trophy. The hype needs to start a little sooner on a deal like that, but if you throw it all together — the talent, the kindness, the heart, the humility — no player in the country has done more for his program than Cory Ross.
Did you see him setting a pick for receiver Terrence Nunn in the first overtime?
“Those guys block for me when I’m running,” Ross said, “so I block for them when they’re trying to run some routes and catch the ball.”
Running backs coach Randy Jordan said it happens all the time.
“He’s becoming a complete back,” Jordan said. “He takes pride in picking up blitzes. He stepped in there and took on the linebacker in the hole to give the opportunity for Zac (Taylor) to find his receivers downfield.”
You see the moves that produced three touchdowns and 163 total yards against the Cyclones. But what a lot of you don’t see is Ross signing autographs after practice until the last kid has a turn or Ross answering questions until the last nosy reporter has had a shot.
There is a genuine love between Ross and Husker fans.
“I definitely feel it when they’re calling the starters out,” he said, “and they scream for me. It feels good.”
The Cyclones got a surprise when NU decided to use Ross in the passing game far more than on the ground. But Iowa State coach Dan McCarney was not surprised to see Ross, a senior captain, making the most of his opportunities with the ball.
“He’s the conference’s leading runner,” McCarney said, “and a lot is just elusiveness and his speed and his toughness.”
NU offensive line coach Dennis Wagner said his guys love having Ross behind them.
“He’s got a great amount of courage,” Wagner said. “He’s a guy who believes in the system, and the guys believe in him. There’s a number of times where there’s nothing there, and he makes something happen.”
Wherever he goes.
Two-minute drill
* We had an unusual visitor disrupting things on press row Saturday. Lil’ Red made a surprise appearance, to the dismay of sports information director Keith Mann. After exclaiming, “What are you doing here, Lil’ Red?” Mann asked bubble boy to take an upside-down head hop to another floor.
* Jordan, the lead assistant on kickoff returns, got more than a little excited on Tierre Green’s 45-yard return in the third quarter. Jordan’s enthusiasm carried him on a 20-yard fist-pumping flight up the sideline. “When I saw the hole, I just went running. I was so excited we were able to get good field position for our offense.“
* I know the TD thing still needs work, but you would hope 467 yards of offense would quiet the West Coast critics for at least a week. What do you bet it doesn’t?
* Jordan made no secret of the significance of Saturday’s win. “I’m like an elephant. I don’t forget a lot. Last year, Iowa State, that one hurt me because I felt like we could have won.”
* A top 25 ranking is still a long shot, but NU is sure to get bumped up from the Fort Worth to the Champs Sports (Orlando) in bowl projections this week. Let’s just hold off on the Rose Bowl talk for a week or two.
Reach John Mabry at 473-7320 or jmabry@journalstar.com.