Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 34

CM CM' lmm at iRedsIiirting gives' NU ia tailor-made team Mr' 24 The matchup 0- When Nebraska traveled to Minnesota for its fourth game, however, O'Leary and Shamblin went along and played O'Leary because Tony Davis, the No. 1 1-back, was injured and Shamblin because the second-' team split end had quit the team that week. Te paraphrase Yogi Berra, a redshirt year is never over "til it's over. V4 Nebraska's attitude toward red- shirting is different from "that of most schools. "We have not traditionally redshirted in the freshman year," said Osborne.

Td say probably 50 to 70 percent of all freshmen -get redshirted. I know some schools are redshirting practically their entire freshman class." Prior to 1972, that wasn't possible. Until then, NCAA.rules didnt permit freshmen to compete -or varsity teams. They had their own program. Nebraska still has a freshman program, and with a few notable excep-.

tions, every Cornhusker spends a season in it, learning the system. After that, most redshirt. "Our feeling is, if a player is in a position where he wouldn't be able to make a significant contribution, particularly in his sophomore year, then we give him that opportunity," Osborne said, Redshirting isnt mandatory. "Most players accept it because they feel like they'd rather have a chance to play a gcod deal for three years than to play a little bit one year and then maybe quite a bit for two years," said Osborne. Mike Rozier, Irving Fryar and Turner Gill are among the former Cornhusker players who went through without redshirting, Only 11 non-freshmen on this year's varsity haven't sat out They include senior Chad Daffer, juniors Danny Noonan, Marc Mun- lord, Kevin Parsons, Steve Porch, Brian Davis and Cleo Miller, and sophomores Brian Washington, Keith Jones, Dana Brinson and Neil Smith.

Redshirts are usually assigned to the scout squad, which meang they spend practices running (he plays of Nebraska's upcoming opponent Custard Is an exception. "That sophomore year is tough, physically, if you're a reashirt," Os-borne "You get beat around alittte by the varsity guys, and you begin to. realize what it takes to play at the major college leveL Most freshmen don't have much idea of the mental demands, the precision, the physical effort that's required. Some of them do, but not many." Redshirting is a "maturing said Osborne It enables a player to. make the big adjustment' from freshman football to the varsity.

Some players are forced to redshirt because of injuries. Sophomore middle guard Lawrence Pete is sitting out this fall as a redshirt because a knee injury kept him from -practicing during the pre-season. By the time he returned to practice, he had missed too much. The term "redshirt" doesnt appear in the NCAA manual, but the basis for the procedure the rule al- lowing an athlete five years to complete four seasons of eligibility has existed for a long time. There's some question as to when and why the term was first used.

One popular story' traces to red practice jerseys with white crosses on them, given to players coming off injuries. The idea was not to hit the redshirts. Another credits the term to Notre Dame, which supposedly assigned red practice jerseys to its reserve players. Cnie thing's for certain, it has nothing to do with Nebraska red. According to Osborne, redshirting isnt any more common at Nebraska now than it wai when he was an assistant to Bob Devaney.

"In those days, we had 45 scholarship players, -initially, and about 140 or 150, total, on scholarship, plus some he said. "So it wasnt like we had to play guys in their sophomore year." Then as now, the philosophy behind redshirting an athlete was: We will use no player before his time. By Mike Babcock 5 John Custard attends the daily meetings Nebraska assistant coach Thornton has with his Cornhusker defensive -backs each day, and Custard practices with the sec-condteam. 5 But the sophomore comerback, a walk-on from Bellevue East, hasn't played in a game this season, and barring the unexpected, he wont 3 Mono Custard's going to be a fine player," Thornton said. -5 But not this fall Custard is redshirting.

-He's one of approximately 50 Cprn-huskers who are this fall Technically, "a player isnt red-shirted until he's gone through the whole season and the bowl game without playing," said Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne. There's always a chance he might be forced into action. According to Thornton, Custard probably wouldn't have redshirted if either Dennis Wat-kins or Mike Carl had been unable to are cornerbacks. Watkins has a continuing problem. Vith an AduIIes tendon, and Carl was bothered by a problem in his lower abdomen during pre-season drills.

Custard "is. probably to the point now where he's definitely going to redshirt," Thornton said. "But until the Oregon game, there was still a question." Redshirting is often associated with Nebraska, though more and more college programs are resorting toil. Essentially, redshirting allows a player to gain a year of maturity without losing a season of eligibility. The process is simple enough.

An athlete practices, but he doesnt play, not even one down, whether in varsity or junior varsity competition. As soon as he does, his redshirt year Is over. -y Sometimes, thaUsiecessary. -For example, in J873 Comhuskers John O'Uary and Dave Shamblin were slated for redshirts and were held out of the first three games, all at home. OUARTEH3ACK -This week.

Warren Seita apparently will have the lead in the continuing soap opera: Guess who's playing quarterback for Missouri? So the Tigers have their Seitit set on Nebraska, right? RUNNING SACKS The Tigers' Oarrell Wallace will learn what Thurman Thomas learned. You don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, and you don't mess around with the NU defensive line. RECEIVERS Nebraska unveiled en explosive combination against Oklahoma State: McCathorn Clayton to Robb Schnitzler; Bombs away. OFFENSIVE LINE Missouri's John Clay Is one of the premier college tackles in the country, and for all their faults, the Tigers have a pretty good line. DEFENSIVE LINE The Comhuskers didn't ease off Oklahoma.

State quarterback Ronnie Williams at teammate Paul Blair's request, and they aren't likely to ease off this week, LINEBACKERS Even with Marc Munford sidelined, Nebraska probably has an advantage over Missouri in quality and depth at this SECONDARY Traditionally a strong but young this season. The Tigers have only one senior and two juniors among their first eight defensive backs. Nebraska has found a player in Brian Davis. KICKING With two field goals. Dale Klein got a big kick out of the Oklahoma State game.

So did Dan Wingard, who averaged 44.2 yards per punt SB" r.lcctthoTlgcrj Record: 0-5, Big Eight, unranked Key Players: offensive tackle John Clay, running backDarrell Wallace, strong safety, Cameron Riley, weak safety Erik McMillan, linebacker Bo Sherrill Strengths: tqlented athletes at skill positions Weaknesses: a tendency to make mistakee at the absolute worst time, a defense that's yielding an average of 32.2 points and 457.6 yards per game i Notes: Tiger Coach Woody WWenhofer lettered bn Dan'Devlne's 1 964 Missouri football team, which lost to Nebraska 9-0. Missouri has lost eight games in a row over a two-year span to tie a school record. -4 Nebraska has a six-game winning streak over the Tigers. Missouri freshman Ronnie Cameron may get an opportunity to play quarterback this week. Cameron, who's been used as a wide receiver this fall, was a much-publicized high school ath- lete in East St Louie, III.

Nebraska was among the schools which recruited him. Former Tiger Coach Warren Powers Is now partner In rent-to-buy furniture company based in St Louis. NUFoe Missouri offensive coordinator. Bill Meyers admits, he Is facing a new challenge as the. Tigers prepare to host Nebraska in a regionally televised game Saturday.

Page Bottom 10 No. 1 Missouri might be caught looking past Saturday's opponent Nebraska. After the Comhuskers, The Tigers face a real challenge, the Mildcats of Kansas State. Page i. State College Scott Cooper, who started the first three games for Nebraska Wesleyan, has been named the starter for Saturday's game High School El Salvador native Luis Vega, who became a basketball standout at Henderson, is now a top football player and one of the reasons the Huskies are 5-1 and ranked seventh.

Page 5 No. 1 1owa hosts No, 2 Michigan in a nationally televised Big 10 Conference shootout on CBS, KOLN-KGIN, channels 10 11, WOWT channel 6. Page 7. Credits EXTRA POINT, a weekly football section produced by the Journal-Star sports staff, Is edited by Dave Wohlfartti and Brian Hill. against concoraia.

Page s. Cover art by Paul Fell. in l- Jji i t.f 4 I i i I 4.