Big 12: Huskers' Slauson welcomes Pelini

By B.G. Brooks, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published July 21, 2008 at 7:21 p.m.

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Photo by Orlin Wagner/Associated Press

Nebraska football coach Bo Pelini, center, answers reporters' questions during Big 12 Media Day in Kansas City, Mo., on Monday.

Count Matt Slauson among the multitudes in Nebraska rejoicing over the arrival of new coach Bo Pelini, handpicked by athletic director Tom Osborne to be everything to Cornhuskers football that Bill Callahan was not or could not be.

But whereas most Big Red fanatics watched Pelini's entrance from the periphery, Slauson, of Colorado Springs, saw it from the inside. He's a typically beefy (6-foot-5, 325 pounds) Nebraska offensive linemen about to enter his senior year, and he believes it will be markedly different from that endured in 2007 under the deposed Callahan.

The Cornhuskers' mood, said Slauson, has "totally changed . . . we're a team that's so focused on brotherhood, looking out for each other and getting that tradition back."

Nice to be chummy and cohesive, but Nebraska's biggest need is a defense that plays with wild abandon and doesn't wither (37.9 points, 476.8 yards yielded per game last season), and they are among the traits his players believe Pellini can instill.

"He's a guy we can really relate to . . . a real fun guy, a player's coach," Slauson said. "He's a guy you love to work hard for . . . I don't know how old he is, but he's a college kid at heart. I think he'd like to suit up and play.

"The first day he stepped into the meeting room, he'd just gotten off the plane, and from that moment on, he looked like he was about ready to jump out of his skin. Just his attitude kind of infected everyone . . . he came in and the guys were like, 'We're going to get it fixed.' He's been like our ray of hope."

Added senior quarterback Joe Ganz: "You can do things with Xs and Os (defensively), but if you don't have that attitude, that confidence. . . . We had the athletes to make plays, but we never really recovered from that beat down at USC (a 49-31 loss in a 5-7 season) . . . Coach Pellini brings in that attitude immediately."

Is less better?

Pelini retained former Colorado assistant Shawn Watson as Nebraska's offensive coordinator, and Watson snuffed Alabama's interest in hiring him for that job.

Now, the Cornhuskers offense is all Watson's, rather than a job-share situation with Callahan. Will it be a vastly different West Coast look?

"We'll have some components that are the same, but (Watson) is going to put his twists on it," Pellini said. "He has some different beliefs and is always looking to keep going. I think he'll downsize (the playbook) to a certain extent - pretty significantly."

Ganz said the Cornhuskers "used to game plan (last season) with so many plays, and we didn't use half of them. Coach Watson said we're going to focus on what we will run in the game . . . I didn't feel overloaded, but some of the younger guys might have."

Coat of arms

Before the Huskers traveled to Boulder last season for a 65-51 loss to CU, Slauson approached Callahan about wearing a buffalo skin jacket on the trip. Not a good idea, Callahan said.

"He said it may have sent the wrong message and he didn't want me to set myself apart from other players," Slauson recalled. "And in retrospect, it was a bad idea to even ask him. But I did get to wear it after the game (in Lincoln)."

And Slauson, who sometimes applies war-like face paint before games, said he would wear it for the Buffs' visit (Nov. 28).

Life in the wide Lane

Texas A&M's second-leading rusher in 2007 was monstrous tailback Jorvorskie Lane (6-foot, 285 pounds). This season, he switches to fullback, a move new coach Mike Sherman says gives the Aggies several options - if Lane can keep his weight in check.

"The weight is an issue," Sherman said. "It has been since we got there. He has lost some . . . but still has a ways to go."

Asked Lane's current weight, Sherman answered, "What time is it?"

CU personnel moves

After appealing his suspension by the school's Office of Judicial Affairs, tight end Riar Geer recently received a "suspension in abeyance" and is eligible to participate this fall. He was involved in an off-campus incident last winter and missed spring practice.

But Geer still could face game(s) suspension from Buffaloes coach Dan Hawkins, who said, "He'll sit a little bit, but we'll figure that out (later)."

Also, receiver Markques Simas, offensive tackle Sione Tau and outside linebacker Nate Viaomounga will be academically ineligible this season. Hawkins said the trio wouldn't be able to regain eligibility in the second summer term.

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