Suh staying for senior season
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By BRIAN CHRISTOHERSON and BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
Ndamukong Suh has shown he’s dominant on defense. He is having fun showcasing his offensive prowess.
He even has a funny nickname.
Life is good in college. So why leave so soon?
Suh, the 6-foot-4, 300-pound junior nose tackle, said Tuesday he is certain he will return for his senior season.
“I have another year of football and I have a degree to get next December,” Suh said, noting he’s not even planning on going through an NFL evaluation process.
“As of right now, that’s not the plan. I’m just all here about Nebraska football.”
Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said he realizes Suh’s situation could change — especially if he has many more games like against Kansas. Suh had 12 tackles, including 2½ sacks and four for loss.
“He seems to act like he wants to come back for his senior year, but that could change if they tell you you’re graded out as a top-five draft pick. Sometimes that changes,” Pelini said. “There are a lot of ifs.”
Suh leads the team with 60 tackles. The last time a defensive lineman led Nebraska in tackles for the season was in 1973, when middle guard John Bell had a team-high 96.
Suh is also making a name for himself on offense, playing some fullback. He even caught a TD pass Saturday.
He played a similar role at his high school Shrine Bowl game in Oregon, he said, leading some to call him the “Fridge,” the nickname given to former Bears lineman William Perry.
But Nebraska teammates have a different nickname for Suh.
“They call me ‘Ducky’ because they think I look like Ducky in ‘Land Before Time,’” he said, referring to a dinosaur character from the animated film.
“They’ve tagged that to me, and they also said the dance I did after the touchdown (against Kansas) … they said it’s a Ducky Dance.”
This and that: Defensive end Terrence Moore was not used by coaches in the Kansas game because of his ejection against Oklahoma. … Carl Pelini said defensive players had an extra spark Tuesday after receiving Blackshirts. “I thought it was our best practice of the year, honestly. There was just a certain level of excitement there, and a certain level of our guys feeling a sense of achievement, because they really feel like they earned those shirts, and they did.”
Scouting Report
RB, Roy Helu
Surprising? No, Roy Helu said Tuesday, he’s not surprised by his success at running back.
“I’m just pretty confident in my abilities and I know our offensive line is really good,” the sophomore said. “It was just time that we hit the holes right and making them miss.”
In back-to-back weeks, Helu has posted 176 total yards against both Oklahoma and Kansas.
Helu said it’s all about instinct when he’s running. “You can't think out there,” he said.
How do three guys accept having to split time with one ball?
“That’s a good question. We just got to be selfless. And Quentin and Marlon and Marcus, we all know our roles on the team and on that we’re going to share the ball. It’s not that we want to start. It’s about when our number’s called that we go in and perform.”
When Bo Pelini was asked if the running back rotation has become more clear in recent weeks with the emergence of Helu, the head coach said: “It’s been clear and defined in our eyes from the start.”
Just asking
What does this defense need to do to create more turnovers?
“Catch the ball,” Bo Pelini said. “We had a bunch in our hands last week and didn’t finish them. You have to make plays, you have to continually put yourself in position, and when you have opportunities, you can’t miss them. You have to make the most of that opportunity.”
Nebraska has caused 10 turnovers — seven interceptions and three fumble recoveries. But the Huskers missed out on a couple of interceptions Saturday when the ball went through defensive backs’ hands.
“The opportunities aren’t always going to be there, so you have to make the most of them when they come,” Pelini said.
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