Cassidy: Nebraska kids 'heart and soul' of program
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BY BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star
OMAHA -- Tim Cassidy apparently drew the long straw, getting his turn to speak at the Big Red Breakfast following a 42-point Husker victory.
Sure beats trying to explain a five-touchdown loss to Missouri or Kansas.
Speaking for almost 35 minutes, Nebraska’s associate athletic director for football praised the perseverance of several seniors and stressed the importance of making Nebraska kids a central part of the program.
“The heart and soul of our football team is always going to be made up of Nebraska kids,” Cassidy said. “We’re always going to have the sprinklings of Joe Ganzes, the Marlon Luckys. But when it gets down to the nitty-gritty, when the times get tough, these are the guys that are really the heart of your football team.”
The Husker program has seen its share of tough times this season. Nebraska takes a 5-6 record into Friday’s game against Colorado and many are under the belief that Coach Bill Callahan will be fired come Saturday.
A Husker win puts them in a bowl game. A loss gives the program its second losing season in four years. Prior to 2004, Nebraska hadn’t had a losing season since 1961.
“Imagine your disappointment," Cassidy said of this season. "Multiply that by about 100 times for the coaches.”
Cassidy urged the fans in attendance to stay supportive of the team even in these uncertain times. He said he has received more encouraging words from people this season than he has negative comments.
“Some of this stuff gets blown up about a few fans,” Cassidy said. “But overall, I think we have great fans, fans that are really passionate about football. I’d rather be at Nebraska rather than some place where people didn’t even care.”
The anger of fans has seemed to die down the last couple weeks as they wait to see what will happen to Callahan and staff. Nebraska broke a five-game losing skid on Nov. 10 with a feel-good 73-31 win over Kansas State on Senior Day at Memorial Stadium.
Since then, things have been mostly quiet, in part because Callahan shut out the media from post-practice interviews with players and coaches. On Saturday, interim athletic director Tom Osborne will meet with Callahan and his coaches to discuss the state of the program.
Cassidy said he didn’t want to make excuses for this season, but did note to the crowd that four of the six defeats – Kansas, Missouri, Texas and Southern Cal – came to teams ranked in the top 12.
“The losses, we’re not accustomed to losing six games at the University of Nebraska, nor do we want to ever be accustomed to losing six games at the University of Nebraska. But those were tough losses, to be honest," he said.
The season certainly didn’t go as planned for 29 Husker seniors, but Cassidy still paid some of them tribute in his talk.
He said he’s been particularly impressed with quarterback Sam Keller, who had his season end prematurely when he broke his collarbone against Texas. Since Joe Ganz has taken over as the starter, Cassidy said, “Sam’s been his biggest cheerleader as could be. He goes to all the meetings with Joe.”
Cassidy also praised the maturation of receiver Maurice Purify. He said the senior, who had a tough year off the field and was supsended for the season opener, had grown a lot as a young man this year.
Before being introduced on Senior Day, Purify told Callahan and Cassidy, “Thanks for giving me a second chance.”
Said Cassidy: “I told my wife, no matter what else happens while I’m at the University of Nebraska, that makes it worth it.”
Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7439 or bchristopherson@journalstar.com.
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