LNE's Pensick commits to NU's 2009 recruiting class

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BY STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star

Cole Pensick excelled in an area Friday where teens occasionally fall short.

He made his parents extremely happy.

To be sure, Dan Pensick was thrilled that his son became the first player to verbally commit to Nebraska’s 2009 football recruiting class.

“It’s exciting,” said the elder Pensick, a three-year letterwinner at defensive tackle for Nebraska (1977-79). “To play there and then see your son have that opportunity, it’s great. I just know what’s in front of him. The excitement in the program right now, it’s great to see. We’re in it for the long haul.”

Cole Pensick, a 6-foot-2, 255-pound junior at Lincoln Northeast, was recruited by Nebraska as an interior defensive lineman, or perhaps a center. Although the Huskers were the first major college to offer him a scholarship, he has received plenty of recruiting mail from Kansas, Iowa State, Purdue, Alabama and Stanford — especially Kansas and Purdue, he said.

“I was born here,” Cole Pensick said. “I went and watched Nebraska games when I was 8, 9 years old. I just always wanted to be a Husker. It’s a dream come true.”

Pensick made his commitment to new Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini on Friday during an unofficial campus visit. His family was by his side.

“It’s kind of different from my dad’s time (as a player),” Cole said. “It took until his senior year (at Columbus High) for him to get an offer. He didn’t really have an influence on my decision. I just wanted to be a Husker and carry on the tradition.

“Wherever I chose, he was behind me 100 percent.”

Dan Pensick, however, is thrilled his son gets a chance to play for Pelini. What’s more, Pensick was a college roommate of Barney Cotton, the Huskers’ offensive line coach.

“It doesn’t take long to get excited when you’re around Bo,” Dan Pensick said. “He just carries himself in a way that makes you want to go to battle with him. Charlie McBride had that same fire.”

Playing guard on offense and interior line on defense, Cole Pensick this past season amassed 70 tackles, including eight for losses, as the Rockets finished with a 5-5 record. He has a 21-5 record this season in his first go-round as a prep wrestler.

Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.