Dorn leads NU into Big 12 opener
Johnny Dorn is pitching like he’s worried his strength coach and trainer will send him back to the swimming pool.
Never mind that the water workouts Dorn endured inside the Osborne Athletic Complex last summer have been a key component to him looking better than ever on the mound.
“I’m horrible,” Dorn said of his swimming stroke. “I didn’t want anybody seeing how bad I was, (so I’d) wait until 9 o’clock right before it closes and nobody’s in there.”
This spring, the senior from Grand Island has had no qualms about showing off his right arm. Maybe that’s because it appears even more powerful than when he burst on the scene three years ago as a freshman and went 12-2 with a 2.16 earned-run average.
For sure, Dorn has undergone a major transformation from last year, when he went 10-3 despite his ERA ballooning to 5.23.
More than his current 2-0 record and 1.35 ERA, or opponents’ .149 batting average, what’s drawing attention is largely a product of Dorn’s swimming regimen. He’s gained enough strength to increase the velocity of his fastball by six to seven miles an hour. He’ll showcase that improvement today when NU opens Big 12 Conference play with a 4 p.m. game at Kansas State.
For Dorn, it’ll likely lead to a night-and-day change come June.
“I had a scout tell me last year they saw him at 84 (mph), 85 — and you just don’t draft a guy at 84, 85 that’s right-handed,” said NU’s first-year pitching coach Eric Newman, who’s seen Dorn reach 92 mph. “If he’s 90, 91, he’s draftable.
“But I’m really proud of Johnny. He’s just really adopted everything we’ve tried to do. He’s taken to it and he loves it.”
Of course, it’s easy to try different approaches when you know that the book scouts have on you is that you’re a good college pitcher — but nothing more.
Understandably, Dorn, whose 33 career wins are the most of any active collegian, wears a huge chip on his shoulder over that perception.
“Obviously, I had a bad year. I didn’t help myself any, so I had a pretty good idea what was going to go on,” Dorn said of being bypassed in last year’s major-league draft. But “that was a big motivator.”
“I’ve got a little sheet in my closet that says, ‘1,453 people selected ahead of you.’ I’ve got it on my little alarm for the morning, too. Open the phone and that’s what you see.”
For now, Dorn’s main focus is to help a young team contend in the Big 12 and get in position to produce in the postseason. However, given the fact he’s struck out 29 (including a career-high 13 in his last outing) and walked just five in 20 innings, Dorn must sense that he’s changing the opinions of many pro scouts.
“You get a senior pitcher who’s been through the Big 12, most of the time they’re doing things right,” said NU coach Mike Anderson, who marvels at how Dorn set the table to this season.
“It’s been the conditioning ... and then making a commitment to these guys to say, ‘This team, we’re going to do things in a different way (with) the work habits.’ Beyond a shadow of a doubt, that’s the most impressive thing to me.”
Asked if anything has differentiated his starts in 2008 from the past, Dorn cites increased aggressiveness.
“I think sometimes I can get in my own head just by trying to do too many things, and (now) I’m just throwing it up there with all I’ve got and seeing what they can do with it,” he said.
There also is the matter of not being chosen to pitch in Nebraska’s season opener at Stanford — never mind that Dorn did pitch the second game of that doubleheader.
“Shoot, freshman year I kept trying to work up toward that Friday night spot, and for the fourth year not getting it kind of (ticks) you off a little bit more,” he said.
Newman practically blushed when he heard Dorn’s take on that topic, but then laughed.
“I coached Lance Broadway, who was a first-round pick (based) on his competitiveness,” Newman said of a player who was the 14th overall choice in 2005. “Lance and Johnny have got to be the two best competitors I’ve ever coached.
“(Johnny’s) been outstanding. He’s shown that he can handle pitching in that first game of a weekend, that he’s going to compete really hard, throw all his pitches for strikes, move the ball in and out — just execute over and over again, which is what it’s all about.”
Briefly
* Sophomore outfielder Clay Cuno will miss the rest of the season because of a shoulder injury that requires surgery. Cuno, who appeared in just three games and was 0-for-5, will be eligible for a medical hardship.
* Because of expected inclement weather in Manhattan, Kan., today’s game at KSU has been moved from 6:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or kmckeever@journalstar.com.
Never mind that the water workouts Dorn endured inside the Osborne Athletic Complex last summer have been a key component to him looking better than ever on the mound.
“I’m horrible,” Dorn said of his swimming stroke. “I didn’t want anybody seeing how bad I was, (so I’d) wait until 9 o’clock right before it closes and nobody’s in there.”
This spring, the senior from Grand Island has had no qualms about showing off his right arm. Maybe that’s because it appears even more powerful than when he burst on the scene three years ago as a freshman and went 12-2 with a 2.16 earned-run average.
For sure, Dorn has undergone a major transformation from last year, when he went 10-3 despite his ERA ballooning to 5.23.
More than his current 2-0 record and 1.35 ERA, or opponents’ .149 batting average, what’s drawing attention is largely a product of Dorn’s swimming regimen. He’s gained enough strength to increase the velocity of his fastball by six to seven miles an hour. He’ll showcase that improvement today when NU opens Big 12 Conference play with a 4 p.m. game at Kansas State.
For Dorn, it’ll likely lead to a night-and-day change come June.
“I had a scout tell me last year they saw him at 84 (mph), 85 — and you just don’t draft a guy at 84, 85 that’s right-handed,” said NU’s first-year pitching coach Eric Newman, who’s seen Dorn reach 92 mph. “If he’s 90, 91, he’s draftable.
“But I’m really proud of Johnny. He’s just really adopted everything we’ve tried to do. He’s taken to it and he loves it.”
Of course, it’s easy to try different approaches when you know that the book scouts have on you is that you’re a good college pitcher — but nothing more.
Understandably, Dorn, whose 33 career wins are the most of any active collegian, wears a huge chip on his shoulder over that perception.
“Obviously, I had a bad year. I didn’t help myself any, so I had a pretty good idea what was going to go on,” Dorn said of being bypassed in last year’s major-league draft. But “that was a big motivator.”
“I’ve got a little sheet in my closet that says, ‘1,453 people selected ahead of you.’ I’ve got it on my little alarm for the morning, too. Open the phone and that’s what you see.”
For now, Dorn’s main focus is to help a young team contend in the Big 12 and get in position to produce in the postseason. However, given the fact he’s struck out 29 (including a career-high 13 in his last outing) and walked just five in 20 innings, Dorn must sense that he’s changing the opinions of many pro scouts.
“You get a senior pitcher who’s been through the Big 12, most of the time they’re doing things right,” said NU coach Mike Anderson, who marvels at how Dorn set the table to this season.
“It’s been the conditioning ... and then making a commitment to these guys to say, ‘This team, we’re going to do things in a different way (with) the work habits.’ Beyond a shadow of a doubt, that’s the most impressive thing to me.”
Asked if anything has differentiated his starts in 2008 from the past, Dorn cites increased aggressiveness.
“I think sometimes I can get in my own head just by trying to do too many things, and (now) I’m just throwing it up there with all I’ve got and seeing what they can do with it,” he said.
There also is the matter of not being chosen to pitch in Nebraska’s season opener at Stanford — never mind that Dorn did pitch the second game of that doubleheader.
“Shoot, freshman year I kept trying to work up toward that Friday night spot, and for the fourth year not getting it kind of (ticks) you off a little bit more,” he said.
Newman practically blushed when he heard Dorn’s take on that topic, but then laughed.
“I coached Lance Broadway, who was a first-round pick (based) on his competitiveness,” Newman said of a player who was the 14th overall choice in 2005. “Lance and Johnny have got to be the two best competitors I’ve ever coached.
“(Johnny’s) been outstanding. He’s shown that he can handle pitching in that first game of a weekend, that he’s going to compete really hard, throw all his pitches for strikes, move the ball in and out — just execute over and over again, which is what it’s all about.”
Briefly
* Sophomore outfielder Clay Cuno will miss the rest of the season because of a shoulder injury that requires surgery. Cuno, who appeared in just three games and was 0-for-5, will be eligible for a medical hardship.
* Because of expected inclement weather in Manhattan, Kan., today’s game at KSU has been moved from 6:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or kmckeever@journalstar.com.
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