Steven M. Sipple: Husker drama in NFL Draft
Please excuse some unabashed cheering for Bo Ruud.
It’s easy to cheer for him because he often was a prime target for frustrated Nebraska football fans, however unfair their jabs.
It’s easy to cheer for him because he kept showing up and doing his job without complaint.
It’s easy to cheer Ruud’s good fortune in last weekend’s NFL Draft because we’re smart enough to understand that the annual two-day affair can become a gut-wrenching period for those who must wait and wait for a call that never comes.
Sam Keller was still waiting Monday, hopeful of a free-agent deal.
“But it doesn’t look too good right now,” the former Nebraska quarterback said.
It’s no wonder the NFL Draft attracts a large television audience and more ESPN analysts than I care to count. It’s gripping drama, to be sure. Wild mood swings all around. In Nebraska’s case alone, there was the utter euphoria of Ruud going in the sixth round to the New England Patriots, which stood in stark contrast to the unmistakable hurt and confusion in the voices of Keller and Maurice Purify, the gifted ex-Husker wide receiver who also was bypassed.
Perhaps that pain makes you better appreciate the success stories.
“I have a smile on my face,” said Tom Ruud of Lincoln, whose son Bo joins brother Barrett (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) in the NFL. “Having two boys in the league at the same time is a really special deal and pretty hard to comprehend because I know how hard it is to get there.”
Tom Ruud, a first-round pick of the Buffalo Bills in 1975, played linebacker in the NFL for five seasons. So he understands that this is only the first step for Bo. The euphoria is nice, if somewhat premature.
“Bo still has to make the team,” Tom Ruud said. “He’ll have to earn his way.”
But, yes, the elder Ruud has taken a peek at New England’s 2008 schedule. Good news for papa: The Patriots and Buccaneers play a preseason game in Tampa, Fla.
“I’ll be at that one, I can tell you that right now,” Tom Ruud said.
Bo Ruud joins a New England team that uses a 3-4 defense. Five of the Patriots’ top linebackers are at least 30 years old — Tedy Bruschi (34), Larry Izzo (33), Mike Vrabel (32), T.J. Slaughter (31) and Adalius Thomas (30).
New England selected two linebackers in the first three rounds Saturday — Jerod Mayo of Tennessee in the first and Shawn Crable of Michigan in the third.
So, yes, Bo Ruud will have to battle hard for a roster spot. But he brings good size (6-foot-4, 235 pounds) and speed (he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.51 seconds at Nebraska’s pro day). His bloodlines aren’t too bad, either.
He could end up playing either inside linebacker or outside linebacker.
“For an outside guy in a 3-4, you’re typically looking for somebody who can drop (into coverage), kind of a hybrid guy, a tweener defensive end/linebacker,” said Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini, a close friend of the Ruud family.
“If they start him inside, what they’re typically looking for is a guy who’s a little bit bigger, who’s kind of physical, someone who can play some two-gap — take on linemen — because you’re usually head-up on a guard; you’re not covered up by a down lineman.”
Bo Ruud will have to be physical and intelligent. The thing is, he’s getting his big chance.
What Keller would do for a big chance.
What Purify would do to erase his well-documented off-the-field issues.
“I talked to every single team after the draft,” said Gary Glick, Purify’s agent. “I don’t want to say it’s off-the-field problems, because it’s more like off-the-field perceptions. Each individual thing that’s happened, in itself, is really minor. But I think people have added it all up and taken it in totality. I had four teams tell me they took him off their (draft) board altogether.”
I talked to Purify on Monday. Although he appears set to sign a free-agent deal (he’s headed to Cincinnati’s mini-camp this week), he was feeling hurt. He recalled that November day in Kansas, when he kept beating KU cornerback Aqib Talib, a first-round pick.
“If he’s first-round, what am I?” Purify asked in a stern voice that hammered home the draft’s harsh reality.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
It’s easy to cheer for him because he often was a prime target for frustrated Nebraska football fans, however unfair their jabs.
It’s easy to cheer for him because he kept showing up and doing his job without complaint.
It’s easy to cheer Ruud’s good fortune in last weekend’s NFL Draft because we’re smart enough to understand that the annual two-day affair can become a gut-wrenching period for those who must wait and wait for a call that never comes.
Sam Keller was still waiting Monday, hopeful of a free-agent deal.
“But it doesn’t look too good right now,” the former Nebraska quarterback said.
It’s no wonder the NFL Draft attracts a large television audience and more ESPN analysts than I care to count. It’s gripping drama, to be sure. Wild mood swings all around. In Nebraska’s case alone, there was the utter euphoria of Ruud going in the sixth round to the New England Patriots, which stood in stark contrast to the unmistakable hurt and confusion in the voices of Keller and Maurice Purify, the gifted ex-Husker wide receiver who also was bypassed.
Perhaps that pain makes you better appreciate the success stories.
“I have a smile on my face,” said Tom Ruud of Lincoln, whose son Bo joins brother Barrett (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) in the NFL. “Having two boys in the league at the same time is a really special deal and pretty hard to comprehend because I know how hard it is to get there.”
Tom Ruud, a first-round pick of the Buffalo Bills in 1975, played linebacker in the NFL for five seasons. So he understands that this is only the first step for Bo. The euphoria is nice, if somewhat premature.
“Bo still has to make the team,” Tom Ruud said. “He’ll have to earn his way.”
But, yes, the elder Ruud has taken a peek at New England’s 2008 schedule. Good news for papa: The Patriots and Buccaneers play a preseason game in Tampa, Fla.
“I’ll be at that one, I can tell you that right now,” Tom Ruud said.
Bo Ruud joins a New England team that uses a 3-4 defense. Five of the Patriots’ top linebackers are at least 30 years old — Tedy Bruschi (34), Larry Izzo (33), Mike Vrabel (32), T.J. Slaughter (31) and Adalius Thomas (30).
New England selected two linebackers in the first three rounds Saturday — Jerod Mayo of Tennessee in the first and Shawn Crable of Michigan in the third.
So, yes, Bo Ruud will have to battle hard for a roster spot. But he brings good size (6-foot-4, 235 pounds) and speed (he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.51 seconds at Nebraska’s pro day). His bloodlines aren’t too bad, either.
He could end up playing either inside linebacker or outside linebacker.
“For an outside guy in a 3-4, you’re typically looking for somebody who can drop (into coverage), kind of a hybrid guy, a tweener defensive end/linebacker,” said Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini, a close friend of the Ruud family.
“If they start him inside, what they’re typically looking for is a guy who’s a little bit bigger, who’s kind of physical, someone who can play some two-gap — take on linemen — because you’re usually head-up on a guard; you’re not covered up by a down lineman.”
Bo Ruud will have to be physical and intelligent. The thing is, he’s getting his big chance.
What Keller would do for a big chance.
What Purify would do to erase his well-documented off-the-field issues.
“I talked to every single team after the draft,” said Gary Glick, Purify’s agent. “I don’t want to say it’s off-the-field problems, because it’s more like off-the-field perceptions. Each individual thing that’s happened, in itself, is really minor. But I think people have added it all up and taken it in totality. I had four teams tell me they took him off their (draft) board altogether.”
I talked to Purify on Monday. Although he appears set to sign a free-agent deal (he’s headed to Cincinnati’s mini-camp this week), he was feeling hurt. He recalled that November day in Kansas, when he kept beating KU cornerback Aqib Talib, a first-round pick.
“If he’s first-round, what am I?” Purify asked in a stern voice that hammered home the draft’s harsh reality.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
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