STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Wednesday, April 27, 2005 7:00 pm
The team is 0-3 this year and has dropped 10 straight games dating to last season. Crowds no longer stream into Pershing Center in droves; it's more like a trickle. Perhaps a former Husker standout can energize the moribund Lincoln Capitols indoor football franchise.
Derek Brown, who rushed for 2,699 yards as a Nebraska I-back from 1990-92, has practiced this week with the Capitols and is set to start at tailback Friday when they face the 4-1 River City (Mo.) Rage at Pershing.
Lincoln head coach Pat Schaben said Brown's presence might draw people who are otherwise uninterested in the Capitols.
"I don't know why you wouldn't want to see one of the better running backs to ever play for Nebraska," Schaben said. "I know I'm looking forward to it."
The 5-foot-9, 190-pound Brown was a fourth-round draft pick of the NFL New Orleans Saints in 1993 and spent five seasons with the franchise, rushing 388 times for 1,383 yards (3.6 yards per carry) and six touchdowns.
"You have to respect a guy who played in the NFL," Schaben said. "There aren't many players who can say they've been there and been there for that long. The leadership he brings will help us a ton. Our guys, knowing where Derek's been, automatically look up to him."
A native of La Habra, Calif., Brown was part of the famous "We-backs" at Nebraska, sharing time at I-back with Calvin Jones.
Brown rushed for 375 yards as a freshman in 1990 as the Huskers finished with a 9-3 record; for 1,313 yards in 1991 as NU went 9-2-1; and for 1,011 yards as a junior for a 9-3 squad. He skipped his senior season and declared for the draft.
He couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday night.
Lincoln offensive coordinator Trever Whiting said the 34-year-old Brown ran well in practice Tuesday night. Neither Whiting nor Schaben was concerned about Brown being ready physically for game action.
"Oh, geez, he's a specimen," Whiting said. "He was as smooth as I remember him being in college."
Schaben said he and Brown had for the last three weeks discussed the possibility of Brown playing for the Capitols, a fourth-year National Indoor Football League franchise. Brown works as a guard at the state penitentiary, Schaben said.
"It's nothing I pushed him into," Schaben said. "He's old enough to figure out on his own if playing for us was something he wanted to do."
With Lincoln running back John Hall sidelined indefinitely after undergoing arthroscopic surgery last week, Brown joins the team at an opportune time, Whiting said.
"Derek told me, I'm not here to take anyone's job; I'm just here to help the team,' " Whiting said. "I could see him playing every down. Every down at tailback? I don't know about that, because I don't want to limit him. He could play receiver, too."
Lincoln ranks 19th in the 22-team NIFL with its average of 27 points per game, while River City leads the league with a 60.6 ppg average. The Capitols' offense, though, will have a drastically different look this week.
In addition to Brown, Lincoln will feature a new quarterback and two new receivers, Whiting said.
The quarterback, Marlin McKinney, started the season with the Lubbock (Texas) Gunslingers and also has played professionally in Germany. He'll be the sixth quarterback the Capitols have used this season.
The new receivers, Michael Carrawell and Kameer Jordan, are veterans of the arena game, Whiting said.
Brown, though, is probably the player fans will come to see Friday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
"The people who really follow Nebraska football and know what Derek's done they'll be interested," Whiting said. "Those who don't follow the Huskers closely may not remember him.
"But I sure hope it generates some interest."
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.