STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 6:00 pm
Nebraska sophomore I-back Marlon Lucky considered transferring at the end of the 2006 season, according to his former high school coach.
However, Lucky no longer has such thoughts, Brad Ratcliffe said Wednesday.
“He talked to Coach (Bill) Callahan last week, and Callahan gave him some good answers,” Ratcliffe said. “If Callahan hadn’t given him good answers, he would’ve been gone.”
Lucky never asked for a release from his scholarship.
“It never got that far,” the coach said.
Lucky’s guardian, Wayne Padden of Los Angeles, said the I-back now looks forward to the 2007 season.
“His future is laid out in front of him,” Padden said.
Lucky, a native of North Hollywood, Calif., finished the 2006 season as Nebraska’s second-leading rusher with 728 yards (5.2 per carry). He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. However, the 6-foot, 210-pound speedster felt frustration in part because of a back injury suffered midway through the season, Ratcliffe said.
Lucky, who could not be reached for comment, had started the season’s first five games before giving way to junior Brandon Jackson.
What’s more, Lucky was troubled when Nebraska assistant coach John Blake took a similar position at North Carolina as the Huskers prepared for their Jan. 1 Cotton Bowl loss to Auburn. Blake recruited Lucky out of North Hollywood High School.
“Coach Blake was kind of like a security blanket for Marlon,” Ratcliffe said.
Lucky started the bowl game and carried 25 times for 88 yards and caught six passes for 67 yards. He had received the majority of practice repetitions throughout December as Jackson recovered from a broken hand suffered in the Dec. 2 Big 12 Championship Game.
Jackson last week announced he was forgoing his final season at Nebraska to enter the NFL Draft, leaving Lucky as the leading candidate to earn the starting role. Lucky is participating in winter conditioning while two other Husker I-backs — Cody Glenn (foot) and Kenny Wilson (knee) — sit out with injuries.
Congdon to USC?
Former Nebraska kicker Jordan Congdon met with Southern California coach Pete Carroll on Monday and is considering transferring to the school, said Congdon’s mother, Gayla.
Carroll told the Los Angeles Daily News: “He’s deciding about transferring and giving us strong consideration. He’s trying to get into school as a walk-on.”
Congdon, a San Diego native, left Nebraska following this season because of family issues.
“My husband and I brought him home — we made that decision,” Gayla Congdon said Wednesday. “We’re just trying to get him accepted in a school so we can give him hope for his future.”
USC’s only current kicker is junior David Buehler following the death of Mario Danelo and academic ineligibility of Troy Van Blarcom. But Congdon would need to redshirt next season and have two years of eligibility remaining.
Congdon was a first-team freshman All-American in 2005, when he made 19 of 23 field goals for NU. He was 5-of-7 this season.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.