Nebraska football coach Bo Pelini said he expects junior running back Marlon Lucky to submit his name to a committee that will gauge his stock in the NFL Draft.

“I’m sure he’ll apply. He should apply,” Pelini said of the paperwork involved to start the evaluation process. “Most guys do apply these days, to see where they would go.”

Pelini said he’ll offer Lucky his opinion and put him in contact with the appropriate people to provide expert advice.

After that, Pelini said, the decision is Lucky’s. The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft is Jan. 15.

“I can’t control what he decides,” Pelini said. “We’d love to have him back, and I have my opinions on what he should do, but I’m not the one who makes the final decision. That’s up to the young man.”

What’s Pelini’s opinion?

“That’s between me and him,” he said. “But I do know this: Unless you’re a first-round draft pick, you should come back.”

Lucky ran for 1,019 yards and caught a team-leading 75 passes for 705 yards this season.

Staff decisions

Pelini said Thursday he plans on announcing his coaching staff within a couple of days.

“I’m a phone call away from it being done,” he said.

Putting together a staff, Pelini said, wasn’t difficult.

“It fell right into place. I knew what I was looking for,” he said. “I had a lot of certain things in mind, certain people in mind, in some instances.

“I was able to accomplish exactly what I wanted to get. The guys that I targeted, I got.”

The staff announcement, however, might not be complete with a new strength coach. Dave Kennedy just resigned from that position over the weekend.

“That’s coming very close, too,” Pelini said.

Recruiting approach

Much of Pelini’s first two weeks on the job has involved recruiting. He said the response from recruits has been very positive.

Pelini said he believes recruiting is one of his strengths.

“I’m not a used-car salesman,” he said. “I’m selling a good product. I go in there, and I’m going to tell the truth. I’m going to be who I am and let them know how things are going to be, and how I see it and what we can provide.

“My relationship with players is built on trust, and if I paint a picture that isn’t true, and they arrive on campus and it’s not true, what happens then? I’ve already lost them.”

Contract on hold

Pelini has yet to sign a contract, and it might be until January before he does.

“Honestly,” he said, “I haven’t even had time to deal with it.”

Don’t worry. There’s no cause for alarm. 

“We’ve been on the same page,” Pelini said, referring to interim athletic director Tom Osborne. “I trust him, he trusts me. It’s just dotting the Is and crossing the Ts.”

Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.