STEVEN M. SIPPLE / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Friday, March 24, 2006 6:00 pm
The three young Nebraska I-backs often travel in a pack, although one occasionally drifts off alone.
“I like to be by myself a lot,” Cody Glenn said. That doesn’t mean he considers himself a private person. He said he simply likes to enjoy “a lot of time to myself, just to think about stuff.”
On Glenn’s mind these days is becoming comfortable in Nebraska’s West Coast offense. Because if he feels consistently confident with his assignments, he can better unleash his extreme athleticism. As he puts it, he can “open up and get loose.”
In fact, Glenn said, whoever among Nebraska’s I-backs becomes most comfortable with the mental part of the game likely will become the starter and perhaps separate himself from the pack.
“We’re all good,” said the 6-foot, 225-pound Glenn. “If we weren’t, we wouldn’t be here. Whoever gets the system down and doesn’t have to think as much and just uses their ability” ultimately will seize the advantage.
The three Nebraska sophomore I-backs are friends. They’re also competitors, and they’re competing this spring to establish their roles in a backfield that seems loaded with promise. Marlon Lucky enters with a slight edge over Glenn and Leon Jackson, with an emphasis on “slight.”
Husker coach Bill Callahan, whose team on Friday completed the second day of spring drills, said he’s “very anxious” to evaluate the I-backs in scrimmage situations.
“They’re hard to compare to each other,” Callahan said. “They bring unique features to the game. And the more you work with them during the course of the spring, the more we’re going to find different things about them.
“I’m excited about each and every one of them, because of Cody’s power, because of Marlon’s break-out speed and his cut ability, and of course Leon Jackson’s ability to line up anywhere on the field, whether it’s dotting the I or being in the offset position or being flanked out as a receiver on the perimeter.”
Nebraska, which lost 2005 I-back starter Cory Ross to graduation, will practice in pads today for the first time this spring.
“When we get into pads, it’s going to get a lot more physical,” Glenn said. “You just going to see who wants it more.”
Glenn, of Rusk, Texas, showed his ability to pick up hard-fought yards last season as a short-yardage specialist. Appearing in seven games, he carried 45 times for 132 yards (2.9 per carry) and four touchdowns. He plowed through defenders in third-and-short situations. He moved the pile. Now, he said, he wants to shed the “specialty” tag and become an every-down I-back.
Asked if he was satisfied with his role last season, Glenn said, “I’m not going to say I was satisfied; I would’ve liked to do more. But we had Cory. I mean, as a freshman, just to get on the field and play, I was happy with that.”
Glenn and Lucky both said they struggled at times last season to quickly identify blitzers and block them. In fact, Glenn said picking up the blitz has been the most difficult part of the offense for him to learn.
“I mean, I know how to run,” he said. “That’s how I got here.”
All three of them know how to run. The 6-foot, 210-pound Lucky last season carried 44 times for 129 yards (2.9 per carry) and no touchdowns. He showed glimpses of the ability that made him one of the nation’s most coveted high school prospects in the class of 2005.
Meanwhile, the 6-1, 210-pound Jackson spent most of last season playing a reserve role at safety. He now returns to I-back, the position at which he rushed for 1,745 yards as a senior at Pasco (Wash.) High School, averaging an eyebrow-raising 13.7 yards per carry.
Asked this week if his heart was with playing defense, Jackson said, “Not really. I’m going to say I’m an offensive player. I like having the ball. I want to be a weapon.”
So, let the I-back race begin. Callahan said he wants to see how the sophomores respond in “tight quarters.” The coach wants to see his I-backs pick up “tough yards.” Junior Brandon Jackson, sidelined this spring with an injured shoulder, and junior college transfer Kenny Wilson will join the competition this summer.
“In close quarters it’s imperative that you create an attitude about yourself when you run the football, to get downhill and to puncture and push the pile four or five yards and create those extra yards for your average,” Callahan said.
Glenn understands what’s expected of him. It’s easy to imagine him thinking about his I-back assignments in those quiet moments when he drifts away from Lucky and Jackson.
“I mean, I love those guys, but I’m around them all of the time — you get a little tired of them sometimes,” Glenn said, smiling.
Glenn retains his smile as he discusses his recent trip home to Rusk, where he spent time with family, including 14-month-old daughter Makayla Nikole. By the time he was preparing to head back to Lincoln, Makayla was calling him “daddy.”
“Yeah, it was tough going back (to Lincoln),” Glenn said. “But I know I have stuff to take care of up here.”
Indeed, Glenn’s trying to lock down a starting job.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.