Kevin Dixon's apparent selfishness was offset Monday by Marlon Lucky and Roy Helu Jr.'s obvious selflessness.
Posted: Monday, August 4, 2008 7:00 pm
Kevin Dixon's apparent selfishness was offset Monday by Marlon Lucky and Roy Helu Jr.'s obvious selflessness.
Maybe I'm just a sucker for a feel-good story, a bit of a Pollyanna. At any rate, it seems that tiny "or" separating Lucky and Helu on Nebraska's football depth chart is just swell with the two principals in the Husker I-back race. In fact, Lucky evidently is helping the younger Helu at every turn.
"Marlon and Roy are really good friends," Nebraska quarterback Joe Ganz said during media day Monday, which kicked off the start of preseason camp. "Marlon knows he's not going to get every carry in the fall anyway. In the Big 12, you need at least two running backs. Marlon is going to need a blow. That's where Roy and all of our other running backs come in."
Lucky, the Big 12's leading returning rusher, wasn't surprised by the "or" on the depth chart, nor does he seem bothered by it. In fact, Lucky said, he and Helu push each other constantly. They almost always work out together. They compete in the weight room, devising friendly wagers.
"We're kind of the same person," said Helu, a sophomore. "We're both little kids inside."
That camaraderie between competitors at such a high-profile position could end up helping the entire team as opposed to creating factions. The last thing Nebraska, coming off a miserable 2007 season, needs is infighting. The opponents on the Huskers' 2008 schedule will offer enough resistance, thank you.
For the record, Nebraska's preseason depth chart at I-back reads like this: Lucky "or" Helu, with a slimmed down Quentin Castille listed third. The 6-foot-1 Castille, officially listed at 245 pounds, has dropped to 233, Husker running backs coach Tim Beck said.
As for competition at the position, "You have somebody breathing down your neck every second," said Lucky, who enters his senior year on pace to finish in the school's top five in career rushing, receptions, receiving yards and all-purpose yards.
The kid has matured into quite a player. More importantly, he's become a Grade-A teammate. What's more, he's clearly more comfortable in his skin than he was early on in college. He was poised in front of a mass of media Monday.
Bottom line: Lucky understands that Helu's prowess will only help his own.
"We have to go out there and give it our 'A' game every single day, or we'll be sitting on the bench," Lucky said.
This much seems certain: Nebraska plans to ramp up its running game in 2008. The Huskers want to be more physical in that area than they were last season. That was one of the messages first-year head coach Bo Pelini sent to the players in a team meeting Sunday night, Helu said.
"It was reassuring to hear," said the Danville, Calif., native, who rushed for only 209 yards last season before emerging as a force during spring practice.
Nebraska establishing a clock-chewing ground game makes perfect sense in light of the slew of question marks on defense - indeed, anything to ease pressure on a unit that too often became a punching bag last season.
Now, another body blow.
Dixon's dismissal from the team for violating team rules got the head coach's week off to a disheartening start. The 6-3, 280-pound Dixon, a senior, was being counted on to play a huge role in the interior defensive line, where Nebraska isn't exactly overflowing with talent or experience. Dixon was listed No. 2 on the depth chart at both interior positions. He played well in the spring. But he evidently couldn't walk the line off the field. He put himself before the team.
So, yeah, Bo's reclamation project on defense just got tougher.
And Nebraska's I-back depth (and strong offensive line) just became more important.
"Marlon's obviously a little better than Roy catching the ball out of the backfield," said Ganz, breaking down the front-running I-back duo's strengths. "Marlon's better at those outside zone runs, at being able to see the cutback lane. Roy's more of a downhill runner. He'll run downhill and then make a move five yards downfield. Roy's good running outside, too. But Marlon's got that speed and that ability to put his foot in the ground and head up field.
"The zone read - Marlon's really good at that."
Said Beck, the running backs coach: "They're pretty close. That's what makes it so hard."
It's a great problem to have.
It's also a nice little feel-good story.
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.