Ines Sainz Returns To DXP (and the Super Bowl)

Back by popular demand and a few bribes, I give you more Ines Sainz. Hot off the presses (and from a few stolen cameras) are some new Super Bowl pictures.

Here she is giving John Salley an interview...



Here she is telling John Salley the restraining order says 10 feet...



Here she is giving Tony Siragusa an interview...



Here she is telling Tony Siragusa that food erotica is a major turn off...



And finally here is this gem from Terrell Owens' Philadelphia days back in the Super Bowl of February '05 vs. the Patrtiots...



Total douche bag.

Trev Alberts Is Sacking Blogs

I have always thought that Trev was the best college football analyst I have seen on ESPN - regardless of our Husker bias. Kirk Herbstreit is considered the face of college football right now in the broadcast world. Ask yourself this. Who is better television - Alberts or Herbstreit? Alberts or Lou Holtz? Alberts or Mark May? Actually, the best of the bunch might be 'fake' Lou Holtz giving a Nebraska/USC pep talk here - hilarious. After Trev was fired for not showing up to ESPN one Sunday morning, he has disappeared into anonymity from the college football world. Until now.

Trev fires back at great blog everydayshouldbesaturday (EDSBS) after he was ripped apart.

Here he is.... The Trevvie, front and center!!!



Nicely done. What next? SNL? The Tonight Show? KFAB?

A Run on Walk-ons

Today we got word that current UNO and former Papillion-La Vista High School QB Steve Heiman is leaving the Mavs to join Nebraska as a walk-on. Heiman joins a growing list of players overlooked by Callahan and Co. that have decided to return to Nebraska as a walk-on. Previously former Lincoln East quarterback Jim Ebke and former Fremont wide receiver Matt Donahue also gave up scholarships at their respective schools to walk-on at NU. Ebke was playing for Division I-AA South Dakota State, while Donahue was a “Fighting Frankie Solich” at Ohio.

While I’m not one to blame the demise of the Huskers completely on a supposed lack of walk-ons under the previous regime, these are important additions nonetheless. Never underestimate the importance of these homegrown Huskers and the pride they have for playing for Nebraska.

As Heiman notes:

"A lot went into it. It was a very tough decision, very hard to leave UNO," Heiman said. "But then it came down to a personal thing. It's always been a dream of mine to play for Nebraska. I didn't want to be sitting here 10 years down the road going, 'What if? What if?'"

These are the guys that push the starters everyday for any chance to contribute. The guys that get bruised and bloodied on special teams for the opportunity to perhaps wind up in the box score. These are also the guys that stand up in team meetings and remind them of the meaning associated with the “N” on their helmets, as Thomas Rice did after the team’s 41-6 loss to Missouri.

“I got up and said, ‘I don’t know if you guys realize this, but there are a million-and-a-half people who care about this program. And they want to see you do well, ” Rice said, describing his heartfelt speech to teammates.

“A lot of people within this state live and die with this program. They’d give so much to be a part of it, and they want so much for us to do well.”

That’s really the bottom line. The whole “I play for Nebraska” schtick is supposed to be more than a cheesy tagline. It was meant to be a STATE of mind. A constant reminder of 1.7 million people who ache over every dropped pass and cringe at every blowout loss.

Thankfully the new group of walk-ons seem to have an intimate understanding of this.

Coach Osborne told us himself if you're a five-star recruit or a recruited walk-on, no one is different," [2008 walk-on Omaha Bryan's Jeremy Wallace] said. "You make your name on the field. I know I'm going in there with a chip on my shoulder.

"Whoever is in front of me, even though I may be a walk-on, I'm coming for that spot."

He said he's not going to Nebraska "just to be at Nebraska."

"I'm going to Nebraska to play," Wallace said. "As walk-ons, we are the core of the program. Our work ethic is going to determine how the other players work."

Viva La Walk-ons!

This and That

Just some random thoughts on a few things related to Nebraska football.

· First, I’m ecstatic we held onto Shawn Watson for the meantime. I’m excited to see what he can do with some of the talent I think we have on the offensive side of the ball. One thing that sticks out to me is how much he has talked up our offensive line in recent months. I hope to maybe take a closer look at some of his offenses at Colorado before the season starts.

· Nebraska also scored its first big recruiting win of the Pelini era by regaining the commitment of Will Compton over Illinois and Mizzou (sorry BigHead). We needed linebackers in this class and Compton could potentially see the field early if he lives up to the hype.

· This weekend the Huskers bring in another big group of recruits for official visits.

The list of guys, per Scout.com, set to visit:
S Jordan Makovicka (East Butler)
WR LaRon Byrd (Boutte, La.)
ATH Kyler Reed (Overland Park, Kan.)
OL Ricky Henry (North Dakota St. Coll. of Science)
OL Brian Thorson (Millard North)
OL/DL Baker Steinkuhler (Lincoln Southwest)
ATH Courtney Osborne (Garland, Texas)
WR Steven Osborne (Garland, Texas)
ATH Prentiss Waggner (Clinton, La.)
WR Antonio Bell (Daytona Beach, Fla.)
WR Kenny Stafford (Columbus, Ohio)

I’d love to get both guys from Louisiana and all of the WR prospects look pretty legit (especially the film on Kenny Stafford…why the crummy offer list?). Another guy to watch out of the group is Courtney Osborne – he also has some pretty impressive film floating around there.

· Slightly unrelated but have any of you been watching the Senior Bowl practices on the NFL Network? I had a lot of time on my hands this week and I watched almost all of the coverage. I was really fascinated by it all, especially the verbiage and techniques the NFL coaching staffs throw at the guys. Talk about an adjustment.

· I have a new favorite assistant coach – Mike Ekeler. The guy showed up for the coaches’ in home visit with Will Compton with a semi-permanent tattoo of Will’s name on his body. Ekeler’s energy levels are also said to rival those of Will “Boom Motherf*cker” Muschamp.

That’s all for now.

Crisis Averted...For Now

The LJS cites the ever present "sources" in noting that Shawn Watson will turn down Nick Saban and stick around Lincoln.

"Alabama head coach Nick Saban sought to have Watson fly there Tuesday, but Watson declined the invitation and said he was planning to remain as NU’s offensive coordinator, according to one source.

According to another source close to Watson, the coach received an offer for the Alabama job on Monday night.

Watson did not immediately return phone messages left Tuesday."

So we can all relax...or can we?

"This may not be the last offer Watson has to weigh. There are several teams interested in Watson’s services, said the source close to the coach, including at least one NFL team."

Any chance this "source" might be Watson's agent? At any rate, we need to lock this guy up.

Watson to Alabama?

This is not good news at all.

The Alabama Rivals site is reporting that Shawn Watson will interview for the open Offensive Coordinator position at Alabama. This is bad for several reasons. First, Watson is crucial to maintaining some continuity in the offense under Pelini. Secondly, this is a pretty important time in terms of recruiting. Even rumors of coaching departures can have huge ramifications this late in the game.

Some how, some way, Texas and Mack Brown are going to perhaps find a way to f*ck us on this one. Remember it was Major Applewhite's return to Austin that opened up the job under Saban.

And to think I just got my Mack Brown for President T-shirt a couple of weeks ago for birthday.

Finally...

I had the last of my interviews today, so that ridiculous process is finally over. They seemed to go really well overall, but it's tough to really know what they're looking for. Now I sit back and wait to find out where I end up. Unfortunately that won't happen until Match Day on February 25th. So in the meantime, I hope to be able to devote some more time to DXP.

Speaking of which the J.E.T.S - Jets, Jets, Jets hired you know who as their running game coordinator(?). I have no idea what they saw in Callahan's stretch play right, stretch play left rushing attack, but I wish them all the best.

Lucky Returns

After much speculation, Marlon Lucky will apparently return for his senior season in 2008. This is huge news for Nebraska fans and I have to admit that I'm surprised by the move. I certainly think it was the correct decision by Lucky, but with rampant reports of Lucky's unhappiness in Lincoln, I wrongly assumed he would quickly bolt for the NFL.

Lucky was perhaps swayed by the impressive list of junior running backs that had already declared for the NFL Draft:

Jamaal Charles, Texas
James Davis, Clemson
Felix Jones, Arkansas
Darren McFadden, Arkansas
Rashard Mendenhall, Illinois
Ray Rice, Rutgers
Steve Slaton, West Virginia
Kevin Smith, Central Florida
Jonathan Stewart, Oregon.

But whatever the reason, Nebraska fans need to celebrate Lucky's return. Although many have argued he's failed to live up to expectations (myself included), he has put up some impressive numbers when given the chance.

Marlon broke the 1000 yard mark rushing the ball a year ago and also put up over 700 yards receiving. In addition, Lucky finished 2nd in the Big 12 and 13th nationally with 143.7 yards from scrimmage per game in 2007. In all Lucky averaged 6.1 yards per play and an impressive 11.75 yards per touch on 3rd down. That’s a pretty money stat right there and gives Nebraska’s offense a lot to build on in 2008. Now we'll just wait and see how Shawn Watson plans to use Lucky next season.

I, For One, Am Shocked...

Not that Pelini was "allegedly" out drinkin' on Bourbon Street (Cheers!), but that he's actually an Indians fan. He's clearly gone off the reservation in this photo.

Anyway, the picture is definitely making the rounds.

Huskerpedians seem convinced it is Photochopped with their opinion summed up nicely by poster davidadurNU:

"i think it is fake, the face is too big and if you look the edging of the face and neckline is not smooth and are different colors. If you look on the right of the face, the person in the photo's left ear, you can see clearly that this is not the original face of the person in the photo. Also the way the chin of the person is almost touching the shirt does not make sense in the photo. If a person has their head turned then the shirt would not be that close to the chin, nor would the shirt have no folds in it. The original IMO was looking forward and not at the camera.

Also look at the shadow. If the wall is that far behind the person in the photo, then the shadow should not be a direct left drop shadow. It should be lower as the angle of the camera is down and it would not be as strong of a shadow as the wall is so far behind them. This is a basic example of a drop shadow photo manipulation with smoothness added to the edges.

IMO not bo. Its bo's face, yes."

I don't know, that's quite the analysis, but in the end, who cares? Dr. Tom? Mary Pat?

If legit, Pelini joins the likes of Larry Eustachy, Mike Price, and obviously Frank Solich as founding members of the Drunken Coaches Association of America.

In other news Bob Devaney just rolled over in his grave...and smiled.

BlogPoll Final Ballot

Rank Team Delta
1 LSU
2 Georgia
3 Southern Cal
4 Missouri
5 Ohio State
6 Kansas
7 West Virginia
8 Oklahoma
9 Virginia Tech
10 Texas
11 Boston College
12 Tennessee
13 Arizona State
14 Auburn
15 Florida
16 Brigham Young
17 Cincinnati
18 Michigan
19 Illinois
20 Clemson
21 Texas Tech
22 Oregon
23 Wisconsin
24 Penn State
25 Hawaii

I have to admit that I'm at least partially responsible for the low television ratings this year's bowl games produced. However, like the average AP voter not watching the games won't prevent me from submitting a ballot. Have at it folks.

Bo Gets a QB

Nebraska has apparently replaced one-time committ Blaine Gabbert with QB Kody Spano of Stephenville, TX.

"He [Spano] is a dual-threat quarterback who, despite being hampered by a shoulder injury his senior year, still threw for 2,263 yards and 23 touchdowns.

Spano was originally committed to Oklahoma State, and was expecting to report for the spring semester, but was told by coach Mike Gundy that a scholarship wouldn't be available then."

I don't know much about Spano. From the videos I watched on either Rivals or Scout he appears to have a decent arm and some escapability. I understand Shawn Watson preferred Spano to Sean Renfree, another QB the Huskers were considering, which is a good enough endorsement for me.

Google Highlights on Spano:

High praise from September of 2006:

The guy who coached Jevan Snead before Mack Brown, Greg Davis, et. al. took over -- Stephenville's Chad Morris -- just said something that kinda shocked me, to tell the truth.

He said Snead's replacement at Stephenville, junior Kody Spano (6-2, 200, 4.6), is better at this stage of his career than where Jevan was. And Jevan, mind you, threw for over 3,000 yards and 29 TDs as a junior.

"He has the opportunity to be the next great quarterback at Stephenville," Morris told me.

You can also check out a heap of Stephenville highlight videos here.

I'll have more on Spano in my annual Signing Day Extravaganza, but thought I would just say something about a decommit working in our favor for once this year.

Big 12 Coaches South Park Style

No doubt my favorite two are Dan Hawkins and Mike Gundy.

(Thanks again Davy Jones)

Apologies

I promise to start posting again soon. I have 7 interviews over the next few weeks that will ultimately decide where I live and work next year. So due to those schedule constraints and the fact that Nebraska doesn't even have a head coach on campus right now, things will likely be slow around here for a while.

Sammy Vegas and T. Rose feel free to pick up the slack if you can tear yourself away from this compelling, but Husker-less bowl season.