LINCOLN — Bo Pelini will be one busy football coach on Friday.
And it's not just Pelini. A long shift appears on tap for his entire staff — 13 hours minimum — as Nebraska hosts Football 202 for its most zealous fans and a Junior Day for a group of prospects.
They're just getting ready for the grind of a long season to come.
Pelini will talk for an hour in the morning as part of the crash course in all things NU football. The nine-hour Football 202 is billed as a behind-the-scenes look at schemes, game-planning and opponent preparation.
The second-year head coach will then participate throughout the afternoon and evening events with a group of 24 soon-to-be seniors and juniors set to visit campus for a six-hour stay. The Junior Day is Nebraska's third of the offseason, following successful similar events in February and April.
Jeff Jamrog, NU assistant athletic director for football, said the visitors include a high percentage of scholarship-caliber prospects. They come from Nebraska, Texas, California, Missouri, Oklahoma and Minnesota.
Some of the high school players, like quarterback Tyler Gabbert of Ballwin, Mo., have visited before.
“You get them multiple times and their chances of coming to Nebraska increase,” Jamrog said. “There are others where this is their first time. And it's good for them, too, to get Nebraska on their radar before the season starts.”
Gabbert is among five players to have given the Huskers his commitment to sign a letter of intent next February. For him, this Junior Day is more about reaching out to potential future teammates like Marquise Hill.
Hill, a top athlete from St. Louis, has pledged to Missouri but is scheduled to attend this Junior Day in Lincoln.
“I've seen everything in terms of the facilities,” Gabbert said. “I've met with the coaches numerous times, so for me it's more a time to talk to the other committed players and the recruits who still need to be convinced.”
The Junior Day schedule includes a briefing by recruiting coordinator Ted Gilmore, followed by Pelini's introduction of the staff and presentations from Nebraska's academics and life skills departments.
The prospects will tour the weight room, athletic training room, locker room and the Hawks Center. They'll hear from coordinators Shawn Watson and Carl Pelini, plus all the other assistants in position meetings.
NU will show a video on the tradition of its program and stage a discussion panel of current players. After dinner, the prospects get to hang out in the Osborne Complex players' lounge and play video games for a couple hours.
“I want to see all the stuff again and see where we're at with (recruiting),” said rising senior Tyler Evans of Waverly, Neb. “And getting to meet all the other guys, that's something I'm really looking forward to.”
Jamrog said he expects the prospects to especially enjoy a presentation by first-year nutritionist Josh Hingst. Hingst, an NU graduate, returned to Lincoln after working last year for the Atlanta Falcons. He also served a stint at Florida State.
“Our players have really bought into what he's trying to do,” Jamrog said. “We're hitting nutrition hard, where maybe in the past we didn't get to that level.”
As for Football 202, it's a full day, too, featuring time with all the coaches, former quarterback Tommie Frazier, another players' panel and a sure-to-be anticipated final segment directed by ex-Husker assistants Charlie McBride, Milt Tenopir and Dan Young.
Preseason camp may seem like a breeze after all that. It starts when the 105-player roster reports for duty a week from today and the first practice follows the next day, Aug. 8.
• NOTE: Walk-on I-back Jordan Makovicka is leaving Nebraska. He's considering a transfer to Creighton, where he may play baseball. Makovicka redshirted last year in his first season at NU. Brother Justin Makovicka transferred this year from Nebraska to the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Their older brothers, Jeff and Joel, rose to prominence as walk-on fullbacks at NU in the 1990s.
Contact the writer:
402-473-9587, mitch.sherman@owh.com
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