LINCOLN — Ricky Henry stands off to the side during most Nebraska spring practices, one of the last reminders of the long and painful season for the Huskers' offensive line last fall.
Henry needed shoulder surgery immediately after the Holiday Bowl, but not until the right guard had played with the ailment for 14 games.
Marcel Jones played hurt. So did Keith Williams. Jacob Hickman was never quite right. The list goes on and on.
But they practiced. And played.
And that's what NU assistant coach Barney Cotton prefers to remember most about 2009: the toughing it out instead of the tough luck.
“I know people kind of got down on them a little bit,” Cotton said Wednesday. “But to be honest with you, I was more pleased with them because nobody backed out. Nobody put their hand up and said, ‘I can't go.' The only reason Marcel didn't go in those last three or four games is because I wouldn't let him go. He was willing.''
Henry is out for spring practice, but the rest have healed. They're back to their old selves, Cotton said, after being conscientious through the winter about rehabbing and recovering.
“James Dobson does a great job of preparing our guys, and they're able to come out here and play hard,'' Cotton said. “And that's what this spring was going to be all about effort.''
Cotton admits that he probably hadn't seen a season quite like 2009. The setbacks came in bunches, both to starters and backups. Instead of asking who was hurt, he'd get a shorter answer by asking who was healthy.
Marcel Jones, who had a bum shoulder before his late-season ankle injury, paused to think about who might have come closest to going through last season at 100 percent.
“That is a good question,'' he said. “I don't know for sure.''
Then the right tackle echoed what Cotton said about a group that took its share of blame for the Huskers' offensive shortcomings.
“We were out there fighting every day,'' Jones said. “It was pretty bad, but we still stuck to it.''
Mike Smith, Hickman and Henry started all 14 games. Jones and Williams, the No. 1 left guard, started 11 apiece. Hickman is the only starter not returning, but the physical toll of last season was part of the reason he decided not to pursue an NFL career.
In addition, Brent Qvale and Jeremiah Sirles each were candidates to play as true freshmen, only to be shelved by their own injury problems.
Maybe it affected practices and hampered development, but Cotton said the staff never used it as a reason to back off.
“If anything, we put the pedal down harder and our guys practiced hard, they practiced fast, they practiced physical,'' he said. “There was no making excuses or whining or complaining. They just went out there and did it.
“Now, sometimes were we very effective? Probably not. But it wasn't because of their lack of want-to or their lack of effort in practice.''
Cotton was discussing the topic Wednesday only because he was asked. He was more interested in steering talk toward what he's seen through the first five spring practices.
The competition is brewing as hoped, and with more and healthier bodies has come the opportunity to fiddle around with lineups, as Cotton said the Huskers did Wednesday.
“A lot of moving around today as far as who was playing with who, but that's good,'' he said. “You want to have some individuals who can play multiple roles, and also guys have got to learn how to play with each other. Five guys don't get to play with each other all year long very often.''
Contact the writer:
444-1042, rich.kaipust@owh.com
Coach Carl Pelini after Wednesday's practice.
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