LINCOLN — Carl Nicks returned to Nebraska on Wednesday with a Super Bowl watch, a new tattoo and a humble act of contrition.
Nicks met briefly after practice with head coach Bo Pelini, who banned the offensive lineman from the Huskers’ pro day two years ago. It was an unceremonious parting with the program before New Orleans made Nicks a fifth-round draft pick.
Nicks called the NU football office Wednesday and asked if he could come by — and now plans to stay for the spring game Saturday.
“I figured it was about time to put some water on some of those bridges I burned,” Nicks said.
As soon as the 2007 season ended at Colorado — along with Bill Callahan’s reign as head coach — Nicks stopped going to class, which he counts among the “immature stuff I did.” About three months after Pelini replaced Callahan, he cited an arrest and Nicks being a bad example for returning players in barring him from pro day.
Nicks said it wasn’t until he got to New Orleans and talked with former Husker safety Josh Bullocks that he realized that he was in the wrong.
“For about a good three or four months I had blamed Bo for it and I was blaming other people, and at the end of the day, you’ve got to look in the mirror,” Nicks said. “Once I got a little older, played a little professional ball, I realized how good I had it and just how bad I treated everybody.”
Pelini stopped Wednesday to shake hands, talk about the Super Bowl victory and let Nicks say his peace.
“I thought it was real important,” Nicks said, “for me to say, ‘You know what, I made some mistakes in the past, I’m older and wiser, I’m here to apologize and I respect what you’re doing and I respect the decision you made then.’”
Nicks said he is still savoring the Saints’ 31-17 win over Indianapolis and proudly flashed a gaudy watch and a tattoo with Super Bowl XLIV alongside an outline of the state of California on his left bicep.
“I just remember when the clock ended and the confetti came, I almost started crying,” he said. “I really thought about all the stuff I’ve been through in life — and I thought about high school and I really thought about Nebraska — and it really hit me like, ‘Man, I need to go back there and really set things right,’ because I didn’t go out the right way.”
Contact the writer:
444-1042, rich.kaipust@owh.com
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