LINCOLN — Nebraska football coach Bo Pelini doesn't know Steve Sarkisian, but he has been monitoring the Washington coach over the years.
So Pelini was prepared when Washington Athletic Director Scott Woodward called in 2008 to ask his opinion of Sarkisian.
Woodward and Pelini, both former LSU employees, have been friends for some time. Woodward told the Seattle Times that he would have considered hiring Pelini had Nebraska not made its coaching change after the 2007 season.
Instead, Woodward was thinking about bringing on Sarkisian, who at the time was the offensive coordinator at USC under Pete Carroll. So Woodward called Pelini for his thoughts.
“I said he's a good football coach,” Pelini said. “I've watched his work. … I see what he does, and I know he's a pretty outstanding coach.”
Pelini was the linebackers coach for three years in New England under Carroll.
Reserve lineman suffers injury
Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Jesse Coffey suffered a severe foot injury and will miss six to eight months, Pelini said Thursday.
Coffey, a reserve from Denton, Texas, wasn't listed on the player participation charts for either the Western Kentucky or Idaho games.
Neither was Marcel Jones, the junior right tackle who was expected to be named the starter at the beginning of the season. But Jones hasn't played because of an aching back. He could be out again Saturday.
“He has good days and bad days,” Pelini said. “Right now, he's doing good. We'll see how it goes.”
Pregame routine remains same
Pelini said Nebraska's pregame routine will stay the same for its first trip of the season.
The Huskers will still conduct a final walk-through in Lincoln before departing late Friday morning for Seattle. They'll have meetings Friday, too.
They won't visit Husky Stadium until Saturday.
“We just treat it the same way we would in a home game,” Pelini said.
Big nonleague games common for UW
Welcoming a big-name, highly ranked opponent into Husky Stadium has been the early season theme for Washington lately.
Last year, the Huskies hosted No. 11 LSU in their season opener. They lost that game but beat No. 3 USC two weeks later.
Washington also played No. 3 Oklahoma in Seattle in 2008 and faced No. 10 Ohio State in 2007. The Huskies lost those games.
The players have learned from those games, senior quarterback Jake Locker said. So they should know what to expect Saturday.
“There are a lot of guys on this football team that have seen a lot of talented football teams come in here,” Locker said. “It won't be the first time. It's not going to be new to anybody. It's not going to be overwhelming.”
— Jon Nyatawa
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
RSS Feeds