Huskers Survive Two Practices in High Temps on Friday

Lincoln -- The Huskers had practice in full pads on Friday morning inside Memorial Stadium, then cut back to sweats for a 1 1/2 hour special teams practice in the afternoon on the grass fields. The temperatures rose dramatically on Friday, and Head Coach Frank Solich said that was evident in today's workouts.

"A few Huskers will be held out of tomorrow's closed scrimmage," Solich said, 'There won't be very many missing." Le Kevin Smith, Trevor Johnson and Jason Lohr, however, will not scrimmage as they have missed the last few practices. Solich said the scrimmage will consist of 72 plays and will begin at 2:30 p.m.

Solich said the afternoon special team's practice went well. "We had a shorter practice this afternoon and concentrated on special teams. We will have an early meeting and then give them the evening off."

Four Current Huskers to Graduate on Saturday
Four Huskers on the 2003 team will receive their diplomas on Saturday. The list includes defensive backs Pat Ricketts, Jerrell Pippens, linebacker Chad Buller and quarterback Jammal Lord. Earlier in the day, Lord was contemplating delaying his graduation until December, because he didn't think his mother, Claudia, was going to be able to make it to Lincoln this weekend. Her flight was canceled because of the power outages in the New Jersey area. Jammal and Coach Solich found out after practice interviews, that she did indeed secure a flight, and Jammal will participate in tomorrow's ceremony (see separate release).

'Tomorrow is a big day for several of our players,' Solich said. Pat, Chad, Jerrell and Jammal will all graduate, giving us a total of nine players on the team who will play with a degree in hand. We are very proud of their accomplishments.'

Sewell Named to Rimington Trophy Watch List
University of Nebraska center Josh Sewell was tabbed as one of 38 members of the Dave Rimington Trophy Watch List released Friday. The 6-2, 300-pound senior from Lincoln Southeast was a backup to two-year starter John Garrison at the position a year ago and recorded 11 pancakes in five contests. A former walk-on who transferred from Indiana State, Sewell was a finalist for Lifter of the Year this past spring. He will attempt to become the second Husker winner in the award's four-year history, following inaugural winner Dominic Raiola in 2000.

The Rimington Trophy recipient is determined by a consensus of the four All-America teams: The Walter Camp Football Foundation, America Football Coaches Association, Football Writers Association of America, and the Sporting News. The 2003 Rimington Award will be presented on Saturday, Dec. 13.

2003 Rimington Award Watch List

Name

School

Year

Will Allen

Texas

Sophomore

Todd Bachert

Washington

Senior

Kevin Bailey

Virginia

Senior

Jason Brown

North Carolina

Junior

Ben Buie

Oklahoma State

Junior

Vince Carter

Oklahoma

Junior

David Castillo

Florida State

Junior

Ryan Cook

New Mexico

Sophomore

Mike Degory

Florida

Sophomore

Dan Doughty

Arkansas

Senior

Mark Dreyer

Colorado State

Senior

Greg Eslinger

Minnesota

Sophomore

Todd Ghilani

Northern Illinois

Senior

Jake Grove

Virginia Tech

Senior

Rex Hadnot

Houston

Senior

Blake Jones

Mississippi State

Senior

Norm Katnick

Southern California

Senior

Dan Koons

Louisville

Junior

Nick Leckey

Kansas State

Senior

Danny Lindsey

Auburn

Junior

Matt Martinez

Idaho

Senior

Brian Ottney

Michigan State

Senior

Dave Pearson

Michigan

Senior

Hugh Reilly

Georgia Tech

Senior

A.J. Ricker

Missouri

Senior

Joel Rodriguez

Miami

Junior

Nick Romeo

Syracuse

Senior

Kyle Schmitt

Maryland

Junior

Nick Seitze

Kentucky

Senior

Josh Sewell

Nebraska

Senior

Josh Shneyderov

Cincinnati

Senior

Alex Stepanovich

Ohio State

Senior

Ben Stephens

Rice

Senior

Russ Tanner

Georgia

Sophomore

Dan Weaver

Oregon

Senior

Scott Wells

Tennessee

Senior

Doug White

East Carolina

Senior

Ben Wilkerson

LSU

Junior