Tuesday
9 a.m.: Missouri
9:45 a.m.: Baylor
10:30 a.m.: Kansas
11:15 a.m.: Oklahoma
Wednesday
9 a.m.: Kansas State
9:45 a.m.: Texas Tech
10:30 a.m.: Colorado
11:15 a.m.: Texas
IRVING, Texas — Ndamukong Suh monitored the NFL draft last April to look for former teammates. Not once, he said, did he take time to ponder where he might have belonged among the top prospects.
The Husker nose tackle said he does not speculate.
He won't second-guess his offseason decision to stay at Nebraska, to spend one final year absorbing the tutelage of Bo Pelini and the NU staff. Never mind his ever-changing draft stock.
“I'm not into that,” he told reporters Monday at the Big 12 media days. “It's not a huge thing for me, (thinking) ‘Oh, that could possibly be me.' If it is, it is. If it's not, it's not. I'm going to keep working.”
Of course, the national perception of Suh has been rather positive ever since the 6-foot-4, 300-pounder from Portland, Ore., pulled his name from draft consideration.
He's the Big 12's preseason defensive player of the year and a candidate for the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Award. He could be the first Nebraska defensive lineman since 1997 to earn All-America honors. Many NFL analysts have him as a top 10 pick for 2010.
As for 2009, Suh said, the goal is just to get better.
He missed spring practice in 2008, so he's spent barely a year on the field with defensive line coaches Carl Pelini and John Papuchis. They've urged him to stop relying just on his physical abilities, but to focus on the position's technical elements.
The coaches' advice has paid off, Suh said.
“In this day and age with everybody being freaks, (being) just as strong as you, you've got to get back to fundamentals,” Suh said. “That's the biggest thing I've learned.”
He says he has room to grow, even after a productive junior season — 76 total tackles, 7.5 sacks and 19 tackles for loss.
Bo Pelini won't disagree with that, although the NU coach says he never tried to persuade Suh to wait on the NFL.
“I think he realized that he could use another year of college. Most kids can,” Pelini said. “Even the ones that choose to come out, and even the ones that have success in the NFL. Another year can always help you.”
Obviously, Nebraska will benefit, too.
Suh demands attention in the middle of the line, and he's never an easy player to control, according to Nebraska center Jacob Hickman. Opposing offensive lines will have their hands full, like Hickman does every day in practice.
“He's big, strong and fast,” Hickman said, “and you combine that with some athleticism, which he definitely has, it really makes him pretty tough to play against.”
Nebraska's opponents will likely share Hickman's opinions this fall. Pelini said he thinks Suh has a big year ahead of him. And by April, Pelini doubts that Suh's choice to stay in Lincoln will be a relevant topic.
“He's a tremendous football player,” Pelini said. “I think that he'll be a high draft pick in the NFL because he has all the tools to get it done at the next level.”
Contact the writer:
402-473-9585, jon.nyatawa@owh.com
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