LINCOLN — All Dejon Gomes heard was his number Thursday night, so he instinctively ran out onto the field.

He didn't have time to think. There was no pep talk, no last-minute review of the team's game plan.

All of a sudden, Gomes was getting exactly the kind of meaningful, mid-game chance that he's coveted since joining the Huskers last spring. He couldn't waste it.

“I've been waiting since I got here,” Gomes said. “(I've) continued to work hard, kept my head up. And my opportunity came. I tried to make the best of it.”

Gomes did just that.

He finished Nebraska's 27-12 win over Missouri with five tackles, including one behind the line of scrimmage, and one very important interception. Gomes nearly scored on the return, but three plays later, the offense punched it in.

It's a good thing for Gomes that he took advantage. The way things are going in the NU secondary these days, players don't have much margin for error. If you're not performing, the coaches aren't hesitating to call on one of several capable reserves.

Take junior Anthony West. He started Nebraska's first four games, but was pulled in the middle of the Louisiana-Lafayette contest in favor of sophomore Alfonzo Dennard. West played sparingly and Dennard started Thursday.

Against the Tigers, Gomes was the obvious beneficiary of a increasingly competitive defensive backfield.

Secondary coach Marvin Sanders said Lance Thorell didn't necessarily do anything wrong against the Tigers Thursday. Thorell had been Nebraska's primary dime back, the fourth cornerback in that pass-oriented defensive formation.

But Sanders wanted to get Gomes some playing time, and Gomes played too well for Sanders to take him out.

“I was real pleased just with how he stepped up,” Sanders said. “He had a great week of practice and he's been improving every week in this system.”

Gomes practiced with the team this spring after spending two seasons at City College of San Francisco. But through four games this season, he'd barely played. And by no means did he enter a game at a point like Thursday night.

Nebraska had six defensive backs on the field for much of the rain-soaked matchup with the pass-happy Tigers. The Huskers will likely have a similar plan when they host Texas Tech on Saturday. They want to match speed with speed.

Gomes didn't start the game, but by the third Missouri drive, he was tackling Wes Kemp for a 2-yard loss. He played the rest of the way. And he's hoping he did enough to earn more opportunities.

“I had an idea that I'd make it in,” Gomes said. “(I thought) we'd rotate a little bit, since they ran so much four-receiver offense. I had no idea that I would play that much.”

Contact the writer:

402-473-9585, jon.nyatawa@owh.com

« Sports - Big Red Today

Share