LINCOLN — Jacob Hickman already had the wife, the full beard, the longevity on campus and the way he could stand with reporters and do interviews like a 10-year NFL veteran.

Then came the topper Sunday.

Hurting from a bruise that spanned an incredibly large stretch of his right side, the Nebraska center was using a cane to get around the Husker football complex.

A cane.

“That one really exploded it,'' Hickman said.

Yes, the underclassmen might look at Hickman a little differently, starting with the way he carries himself like an assistant coach on the field. The senior has taken all the ribbing for being an old man, although he points out that Tyrone Fahie is 27, Matt O'Hanlon is 24 and married and Andy Christensen has been around the NU program a year longer.

So he's going to fight it.

“I'm still only 23,'' Hickman says. “It's not like I'm 40.

“It's a façade of maturity that I try to put on. In this kind of setting I try to be mature and I put on the right kind of face, but get me in a room with just the guys and give me a couple of cat toys and I'll be fine. I've got the attention span of a 4-year-old, so it's pretty easy for me to be entertained.''

The bottom line is that Hickman has been a huge part of things for a long time, going back to starting one game and playing in four others the last time Nebraska won a Big 12 North title (2006). Over the last four seasons, the 6-foot-4, 290-pounder from Bakersfield, Calif., has started 33 games and appeared in 40.

“He's like all of our dads, basically,'' NU junior Mike Smith said of Hickman's role on the offensive line. “It seems like he's been here for 10 years.''

With that comes the fact that Hickman will play only once more at Memorial Stadium, and it's hard for such reality to sink in. Twelve other seniors will be in uniform when Kansas State visits Saturday night.

The hip and two bum ankles have taken some of the enjoyment out of his final season, but Hickman has been around long enough to know that it goes with the territory.

“It's just, what, the 10th game of the season now?'' he said. “That's just the nature of it. Last year I had knees or neck or whatever it might have been. This year it's been the hip or ankle.

“There are times where I can't quite do the things we were doing on day one, but you've got to try to just play on what you've got left and help the team out.''

It's hard to measure what Hickman already has given the program. The compliments that have rolled in this week help tell some of the story.

Senior defensive tackle and Outland Trophy candidate Ndamukong Suh said going against Hickman has made a huge impact on his development. Husker offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said Hickman has meant a lot to him as they've worked closely over the last three years.

“I'll miss Jake a lot,'' Watson said. “If he ever wanted to be a coach, he'd be a great coach.''

He has been the glue on the offensive line. A mentor to backup center Mike Caputo.

“Jake's a great player and he just knows a lot about what's going on,'' Caputo said. “He sees a lot of things before they happen. So it's been really good to learn from him, really from the mental side more than anything.''

Caputo and Smith said they see Hickman outside of football, even though Smith kids that his wife, Savannah, “keeps him under wraps a lot.'' Hickman said his wife even likes to hang out with the guys, but draws the line with Sundays.

Hickman isn't much different than some of his teammates when it comes to things like playing video games in his free time — when he can.

“I was joking with Smitty (Smith) because the new ‘Call of Duty' is out and everything, but I can't play it until she goes to sleep,'' Hickman said. “I'm still a little kid, but I've got to pretend like I'm grown up.''

When it's time for Hickman to move on the Huskers are going to notice.

“He's everything you could ask for in a leader,'' Smith said. “We're going to need somebody to be exactly like he was this year.''

Contact the writer:

444-1042, rich.kaipust@owh.com

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