• Rex Burkhead at the midweek press conference:



LINCOLN — One play cannot define Rex Burkhead. Or can it?

Flash back to Friday. The fourth-quarter clock ticked under 13 minutes at Folsom Field as Nebraska held a 21-14 lead over Colorado.

Three NU possessions since halftime had covered 31 yards. Colorado had gained more than four times that much, scored a touchdown and missed two field goals.

Momentum was escaping the Husker sideline. And on second-and-5 from the 25-yard line, Burkhead slipped out of his stance as he lunged to take a handoff from Zac Lee. The freshman I-back regained his footing but took hold of the football too far to his left to properly execute the designed counter.

Burkhead's eyes darted quickly toward a hole. The cutback lane had not closed.

His heavily taped feet — the right one recently healed from a fracture of the long, thin bone on the outside that connects to the little toe — moved even faster.

Burkhead slid through to the second level. He ran straight north, no dancing. One little move made a defender miss. Burkhead hit another. He pushed forward, low to the ground, driving behind that 200-pound frame. Another defender joined the ride.

Fifteen yards past the line of scrimmage, he fell forward to the grass.

“He's truly the definition of a player,” Nebraska offensive coordinator Shawn Watson said. “That's him.”

Burkhead carried another eight times on the drive for 40 yards, scoring from 7 yards with 6:52 left to put the Huskers on top 28-14.

But he made his mark on those first 15. Colorado began to backpedal. The play changed momentum. Burkhead didn't panic. He stuck to his assignment, even when it veered slightly off course.

And he won the battle — because, well, that's usually what Rex Burkhead does.

“If you play with fear,” he said five days later, “then you're going to struggle.”

Burkhead returns home with the Huskers on Saturday. The former high school superhero of Plano, Texas, figures to play a key role for Nebraska in the Big 12 championship game against third-ranked Texas at Cowboys Stadium.

The homecoming arrives just after Burkhead displayed the biggest dose yet of his potential on the collegiate level.

He flashed a few signs of unusual readiness in the first month of the season but went down with the fracture of the fifth metatarsal bone on Oct. 12 in practice.

Burkhead returned to practice after less than six weeks — earlier than expected — and 10 days later came off the bench to rush for a career-best 100 yards on 18 carries in the regular-season finale against Colorado.

“I haven't got that many carries since high school,” Burkhead said. “I kind of got into a rhythm. It felt good.”

The more Burkhead is reminded of his days in high school, the better Nebraska should feel about its chances to run the ball against Texas' No. 1-ranked rushing defense.

Burkhead, dating to his freshman year at Plano High in 2005, earned his reputation as a big-game star.

He played more often than he could recall at the old home of the Dallas Cowboys in Irving, typically against the 5A powers of Metroplex — the Longhorns of Texas high school football, if you will.

And he rarely disappointed.

“It was weird,” said NU running backs coach Tim Beck, who helped recruit Burkhead, “because anywhere you went, people knew who he was. And that was unique. There were always great players. And certainly if you were in south Dallas, people knew the south Dallas kids.

“If you were up in Plano, people knew the Plano kids. But he was a guy that, anywhere you went, people would talk about what a great football player he was.”

Even Nebraska coach Bo Pelini, by nature slow to glorify a 19-year-old who's run for just 235 yards and two touchdowns, can't hold back on Burkhead.

“He's tough. He's a leader,” Pelini said. “He exemplifies all the characteristics that I want in football players that come into this program.”

Burkhead's performance on the fourth-quarter drive at CU did not surprise the second-year coach.

“I think that's just who he is,” Pelini said. “He's a pretty special young man, and we knew that when we recruited him.”

Watson describes Burkhead as “clutch.” The freshman is “hungry,” said starting I-back Roy Helu, who didn't mind sitting as Burkhead took over last week late in the game.

According to Beck, Burkhead's instincts set him apart. Whatever he does on the field, he's decisive.

“Whether it's the right read or not, in his mind it's the right read,” Beck said. “So he plays it that way.”

Burkhead shrugs off the praise. He appears at a loss when asked for his feelings about the name by which many in the Dallas area know him, “Superman.”

“It's all right, I guess,” Burkhead said. “I don't know.”

For Burkhead, it's all about football. He's not even interested in making a statement for Texas, which showed recruiting interest last year but never offered him a scholarship.

“We know it's a big-time game at a big-time place,” he said. “We're just trying to stay focused and motivated this week in practice.”

And then?

“Really,” he said, “you just go out there and play.”

Contact the writer:

402-444-1031, mitch.sherman@owh.com

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