Bad news keeps rolling in for Husker Nation. Thursday, Khiry Cooper was selected with the 169th pick in this year’s MLB draft. Cooper is a standout center fielder for his high school team, and helped lead them to their second straight state baseball championship this year. Khiry possesses all the tools a major league team desires, as he is very athletic, smart, and has high moral character. 

According to his high school coach, Rodney Traweek, the opportunity is almost too good to pass up.

 He’ll talk with the Angels’ organization and see if they can get things worked out as far as what the plan is for him money-wise and when they might expect to be in the big leagues. He’ll look at all of that for sure to see if he can get close to what he wants. And if he does, I’d say chase the dream and play major-league baseball. But if he doesn’t, he knows he has a really good thing waiting him in Nebraska, too.

I wish nothing but the best for Khiry. After listening to some of his interviews, you can tell this is a special kid and NU would be honored to have him put on the Scarlet and Cream. But the fact is this is money sitting on the table with the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream. If it was me, I would take the money and the chance to play professional baseball. He literally could have a 20 year career awaiting him. And for some reason if it didn’t work out, he could always come back to college and play football. Good Luck Khiry!

Joel Mackovicka scoring against Akron in 1997

Lincoln Journal Star reminds us that Loserhan never once called a play for the fullback last year. I guarantee you that’s about to change. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if our first play against Western Michigan is a run up the gut.

Brandon Vogel of Hi-Plains Drifter is a Nebraskan living in Bahstin. As such, he encounters two types of people—people who have never met someone from Nebraska and people who want to talk football.

This basic fact of Vogel’s life led him to ask the vital questions. Like:

What is the societal value of Nebraska football?

He wants to hear from other Huskers residing outside the state.

So transplants, what have you found the cultural currency of Nebraska football to be? Is Nebraska still a fond memory of that crushing ground attack of the 90s or is it one of the fallen kings mentioned on The Big Lead?

I left a comment on his site. Here’s what it says: I live in South Carolina, near the Georgia border. People ’round here love ‘em some college football. Go Dawgs. Go ‘Cocks. Go Tigers. Georgia Southern is popular too. Anyway, I don’t get much reaction when people learn I’m from Nebraska. I think we could change that by playing better teams in Sept. Let’s play Florida State. Let’s play Clemson. And so on. So people have some first hand experience. So they can grow to love us, or hate us.

Hi-Plains Drifter is working on getting an advance copy of Jason Peter’s book, Hero of the Underground, due out this July.

Here’s Publisher’s Weekly read:

Hero of the Underground: A Memoir
Jason Peter with Tony O’Neill. St. Martin’s, $24.95 (304p) ISBN 978-0-312-37576-8

Peter, a star at the University of Nebraska’s storied football program in the late 1990s and a first-round NFL draft pick, details his short, frenzied life as a drug user and veteran of the treatment center circuit. It started with painkillers in college, which turned into a full-blown addiction as he battled an array of injuries that ended his career by his late 20s. With plenty of money and time available, Peter’s partying escapades eventually led him to freebasing cocaine and turning his upscale New York City apartment into arguably the world’s most expensive heroin retreat, complete with a live-in junkie stripper girlfriend. Avoiding self-help urgings and self-congratulations, Peter (who is now clean) and O’Neill have crafted an unflinching look at the dark side of a life devoted to pleasure. Peter’s recollection of his college glory days is a little overbearing, but the book’s power lies in his honesty in detailing the depths of his despair from seeking the next high. (July)

AJ, the Husker Hater doesn’t think Nebraska will win the Big 12 North this fall.

I’m actually stunned that some of you simply brush off the fact that Tom Osborne destroyed your program (and yes..he did it by recommending Frank Solich and Steve Pederson…don’t kid yourself) 10 years ago…and yet some of you still fight back as if you actually have facts or recent history on your side.

I mean, it’s mind boggling to think that ANYONE who actually witnessed the events of last year can be so full of passion and confidence…..it simply defies logic and explanation. Just when I think you’re ready to settle into your new role as rebuilding underdogs…I see case after case of delirious fandom gone horribly wrong.

According to this ESPN poll, 78% of Nebraska residents do think a title is within reach. Where are you on this? Can we win our division?

Coming on the heels of yesterday’s news about Sam Keller, it’s nice to see the good news about Maurice Purify.

According to his agent Gary Glick, Eureka High graduate and former Nebraska wide receiver Maurice Purify is expected to sign a contract with the Cincinnati Bengals this week.

Purify, who became an undrafted free agent when he was not selected during the NFL Draft April 26 and 27, was invited to rookie mini-camps with the Bengals over the weekend, where, according to Glick, he performed well.

“The chances are excellent that he’s going to sign with Cincinnati this week,” Glick said. “Right now we’re just working out some of the details with the contract.”

According to Glick, Purify was tested thoroughly in all areas, and passed with flying colors.

“Overall they said he did a really good job,” Glick said. “They said he ran his routes well, he caught the ball and looked sharp. They also interviewed him extensively about these off-the-field things, and they loved his responses. They liked the guy that he is, and they said he represented himself well.”

Lincoln Journal Star’s Steve Sipple produced a great piece on Sam Keller and his troubles making headway in the NFL. I was never a Keller fan, but this is a touching piece with a moral not just for him, but for everyone to reflect upon.

Keller said several NFL teams asked him about an incident in March of 2007 in which he allegedly threw a paper cup at a woman’s car after she beat him to a parking spot on campus. Charges were eventually dropped. It’s almost embarrassing for me to bring up the matter at this point, except to illustrate that these seemingly minor incidents can be harmful to players on draft day.

“Teams really thought I threw a whole cup of coffee on the girl,” Keller said as he packed for his trip to Tampa.

As for his football:

“I was just surprised with how much teams didn’t like me,” Keller said earlier this week. “I was surprised with how much I heard that teams don’t like my (throwing) release. They continued to question the Arizona State situation no matter what I said. …

“Character and release. It just kept coming back that teams didn’t like those things about me. It’s just something I continue to have to battle.”

On the pressures of being a star:

“You feel these different emotions,” Keller said. “For me, last weekend was a feeling of being lost and kind of embarrassed. You have these expectations, and you find out other people have expectations for you — your family, friends, people around you. You just kind of feel like you’re out there flopping in the breeze. It’s kind of like, ‘God, I’m so sorry.’ You wish you could have brought more joy to the day.

Perspective is what’s missing from this story. “Flopping in the breeze” is a poor description for someone who has already achieved as much as Keller has. Starting QB at Arizona State and Nebraska is big. Maybe not guaranteed-to-make-the-NFL big, but big nonetheless.

Bo Big Red is getting some love from Cory McCartney of Sports Illustrated.

Spring’s biggest winners and losers

WINNERS

Bo Pelini, Nebraska: Last year it was Nick Saban, but the toast of this spring was unquestionably Pelini. Cornhuskers fans are clamoring for any sign of the program moving in a positive direction following the stagnant Bill Callahan era, which is why a record 80,149 filled Memorial Stadium for the Red-White Game (25,869 more than last year’s spring game).

The verdict? A number of Huskers showed up for spring looking leaner to fit Pelini’s “fast and physical” credo, including I-back Quentin Castille, who has reportedly trimmed 20 pounds. It’s a mold that will bring the speed that was Pelini’s calling card at LSU. The new coach is already making an immediate impact with his players and fans. In April, what more can you really ask for?

Tom Osborne is many things, but Jerry Jones?  The eccentric owner of the Dallas Cowboys, Jones, is filling his defense with players who have a troubled past.  Jason Whitlock of Fox Sports and the Kansas City Star compares Jones to Osborne, who had a way of rehabbing a once lost soul.

Right now, Jones is the Tom Osborne of professional football. Jones believes he can save young men by using football. He turned Terrell Owens into a relatively good teammate. Jones — taking a cue from President Bush — unarmed Tank Johnson of his weapons of mass destruction.

Come on Jason.  Jerry Jones just wants to win football games and Tom Osborne wanted his (troubled) players to win at being the best men they could be, on or off the field.  It really sickens me to this day that Osborne is criticized for helping out Lawrence Phillips.  At the time, he was only ( I don’t mean ”only” like that, so save the letters ) involved in the incident where he roughed up his ( and Scott Frost’s current at the time ) ex-girlfriend.  No one knew what Lawrence would do in the next 13 years, but this incident of the “Osborne Pardon” still was brought up every time LP did something bad.  Comparing TO to JJ is just, in the word made famous by Mike Tyson, LUDICROUS!