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| | Wednesday, September 15 Starting I-back Evans quits at Nebraska | |||||
| LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska's offense got a surprising overhaul Tuesday, just two games into the season.
Quarterback Bobby Newcombe is switching to wingback. His backup, Eric Crouch, takes over. And frustrated running back DeAngelo Evans
has quit the team.
"It's probably been the toughest couple of weeks, maybe months,
of coaching for me," said second-year coach Frank Solich, who has
had two players leave the team now with the departure of Evans.
Newcombe, who is returning to the position he played two years
ago as a freshman, won the quarterback job in the preseason, but
hasn't been as effective as Crouch, who leads the Huskers in
touchdowns.
Dan Alexander replaces Evans, who is quitting football just two
games into his junior season because of injuries and a slow start
this year. Evans plans to remain in Lincoln and finish school,
Solich said.
The changes are surprising for a team that has outscored
opponents 87-7 this year and is tied with Florida at No. 4 in the
AP Top 25.
"Those days are going to come along. You ask your players just
to work through things and you do that as a coach also," Solich
said. "We're moving forward. I feel comfortable about things."
Solich, who has fielded questions about his quarterback rotation
since announcing it two weeks ago, hopes to put the controversy to
rest before Nebraska gets to the tougher games on its schedule.
The loss of Evans, thought to be Nebraska's next great running
back before he was slowed by injuries, shocked the Cornhuskers and
Solich. The injuries, which kept Evans out of all but three games
last year, and the poor start this season upset him to the point
where he no longer wanted to play, Solich said.
"It's certainly difficult for this football team," Solich
said. "You never want to have a player, for whatever reason, not
be able to finish out the season or finish out his career at your
school."
Evans and Solich met over the weekend, and the player's mind
"seemed to be pretty well made up when we talked," Solich said.
"In general it really came down to the role he was playing."
Nebraska defeated California 45-0 on Saturday, but Evans
finished with five yards on six carries as the Bears virtually shut
down the pitch on the Cornhuskers' option plays.
"He's battled back, he's in position to get some things done
and really didn't have the opportunity to do it," Solich said.
"On a normal day, when we run as many options as we did in that
game, the I-back will end up with the football on numerous
occasions and will have an opportunity for some big plays and a lot
of yards. That did not happen in that ball game."
Evans was unavailable for comment. He didn't attend Tuesday's
news conference and no one answered the telephone at his home.
Alexander, who leads Nebraska with 121 yards on 21 carries, will
take over as the starting tailback on Saturday against Southern
Mississippi, with Correll Buckhalter, thought to be leaving the
team a week ago over a lack of playing time, at No. 2.
"The first time I heard the rumor I didn't believe it,"
Alexander said of Evans' departure. "It's surprising, but at the
same time there's nothing we can do about it as a team. That's
DeAngelo's decision."
Evans' decision was the latest turmoil for the Cornhuskers.
Backup quarterback Jay Runty transferred to NCAA Division II
Nebraska-Omaha after Solich announced the preseason depth chart.
Before the Iowa game, Crouch was rumored to be leaving, though he
and Solich said that, while the quarterback was disappointed not be
the starter, he hadn't considered quitting the team.
Last week Buckhalter, who had just three carries in a 42-7
blowout at Iowa in the season opener, was a no-show at practice for
three days. Buckhalter said Tuesday he was frustrated by the lack
of playing time, but also hadn't planned to leave school.
Buckhalter was suspended for the Cal game, but will be back on
Saturday.
The 5-foot-10, 215-pound Evans was considered a top prospect out
of high school in Wichita, Kan., where he surpassed many of fellow
Wichita native Barry Sanders' rushing records.
After running for 776 yards and 14 touchdowns as a freshman in
1996, Evans sparked hope among Huskers fans that he would put up
numbers comparable to such former greats as Mike Rozier and Roger
Craig. A pelvic injury sidelined Evans in 1997, and last year he
had knee surgery before the season and played in just three games,
finishing with 227 yards on 38 carries.
| ALSO SEE Newcombe says his heart still at quarterback
Crouch raises game as 'Huskers pound Cal
College football Top 25 overview
AUDIO/VIDEO   Nebraska coach Frank Solich says this is a difficult situation for everyone.wav: 129 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 | |||||
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