Husker Dan

News from Huskerland

These ladies just don't quit

I'm not sure whether I was more excited Saturday night that the Huskers had just beaten the second-ranked 27-1 Texas Longhorn volleyball team or that John Cook's team was headed to another Volleyball Final Four.

In what will go down as one of the greatest wins in Husker volleyball history, Nebraska "out teamed" the vaunted Longhorns 3-1 in Texas' own crib. And they did it in front of a very hostile, pro-Texas crowd of over 5,000 fans.

There were a couple of times when a set was on the line the Husker ladies could have blinked. But they didn't.

In fact, they seemed to find another gear to shift into. What made the win even more remarkable was through most of the game, Cook put three freshmen in the lineup at the same time. Ally Batenhorst (Houston, Texas native), "Never Lousy" Lindsay Krause (Papillion, NE) and "Mighty Mouse" Lexi Rodriguez (Sterling, Illinois - all 5' 5" of her) proved to be unstoppable Saturday night.

The Huskers played with poise, tenacity and a resolve that said to Texas "not tonight - not on our watch."

What many fans noticed was the joy with which the Huskers played. They were loving the moment. Loving the challenge. And loving each other.

Texas didn't seem to be having fun. Maybe they knew what was coming. The ladies came out of the chute with an attitude that said to Texas, "This ain't your night. We're coming for you. And we're not leaving until we break down your Burnt Orange door."

Very impressive, ladies.

Next up for the Huskers is a 30-3 Pittsburgh Panthers team from the Atlantic Coast Conference. Two of Pittsburgh's three losses this season have been by a 32-0 Louisville team which is another ACC team in the Final Four.

The Huskers and Panthers will meet Thursday at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN in Columbus, Ohio. The winner of that game will meet Saturday night for a chance to play for a national championship against the winner of the Louisville-Wisconsin match.

Good luck, ladies, and keep "out teaming" your opponents.

Dylan Mostek: Another Danny Woodhead?

If you haven't been following Nebraska high school football recently, you may not know the name of Dylan Mostek.

For the record, Dylan is a senior RB/OLB for the Class B champion Bennington Badgers. All Mostek did this season was rush for 3,089 yards for a 9.6 average, run for 44 TDs (most rushing TDs in all of Nebraska high schools) and average 237.6 yards per game rushing.

Defenses knew what he could do, but nobody was able to stop him. Dylan has great vision and balance and enough speed to leave defenders in the dust.

This year, the 5' 10" 195 pound Dylan was also voted MaxPreps Nebraska High School Football Player of the Year. With a resume like Mostek's, you might think he'd have a lot of FCS and even some FBS schools in hot pursuit. But such is not the case. As far as I know, the only offer he has thus far is from Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska.

I'm not an expert, but it seems to me that Dylan is every bit the player North Platte running back Danny Woodhead was when he graduated from North Platte High School. As we know, Woodhead was ignored by most schools and ended up playing for Chadron State College (NE) . Danny went on to play in the NFL for the Jets, Patriots (Super Bowl champs), San Diego Chargers and Baltimore Ravens.

Is Dylan going to be the next Danny Woodhead? Coaches: Don't miss out on Mostek.

Jay Norvell

Former Husker offensive coordinator Jay Norvell ('04-07) just accepted the head coaching position at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO.

He's a class guy who for the past five years has been the head coach at Nevada where his Wolfpack team compiled a 33-26 record. Nevada is playing in the Quick Lane Bowl on Monday, December 27th against Western Michigan.

Good luck next year and go Rams!

Adrian Martinez

Recently, I pointed out that former Husker QB Adrian Martinez, who just entered the transfer portal, will have two years to play one full year. That's true. But some of you (and you know who you are) doubted that fact.

Why? Because Martinez never redshirted. He would still have a redshirt year to go with his extra COVID year of eligibility. That would give him two years to play one year. Another reader wisely pointed out that the redshirt year would give Martinez an additional four games of eligibility. Based on a 12-game season, Martinez would be able to play at least another 16 games.