Waldrop Happy to Be Home

Nebraska offensive tackle Vili Waldrop mapped out his return to Southern California almost from the time he committed to Nebraska on signing day in 1999.

After a two-hour workout at USC on Wednesday, he said he still couldn’t believe he was home for the holidays--and for the Cornhuskers’ game against Miami at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 3.

“I knew the national championship game would eventually be at the Rose Bowl,” said Waldrop, a sophomore who played at Wilmington Banning High. “I thought a lot about coming back here and playing in front of my family. Now, here we are. It’s amazing.”

Waldrop, 6 feet 5 and 330 pounds, was a redshirt his first year in Lincoln. He was a member of special teams and played sparingly at left guard last season. His move into the starting lineup at tackle this season surprised many longtime observers of the Cornhusker program because linemen are traditionally groomed for years.

“In our system, [tackle] is not an easy position to learn,” Nebraska Coach Frank Solich said. “We felt all along that he would develop into a good football player, but we asked him to step that up and play very quickly.”

Waldrop said USC “didn’t really seem interested” in him coming out of high school so he considered attending Nebraska, Washington, Colorado and Washington State, among other schools. He chose Nebraska because “it’s an offensive line school.”

Waldrop, however, did not fully comprehend what that meant. He spent much of his first year in Lincoln struggling to sleep and get through the year.

“I couldn’t understand the Nebraska offense for nothing,” said Waldrop, a psychology major. “The coach was like, ‘You don’t understand anything, do you?’ And I had to say, ‘No, I don’t.’ I was thinking, ‘What am I going to do? I can’t even read the playbook right.”’

Last year, Waldrop improved his blocking techniques and began to understand the nuances of the Cornhuskers’ schemes. He still is learning every game.

“Sometimes, a team comes out with a weird defense and you’re like, ‘What’s going on?”’ Waldrop said. “But when I get out there, I have a feel for the play and the basics now so it’s a lot easier.”

Waldrop helped Nebraska lead the nation in rushing offense at 314.7 yards a game and protected quarterback Eric Crouch, the Heisman Trophy winner. He recorded 95 pancake blocks, including 17 in one game against Rice.

“He’s a guy we need on the field to be successful,” Crouch said. “He’s a big body, a guy that has a lot of strength who has been able to finish plays every game.”

After two days of practice in full pads, Nebraska players worked out for two hours in sweats Wednesday. Solich said the Cornhuskers will probably be in sweats again today for a light practice before heading to Disneyland. Nebraska has the day off Friday and will resume practice in full pads Saturday.

Solich said the suspension of Miami receiver Ethenic Sands, who caught 26 passes for 385 yards and a touchdown this season, was not likely to affect Miami. “Any time you’re involved in coaching and athletics, not everything goes smooth,” Solich said. “It sounds like Miami coaches were faced with that and they reacted accordingly.”