Husker Football Tickets

Virginia Tech receiver suspended

Virginia Tech has already had a number of losses to a roster that some were expecting to be in the mix for a national title.

Monday, the Hokies saw another key offensive player moved to the sidelines, as coach Frank Beamer suspended wide receiver Zack Luckett indefinitely for an undisclosed violation of team policy.

The Hokies had already seen two running backs and a key receiver go down to injuries during the spring and summer, so losing another player is not going to help matters any -- even if it's someone like Luckett, who made more of an impact on special teams (15 tackles) than on offense (two passes, 15 yards).

The Hokies come to Lincoln to take on the Huskers on Sept. 27. Order your tickets now at Ticket Express -- where no Husker game is ever sold out.

Steinkuhler still a question mark

The defensive line was already somewhat precarious before the departure of Kevin Dixon. After his dismissal, there were concerns being raised about the Husker football team's depth up front on defense.

For the past few days, Ty Steinkuhler has been out of action dealing with a bad back. He still wasn't on the practice field Thursday as the team went through its fourth day of practice in preparation for the 2008 season.

Coach Bo Pelini told the media that Steinkuhler's absence is not a major concern to him at this point, noting that the senior probably could have practiced yesterday, but he felt it better to not rush him back on to the field so quickly.

A number of players are seeing action in Steinkuhler's absence, including freshman Terrence Moore. It remains to be seen how healthy Steinkuhler will be as the days wind down before the season opener against Western Michigan on Saturday, Aug. 30.

Tenth recruit commits to Huskers

Nebraska got another verbal commitment for 2009, this time coming from the football-rich state of Florida.

The Tallahassee Democrat reported Tuesday that DeAndre Byrd has committed to the Huskers, where he is expected to play cornerback. He is 5-foot-10, 170 pounds and pretty much had his mind made up this summer.

Byrd met Pelini last year when Pelini was still the defensive coordinator at LSU, and is turning down offers from several schools, including Big 12 schools Colorado and Iowa State, as well as South Florida, Ole Miss, Michigan State and Iowa, among others.

"It wasn't that hard to call them," Byrd told the Democrat, "because I know where I want to go."

First day of practice a hot one for Huskers

The temperatures flirted with 100 degrees Monday as the Husker footbal team began preparations for the 2008 season in Lincoln.

The first day of fall practice included some new faces, such as Khiry Cooper. The fifth-round draft pick of the Anaheim Angels in Major League Baseball was there, and unless the Angels can come to terms with Cooper by Aug. 15, he'll be in Husker pads when the season starts on Aug. 30 against Western Michigan.

One face that won't be seen in camp is that of Kevin Dixon. The senior defensive tackle was dismissed by coach Bo Pelini for the classic "violating team policies" rule. Dixon was arrested twice during the month of July on charges ranging from possession of marijuana to urinating in public. His departure creates a problem for a defensive line that already had depth problems, and those problems will become even more of a challenge without Dixon in the lineup.

Another face not seen on the field was cornerback Anthony Blue, who is still recovering from an ACL injury suffered during winter conditioning. Jaivorio Burkes was also out due to medical reasons, but should be back on the practice field later this week.

Huskers get votes in coaches preseason poll

The Husker football team got a little bit of love from coaches in the USA Today coaches preseason poll, but not enough to crack the top 25.

Nebraska received a total of five votes in the poll of Div. 1 coaches, while five of Nebraska's opponents were mentioned in the top 25.

Georgia starts the season as the nation's No. 1 team, followed by USC, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Florida. Missouri is ranked 7th, Texas is 10th, Kansas is 13th and Texas Tech is 14th. Nebraska's third opponent of the season, Virginia Tech, starts the season at No. 15.

The USA Today coaches poll is as follows (No. 1 votes in parenthesis, Big 12 and Nebraska opponents in bold):

1. Georgia (22), 2. USC (14), 3. Ohio State (14), 4. Oklahoma (3), 5. Florida (5),

6. LSU (3), 7. Missouri, 8. West Virginia, 9. Clemson, 10. Texas,

11. Auburn, 12. Wisconsin, 13. Kansas, 14. Texas Tech, 15. Virginia Tech,

16. Arizona State, 17. Brigham Young, 18. Tennessee, 19. Illinois, 20. Oregon,

21. South Florida, 22. Penn State, 23. Wake Forest, 24. Michigan, 25. Fresno State.

Others receiving votes: Alabama, South Carolina, Utah, Florida State, Rutgers, Boston College, California, Pittsburgh, Boise State, Oregon State, Nebraska, Cincinnati, Virginia, Connecticut, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Kentucky, Notre Dame, TCU, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas A&M, UCLA, Central Florida, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma State, Tulsa.