By Phil Aldridge. CREATED Jun 30, 2015
LINCOLN, Neb. (KMTV) – The Huskers season opener against BYU on Sept. 5 is just 68 days
It will also be the much-anticipated debut of brand new head coach Mike Riley.
The coach has been busy since he was hired last December, conducting spring practice, on-the-road recruiting, personal appearances & attending satellite camps.
Now you may not know this, but Riley was a pretty good high school football player back in Corvallis, Oregon. He was even recruited to by legendary Alabama head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant in the 70s. (Well, recruited might be stretching it a little-bit).
"I was a guy that recruited myself to Alabama. I wrote coach Bryant letters for three years. My dad was coaching at Oregon State and I was either going to go to Oregon State or go far away. That far away for me was, I was going to try to go to Alabama,” Riley said. “My dad is originally from Alabama. All of his family, seven brothers and sisters all lived in Alabama, all my cousins, almost all my living relatives outside my immediate family were in Alabama. I had been a fan. My uncle was the basketball coach at Alabama. So, I was always a fan back to Joe Namath-times, Kenny Stabler. As a matter of fact, I was a left-handed quarterback. I was going to go to Alabama and be the next Kenny Stabler. That didn't work-out too well.”
It’s hard to believe, but it's already been seven months since Riley took over the Huskers football program. He's taking some time off right now before the start of fall camp.
When KMTV Sports Director Phil Aldridge met up with the coach last week in the grand atrium of the Osborne Center, the conversation drifted from his college playing days at Alabama to one of Riley's many stories about Coach Bryant - one involved watching his coach's show with his teammates. It was appointment viewing for the Crimson Tide players.
"We got a kick out of watching his TV show and he would start out by saying, ‘Open up a bag of those golden flakes, Charlie.’ And he'd advertise Coca-Cola and Golden Flake potato chips," said Riley.
http://www.scrippsmedia.com/kmtv/ne...-early-playing-days-at-Alabama-310929731.html
LINCOLN, Neb. (KMTV) – The Huskers season opener against BYU on Sept. 5 is just 68 days
It will also be the much-anticipated debut of brand new head coach Mike Riley.
The coach has been busy since he was hired last December, conducting spring practice, on-the-road recruiting, personal appearances & attending satellite camps.
Now you may not know this, but Riley was a pretty good high school football player back in Corvallis, Oregon. He was even recruited to by legendary Alabama head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant in the 70s. (Well, recruited might be stretching it a little-bit).
"I was a guy that recruited myself to Alabama. I wrote coach Bryant letters for three years. My dad was coaching at Oregon State and I was either going to go to Oregon State or go far away. That far away for me was, I was going to try to go to Alabama,” Riley said. “My dad is originally from Alabama. All of his family, seven brothers and sisters all lived in Alabama, all my cousins, almost all my living relatives outside my immediate family were in Alabama. I had been a fan. My uncle was the basketball coach at Alabama. So, I was always a fan back to Joe Namath-times, Kenny Stabler. As a matter of fact, I was a left-handed quarterback. I was going to go to Alabama and be the next Kenny Stabler. That didn't work-out too well.”
It’s hard to believe, but it's already been seven months since Riley took over the Huskers football program. He's taking some time off right now before the start of fall camp.
When KMTV Sports Director Phil Aldridge met up with the coach last week in the grand atrium of the Osborne Center, the conversation drifted from his college playing days at Alabama to one of Riley's many stories about Coach Bryant - one involved watching his coach's show with his teammates. It was appointment viewing for the Crimson Tide players.
"We got a kick out of watching his TV show and he would start out by saying, ‘Open up a bag of those golden flakes, Charlie.’ And he'd advertise Coca-Cola and Golden Flake potato chips," said Riley.
http://www.scrippsmedia.com/kmtv/ne...-early-playing-days-at-Alabama-310929731.html
