Fans may be seeing a good deal of Amukamara
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By BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
Prince Amukamara notes that he’s had “a couple” of interceptions in spring practices.
His near-interceptions, however, number more than a mere couple.
“I’m not used to catching the ball yet,” Amukamara said. “I probably need to work on that. I’ve just been knocking down balls.”
Which isn’t all bad, really. That means Amukamara, a sophomore on the Nebraska football team, is making some progress as he competes for playing time in the secondary.
But you’d think a guy who scored nearly 50 touchdowns in high school would take full advantage of those rare times he touches the ball on defense.
“I’ve been away from offense for a while,” Amukamara said, explaining those drops.
That’s evidently not a problem on special teams. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Amukamara is listed among Nebraska’s return men for punts and kickoffs. In high school, Amukamara averaged more than 26 yards on punt returns and 21 yards on kickoff returns.
Combine that with his work with the No. 1 defense as a nickelback, and his time with the second and third units at cornerback, and it’s likely fans will see a good deal of Amukamara in Saturday’s Red-White game.
“Practice is tough,” Amukamara said Monday, after Nebraska’s 12th of 15 spring practices. “It’s full of intensity, and everyone’s just learning. Everyone’s just getting used to a new system and adapting.”
Amukamara lettered as a true freshman, when he played in eight games and recorded four tackles in limited action. He’s vying for more playing time this fall, as Nebraska looks to replace two cornerbacks — Cortney Grixby and Andre Jones.
Among those lessons Amukamara learned as a freshman: Cornerbacks must be physical, and there’s no room for error.
“Prince understands football,” first-year Nebraska secondary coach Marvin Sanders said. “I think that’s his strength, but it can also be his Achilles heel, because sometimes he thinks a little too much. I don’t want to make it sound like you don’t have to think out there, but sometimes he anticipates something that doesn’t happen and gets himself out of position.
“But he’s young, he’s a (sophomore). I don’t want to take that excitement that he has for understanding the game. I just want to make sure it gets directed in the right way.”
Amukamara described Sanders as a disciplined coach.
“He’s always on us hard,” Amukamara said. “He puts a lot of pressure on us, and a lot of us have taken it and handled it pretty well.
“When he puts pressure on us, I think he wants us to deal with that adversity, so we know how to deal with that during a game.”
With Amukamara, Sanders has stressed focus and concentration. Amukamara said that’s sometimes an issue because he’s back and forth between positions — nickel and cornerback — and has to switch his mindset. When he’s at nickel, he needs to be more aware of the run, Amukamara said, and when he’s at cornerback, the pass.
Yes, that includes freedom to turn around and look for the ball.
“He uses the term ‘Look and lean,” Amukamara said of Sanders. “If we can feel, or we know, that the receiver is going to catch the ball, just like look and lean, and try to get the ball.”
A native of Glendale, Ariz., Amukamara was recruited by Nebraska as an athlete. His high school resume includes 3,389 rushing yards and 664 receiving yards over his junior and senior seasons. He also had two interceptions.
“The thing you like about Prince,” Sanders said, “whatever you ask him to do, he’ll do it with a smile on his face and you know he’s going to give it 100 percent.”
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
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