LINCOLN — For various reasons, seven of the original 38 selections for the North team won’t be playing in Saturday’s Nebraska Shrine Bowl.
Only five were replaced, leaving the team coached by Paul Limongi of Class A state champion Omaha Burke a little short-handed.
“It’s been a little tricky,” Limongi said. “We lost some guys. It’s too bad because they were excited about playing. But we’ve added a few guys and we’ll make do. We’ll be OK.”
The most recent additions on the North are quarterback Carter Terry of Grand Island Northwest, lineman Hunter Jones of Omaha Burke, defensive back Gavyn Leitschuck of Lincoln North Star, linebacker Brady Hull of Logan View/Scribner-Snyder and lineman Travis Tyler of Creighton. They replaced quarterbacks Cedric Case of Lincoln High and Tyler Chadwick of Burke, wide receivers C.J. Jones of Lincoln High and Quincy Nichols of Blair, linemen Jackson Creek of Millard North and Robert Pentecost of Papillion-La Vista and defensive back Bryce Zimmerer of Creighton.
Case needed to report early to Texas State. Chadwick has mono. Jones, Nichols and Pentecost were on rosters as recently as last week.
On the South roster, running back Josh Bailey of Johnson County and defensive back Dylan Packett of Omaha Westside have replaced Gretna players Hunter Chilton and Caden Opfer.
Updated rosters:
NORTH
Kodjo Atikphou, Sam Sims, Grand Island; Ryan Bena, Jack Hasz, Omaha Creighton Prep; Koby Brandenburg, Central City; Mehki Butler, Steven Krawczyk, Omaha North; Hunter Jones, Dylan Sales, Omaha Burke; Connor Cowling, Norfolk; Shane Dailey, Bellevue West; Sid DeMayo, Garrett Hustedt, Elkhorn Mount Michael; Lane Edis, Mullen; Grayson Garey, Broken Bow; Trenton Harbur, Gothenburg; Jacob Herbek, Grand Island Central Catholic; Mason Hiemstra, Alliance; Cooper Jewett, Elkhorn South; Caden Johnson, Wahoo Neumann; Rhett Jordan, Logan Schuelke, Waverly; Kaden Kneifl, Wayne; Jack Sutton, Wahoo; Quincy Nichols, Blair; Lane McGinley, Valentine; Luke Reimer, Lincoln North Star; Keegan Reifschneider, Scottsbluff; Jackson Ritchhart, Fremont; Alex Rodgers, Omaha Roncalli; Joe Teten, Norfolk Catholic; Jesse Ulrich, Ord; Carter Terry, Grand Island Northwest; Travis Tyler, Creighton; Brady Hull, Logan View; Gavyn Leitschuck, Lincoln North Star.
Coaches: Paul Limongi (head coach), Burke; Blake Beebout, Valentine; Brock Eichelberger, O’Neill; Chris Seebohm, Alliance; Ben Ryan, Andy Schatzberg, Burke
SOUTH
Cole Aniello, Millard West; Edwen Baptista, Friend; Quinn Butzke, Jackson Hirschfeld, Centennial; John Christensen, Bruning-Davenport/Shickley; Baily Darnell, Auburn; Jaiden Davis, Lincoln Southeast; Joe Dworak, Austin Jablonski, Lincoln Pius X; Jarod Epperson, T.J. Skradski, Omaha Skutt; Colin Giron, D.J. Gross, McCook; Taevyn Grixby, Nick Leader, Lincoln Southwest; Tyson Guzman, Dylan Packett, Omaha Westside; Gabe Heins, Brayden Miller, Kearney; Torence Jackson, Omaha Central; Joseph Krause, PJ Schaben, Seward; Alex Lewis, Omaha South; Mike McClanahan, Chase Norblade, Papillion-La Vista South; Jayden Merriman, Jack Towne, Millard South; Riley Moses, Fillmore Central; Nouredin Nouli, Norris; Garrett Nuss, Sutton; Lucas Paloucek, Ogallala; Cade Reichardt, Aurora; Barrett Sellon, Braden Sellon, Lincoln East; Garrett Snodgrass, Noah Stafursky, York; Landon Weber, Adams Central; Josh Bailey, Johnson County.
Coaches: Glen Snodgrass (head coach), York; Matt Kern, Matt Maltsberger, York; Jamie Opfer, Seward; Kam Lenhart, Fairbury; Eric Ryan, Overton.
The week ahead
Both teams scrimmaged on Monday, the North at Nebraska Wesleyan in Lincoln and the South at Doane University in Crete.
On Tuesday they met local patients of the Shriners Hospitals for Children at the Beyond the Field gathering at Wesleyan, then practiced on separate fields at Wesleyan and were to attend the Lincoln Saltdogs’ game together Tuesday night.
They bus to Kearney on Friday for walkthroughs and the pregame banquet. Kickoff at Cope Stadium at UNK is 2 p.m. Saturday.
Smooth transition with Huskers
Garrett Snodgrass wasn’t sure what to expect when he arrived at Nebraska last week as a freshman football player on campus. He’d gone from Husker fan to future Husker to current Husker, just after graduation. What transition awaited him?
A good one, as it turns out. Snodgrass said early workouts under strength and conditioning coach Zach Duval are tough, but he’s been impressed with how committed the older guys in the linebacker room, where Snodgrass plays, have been to the rookies.
“I didn’t know what it’d be like, first week in college, but I was excited,” Snodgrass said at Shrine Bowl media availability on Tuesday. “The support was amazing. I didn’t really expect it, but the senior leaders were really, really supportive. I’m shocked at the support we’re already receiving. It makes me feel really good that everybody’s got everybody’s back, right down to the freshmen who have only been there a couple weeks.”
Older linebackers like Mohamed Barry and Will Honas, Snodgrass said, have been leaders. Another early-enrollee linebacker, Elkhorn Mount Michael’s Garrett Hustedt, added Collin Miller to the mix of leaders, as well.
“They could be watching film of themselves in some exotic defense, but they’ve been going over the basics with me,” Snodgrass said.
Nebraska lacks depth at inside linebacker, where Barry and Miller are the likely starters. Honas continues to fully recover from a torn ACL he suffered last season. Another incoming freshman, Omaha Burke star Nick Henrich, is recovering from his own ACL tear suffered in the spring. In Henrich’s absence, walk-on Joseph Johnson made a move. The Huskers also welcome another scholarship freshman, Jackson Hannah, this summer.
Snodgrass’ York High School teammate, Noah Stafursky, is one of the few walk-on linemen joining the program. He, like many of the walk-ons, arrived last week. He’s already picked another walk-on, sophomore guard Trent Hixson, as a role model, as Hixson is contending for a starting job and a scholarship this fall.
“I’m friends with him, I’ve known him for a while,” Stafursky said. “Trent’s awesome. Works hard, does all the right things, says all the right things. He keeps his head down and goes to work. He is the prototypical walk-on.”
NU offensive linemen aren’t into hazing, Stafursky said. It’s closer to a big family.
Duval’s initial workouts were “tough, but fun,” Stafursky said.
“We haven’t put in the full system yet, so we’re doing auxiliary lifts,” Stafursky said. “It’s a lot of shoulder work. It was pretty tough, the first workout, just getting into it.”
2019 Nebraska Shrine Bowl
When: 2 p.m. Saturday
Where: Ron and Carol Cope Stadium, Kearney
Radio: 103.1 FM, b103.fm
