SPORTS UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Friday, August 26, 1994
3B
Nebraska player succeeds in classroom and on field
Biology major earns a perfect 4.0 while tackling Cornhuskers' football foes
By Tom Vint The Associated Press
LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska tackle Rob Zatechka has this theory about people stereotyping football players as dumb jocks when compared with the rest of the collegiate student body.
"As far as stereotypes, it should be the other way around," he said.
There's nothing dumb about this football player, who is starting his second season at left tackle for the No. 4 Cornhuskers in Sunday's Kickoff Classic meeting with West Virginia. Opponents would have to go a long way to out-think this hulk.
The 6-foot-5, 315-pound senior from Lincoln finished his undergraduate work in May, completing his degree in biological sciences with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. He hasn't received a grade less than an 'A' since before high school. No dumb jock stereotype sticks there.
"It should be the other way around because I know at Nebraska the graduation rate on the football team is double what the general student graduation rate is," he said. "The GPA is about the same or a little higher."
Football players at Nebraska are "locked up" from 11:30 a.m. until early evening with practices, weight lifting and team study sessions, Zatechka said.
As far as his own college grades, Zatechka said he was on a mission.
- "It's a goal I've had all through college," he said of the perfect grades.
It's something I thought about a lot and it's
what I wanted to get. I didn't really make it
a set goal, but it was one of those things that if it did come, I would be real happy about it."
Zatechka admits learning has come easy. He studies only four or five hours a week, but credits his success to studying an area he enjoys. The grades follow.
This semester, he is having fun in class. He's taking things like endocrinology, immunology and art history.
"It's not complete basket weaving, I'll say that," he said, with a chuckle. "It's something different."
Endocrinology involves the study of hormone regulation.
"It ought to be a fun one," he said. "Basically it controls everything, anything anybody does, feels — emotions, heart rate, blood pressure. You name it, it does it."
The class schedule is lighter than Zatechka has had in the past.
"It's nice. I can concentrate on football more than I have in the past," he said.
That should be a frightening thought for opponents. Zatechka makes up half of what coach Tom Osborne believes is the best tackle tandem ever at Nebraska.
Fellow fifth-year senior Zach Wiegert is the other.
Nebraska's offensive line, which boasts five players with at least some starting experience, is excited about their potential this fall.
"It's going to be great. We've got five fifth-year seniors and one fourth-year junior in (center) Aaron Graham, "Zatechka said.
"Everybody's been around so long and it's such a tight-knit group I think we're going to play really well this year," he said. "Everybody works really well together."
"We've put a lot of time and effort into being as good as we can be for this upcoming season.
"I'm really excited. I want to get out there and see how well we do in a game."
San Francisco's Rice rushes to another record-breaking season
By Dennis Georgatos
The Associated Press
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — So much about Jerry Rice evokes speed and grace, from his wind-matted jersey when he runs a pass pattern, to his sleek black Mercedes sedan with the personalized "Flash80" plates.
The San Francisco 49ers wide receiver is in no hurry, though, to look back on an astonishing career, especially not now with another milestone in sight.
"All the records I have broken, I really haven't had a chance to reflect on them because it's almost like my career is just flying by on me," he said. "Everything is happening so fast."
His next accomplishment could happen just as fast. Rice, entering his 10th season, is just three touchdowns shy of breaking the NFL career mark of 126, set by running back Jim Brown in 1965 after nine seasons with the Cleveland Browns. Chicago's Walter Payton had 125.
"When this is all over," Rice said. "I would like to put a song together for all my touchdowns to express the way I do things on the football field.
"It's not going to be rap music or anything like that. It's going to be something real laid back."
He added with a laugh, "It has to be a long, long song though."
Rice, who has scored two or more touchdowns 29 times, gets his first crack at the mark Sept. 5 when the 49ers and Los Angeles Raiders play in the opening Monday night game.
"I don't know. I don't feel like I have to break the record the first game," Rice said. "If it's going to happen, it's going to happen and that's the attitude I take."
"I'm not going to say when I go up against the Raiders that I'm going to break the record," said Rice, whose 118 touchdown receptions are the most in NFL history. He also has six rushing touchdowns.
That said, the 31-year-old Rice believes he's starting the season at his best, a notion seconded by teammates.
"Jerry's not slowing down. Jerry's still the best in the business," San Francisco safety Tim McDonald said. "I can't say anything different about Jerry than I've said in previous years. He's the hardest working guy I've ever been around and he's till the same guy."
Rice, a seven-time Pro-Bowler, got within striking distance of Brown's mark with an NFL-high 16 touchdowns last season, 15 of them on passes. His 1,503 receiving yards also led the league and marked his eighth, 1,000-yard season, tying with Steve Largent's NFL mark.
"Defensive backs are going to get beat. They're going to win some. They're going to lose some." Rice shrugs.
"I feel good this year. I don't have any nagging injuries. I feel strong. I feel more explosive this year than I've felt in nine years. It's weird because when I watch myself on film now, I look quicker. And it's not my imagination because my teammates, they keep telling me, 'Jerry, man, you look really explosive. You're moving.'
Rice, who hasn't missed a start because of injury, came to San Francisco in 1985 as a first-round pick out of tiny Mississippi Valley State. Since then, he has helped San Francisco's pass-oriented system flourish.
In succession, he has been the primary target of Joe Montana and now, Steve Young. All three are former NFL MVPs, Rice when he caught an NFL record 22 touchdowns in 1987.
Overall, he has scored an average of better than 13 touchdowns in each of his previous nine seasons.
"Jerry's not slowing down. Jerry's still the best in the business."
Tim McDonald San Francisco safety
"I can't fathom. That's unbelievable," Young said. "You think about it, 10 touchdowns a season is a lot."
Rice said he has stayed on top of his game because of a rigorous off-season workout program and healthy eating habits.
And he applies the same principles in practice as he does in games, running as hard as he can and as far as he can after every catch. He said it is that ethic that has carried him to the brink of becoming the NFL's most-prolific touchdown scorer.
"It's amazing to me that I've been able to get into the end zone this much," Rice says. "Normally, you would think a running back would be able to do something like that, but not a receiver. It amazes me.
"I'm not going to say other receivers don't try to get into the end zone," Rice said. "I'm not going to say it's in the right place at the right time. It's just a feeling that you have to have when you're on the football field. You've got to know when you can catch the ball and turn it up field as quickly as possible. I think that has a lot to do with your awareness. Whenever I get my hands on the ball, I feel like my job is not over until I crunch it in the end zone."
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