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Published Saturday December 29, 2001 Rose Bowl Notes: Nebraska takes Friday off; Miami puts in hard day BY STEVEN PIVOVAR AND MITCH SHERMAN
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LOS ANGELES - While Nebraska took a day off Friday, Miami put in perhaps its heaviest day of practice since arriving in California.

The Hurricanes went through a two-hour practice at the Los Angeles Coliseum in continuing preparations for the Rose Bowl on Thursday.

"We got a lot of good work in today," Miami Coach Larry Coker said. "The defense really flew around well, and the offense did an excellent job. We had a lot of third-down work and did a lot of specialized things today.

"We're a little tired after the last two days because we ran around. This was a track meet today. The receivers ran a lot against Nebraska's schemes. It was not an easy day."

Nebraska did not practice in order to get its football calendar on track. Friday would have corresponded to a Sunday during the regular season. The Huskers will practice the next four days, with heavy workouts scheduled for today and Sunday.

Coker said he was encouraged by how well massive offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie performed in his second full-contact drill since arthroscopic knee surgery Dec. 3. McKinnie, the Outland Trophy winner, was hurt Dec. 1 in the win over Virginia Tech.

"He practiced great today, so I feel pretty confident he'll be ready," Coker said.

So does McKinnie.

"My knee feels pretty good," the 6-foot-9, 340-pound senior said. "I have to get used to wearing the knee brace. I'm doing everything - full-contact drills, running after practice, which I really don't like to do."

One Hurricane whose status remains in doubt is linebacker Chris Campbell. Like McKinnie, Campbell underwent an arthroscopic procedure Dec. 3. But Campbell had to be admitted to a Los Angeles hospital Thursday to have fluid drained from his right knee. Campbell, Miami's third-leading tackler, did not practice Friday.

"I think it would be a little optimistic to think that he'll practice tomorrow," Coker said. "We still feel optimistic he'll be ready to play in the game, and hopefully he can get out here soon."

Miami expecting many fans to come

Even though Miami has to travel across the country, Coker expects the Hurricanes to get solid fan backing at the Rose Bowl. The school sold its allotment of 20,000 tickets in six days.

Still, there's speculation that Miami fans could be outnumbered 2-to-1, or even 3-to-1, by the horde of red-clad Nebraska fans.

"To see 60,000 or 70,000 Nebraska fans in that stadium would be shocking," Nebraska Coach Frank Solich said. "But it wouldn't be surprising. They have shown up, and they find ways to get into games."

Solich said such a turnout could give Nebraska an edge. "We appreciate the great fan support that we receive," he said.

Redwine likes Big Red's chances

Nebraska has limited the access, even for some former players and area football coaches, to its practices this week at USC.

But one ex-Husker who made it inside the walls that surround the Howard Jones Football Field liked what he saw Thursday.

"They look strong," said Jarvis Redwine, an NU I-back in 1979 and 1980. "They look disciplined. They have a good physical nature. It looks just like it did when I was there - a bunch of big, fast guys running around."

Redwine, 43, lives in Inglewood, Calif., and works for Northwest Airlines. He helps coach football at Culver City High School in Los Angeles and still follows the Huskers, though he doesn't have a ticket to the game.

Redwine rushed for 2,161 yards at NU after transferring from Oregon State. He and Mike Rozier (1982 and 1983) are the only Nebraska players to lead the team in rushing and average more than 7.0 yards per carry in two consecutive years.

Despite his concerns after viewing the NU-Colorado game, he said he likes the Huskers' chances against Miami.

"It's kind of a scary," Redwine said, "because I don't know if Miami knows what they're going to be in for. Nebraska is quiet right now, and they're going to come out and play. Having that rest, they've had time to think about things. It's going to be a close game."