Husker Football: Boyd Epley’s Return a Curious One
No one was more iconic “behind the scenes” during Husker football’s heyday than Boyd Epley. The man was an innovator, on the bleeding edge of sports and nutrition. Other schools wanted to copy what he did for Nebraska, and eventually did.
So well that, unfortunately, Nebraska didn’t have the edge anymore and, well, Epley headed on to other things.
As of Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014, the guy who invented “Husker Power” officially returned home to Nebraska’s S&C department as the Assistant Athletic Director for Strength and Conditioning.
From the Unversity of Nebraska’s release:
"Epley will oversee the strength and conditioning staff and programs of all Husker athletic programs except football and will serve as the primary strength and conditioning coach for baseball."
Why no, that “except football” part doesn’t stick out like a middle finger pointed at the Memorial Stadium crowd. Clearly I wasn’t the only one who thought Mr. Epley would be formally introduced as part of James Dobson’s football crew.
Some responses from the Facebook group “Husker Squad”:
"not in football tho(sp?)… – Marcia Hartleythats ok, for now, I bet he’ll give some “commentary” if asked… – Tim BrunswickHe is on some level, baseball, and all sports! – Drew Boals"
Yeah, I’m gonna have to agree with Tim on this one. Personally, if I’m Dobson, I’m feeling some heat. The room in the S&C offices is getting a bit cramped, at least.
Let’s be logical about this. Here are Epley’s words from the press release about his addition to the staff:
"“Shawn Eichorst is committed to give Nebraska student-athletes an educational opportunity they can’t get anywhere else and he wants them to compete for championships. I want to be a part of that vision.”"
Eichorst didn’t hire Dobson, he just brought in an icon of the industry. Are we truly to believe that he’ll be relegated to every sport but the cash cow? If you’re Dobson, aren’t you feeling just a little threatened by this move? Most human beings would.
Take your job for example (and if you don’t have a boss, let’s pretend you do). You’re top dog in your department, but the boss decides to bring in an assistant that specializes in your exact same skill set for the company.
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Sure, he won’t touch your department (or so you and the world are told), but he was only an innovator when it comes to the exact same work you’re expected to do.
Call me crazy, but I see a spotlight being shined on Dobson. How many injuries have cropped up over the past two Husker football seasons?
Nebraska’s played four games in 2014 and is already a walking medical scholarship application.
Brunswick mentioned that Epley could give some “commentary” if asked and yes, I believe he would.
It won’t be Dobson doing the asking, though.
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