For as circuitous a path as Imani Cross has taken to find himself playing for Nebraska and preparing for a second time to play against what many would consider his “hometown school,” the running back sounds like facing Georgia will be no big thing.
The Gator Bowl experience will be a straight-up deal for the Cornhuskers’ straight-line running back from Gainesville. Nevermind that while Cross was growing up, “everything was about Georgia,” nor that UGA’s campus was an hour away.
There will be more family and friends in the stands when the Cornhuskers (8-4) and Bulldogs (8-4) square off Wednesday than for Nebraska games in, say, Lincoln, yet beyond that, Wednesday will be business as usual. He claims to have no friends in red and black, and bear no grudges of import.
“It doesn’t really mean anything extra. It would have been the same if we played Florida in the Gator,” he said. “I’m just happy to be playing in a bowl game.”
The Gator Bowl will lack what would have been considerable star power at the quarterback position, where Nebraska’s Taylor Martinez and Georgia’s Aaron Murray are sidelined by injuries that ended their seasons prematurely.
There will be plenty to watch on offense, however, at running back.
Todd Gurley has at times been dominant for the Dogs, and although he’s battled a stomach bug in recent days he figures to be as healthy or healthier than all season. Nebraska junior Ameer Abdullah led the Big Ten in rushing with 1,568 yards.
And his backup is pretty darned good as well.
At 6-feet-1, 224 pounds, Cross is a bit bigger than Abdullah. He may not be quite as quick, but he is no picnic at the point of impact, and is especially nasty near the goal line.
He’s been referenced as a short-yardage specialist more than once, yet that label may be misapplied, given his average of 5.3 yards per carry this season and 5.9 last.
In addition to rushing for 445 yards this season, second on the team, he led the Huskers with 10 rushing touchdowns one season after rushing for 324 yards and seven scores.
Cross, a sophomore, fits Nebraska’s spread-option attack, and it appears to fit him. Life on The Plains is, “working out great. I have great friends. I love my teammates, and it’s a great school.”
There was no way to see this coming.
Early in 2011, Cross was the first player to commit to Tennessee’s 2012 signing class, and even when that fell apart after former Volunteers coach Derek Dooley was fired after the ’11 season, the Dogs were scarcely a thought.
Neither were the Cornhuskers.
“I was committed to Tennessee. And after the coaching staff got fired, and I waited for other schools to come in and I was contacted by Ron Brown, the running backs coach at Nebraska,” Cross recalled. “I had no history with Nebraska. It was like a last-second thing. It was a total surprise.”
As signing day approached, several schools were in play, including Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Virginia. Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Purdue and East Carolina also offered scholarships.
Tech was a serious candidate. At the time, Cross’ brother Izaan was a rising senior defensive end for the Yellow Jackets, and, “I was interested in them … because of the offense, and the way that they utilize their backs.”
Just like that, matter of fact.
That’s the way Imani Cross seems to come off. He’s unfailingly polite, noted among teammates, coaches and peers past and present as a workout warrior, and was an academic All-Big Ten this season.
He said in the past that he might consider the ministry after his college and playing days are over, and the possibility of coaching also is real. His high school head coaches — Lee Shaw for two years at Flowery Branch and Bob Christmas at North Hall — still hold sway over the second-year education major.
“I’d like to be a high school coach,” Cross explained. “In the last couple years I kind of formed that idea just to be around the game. I love the game, and having some great high school coaches … they influenced me.”
Football has been a big deal.
Older brother Isiah played at Adrian College (Mich.), and Izaan is living and working out in Atlanta with the goal of landing an NFL tryout this spring. Younger brother Ithello is more into basketball.
The Gator Bowl will be quite a bit easier for the Cross family to navigate than most Nebraska games. Jacksonville, Fla., is a five- or six-hour drive from Gainesville.
“They came to a few games this season,” Imani said. “And they do see every game on the Big Ten Network, but this is better for them.”
That’s about as close as Cross will come to saying there is something special about playing Georgia, or that playing so close to home is unique.
Plowing straight ahead; it’s what he does well.
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