"I just wanted to get it over with and now seemed the right time."
Those were the words of junior two-way lineman, Andrew Rodriguez, who said that this morning he pulled the trigger for the big red.
Not a native of the state, this New York born kid has had to learn about the Nebraska way, but found that it has been to his liking. And football, a sport that he said he initially wasn't interested in at all, became a sport he grew to really enjoy.
"I didn't want to play football, but my brother (Eric) wanted me to, so I gave it a shot. After that I started to like it."
What he likes has certainly been what Aurora High loves as with Rodriguez his team steamrolled their way this year to the first state title in their history.
When asked about the pride he feels about that, he said pride will get you in trouble. "I'm proud of everything we did as a team, but we have a saying at our school:
"Pride leads to humiliation, but humility leads to honor.
"And that's just what we tried to live by every day."
Rodriguez has been considered for some time now one of the best in-state prospects not just for his senior year next season, but even now.
At around 6-5 and 300 pounds, he's a hulk of a lineman with a hulk-like on-the-field mentality. "When we are pulling around on a toss sweep, and if someone doesn't happen to see me coming, I am just thinking that it's not my fault that he isn't looking my way,"Andrew said with a laugh. "So, my whole thing is to just hit him as hard as I can, knock him flat on his ***, and keep blocking down the field.
"But I'll go help him up after the play."
We will have a lot more on Nebraska's latest commit, more quotes about himself, his family and just what it means for a New York kid to be a future Nebraska Cornhusker.
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