Posted on: Wednesday, December 19, 2001

Huskers' Fonoti postpones draft decision

By Doug Alden
Associated Press

LINCOLN, Neb. — The only certainty for Nebraska guard Toniu Fonoti right now is playing in the Rose Bowl.

Any decision on his future and whether it includes a senior season will wait until after the No. 4 Cornhuskers play top-ranked Miami on Jan. 3.

"I haven't even thought about it," Fonoti said. "It's out there, but I'm mostly thinking about this game."

Nebraska lost an All-American lineman a year ago when center Dominic Raiola left after his junior season for the NFL. Like Raiola, Fonoti is a first-team All-American, a native of Hawai'i (Kahuku High) and was a finalist for the Outland Trophy as a junior.

Raiola was picked by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the draft.

Fonoti isn't sure yet whether he will follow Raiola's path to the NFL.

"I really don't have time to think about it," Fonoti said.

Fonoti, who's 6-foot-2, 360 pounds, and tackle Dave Volk anchored the left side of the offensive line as the only two returning starters. Fonoti and Volk helped the Huskers recover from the lack of experience quickly and Nebraska went on to lead the nation in rushing this season at 314.7 yards per game.

And without the line, quarterback Eric Crouch would not have won the Heisman Trophy.

Fonoti has started the past two seasons and played in every game in 1999 as a freshman. Redshirting was never really an option.

"He's a guy that didn't have to wait around to get strong. He had that part of the game with him," offensive line coach Milt Tenopir said. "He's come a long ways and he can continue to come. He's going to be an exceptionally good player down the road."

It's difficult to measure an lineman's individual accomplishments, but in the unofficial "pancake" block statistic Fonoti is already Nebraska's all-time leader. A pancake occurs when a lineman flattens a defender, taking him out of the play and leaving him on his back. Fonoti has done it 379 times, including 32 against Texas Tech on Oct. 20.

"It's kind of satisfying. It tells people 'I'm doing what I need to do' and that's one of the main goals," Fonoti said. "For an offensive lineman, that's kind of our yardage."

In three weeks, Fonoti and the linemen go up against the Hurricanes (11-0), who lead the nation in scoring defense and are sixth in total defense. While the Huskers' placement by the Bowl Championship Series was greatly disputed, the Hurricanes are a consensus No. 1.

"I think probably the biggest challenge is proving that we're one of the best teams in the nation," Fonoti said. "We just have to go out there and prove that we're supposed to be in there."