What a difference a touchdown makes.
Maurice Purify and Dane Todd both caught touchdown passes for the first time in their Nebraska careers Saturday, but those catches had little in common other than six more points the Cornhuskers piled on Nicholls State.
Take Todd. The fullback had been waiting since 2002 for his first score, one that finally came with less than 30 seconds left in the first quarter when senior quarterback Zac Taylor zinged a pass to the fifth-year senior from the 1-yard line to give NU its second touchdown of the day.
"It's been a long five years waiting for it," Todd said. "I'm glad. Now they can't ever claim I wasn't here."
Todd, who also caught an 8-yard pass from Taylor in the second quarter, joked he was just trying not to fall down and played down the notion he has become NU's feature back.
But while it took more than four years for Todd to score for the first time, it took six quarters for the wide receiver Purify to find pay dirt.
The heralded junior college transfer electrified the sold-out crowd when he adjusted on a long, slightly under-thrown pass from Taylor and scooted the final few yards down the sideline into the end zone to put the Huskers ahead 41-0.
Purify finished with two catches for a game-high 61 receiving yards.
"The plays that I'm in right now, I'm just playing," Purify said. "(The coaches) got me in everything that I know, and right when I break the huddle, I'm comfortable in what route I'm running and in everything I'm doing."
As a quarterback, Taylor said it's a good feeling to be able to deliver a player his first-ever touchdown as a Husker while distributing passes to the array of NU receivers. On Saturday, 10 different Nebraska players made at least one catch.
Taylor said the touchdown pass to Todd was especially sweet because Taylor felt he should have had Todd on a pass that was ultimately batted up and intercepted on a play last weekend against Louisiana Tech.
"That was my favorite touchdown pass all year, the 1-yard touchdown pass to Dane Todd, because his whole career he works his tail off and he never got to score a touchdown," Taylor said. "It was exciting to see Dane finally finish that one off."
Though sentimental, Todd's catch was a rarity. But Purify's was probably the first of many in his Husker career.
Nebraska Coach Bill Callahan has had a tendency to play the 6-foot-4 Purify in heavier sets, putting him on the field with multiple tight ends to give the Huskers a size advantage. The coach said after the game the play that resulted in Purify's 42-yard scoring reception succeeded because it isolated the big-bodied receiver with a smaller defender.
The next step for Purify, Callahan said, is to continue to learn more plays in Nebraska's West Coast offense system.
"We're trying to get him blended into the offense," Callahan said. "(We're trying to) get him some experience and confidence and allow him to make some plays where he can build that confidence."
Ted Gilmore, Nebraska's wide receivers coach, said he can see Purify's confidence building already, and it might show in next Saturday's game at Southern California.
Other than the touchdown, Gilmore said another way to keep Purify sure of himself on the field is to slowly introduce him to plays rather than give him the whole playbook all at once, a mistake the coach said he made last season with wideout Franz Hardy.
"Coach Gilmore keeps on telling me (Southern Cal) is going to be my breakout game," Purify said. "(I have) a lot more experience and a lot more weight off my shoulders getting that first touchdown."
