What do you guys think....did the Nebraska lineman run over our ruf/nek on purpose or was it a complete accident?

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"Jury seated in OU assault trial


By The Associated Press

NORMAN -- A jury was seated Tuesday for the trial of a former Nebraska football player accused of assaulting a member of Oklahoma's Ruf/Neks spirit squad before a game last year.
Darren DeLone, 23, faces a felony county of aggravated assault and battery. He has pleaded innocent to the charge, which carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.

The nine-woman, three-man jury was expected to hear opening arguments Tuesday.

The former Cornhuskers offensive lineman is accused of ramming freshman Adam Merritt into a brick wall surrounding Owen Field prior to the game in Oklahoma on Nov. 13, 2004.

Merritt testified in a February preliminary hearing that he temporarily lost consciousness, lost one tooth and broke another in a collision with the 6-foot-5, 315-pound DeLone. He said he and other members of Ruf/Neks -- the group that leads the Sooner Schooner covered wagon onto the field -- were standing in a designated area near where the Nebraska offensive linemen were practicing before the collision.

DeLone's defense attorney, Garvin Isaacs, has suggested that the incident could have been accidental because the players were practicing at a high speed on grass dampened by the rain. "

Any thoughts on this issue? Looks like ole John Blake is coming to the lineman's defense.

Here's the latest witness testimony on this:


Husker assistant says he told RUF/NEKS to back up

By Jane Glenn Cannon
The Oklahoman

NORMAN — A Nebraska coach testified in Darren DeLone’s assault trial Friday that he repeatedly warned members of the University of Oklahoma’s spirit organization to back up during warm-up drills prior to last year’s game with Oklahoma.



Assistant coach Angus McClure said he shouted “back up, back up” repeatedly at RUF/NEKS who lined the north end zone and northeast sidelines of Owen Field.

When the 315-pound DeLone went into a blocking drill with 250-pound Wali Muhammad, McClure said, the two players moved sideways out of bounds and Muhammad’s shoulder pad struck one of the RUF/NEKS.

“The kids who saw him coming got out of the way,” McClure said. “One poor kid wasn’t looking, and he got drilled.”

RUF/NEKS member Adam Merritt suffered head, back and upper palate injuries including the loss of two teeth when he hit the stadium wall.

DeLone, 23, is charged with one count of aggravated assault and battery in the incident. He has denied the charge.

District Attorney Tim Kuykendall contends DeLone deliberately ran toward Merritt after an exchange of words and gestures with another RUF/NEKS member.

McClure said he never saw any interaction between the players and RUF/NEKS.

“It was an accident. Case closed, that’s what I thought it was going to be,” McClure said. Nebraska player Le Kevin Smith testified that DeLone and Muhammad accidentally hit two RUF/NEKS when they traveled out of bounds during a blocking drill.