Sports

Purify Copes with Tragedy, Prepares for First Game at Wake

Senior receiver credits coaching staff, Keller for keeping him sharp

by SAMUEL McKEWON

September 04, 2007

File Photo

Senior receiver Maurice Purify.

Maurice Purify walked over to a semi-circle of camera and tape recorders, sucking wind.

"You can't tell by the way I'm breathing right now," he said between small gasps, "but I'm in shape."

Nor could one tell just how much Nebraska's senior wide receiver has been through in the last three months at NU. Two well-publicized brushes with the law. A one-game suspension for those infractions. And the murder of his brother Aug. 21. Purify didn't seem to carry any of it with him Tuesday as he answered questions about his first game of the season Saturday at Wake Forest.

He won't start against the Demon Deacons. Junior Nate Swift will. And he's OK with that.

"I'm not disappointed," Purify said. "It's my own fault."

He said he's carrying 220 pounds on his 6-foot-4 frame, and he'd like to shed five more. He's about ten running sessions behind, and when he attended the funeral for his brother, Ronald Spears, he only worked out once at his high school in Eureka, Calif., where the funeral was held.

And that was, Purify said, to take his brother's death "all out on the weights."

"I dealt with it hard for the first couple days until I just let it all out," he said. "I cried a lot with my mom and brothers."

When Purify returned to Nebraska, he had Receivers Coach Ted Gilmore, other Husker coaches and the team as a support system. His brothers in California, he said, don't have it as easy. When somebody who doesn't know Ronald Spears was killed asks about him, it's Purify's brothers who have to answer.

"They're there, and they got to put up with it," he said.

So he still speaks to one brother, James Spears, a half-hour each day.

Purify plans to wear a t-shirt with Ronald Spears' face on it under his shoulder pads. Purify said he prays for each of the loved ones in his life who have "passed away."

"I'm gonna put (Ronald) in there," he said.

Football is a good distraction, Purify said. Because of his suspension, he spent last Saturday watching NU's 52-10 win over Nevada "on a La-Z-Boy with my feet up" in his apartment. Didn't bother him; in fact, he sent a text message to "every person in my phone" to have a good game.

He liked being a fan for a day, even though he couldn't always tell what the plays were or where the receivers' routes were being run.

"I didn't catch myself yelling at the TV," Purify said of the game. "I wasn't really too mad about it."

This week, though, NU coaches and players are eager to have Purify back. His size, and ability to sustain hits and elude tackles, adds a dimension to Nebraska's offense that current starters Swift and senior Terrence Nunn lack.

Nebraska Offensive Coordinator Shawn Watson said Purify's been worked into enough packages to get the ball Saturday.

But Watson's more interested in what the senior can create. In 2006, Purify turned just 34 catches into 640 yards by using his frame to shield defenders and bust tackles.

"Mo's forte is that he can turn a little into something big," Watson said. "He's really consistent as a receiver as far as being a strong-handed kid and the way he bodies up people. When I'm around Mo I've learned to expect the unexpected; he'll take a small one and make it a big one."

Said NU quarterback Sam Keller: "Maurice brings another dimension. He brings his big frame, his big body that could pose a challenge to Wake Forest."

A couple times during Tuesday's practice, Keller walked up to Purify, brought him close, and talked to him.

Keller's message: Be ready to make plays. If you're open, I'm coming to you.

Purify said Keller's been helpful during a difficult summer. Along with Nunn and cornerback Armando Murillo, who would cover Purify during drills, it was Keller who scheduled workouts with the receiver when he couldn't participate with the team.

"Sam was there when I needed somebody," Purify said. "He's always positive, he's always seeing if I'm all right, even if I have a smile on my face. He's always the one who wants to give a pat on the back over nothing. Sam calls you just to see what you're doing on a Sunday night."