LINCOLN — Roy Helu and Eric Hagg hadn’t talked much that summer after joining the Nebraska football program, but they were sure talking now. And not in a friendly way.
Some freshman pranks had gotten out of hand. Some irritation was coming to a head. They already had almost gotten into it on the ride over.
And now Hagg was staring at Helu.
“I said we could go outside,” Helu said. “And he’s like, ‘Yeah, we can go outside.’
“We’re about to fight again, and then the older guys at the Bible study told us to break it up.’’
The ashamed look on Helu’s face confirms that he and Hagg now understand that Bible study is no place for fisticuffs. Nor is the home of NU team chaplain Matt Penland, which is where they happened to be.
“I think it’s through God’s grace that we’ve changed,’’ Helu said.
“Changed’’ can’t begin to describe the relationship two years later between two of the Huskers’ budding stars — Helu, a junior I-back from Danville, Calif., and Hagg, a junior defensive back from Peoria, Ariz.
After a month of tension started to wear off, Penland pulled the two together. A friendship slowly developed, and it’s grown stronger since last season.
“Matt helped us squash that, and from there it’s just been building and building,’’ Hagg said. “It’s kind of weird the way things happened.’’
Helu calls Hagg “my brother,’’ a term they also use for a close circle of friends that includes Prince Amukamara, Will Henry, Marcus Mendoza, Austin Jones, Kyler Reed and several others.
Bible study and Fellowship of Christian Athletes meetings became regular stops as both players inched forward in their faith.
“Circumstances came up where I wanted to know how to trust in Christ, and he wasn’t at that level yet,’’ Helu said. “But it was funny, because in God’s timing, a couple months later, he started becoming more committed.
“Us, Will Henry, Prince Amukamara ... all of us started seeking a greater power. Not coincidentally — there was a purpose to it, obviously. That’s when we started becoming friends.’’
Amukamara said you could start to see a big change in Helu after his freshman year. He became more of a leader on and off the field, and his NU football career took off in his sophomore year with 803 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
Hagg, who helped seal the Gator Bowl win over Clemson with a late pass breakup and sack, says he’s quiet by nature. Once he gets to know somebody, he’ll start to talk a little more.
That’s what happened when Helu and Hagg returned to NU after taking time off after the Gator Bowl. Each had bad experiences back home, Helu said, although neither would elaborate.
“It was just stuff we struggled with in the past, old habits, some of that— and we were kind of sick of them,’’ Helu said. “We came back and we were both like, ‘Man, we don’t want to live like this anymore.’ So we both came back and we kind of made an agreement.’’
Helu and Hagg set out to get as big and fast as they could in winter conditioning. At the same time, Helu said, they planned “the biggest and fastest learning curve’’ for the spiritual side of their lives.
“We couldn’t keep on doing our thing and His thing at the same time, because it’s like a lukewarm Christian,’’ Hagg said. “It was just like we’ve got to get ourselves out of the way and follow what Christ has in store for us, or we’ll always be confused living both lives at the same time.’’
Helu is always over at Hagg’s house, which he shares with Henry and former Husker center Brett Byford. They eschew some of the normal college nightlife in favor of hanging out, playing video games or just going to movies.
It’s not all stiff-collar stuff, though.
Helu every now and again likes to put on a pair of short shorts and match it with a long T-shirt pulled way down.
“And he’ll go out in public,’’ Hagg said, shaking his head.
They try to rap and dance. They have fun on community visits. Helu shares the Tongan candy his mom brings. They agree that Amukamara is the jokester of the bunch.
In fact, the junior cornerback may or may not have been involved in the prank that started Helu and Hagg off on the wrong foot two summers ago. “They didn’t blame it on me?’’ Amukamara said. “Oh, OK.”
But now, Amukumara said, Helu and Hagg realize they have a lot in common. “Their faith. They like to compete. They hang out. The biggest part of it for all of us is just our faith.’’
But there’s still a natural question: What would have happened a couple of years ago had they taken it out back?
“I don’t know, that’s a toss-up,’’ Hagg said. “He’s pretty big. You know, I’ll just say he would have won because I don’t know if I would have actually thrown a punch or anything.’’
