<DIV id=byLineTag =byLine>By Jeff Miller for USA TODAY
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<DIV =inside-copy>Asked to expound on how Nebraska proposes to replace all-everything Ndamukong Suh in 2010, Cornhuskerssophomore defensive tackle Baker Steinkuhler politely declined multiple requests to do a phone interview.
"Family trait," says Mark King, Steinkuhler's high school coach at Lincoln (Neb.) Southwest.
Huskers fans are indeed aware the Steinkuhlers are strong, silent types.
Baker â€" who is 6-6 and 290 pounds â€" is the son of Dean Steinkuhler, the 1983 Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award winner at Nebraska as a guard. Dad anchored one of the best offensive lines ever as Nebraska averaged 52 points and 401.7 rushing yards a game; he then played nine seasons for the Houston Oilers.
Baker's older brother, Ty, preceded him in their father's Big Red football footsteps and started on the defensive line as a senior in 2008.
None craved attention from the news media or from the general public. Dean was almost conspicuous by his absence while the boys were in high school. In rare interviews, he indicates he doesn't want to siphon attention from his boys. The attitude apparently has rubbed off.
"He's not the most talkative guy in the world," Nebraska coach Bo Pelini says of Baker.
Adds Jared Crick, the junior defensive tackle who will become the most experienced player on the Huskers' 2010 defensive line: "Baker wants to be his own person."
He should have ample opportunity. In 2009, Nebraska continued to move back in the direction of where Big Red fans expect their program to be. The Huskers (10-4) led the nation in scoring defense and came within one second of upsetting Texas in the Big 12 Conference championship game and playing in a BCS bowl.
Nebraska's defense will return seven regular starters with nine players who made at least five starts.
Steinkuhler enters the fall with the edge on lining up inside next to Crick, figuratively filling Suh's position. Consider the symmetry: Baker, whose dad went second in the 1984 NFL draft, would step in for the player chosen second in the 2010 draft.
Dean came to Lincoln from the tiny Nebraska town of Burr, where he played eight-man football. He played both ways in high school before moving strictly to the offensive line with the Huskers.
Baker played both ways for Southwest before finding a home on defense for Nebraska.
Southwest's King recalled Baker playing both ways as a junior in 2006 in the longest high school game played in the state, a five-overtime loss to Omaha (Neb.) Millard North.
"He was a machine," King says. "He ran a 4.78 (in the 40-yard dash) when he was 282 pounds."
Baker made one official campus recruiting visit, though King had other ideas.
"I suggested he make other visits: 'Bake, take some trips,' " King recalls. No, thanks.
When Baker signed with the Big Red, his father didn't attend the ceremony for fear of drawing attention. Such has been his pattern as a high school and college football father.
"He keeps his distance," Crick says.
Nebraska loses Suh at defensive tackle plus two-year starter Barry Turner at defensive end. Pelini is irritated by any suggestion that the defense â€" coached by Carl Pelini, Bo's brother â€" faces a rebuilding job.
"People are talking like our defense is going to fall apart. That's absurd," he says. "We expect the same production."
In fact, Pelini sees the most defensive depth since he became Nebraska's head coach in December 2007.
"Guys are looking forward to the challenges," he says.
Says Crick: "It's obvious we all have to step up our game. We're not looking at it like we lost a huge talent. It's a system of everybody doing their job. If one doesn't do his job, the line fails. I expect to get more double teams. I've got to prepare for certain things."
Crick, at 6-6 and 285, joined Suh on the Big 12's first-team defense last season.
"He has all the tools," Pelini says. "He's quick, a very powerful guy."
Crick says of young Steinkuhler: "He's learning. I see little glimpses here and there. You've got to be consistent. With his height, like mine, you get extra leverage."
Other players in the mix at defensive tackle are junior Terrence Moore, sophomore Justin Jackson and redshirt freshman Thaddeus Randle.
King thinks Steinkuhler won't shy away from the prospect of replacing Suh. "He's ready," he says. "He has a great work ethic. He doesn't stop working. He gets better all the time."
