“If I had won today or if I ultimately win, I’ll look back at the other Opens and think it was positive. If I never get one, then every time I think of the U.S. Open, I’ll just think of heartbreak.”

For Phil Mickelson fans — yes, I’m one of them — that quote cuts especially deep because the truth is, Lefty is never gonna win a U.S. Open. He will be the Greg Norman of the Masters. I’ve invested hundreds of major-championship hours over the years rooting for Mickelson. And days like Sunday, it feels like a waste of time.

I’ve never seen Phil hit the ball as consistently as he did the past four days. Never. You can count his bad swings …

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A quiet spring for Nebraska’s recruiting made for a deluge of a summer, a rash of seven commits in eight days, culminating what I suspect was a wildly successful Big Red Weekend. We’ll get to that in a minute, but first a few thoughts on why fans who panicked or grew inpatient weren’t paying close enough attention, and how NU stayed true to its plan for 2014.

The two commits heading into June were never a particular concern, in part because:

>> The coaches only had to offer kicker Drew Brown – the younger brother of former Husker Kris Brown and a lifelong NU fans – to land him. NU’s built a relationship over four years with Drew Brown.

>> Several in-state prospects (including new …

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From now until the start of fall camp, The World-Herald will be counting down the top 50 players you need to know heading into the 2013 football season.

Meet No. 47:

Chongo Kondolo | 6-4 | 290 pounds | Junior | Offensive lineman

It became clear to offensive line coach John Garrison midway through spring practice that Nebraska needed to better develop its second-string offensive line. Good thing Kondolo was preparing to join the team this summer.

Click here to see previous entries in the Husker Camp Countdown series.

Kondolo is projected to jump into the mix at guard or center, and if he’s able to adjust to the scheme quickly enough this fall, he might even find himself in the rotation.

Right guard Spencer …

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From now until the start of fall camp, The World-Herald will be counting down the top 50 players you need to know heading into the 2013 football season.

Meet No. 48:

Gabe Miller | 6-0 | 235 pounds | Freshman | Long snapper

There aren’t many positions as mentally torturous as long snapper. You’re called on only when the offense fails, asked to do your job so well that nobody notices.

Click here to see previous entries in the Husker Camp Countdown series.

But Miller’s on scholarship for just that. He’s expected to be the one snapping the football on punts and field goals, quickly and accurately so the team’s specialists can avoid those potential game-changing mistakes.

P.J. Mangieri took over as Nebraska’s long snapper …

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When Demornay Pierson-El arrived Saturday for the Big Red Weekend, he chose not to initially hang out with fellow prospects in Nebraska’s game room.

Instead, he walked into the conference room and had a one-on-one meeting with NU coach Bo Pelini.

“He told me I could ask him anything,” Pierson-El said.

That meeting helped lead Pierson-El, a 5-foot-9, 172-pound three-star prospect from Alexandria (Va.) West Potomac High School to become NU’s ninth commit — and the seventh in eight days.

He had long been on NU’s radar as a running back/wide receiver, running for 1,658 yards and 26 touchdowns last year for West Potomac and catching ten passes for 127 yards. Pierson-El said Saturday night Nebraska envisions him in the slot, much like current Husker Jamal …

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Nebraska’s Big Red Weekend continues to score commits for the Huskers, as Lincoln Southeast guard D.J. Foster — long a target of NU’s who also had offers to Georgia and Florida, among other schools — announced on Twitter that he’d pledged to NU for the 2014 class.

“I’m a Husker everyone!” Foster announced on Twitter. The 6-foot-3, 310-pounder is a high-three/low-four star prospect whose older brother, Trey, is a redshirt freshman walk-on tight end for Nebraska. Foster’s current teammate, Luke Gifford, is committed for the 2014 class, and former teammate Sam Cotton is also a redshirt freshman tight end for NU.

Foster is the eighth overall commit for the class, and the sixth for Nebraska in the last eight days. Combined with Highland (Ill.) offensive …

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Mick Stoltenberg came to Nebraska’s football camp Thursday, he earned the offer he was looking for after an extensive workout in front of several Husker coaches, and Saturday he unsurprisingly committed to NU for the 2014 class. Several recruiting sites confirmed the commit that was first reported by Husker Online.

The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Gretna star is likely to start his NU career on the offensive side of the ball at tight end or perhaps tackle. A high three-star according to Rivals — he’s still unrated by 247Sports and Scout, but that won’t last long — Stoltenberg receives offseason training from former Husker defensive lineman Steve Warren.

Stoltenberg is the seventh commit overall and the fifth in eight days. More to come after Stoltenberg finishes …

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From now until the start of fall camp, The World-Herald will be counting down the top 50 players you need to know heading into the 2013 football season.

Meet No. 49:

Cethan Carter | 6-4 | 230 pounds | Freshman | Tight end

Without veterans Ben Cotton and Kyler Reed around to hoard nearly all of the in-game snaps, there will be an opportunity for a contact-seeker who’s willing to clear a path downfield.

Click here to see previous entries in the Husker Camp Countdown series.

Carter might be that guy. He was technically a fullback and H-back during his junior year at Rummel (La.) High School before unveiling his pass-catching potential as a tight end last season. The kid likes to hit, and that …

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Even before Big Red Weekend has started, Nebraska’s started accumulating commits for the 2014 class. First Friday, quarterback Zack Darlington made his commit official. Later Friday, Pflugerville (Texas) corner Trai Mosley — a 5-foot-10, 170-pounder who visited for NU’s camp Friday — announced on Twitter he was “officially” a Cornhusker.

“Checked out everything, campus life was great can’t wait to come on back, but NOW ‘I am Officially An Cornhusker’!!!!” read the tweet. Mosley’s Twitter profile picture is a shot of him standing next to the Tom Osborne/Brook Berringer statue outside Memorial Stadium.

Mosley told Huskers Illustrated he received the offer in camp after running a 4.43-second 40-yard dash and a one-on-one meeting with secondary coach Terry Joseph.

“We really liked it up there, we …

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Nebraska has a sweet tooth for state championship quarterbacks.

Senior Taylor Martinez and true freshman Johnny Stanton won high school titles in California. Tommy Armstrong won his in Texas. Friday, the Huskers added to the mix 2014 commit Zack Darlington – who last year delivered a title to Apopka in Florida’s largest class and rebuffed an offer from Ohio State and Urban Meyer to play in Lincoln.

The 6-foot-2, 207-pound three-star prospect – who also held offers from North Carolina State, Virginia Tech and West Virginia, among other schools – had long been a target of NU offensive coordinator Tim Beck. Zack and his head coaching father, Rick Darlington – a longtime Husker fan – attended NU’s Quarterback Academy June 7, took the full tour …

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