LINCOLN, Neb. — On one side of the glass is the weight room where Nebraska football players grunt and clang their way through their workouts.



On the other, opera music plays from desktop computer speakers, the majestic voices of Andrea Bocelli and Luciano Pavarotti — Pava-row-tee, as the office’s occupant says — a constant soundtrack.



Beside the glass overlooking the weight room, a dresser showcases three dozen books, neatly positioned around a jar of Tootsie Pops. This is no typical football library, aside from the half-dozen books by or about Bill Walsh. The rest of the collection seemingly has nothing to do with the sport. There are multiple works by Friedrich Nietzsche, books on religion, on biomechanics and on focus. One book is titled, “Motor Control and Learning”, written by Richard A. Schmidt, a former nationally ranked college gymnast-turned UCLA scientist.



This is the office of Mario Verduzco, the second-year...