It took a year, but Jared Crick finally followed Gary Kubiak from Houston to Denver when the Broncos signed the defensive end to a two-year contract in April. He reunited with the coach who drafted him, after Kubiak and the Texans picked him in the fourth round in 2012.

Crick went from small-town Cozad High in central Nebraska, where he played football for the Haymakers, to Nebraska, playing for the Cornhuskers.

In 10 games this season Crick has 28 total tackles and two sacks playing opposite Derek Wolfe on the Broncos defensive line. He talked about his move North and finding an island of Cornhuskers in Denver.

Q: It’s interesting how certain players match with certain coaches. Do you have a mind-meld with Gary Kubiak? Does he just understand you more?

A: He has his kind of players. He wants players who will come in and work hard and play hard. I was with him for two years down in Houston, and they drafted me. So it’s good to be back up here.

I enjoyed myself so much in Houston with him at the helm, that I knew when he left Houston, wherever he ended up, that’s where I wanted to be. Because I like how he ran things. I like how he takes care of his guys, he cares about his guys. I think everybody in this locker room will tell you they really appreciate that about him.

Q: Players moving around to different teams is not unusual. But did it help with your transition? Was it easier for you to come here knowing what to expect from your coach?

A: Yeah, that was really the main reason I came up here, to come back with Kubes. And coach (Bill) Kollar, the D-line coach, I was with him for three years in Houston. I knew I was coming into a familiar situation. All I had to do was get used to new teammates. And that didn’t take long at all. It really wasn’t a hard adjustment at all. And like I said, the big reason, really the main reason I came here, was because of the coaching staff.

Q: You found a friendly locker room too, apparently. With you and Zaire Anderson and Andy Janovich, Nebraska is the most represented school in here. Nebraska and Colorado State. Does it feel red heavy?

A: Not really. To me, I’m so used to not having any Nebraska guys around. I think I had one Nebraska teammate for half a year my rookie year. But other than that, no one from my school was on the team. Coming here, it’s different for me. But with three guys from Nebraska, it’s good.

There’s a huge Nebraska following in this town. The other guys on this squad kind of get drowned out because of the support we get from people. It’s fun, though, to finally talk about your old school with guys who went there.

Q: You played at Nebraska at the end of the golden era of the Big 12. Colorado fans want to know, and be honest, who was Nebraska’s rival?

A: You know, there was such a deep, historic rivalry between Nebraska and Oklahoma. So whenever we played them guys, it was something more. And we only played them once every two years, we didn’t play every year like they did before. So really, players didn’t consider it the biggest rivalry. But fans did.

For us, even though we didn’t play Texas every year, they were our biggest rival. Because we had close games, we played them in the Big 12 title game, they kicked a field goal at the end. It was controversial. Ever since then, we’ve hated each other. I would say Texas.

But we played Colorado every year and that was always a fun game.

Q: Would you prefer Nebraska was still in the Big 12?

A: I don’t know, man. I see why Nebraska left. I see why Colorado left. The southern schools were getting so much exposure. And northern schools were left hanging. So I see why they moved. But it still feels different. I wish we still played Oklahoma and K-State. But the change of scenery is good. It’s fun. There are a lot of big dogs in the Big 10 running around.

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