As we spent the summer arguing about the greatest players in Nebraska football history on the Common Fan Podcast, one thing started to stick out.
Where were all the recent guys?
We built six different “Mount Rushmores” of Nebraska players–guys who were the best at their position, side of the ball, or specialty. The most recent player on any of those lists was Lavonte David, who made the Mount Rushmore for Blackshirts.
David finished his Nebraska career in 2011. Fifteen years ago. That’s a pretty glaring indicator when you think about what has happened to Nebraska football since then.
Respect for Recent Huskers
I want to be clear: everyone who has worn the uniform deserves our respect. Anyone who has run out of that tunnel, put their body on the line, and given it their all is a Husker for life. We shouldn’t forget that.
And, the Huskers have had plenty of good football players over the last decade-plus. Ameer Abdullah was terrific. Rex Burkhead remains one of the most beloved Huskers of the modern era. Stanley Morgan Jr. became Nebraska’s first 1,000-yard receiver. Maliek Collins was a beast on the defensive line, and is still making an impact in the NFL. Just last season, Emmett Johnson put together one of the best seasons we’ve seen in a long time, becoming an All American along the way.
There have been excellent players, NFL draft picks, and guys who had memorable careers. But when we discussed players from roughly the last 25 years, none was seriously threatening a Mount Rushmore that included names like Johnny Rodgers, Grant Wistrom, Mike Rozier, Ndamukong Suh and Dave Rimington.
Compare Nebraska to the Programs It Wants to Be
Imagine Ohio State fans doing this exercise. Or Alabama or Clemson. Those programs would certainly lean heavily on their history, too. That’s the fun of these debates. But they’d also have players from five years ago. Or three years ago. Or last year.
Guys from recent teams would have legitimate arguments against the legends of previous generations because those players won championships, competed for Heisman trophies, became first-team All-Americans, and played in games that mattered nationally.
Our most recent selections in the whole series were David (who left after the 2011 season), Alex Henery (2010), and Ndamukong Suh (2009). That is pretty telling when you consider where Nebraska has been for a decade-plus, and where fans and everyone involved in the program wants it to be.
I also don’t think it rests entirely on the shoulders of the players.
Great Programs Produce Great Players
Generally speaking, the players we remember forever played meaningful football. They won championships, they were on highly-ranked teams, they played in program-defining games. Johnny Rodgers, Tommie Frazier, Grant Wistrom, Ahman Green, and Jerry Tagge all won big games and ultimately won rings. Dave Rimington, Mike Rozier, and some of the other players we discussed won conference titles and competed for national championships.
Great programs produce great players. Great circumstances give great players the opportunity to become legends.
You can’t have this conversation without talking about the dysfunction that has plagued the program since Tom Osborne retired. Since TO walked out the door, Nebraska has had seven athletic directors, including four in the last ten years. Not to mention six head coaches. Bad hires and poor leadership are as much a part of the problem as anything.
Husker fans know the story well. The frustration of the last 10 to 15 years is usually measured in wins and losses. No conference championships, playoff appearances, or major bowl games. A bowl drought that once seemed impossible. We chronicled a lot of this history two years ago in our summer series, The Reckoning, and I would encourage you to check it out if you haven’t already.
The program needs stability – and needs to win at a higher level more regularly – for program-changing players to have the opportunity to shine.
Where Do We Go From Here?
The final question on the last episode of the Mt. Rushmore series was about which current player might end up in a future Nebraska football Mt. Rushmore debate. I hope five to ten years from now, if somebody is having these conversations, there is a huge crop of new candidates.
The great Nebraska teams didn’t merely win. They produced players who won national awards. Offensive linemen whose names became synonymous with their positions. Blackshirts who terrified opposing offenses. They produced quarterbacks whose careers became markers in the history of college football.
For too long, Nebraska hasn’t produced enough of those guys. Or perhaps more accurately, it hasn’t created the kind of teams and moments that allow very good players to become immortal ones.
That’s part of what makes the next phase of the Matt Rhule era so important. Nebraska has already taken steps forward. Many Husker fans would say small steps. Eventually this needs to become about more than simply returning to bowl games or avoiding losing seasons. The standard has to move. Get to a place where you’re winning nine, ten, eleven games a year, playing meaningful games in November, and competing for championships, and the awards and player recognition will follow.
Will anyone on the current roster become one of those guys? Nobody knows. But ultimately, this is what Nebraska is chasing: becoming the type of program that wins championships and produces program-defining players. The two go hand-in-hand, and it’s been too long since that was the standard in Lincoln.
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