Steven M. Sipple: Nebraska was once haven for walk ons
Only the most ardent Nebraska football fans would remember Tom Nelson’s time as a Husker. But to me, he might as well have been a Heisman Trophy winner.
Nelson and I attended Columbus High School in the mid-1980s. He was one heck of a quarterback, good enough to become a walk-on defensive back at Nebraska. If memory serves, he never played a down for the varsity in college. But to me, he might as well have been Mike Rozier.
As was the case with most Columbus folks, it filled me with pride just to see Tommy warming up for games in his Husker uniform at the big house on Stadium Drive.
Nelson, you see, was Columbus’ connection to the program. Because of Nelson, perhaps Columbus folks attending Nebraska games in those years cheered that much louder, and maybe because of that unyielding spirit, the Huskers played that much harder, and everyone traveled home after the games that much happier.
Seemingly every city and town in the state could boast of a walk-on at one time or another — literally hundreds of Tom Nelsons. It was arguably the backbone that fed Nebraska’s amazing 40-year run of gridiron success.
The de-emphasis of the walk-on program by the current coaching staff, many would argue, is one of the leading causes for this season’s abysmal downturn. Or maybe this is all a little too romantic for some to understand, a little too sappy for some to stomach.
These walk-ons — players who go out for the team even though they don’t have a scholarship — linked their towns to the Husker program and infused the squad with a sense of pride, work ethic, loyalty and commitment. From those ranks came stars such as Kelly Saalfeld, Adam Treu, Derrie Nelson and John Parrella. The list goes on.
Determined walk-ons arrived at Nebraska from outside the state, too, and many found success — Jared Tomich, I.M. Hipp, Anthony Steels, brothers Jimmy and Toby Williams, to name a few. But the majority of walk-ons arrived on campus from inside our borders.
The walk-on program is “probably one way we’ve been able to survive against the Florida schools and the schools in the Sunbelt, schools in populated areas,” Tom Osborne said in the late 1990s, mindful of Nebraska’s inherent recruiting disadvantages. “If we didn’t have walk-ons willing to come here, I think it wouldn’t be long before we very quickly became a second-rate program.”
Entering today’s game against Kansas State, you might say Nebraska — with a record of 4-6 overall and 1-5 in the Big 12 — has degenerated into a second-rate program.
This much is certain: Osborne, who was hired as NU’s interim athletic director to help right the ship, wants to see a revival of the Big Red walk-on program. Of course, Osborne has to choose words carefully in public forums, since he has said he would wait until the end of the season to make a determination on Bill Callahan’s future at Nebraska.
Osborne, in our phone interview Friday, made sure to note that Callahan hasn’t exactly turned his back on the walk-on program. For instance, Callahan took 12 walk-ons this year. Callahan’s predecessor, Frank Solich, typically took 20 to 30 a year, roughly the same as Osborne in his final years at Nebraska.
Bottom line is, Callahan, upon his arrival here in January 2004 following a stint as head coach of the NFL Oakland Raiders, sought to trim the roster (he has 130 players, compared with roughly 170 on Nebraska’s 2003 roster).
“Some guys just don’t want to work with (170 players),” Osborne said. “Some do. But you don’t want people standing around in practice with nothing to do. And that’s why we ran two offensive stations and two defensive stations, so we had everybody in motion all of the time. We ran a lot of snaps. And that repetition was very helpful to us.
“That doesn’t mean that’s the only right way to do it.”
In fact, Osborne said, “We were very unusual. I’d say 95 to 99 percent of coaching staffs run one offensive station and one defensive station.”
Of course, that’s how Callahan operates, and some people don’t like it. Too many Nebraska players stand around in practice these days, according to an ex-player who watched a recent practice.
The point is, walk-ons bring a certain attitude to the program. They typically grow up dreaming of playing for Nebraska and the “N” on the helmet. There was a time when walk-ons helped make NU a unique place. It was a haven for walk-ons.
“They more or less set the tone for the program,” Osborne said Friday.
According to longtime Nebraska football writer Mike Babcock, the Huskers’ walk-on tradition usually is traced to the early 1960s, when defensive end Langston Coleman and a friend hitchhiked from Washington, D.C., to Lincoln to earn a place on one of Bob Devaney’s teams. Coleman’s friend, by the way, decided not to play.
Coleman, meanwhile, decided to make a mark. He earned letters in 1964, 1965 and 1966. Devaney once said that Coleman was “one of the meanest football players we ever had at Nebraska. During practice, the other players used to hate being in drills with him because he’d beat the heck out of guys.”
Of course, there have been plenty of walk-ons — guys such as my old friend Nelson — who never saw the field during games. Even so, they typically delighted in being part of something special. Those players’ passionate attitude about being a Husker rubbed off on the scholarship players, creating a winning mix.
“I would watch (walk-ons’) pride and all-out effort,” said Marvin Sanders, a former Nebraska safety from Chicago. “Practice, for many of them, was like a game. It’s just something that Devaney and Osborne established, and it became the Nebraska way.”
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
Nelson and I attended Columbus High School in the mid-1980s. He was one heck of a quarterback, good enough to become a walk-on defensive back at Nebraska. If memory serves, he never played a down for the varsity in college. But to me, he might as well have been Mike Rozier.
As was the case with most Columbus folks, it filled me with pride just to see Tommy warming up for games in his Husker uniform at the big house on Stadium Drive.
Nelson, you see, was Columbus’ connection to the program. Because of Nelson, perhaps Columbus folks attending Nebraska games in those years cheered that much louder, and maybe because of that unyielding spirit, the Huskers played that much harder, and everyone traveled home after the games that much happier.
Seemingly every city and town in the state could boast of a walk-on at one time or another — literally hundreds of Tom Nelsons. It was arguably the backbone that fed Nebraska’s amazing 40-year run of gridiron success.
The de-emphasis of the walk-on program by the current coaching staff, many would argue, is one of the leading causes for this season’s abysmal downturn. Or maybe this is all a little too romantic for some to understand, a little too sappy for some to stomach.
These walk-ons — players who go out for the team even though they don’t have a scholarship — linked their towns to the Husker program and infused the squad with a sense of pride, work ethic, loyalty and commitment. From those ranks came stars such as Kelly Saalfeld, Adam Treu, Derrie Nelson and John Parrella. The list goes on.
Determined walk-ons arrived at Nebraska from outside the state, too, and many found success — Jared Tomich, I.M. Hipp, Anthony Steels, brothers Jimmy and Toby Williams, to name a few. But the majority of walk-ons arrived on campus from inside our borders.
The walk-on program is “probably one way we’ve been able to survive against the Florida schools and the schools in the Sunbelt, schools in populated areas,” Tom Osborne said in the late 1990s, mindful of Nebraska’s inherent recruiting disadvantages. “If we didn’t have walk-ons willing to come here, I think it wouldn’t be long before we very quickly became a second-rate program.”
Entering today’s game against Kansas State, you might say Nebraska — with a record of 4-6 overall and 1-5 in the Big 12 — has degenerated into a second-rate program.
This much is certain: Osborne, who was hired as NU’s interim athletic director to help right the ship, wants to see a revival of the Big Red walk-on program. Of course, Osborne has to choose words carefully in public forums, since he has said he would wait until the end of the season to make a determination on Bill Callahan’s future at Nebraska.
Osborne, in our phone interview Friday, made sure to note that Callahan hasn’t exactly turned his back on the walk-on program. For instance, Callahan took 12 walk-ons this year. Callahan’s predecessor, Frank Solich, typically took 20 to 30 a year, roughly the same as Osborne in his final years at Nebraska.
Bottom line is, Callahan, upon his arrival here in January 2004 following a stint as head coach of the NFL Oakland Raiders, sought to trim the roster (he has 130 players, compared with roughly 170 on Nebraska’s 2003 roster).
“Some guys just don’t want to work with (170 players),” Osborne said. “Some do. But you don’t want people standing around in practice with nothing to do. And that’s why we ran two offensive stations and two defensive stations, so we had everybody in motion all of the time. We ran a lot of snaps. And that repetition was very helpful to us.
“That doesn’t mean that’s the only right way to do it.”
In fact, Osborne said, “We were very unusual. I’d say 95 to 99 percent of coaching staffs run one offensive station and one defensive station.”
Of course, that’s how Callahan operates, and some people don’t like it. Too many Nebraska players stand around in practice these days, according to an ex-player who watched a recent practice.
The point is, walk-ons bring a certain attitude to the program. They typically grow up dreaming of playing for Nebraska and the “N” on the helmet. There was a time when walk-ons helped make NU a unique place. It was a haven for walk-ons.
“They more or less set the tone for the program,” Osborne said Friday.
According to longtime Nebraska football writer Mike Babcock, the Huskers’ walk-on tradition usually is traced to the early 1960s, when defensive end Langston Coleman and a friend hitchhiked from Washington, D.C., to Lincoln to earn a place on one of Bob Devaney’s teams. Coleman’s friend, by the way, decided not to play.
Coleman, meanwhile, decided to make a mark. He earned letters in 1964, 1965 and 1966. Devaney once said that Coleman was “one of the meanest football players we ever had at Nebraska. During practice, the other players used to hate being in drills with him because he’d beat the heck out of guys.”
Of course, there have been plenty of walk-ons — guys such as my old friend Nelson — who never saw the field during games. Even so, they typically delighted in being part of something special. Those players’ passionate attitude about being a Husker rubbed off on the scholarship players, creating a winning mix.
“I would watch (walk-ons’) pride and all-out effort,” said Marvin Sanders, a former Nebraska safety from Chicago. “Practice, for many of them, was like a game. It’s just something that Devaney and Osborne established, and it became the Nebraska way.”
Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.
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