Right after Nebraska’s heartbreaking 18-16 loss to Florida State in the 1994 Orange Bowl, junior safety Tierre Green decided he wanted to be a Husker.

His mom, Lisa Green, said he felt he could help the Huskers get over the hump and win some national championships again.

Tierre eventually became a Husker, but his mom really tried to delay the inevitable for as long as possible.

“I kind of dreaded him playing any football because he was such a skinny kid,” Lisa said. “He wanted to play really badly in seventh grade. He begged me to (let him) play, so I broke down and let him.”

As soon as Tierre started playing, Lisa’s fears were realized.  After playing one game, Tierre broke his arm during a practice the next week.

Lisa said the injury was a mixed blessing, because Tierre  didn’t put on the pads again until his freshman year at Omaha Benson. By then, Tierre had started to get into weight lifting and, according to Lisa, was ready to handle football.

It didn’t take long for Tierre to thrive at Benson. He played a key role on the Bunnies’ playoff teams in 2000 and ’01. 

Lisa said Tierre’s energy helped make him a standout, something she said he had since he was 2.

“He was always very energetic,” Lisa said. “He never really walked. He always was jumping and flipping a lot, and was always different from the girls.”

The first sport Tierre used this energy in was wrestling, which he started competing in as a 7-year-old.  

But Lisa said Tierre found other outlets for his energy.

“He always did a lot of science when he was little,” she said. “He shot and built some rockets.  He did  some  other science stuff.  I think math was probably a favorite subject in school, but as far as extracurricular things,  he did science activities.”

Obviously, Tierre’s other hobby was Husker football. He got to watch his cousin, Ahman Green, compete on two national championship squads for the Huskers.

Tierre keeps in touch with Ahman and has made it up to Green Bay, Wis., a couple of times to help Ahman with some football camps.

So, when it came time to pick a college program, Lisa said it was a pretty easy choice after Frank Solich offered Tierre a scholarship.

“His dream was to go to Nebraska,” Lisa said. “He looked at a couple of other programs, but he always felt Nebraska had one of the best programs.”