“We made some progress last year, and that’s about it. Around here, we measure being back by championships…you’ve got to earn that respect on the field.”
-- Bo Pelini


Comment Monday on the Jim Rome radio show about progress in this years' fall camp.

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“All my front line guys went first round, and they were all corn-fed, all from Nebraska. Back in the day, the line was from Nebraska, and the skill players were from Texas and New Jersey.” -Mike Rozier, 1983 Heisman Trophy Winner


Mike Rozier had an outstanding collegiate football career, which included one of the greatest single-season rushing performances in NCAA history. Rozier led the nation in rushing in 1983 with 2,148 yards. He was the second player in NCAA history to break the 2,000 yard mark in a single-season.

These performances won Mike Rozier the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, and recognition as Walter Camp Player of the Year in 1983. He was a two-time First Team All-America selection 1982 and 1983. He set numerous NCAA single-season rushing records including yards per game (179.0) and rushing touchdowns (29).


A two-time BIG-8 Offensive Player of the Year, Rozier was an All-Conference First Team Performer three times and led the Cornhuskers to a perfect 21-0 conference record and three titles. His career rushing record is 4,780 yards.


Drafted second overall in the first round of the 1984 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers, Rozier played eight seasons in the NFL with the Oilers and Atlanta Falcons.

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Here’s our primer for the Big 12 Wrestling Championships being held in the NU Coliseum. May all fans of all teams coming to Lincoln enjoy!

Starting at 11 a.m. teams will engage in “pigtail” rounds pitting the fourth and fifth seeds. The winner of that match will then wrestle the No. 1 seed in the semifinals at noon, with the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds wrestling each other, as well. A 4 p.m. are the consolation matches, with the finals coming at 7 p.m.

125 pounds:

1. Joey Fio – OU
2. Obenson Blanc – OSU
3. Tyler Clark – ISU
4. Troy Dolan – MU
5. Andy Pokorny – NU

Analysis: Clark was the highest ranked wrestler in this class for much of the season, but Fio is the most exciting and athletic; after serving a suspension for the Oklahoma State match, OU Coach Jack Spates said Fio went “exceedingly, abundantly above all we could ask. He really has responded so well. It’s like he’s a different person.” Blanc, meanwhile, is as gifted as any wrestler at the weight and enjoyed a late-season tear that included a 5-3 win over Clark. Clark is the No. 3 seed and has to stay aggressive. At times he lapses into defensive mode and it doesn’t always suit him.

Our pick: A Bedlam final between Blanc and Fio. We like the active Blanc in what’s really a toss-up match.

133 pounds:

1. Nick Fanthorpe – ISU
2. Chris Notte – OSU
3. Brian Shelton – OU
4. Matt Vacanti – NU
5. Todd Schavrien – MU

Analysis: The highest-ranked wrestler, Fanthorpe, has wrestled once since suffering an injury in the Oklahoma dual Jan. 23, so it’s hard to tell just how much rust he’ll have to shake off. He did handily beat NU’s Vacanti, though, 11-3 two weeks ago. Notte narrowly beat Shelton and Schavrien in 3-2 matches in recent duals. Arguably the weakest weight class at the championships, given Fanthorpe’s injury.

Our pick: Shelton, Notte or Fanthorpe should take it. Vacanti needs a win in the pigtail for precious points, at the very least.

141 pounds

1. Marcus Hoehn – MU
2. Nick Gallick – ISU
3. Jamal Parks – OSU
4. Seth Vernon – OU
5. Curtis Salazar – NU

Analysis: Parks, just a freshman, will be a tough out because he’s athletic and hard to take down, but this class ultimately comes down to a physical, defensive match between Gallick and Hoehn in the final. In their dual match earlier this year, Gallick lost in sudden death on a stalling warning. Don’t expect refs to let such a thing settle this match.

Our pick: A total toss up. Give it to Hoehn.

149 pounds

1. Kyle Terry – OU
2. Mitch Mueller – ISU
3. Robert Sanders – NU
4. Andrew Sherry – MU
5. Luke Silver – OSU

Analysis: It’s Kyle Terry and everybody else in this weight class. Terry handily beat Mueller 6-0 in a dual and Mueller is 2-0 against Sanders, although one of those was a sudden victory. The Sanders/Mueller semifinal will be one of those match-within-match deals that could swing a couple crucial points either way. Neither of them will beat Terry.

Our pick: Terry

157 pounds

1. Jordan Burroughs – NU
2. Michael Chandler – MU
3. Cyler Sanderson – ISU
4. Robert Erisman – OSU
5. Chad Terry – OU

Analysis: Normally, it’d be a great race, with five wrestlers ranked in the top 20. But Burroughs owns easy victories over every wrestler on this list but Chandler, who challenged Burroughs by wrestling seven minutes of defense. The 2/3 semifinal between Sanderson and Chandler ought to be one of the treats of the day.

Our pick: Burroughs, who is probably the best wrestler in the building.

165 pounds

1. Nick Marable – MU
2. Jon Reader – ISU
3. Stephen Dwyer – NU
4. Brandon Mason – OSU
5. Ryan Smith – OU

Analysis: What a war this will be. Marable, Reader, Dwyer and Mason are nationally ranked 6,7,8 and 9. Every match will be physical and punishing. It’ll come down to defense and execution in takedowns. Dwyer has the home mat advantage; Marable, meanwhile, has the luxury of knowing he’s beaten all three wrestlers.

Our pick: We like a final of Dwyer and Marable, with Dwyer pulling it out in sudden victory. It’s his time.

174 pounds

1. Raymond Jordan – MU
2. Brandon Browne – NU
3. Newly McSpadden – OSU
4. Jeff James – OU
5. Duke Burk – ISU

Analysis: Chandler gets the higher seed by virtue of his win over Browne in Columbia, but these two are just about dead even, and bound to meet each other in the NCAA Championships, too. McSpadden and James, meanwhile, are nothing to shake a stick at, but both have been beaten by the top-seeded wrestlers. They will all be tight matches.

Our pick: Browne is the most offensive-minded of the bunch.

184 pounds:

1. Vince Jones – NU
2. Jerome Ward – ISU
3. Pat Flynn – OU
4. Dorian Henderson – MU
5. Chris McNeill – OSU

Analysis: Here’s Nebraska’s wild card for the tournament. Jones isn’t the best wrestler on NU’s team, but he might have the clearest path to a title. He’s pinned the No. 2 seed, Ward, twice, including one just two weeks ago. That said, Jones doesn’t always wrestling up to his considerable talent. If he does Saturday, he wins going away.

Our pick: Jones.

197 pounds:

1. Jake Varner – ISU
2. Craig Brester – NU
3. Max Askren – MU
4. Clayton Foster – OSU
5. Eric Lapotsky – OU

Analysis: Another meat grinder, but, for now, Varner is the clear favorite. He’s beaten Brester twice, Foster and Askren handily once. Brester’s come the closest to Varner but hasn’t quite eclipsed him. The 2/3 match between Brester and Askren will be a meeting old friends, their fifth in two years. Brester’s won the last two, and should have the edge on the home mat. Foster is dangerous – but he has to get past Eric Lapotsky.

Our pick: Varner. But Brester’s closing. An upset is possible.

Heavyweight:

1. David Zabriskie – ISU
2. Mark Ellis – MU
3. Jared Rosholt – OSU
4. Tucker Lane – NU
5. Nathan Fernandez – OU

Analysis: Great icing on the cake, as any – yes, any – of the wrestlers could win the title, and Missouri’s No. 2 wrestler, Dominique Bradley, probably could have, too, if he had beaten out Ellis, his teammate. Zabriskie is ranked No. 1 in the nation, but that’s a pretty tenuous position, considering he’s lost to Lane and the aforementioned Bradley. He narrowly beat Lane in a rematch, and had similar close wins over Ellis and Rosholt. Just to look at him, Rosholt has the presence of the favorite, but his recent results haven’t shown that. Meanwhile, Lane is a wild card here. If he can execute his shots – and that can be a big if for Lane sometimes – he might be the most gifted wrestler of bunch, and certainly the quickest. He took some guys by surprise earlier in the year. Not now.

Our pick: Zabriskie is a highly cautious, boring grappler. We see him getting picked off by Lane in the rubber match. Lane then loses to Rosholt in the final.

Updates from the Big 12 Championships

See also: Mini BCS Bowl of Wrestling Comes to Lincoln.

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Since the Big Eight became the Big 12 in 1996, Nebraska’s wrestling team has won as many league championships as the number of ghost orchids in a pine forest. Oklahoma State has ruled the roost for most of those tournaments, with Iowa State and Oklahoma picking up the table scraps.

NU’s best chance was last year, when it rolled into the tourney with the nation’s No. 2 team, but finished second to ISU at what coach Mark Manning calls a “mini-BCS bowl.”

Manning recalled the frustration of that missed opportunity in 2008 by pausing and shaking his head a little. His team dropped some key consolation matches that provided the Cyclones with their final margin of victory.

But now, ranked fourth and bunched closely with No. 3 Iowa State and No. 5 Missouri, Nebraska could get an even better shot in 2009. The Huskers host the event in the NU Coliseum Saturday. No bags. No travel. No hassle. Plenty of rest. And enough sterling wrestlers in the upper weights to make a run at the crown.

The mini-BCS has come to Lincoln. With just five teams in the Big 12, the meet is a one-day event Saturday, with fourth and fifth seed matches starting at 11 a.m., semifinals at noon, consolation matches at 4 p.m., and finals, which will be televised live on Fox Sports Network, at 7.

“Fans are in for a great treat,” Manning said. “A lot of close matches and a lot of great matchups. It’s gonna be a great day for wrestling fans… you can’t really hide. You don’t really have an easy match. Every match will be highly contested.”

Leaning in the entryway of the NU wrestling room Tuesday, Manning said it would be a “great accomplishment,” if the Huskers, who finished 17-3-1 in their dual season and took first at the Las Vegas Invitational back in December, were able to nip ISU and Mizzou for its first league crown.

But, he said, it’ll take energy, aggression, and maybe a little surprise at one of the lower weights, where Nebraska has struggled at times during the season. Generally, though, NU hopes to rely on their cache of strong upper weight wrestlers, beginning with undefeated and third-ranked 157-pounder Jordan Burroughs and continuing through No. 15 heavyweight Tucker Lane.

Burroughs, No. 3 174-pounder Brandon Browne and No. 11 184-pounder Vince Jones should all be favorites at their weights. At 165, 197 and heavyweight, NU’s Stephen Dwyer, Craig Brester and Lane have already technically qualified for the NCAA Championships, as the Big 12 was allotted five bids for each weight class. That’s how strong they are.

Brester, ranked second, will likely have to beat No. 4 Max Askren of Missouri – Brester’s won two straight – and Iowa State’s top-ranked Jake Varner – Brester’s lost two straight – to claim the league crown. No. 8 Dwyer will need to avenge losses to Mizzou’s Nick Marable and ISU’s Jon Reader to win his first award.

“It’s definitely a pretty stacked weight class,” Dwyer said, adding that, aside from nationals, the Big 12 meet is as “big time” as NU’s season gets.

“I haven’t won a Big 12 championship,” he said. “And I really want to.”

Lane, just a redshirt freshman, has the toughest draw. If he can survive a 4/5 piggyback match against Oklahoma’s Nathan Fernandez, he’ll be staring at the nation’s top three wrestlers: Iowa State’s David Zabriskie, Missouri’s Mark Ellis and Oklahoma State’s Jared Rosholt. Lane split with Zabriskie, lost narrowly to Rosholt and didn’t face Ellis.

“It was a big week of preparation for me,” Lane said. “They’re all tough guys with a lot of experience wrestling in big matches.”

Nebraska’s biggest team competition should be ISU, who stunned the Huskers 30-10 in a dual two weeks ago at the NU Coliseum. The Huskers wrestled, however, without Browne, who lost his mother, and 125-pounder Andy Pokorny, who missed weight.

In a teleconference Wednesday, Manning called the Cyclones the team to beat, since they have balance throughout the weight classes, and could beat NU at those three key upper weights.

Iowa State coach Cael Sanderson played down the “favorite” tag.

“Maybe that’s just a strategy or something,” Sanderson said. “Just like any other team, we’ve got to wrestle, get in there and get the job done. With only a few rounds of wrestling, just one match can have a significant impact and make a big difference in the outcome.”

Watch out for Missouri, too. The Tigers beat ISU in a dual, almost did the same to Nebraska, and have the one wrestler, Michael Chandler, who has given Burroughs any sort of trouble this year at 157 pounds. Like the Huskers, though, Mizzou is not particularly strong in the lower weights.

MU coach Brian Smith said a Big 12 title would be “another step” that many deemed unthinkable just a decade ago.

“When I first got here I was laughed when I said we would do that, but I know we’re right in the hunt,” Smith said. “We’ve been in the hunt for the last couple years…it would also be meaningful to the entire state and the athletic department at Missouri because they’ve never won an overall Big 12 male championship.”

Both programs should bring vocal fans to Lincoln, Brester said. Dwyer, meanwhile, said he remembers the Oklahoma State contingent quite well. The Cowboys have few top-end wrestlers, but might gobble up a couple titles in the lower weights. Oklahoma probably brings up the rear with a young team, but could act as spoiler to NU, ISU or Mizzou.

Put the fans of all five programs into NU Coliseum, and the joint might jump like it does for Husker volleyball.

Dwyer said he’ll take that over a road trip any day.

“It’s so much less strenuous on your body,” he said. “I love wrestling at home.”

Want to know which Huskers have the best chance at a title! Check out our primer!

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