H U S K E R D A N
March 2, 2011
THE DANNO AWARDS OF THE PAST DECADE (PLUS ONE) OF HUSKER FOOTBALL
PART II
As we await the arrival of spring, it's time to turn our
focus to football. In the past, the Danno Awards have
been given annually to recognize the people and some of the
special moments in the world of Nebraska football.
2000-2010 (DECADE PLUS ONE) DANNO AWARD WINNERS
But this year, we are going to honor the best (and worst) of the years 2000 to 2010 (the Decade Plus One) of Husker football. Why the past 11 years? Because 2010 marked the end of Nebraska's association with the Big 12 Conference. And this fall, the Huskers will be playing in the venerable Big Ten Conference.
In this segment, we'll look at the Cornhusker Award and the best of the offensive moments.
2000-2010 (DECADE PLUS ONE) DANNO AWARD WINNERS
CORNHUSKER OF THE DPO (DECADE PLUS
ONE)
UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman (2001-present)This award is given to the person who has had the greatest positive impact
on the world of Husker football. And the DPO winner may be a surprise
to some of you, but we think Chancellor Perlman is deserving. It's
true, he oversaw the hiring of Steve Pederson (at the time most Husker fans
applauded the move) and he was there when Pederson and former Husker head coach,
Bill Callahan, received raises and contract extensions just months before both
were fired.
BEST HUSKER OFFENSIVE TEAM2001
But it was Perlman who had the sense to fire AD Steve Pederson and to hire Tom Osborne as interim AD. In turn, Osborne fired Callahan and most of his staff at the end of the '07 season and replaced him with Bo Pelini. And last year, Chancellor Perlman also publicly voiced his displeasure with Bo Pelini's sideline meltdowns during last year's loss at Texas A&M.
But maybe even more importantly, it was Harvey Perlman who led the way for Nebraska to move to the Big Ten Conference. One wonders what would have happened had Callahan remained the head coach and Perlman not been chancellor. Would Nebraska still have been invited to dance in the Big Ten? It's doubtful.
BEST HUSKER OFFENSIVE TEAM
Led by Heisman winner Eric Crouch, the Huskers
managed to win 11 games – the most games during the DPO. That year, despite
getting slammed by the Buffaloes 62-36 in their last regular-season game, the
11-1 Huskers – with a huge assist from the computer – limped
into the national championship game, losing to Miami 37-14 in the Rose
Bowl. But Husker fans still savor that team's 20-10 win over
the #2 ranked Sooners in Lincoln, in what became the biggest win of the
DPO.
BEST OFFENSIVE PLAYER
Even though he played only two years in the DPO, he left a legacy that will
long endure. In 2001, Crouch became the Huskers' third Heisman winner,
joining Johnny Rodgers and Mike Rozier. Eric has always represented the
university, the football program, the state of Nebraska and Husker fans to the
highest level.
BEST QUARTERBACK
Eric Crouch (1998-2001)
Although the DPO saw the end of option football at Nebraska after the '03
season, it's a safe bet that Crouch would have found success running the West
Coast and read-option offenses. On his way to winning the Heisman in
2001, Crouch became the national career rushing leader for TDs by
a QB (59) and became only the 13th player in NCAA history to rush for over 1,000
yards and pass for over 1,000 yards in the same season.
BEST TD RUN BY A QUARTERBACK
Eric Crouch at Missouri 2001 ("The Run")
All you have to do is watch this play and just shake your head.
This amazing run put Crouch at the top of the Heisman list – a position he never
relinquished. Recently, I asked Eric what goes through his mind when he
watches replays of "The Run.". "It was all instinct," he said
referring to the moves he made to shake defenders. Instinct and
talent – what a combination. Congratulations, Eric!
BEST TD CATCH BY A QUARTERBACK
Eric Crouch Oklahoma @Nebraska 2001 (1998-2001)
This was an amazing play, executed to perfection against the biggest rival
in the biggest game of the DPO. This was not Crouch's only career TD
catch, but it was his greatest.
BEST RUNNING BACK
In last year's 31-17 win over Missouri in
Lincoln, Helu broke the Husker single-game rushing record
(294) established by Calvin Jones in 1991. Roy broke the
record by running for an amazing 307 yards. Helu now stands
fourth on the career rushing list (3,434) behind Heisman winner Mike
Rozier (4,780), Ahman Green (3,880) and another Heisman winner, Eric Crouch
(3,434). Helu ended his Husker career with a 5.9 yards per carry
average. In his record-setting single-game performance, Roy had TD runs of
66 (NU's first offensive play of the game), 73 and 53 yards as the Huskers won a critical
divisional game over the Tigers.
BEST BLOCKING RUNNING BACK
At 5'6" and 195 pounds, how could a player that size even play RB at a
program like Nebraska's? And at his size, how could he be expected to
block blitzing linebackers in the West Coast offense? I don't know, but he
did. In fact, he was the Nebraska Offensive MVP in '04 and '05. He
also received the Tom Novak Award his senior year at Nebraska.
BEST FULLBACK
Judd Davies (2000-2003)
This is a very hard pick, not because there haven't been good athletes at
the position over the past 11 years, but because the offenses that have been run
since Judd played at Nebraska have all but eliminated the FB
position. We're going with Davies who, like Heisman winner Eric Crouch,
came out of Millard North High to become a Husker. And for two of those
years, they played in the same backfield. In fact, Judd was part of Husker
history when he helped tie an NCAA record for the number of players (4) on
the same team to rush for at least 100 yards in a
single game. At Baylor in 2001, Thunder Collins (who is currently in
prison for murder) rushed for 165 yards, Dahrran Diedrick had 137, Eric
Crouch had 132 and Davies had 119. Despite injuries,
Davies managed to rush for a total of 703 career yards and had a 5.3
yards per carry average.
BEST RECEIVER
Maybe Nate wasn't the most gifted Husker receiver, but he maximized the
talent he did have and developed into an excellent go-to player, superb route
runner and a good punt returner.
(There is a really good YouTube highlight video of Swift, but there are
just a few too many "F" bombs in the rap music (?) version, so it wasn't
included in this column.)
BEST TIGHT END
Matt (The Pride of Pierce, Nebraska) Herian was on his
way to becoming one of the best tight ends in school history, but
a bad leg injury against Missouri kept him from reaching his
potential. Nevertheless, Matt gets the nod. He ended his Husker
career with an average of 19.1 yards per catch and 1,243 total career reception
yards.
BEST OFFENSIVE LINEMAN
Although he played only one year of the DPO, Dominic was good enough to win
the Rimington Trophy his senior year. No other Husker offensive lineman
since then has achieved such high
recognition.