No more Pound the Rock

knapplc

knapplc

International Man of Mystery
The "Pound the Rock" rock is no more.  Installed under the North Stadium bleachers along the Tunnel Walk path in the Callahan era, the idea behind the rock never really caught on with any of the subsequent coaches.  A dozen years or so after it was installed, the rock has been removed, the plaque taken away, and it is now just another landscaping feature in the athletic compound.

A brief history of the ersatz inspirational rock.

'Pound the Rock' boulder still has meaning

Tim Cassidy vividly remembers the big boulder — the one sitting alone and largely unnoticed inside Memorial Stadium near Nebraska's locker room.
However, Cassidy, NU's associate athletic director for football under former head coach Bill Callahan, can't recall exactly how it got there.
"I know it was an ordeal," said Cassidy, who now has a similar title at Arizona State.


The ordeal apparently went down sometime before the 2006 season, when Callahan brought in the boulder to emphasize the seriousness of his "pound the rock" theme for the offense.
"All I remember is Coach Callahan wanted (the boulder), and the facilities guys had to drag it in there — and it's sat there ever since," said Jay Terry, Nebraska's head equipment manager since 2002.
"I mean, nobody's really done anything with it other than when Callahan was here."
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From symbol to landscaping feature, Callahan's 'POUND THE ROCK' boulder finds a new home

The saga of "Callahan's Rock" appears to have reached its conclusion.

And now the boulder is nothing more than a landscaping feature.

The last remnant of those, um, glory days was recently moved from its home under the bleachers in north stadium to a spot just outside the south end the Hawks Championship Center.

Michael Bruntz of 247 Sports noticed the rock's new home Tuesday.

By Thursday, the bronze "POUND THE ROCK" plaque affixed to the top of the boulder had been removed.



In keeping with his routine of moving fast, new Husker coach Scott Frost apparently didn't waste much time having the rock moved out of Memorial Stadium.
So if you're wandering around before Saturday's spring game and feeling nostalgic, swing over to the south end of the practice facility. There, sitting in some landscaping rock just off the west edge of Ed Weir track, is a lonely boulder with a light spot on top, the only evidence of a link to one of the most ignominious times in Nebraska football history.
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I remember the first time I saw the rock.  It was standing across the bar from me among a busy crowd of patrons, yet it still stood out to me.  I bought the rock a drink and we really hit it off.  After a dozen or so dates we moved in together, sure it was a quick move and our friends disapproved, yet things just felt right.  Two years down the road and we were betrothed to be married.  It wasn't meant to be however, I came home one night and found the rock in bed with my own brother.  A messy end to an otherwise perfect time in my life.  When I found out the rock had moved into memorial stadium I was happy for it, but now that it has been evicted I feel sorrow for it.  Time heals all wounds, I just hope the rock lands back on its feet.

 
Like all of us, I'm a die-hard Nebraska fan. That's why were anonymously posting on a message board explicitly made for Nebraska football. I don't have an eidetic or photographic memory, but I'm in my 30s and I remember a LOT of Nebraska stuff over the past 20-25 years. All this is to say I have absolutely zero memory of recollection of Callahan putting a boulder in and trying to make a tradition out of it. Clearly it didn't work long-term.

TL;DR: Me no remember any of this stuff

 
Hans Gruber said:
Like all of us, I'm a die-hard Nebraska fan. That's why were anonymously posting on a message board explicitly made for Nebraska football. I don't have an eidetic or photographic memory, but I'm in my 30s and I remember a LOT of Nebraska stuff over the past 20-25 years. All this is to say I have absolutely zero memory of recollection of Callahan putting a boulder in and trying to make a tradition out of it. Clearly it didn't work long-term.

TL;DR: Me no remember any of this stuff
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I remember this gimmick by Callahan.  I can't remember the exact year during his tenure, but after struggling to run the ball in his first or second year at NU, Callahan had that huge rock put along the Tunnel Walk area to emphasize that the team was going to run the ball/"pound the rock".

 
ColoradoHusk said:
I remember this gimmick by Callahan.  I can't remember the exact year during his tenure, but after struggling to run the ball in his first or second year at NU, Callahan had that huge rock put along the Tunnel Walk area to emphasize that the team was going to run the ball/"pound the rock".
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Apparently it was 2006. I remember they had an awful rushing offense in 2005. I kind of remember them saying in the offseason they had to get better and emphasize running the ball. I remember them having a solid run offense in 2006. Zero recollection of the boulder and "pound the rock" though.

 
It was before 2006, or going into the third year of his tenure here. That was the mantra for the offense all offseason and in camp, because we had Marlon Lucky, Brandon Jackson, Cody Glenn and Kenny Wilson all vying for snaps and we were gonna ride our RB by committee to a conference championship.

 
Redux said:
I remember the first time I saw the rock.  It was standing across the bar from me among a busy crowd of patrons, yet it still stood out to me.  I bought the rock a drink and we really hit it off.  After a dozen or so dates we moved in together, sure it was a quick move and our friends disapproved, yet things just felt right.  Two years down the road and we were betrothed to be married.  It wasn't meant to be however, I came home one night and found the rock in bed with my own brother.  A messy end to an otherwise perfect time in my life.  When I found out the rock had moved into memorial stadium I was happy for it, but now that it has been evicted I feel sorrow for it.  Time heals all wounds, I just hope the rock lands back on its feet.
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I found what I thought was my rock once. Turned out it was just a petrified horse apple.

 
Redux said:
I remember the first time I saw the rock.  It was standing across the bar from me among a busy crowd of patrons, yet it still stood out to me.  I bought the rock a drink and we really hit it off.  After a dozen or so dates we moved in together, sure it was a quick move and our friends disapproved, yet things just felt right.  Two years down the road and we were betrothed to be married.  It wasn't meant to be however, I came home one night and found the rock in bed with my own brother.  A messy end to an otherwise perfect time in my life.  When I found out the rock had moved into memorial stadium I was happy for it, but now that it has been evicted I feel sorrow for it.  Time heals all wounds, I just hope the rock lands back on its feet.
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I'll have some of what you're having.

 
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