Biff Clarn
Walk-on
The more I sit and read all of the rumors and bulletin boards on line, the more I have come to my own realization that NEBRASKA NEEDS TURNER GILL!!!. Just as Tom Osborne needed Turner Gill in 1980 when he chose Nebraska over Oklahoma.
I am a Cornhusker by birth and my earliest Cornhusker memory is sitting with the family, eating turkey and watching the "Game of the Century". I was in high school in the early '80's so I remember the Scoring Explosion very well. I remember watching Turner run the triple option and thinking that I had never seen it run that way before, ie., the pivots after the snap, the quick decisions, how effortless he made it look. Turner Gill was the epitome of the perfect option quarterback. He seemed to almost always make the correct decision. I remember being absolutely heartbroken after the loss to Miami. If only I had realized at that time what Turner had assisted in starting, the sting would have been much less.
Fast forward 10 years to the Orange Bowl once again. It is once again the heartbreaking loss in the bowl game that costs Tom Osborne his first national title. At the time we didn't realize it, but that night a series of events were to begin that none of us could have ever imagined. The impression that is forever etched in my mind, is that of Turner Gill consoling Tommie Frazier (as I am sure Tom Osborne did for Turner) as they walk off the field. One can only imagine what Turner was saying to Tommie, but no one else on that field could have known the feelings that Tommie was having except Turner. From that night on, something changed at Nebraska, the players started working harder than they ever had, not only physically but mentally as well. It was the beginning of "Refuse To Lose". The rest as we know is history and oh what an awesome history it is.
The longer this season went on and it became obvious that changes would be made, I went through all of the possibilites in my head, just like everyone else did. I have gone through all of the names and wanted them all at one time or another, Bo, Grobe, Johnson, Gill, Patterson, Kelly. My mind kept coming back to one thing, I want Nebraska football back to the smashmouth, hit them so hard they blow snot bubbles, wear the opposition down till they quit days. Basically, I want Tom Osborne back. But it ain't gonna happen, so I want the closest thing to Tom Osborne we can find. That person is Turner Gill. He knows what Nebraska football is, he knows what it means to be a Cornhusker! He is the only man for the job.
Are there more experienced coaches out there...obviously. But not a single one of them knows what Turner knows about being a Cornhusker. It is more than just x's and o's, a coach needs that intangible ability to lead and understand why and whom you are leading. Turner has seen it from the players side as well as from the coaches side. He had a pretty good teacher and now the teacher just may become his boss.
There will be those that say Frank Solich was taught by Tom Osborne as well, and he was. I have had the good fortune through the years to meet and listen to Tom Osborne, Frank Solich, and Turner Gill at various functions throughout the state. When Tom spoke, you knew you were listening to a Leader and teacher of men. When Frank spoke, he just seemed uneasy, and did not have that quiet confidence of a great leader. When Turner spoke, you could see a lot of the same things you saw in Tom Osborne. You could tell that he was a leader and a very passionate person. In my mind, Tom Osborne and Turner Gill are cut from the same cloth.
I will be absolutely 100% behind whomever Tom Osborne selects for the next coach of the Cornhuskers.
I hope it is Turner Gill
I am a Cornhusker by birth and my earliest Cornhusker memory is sitting with the family, eating turkey and watching the "Game of the Century". I was in high school in the early '80's so I remember the Scoring Explosion very well. I remember watching Turner run the triple option and thinking that I had never seen it run that way before, ie., the pivots after the snap, the quick decisions, how effortless he made it look. Turner Gill was the epitome of the perfect option quarterback. He seemed to almost always make the correct decision. I remember being absolutely heartbroken after the loss to Miami. If only I had realized at that time what Turner had assisted in starting, the sting would have been much less.
Fast forward 10 years to the Orange Bowl once again. It is once again the heartbreaking loss in the bowl game that costs Tom Osborne his first national title. At the time we didn't realize it, but that night a series of events were to begin that none of us could have ever imagined. The impression that is forever etched in my mind, is that of Turner Gill consoling Tommie Frazier (as I am sure Tom Osborne did for Turner) as they walk off the field. One can only imagine what Turner was saying to Tommie, but no one else on that field could have known the feelings that Tommie was having except Turner. From that night on, something changed at Nebraska, the players started working harder than they ever had, not only physically but mentally as well. It was the beginning of "Refuse To Lose". The rest as we know is history and oh what an awesome history it is.
The longer this season went on and it became obvious that changes would be made, I went through all of the possibilites in my head, just like everyone else did. I have gone through all of the names and wanted them all at one time or another, Bo, Grobe, Johnson, Gill, Patterson, Kelly. My mind kept coming back to one thing, I want Nebraska football back to the smashmouth, hit them so hard they blow snot bubbles, wear the opposition down till they quit days. Basically, I want Tom Osborne back. But it ain't gonna happen, so I want the closest thing to Tom Osborne we can find. That person is Turner Gill. He knows what Nebraska football is, he knows what it means to be a Cornhusker! He is the only man for the job.
Are there more experienced coaches out there...obviously. But not a single one of them knows what Turner knows about being a Cornhusker. It is more than just x's and o's, a coach needs that intangible ability to lead and understand why and whom you are leading. Turner has seen it from the players side as well as from the coaches side. He had a pretty good teacher and now the teacher just may become his boss.
There will be those that say Frank Solich was taught by Tom Osborne as well, and he was. I have had the good fortune through the years to meet and listen to Tom Osborne, Frank Solich, and Turner Gill at various functions throughout the state. When Tom spoke, you knew you were listening to a Leader and teacher of men. When Frank spoke, he just seemed uneasy, and did not have that quiet confidence of a great leader. When Turner spoke, you could see a lot of the same things you saw in Tom Osborne. You could tell that he was a leader and a very passionate person. In my mind, Tom Osborne and Turner Gill are cut from the same cloth.
I will be absolutely 100% behind whomever Tom Osborne selects for the next coach of the Cornhuskers.
I hope it is Turner Gill
