Joe_5700 Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Caught a twitter exchange between Sipple and Damon Benning this AM that got me thinking: Who would be in your top five Blackshirts? The Blackshirt tradition started in 1964 when Bob Devaney wanted some way to differentiate between his starting defense and the rest of the defense during practices. He sent an assistant coach to a local Lincoln athletic store to buy t-shirts, and all they had in the amount we needed were Black. In the intervening 48 seasons the Blackshirts have become a college football tradition, known for fierce defense and regarded as a fearsome opponent. But choosing the Best of the Blackshirts is tough. When Sipple asked Benning to name his top five, either Benning didn't or hasn't yet answered. Maybe Benning is busy - he's a fixture on 1620 The Zone these days - or maybe it's just a tough question to answer. The top five I sent to Sipple: 1a - Rich Glover 1b - Ndamukong Suh 2 - Jim Skow 3 - Ralph Mike Brown - edit "oops" 4 - Grant Wistrom 5 - Barrett Ruud I also mentioned that it's pretty tough leaving guys like LaVonte David, Broderick Thomas and Barron Miles off that list, but who do you pull off? And I have no qualms about having a 1a/1b. Separating Glover and Suh is nigh on impossible, and either may be the greatest Husker of all time - on either side of the ball. I'd argue that John Parella had a more consistent career than Suh... Quote Link to comment
beanman Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Glover, Suh, J. Peter, Wistrom, M. Brown Agree. I don't see how Barrett gets on there, despite his # of tackles. 1 Quote Link to comment
kchusker_chris Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Glover, Suh, J. Peter, Wistrom, M. Brown No linebackers in your top five? I'd put LaVonte David in there before JP. Think what LD could have been had he had all 4 or 5 years under Bo. Quote Link to comment
StPaulHusker Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Kind of difficult to name any Huskers under Pelini for Blackshirts since we never know if/when they will get them, but I will give it a shot. Suh Wistrom Peter Brothers Lavonte David Tie: Doug Colman/Mike Brown Quote Link to comment
Joe_5700 Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Glover, Suh, J. Peter, Wistrom, M. Brown No linebackers in your top five? I'd put LaVonte David in there before JP. Think what LD could have been had he had all 4 or 5 years under Bo. Think what Terell Farley could have been under TO for 4 years... Quote Link to comment
VA Husker Fan Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Caught a twitter exchange between Sipple and Damon Benning this AM that got me thinking: Who would be in your top five Blackshirts? The Blackshirt tradition started in 1964 when Bob Devaney wanted some way to differentiate between his starting defense and the rest of the defense during practices. He sent an assistant coach to a local Lincoln athletic store to buy t-shirts, and all they had in the amount we needed were Black. In the intervening 48 seasons the Blackshirts have become a college football tradition, known for fierce defense and regarded as a fearsome opponent. But choosing the Best of the Blackshirts is tough. When Sipple asked Benning to name his top five, either Benning didn't or hasn't yet answered. Maybe Benning is busy - he's a fixture on 1620 The Zone these days - or maybe it's just a tough question to answer. The top five I sent to Sipple: 1a - Rich Glover 1b - Ndamukong Suh 2 - Jim Skow 3 - Ralph Mike Brown - edit "oops" 4 - Grant Wistrom 5 - Barrett Ruud I also mentioned that it's pretty tough leaving guys like LaVonte David, Broderick Thomas and Barron Miles off that list, but who do you pull off? And I have no qualms about having a 1a/1b. Separating Glover and Suh is nigh on impossible, and either may be the greatest Husker of all time - on either side of the ball. Jim Skow??? No disrespect to him, but I don't think I'm calling him a bad player by saying he doesn't come close to making my list. And yes, I do remember seeing him play. Suh, Glover, Wistrom, M. Brown, David. There's probably another 10-15 guys who I wouldn't argue against going in slots 3-5. Quote Link to comment
Blackshirt96 Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 I have a Metallica "Master of Puppets" shirt, a Mastodon "Leviathan" shirt, a Nebraska Blackshirts shirt, a black hooded sweatshirt, and a regular black pocket t-shirt. Probably in that order. My Led Zeppelin zoso hoodie tops all of those. Quote Link to comment
Count 'Bility Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Alright. I had to do some thinkin about this one. 1. Ndamukong Suh-Maybe a bit bias because I remember his career most accurately because it was most recent. But also, this guy carried the team, not just the defense. And now, his absence to me over the past 3 seasons has only re-affirmed his greatness. Not to mention, he is the most decorated Blackshirt ever, and that's coming from a team that was not at the elite level. To me, that's hard to argue with. 2. Rich Glover. Didn't witness his greatness first hand, but highlights and stories I've read are not only plenty to put him at #2, but he's very interchangeable with Suh at #1. 3. Grant Wistrom. Thought about him being at 4, but I just cant pass up putting a guy with such a motor that so well defined Husker football, who played at minimum a role in all 4 seasons of Nebraska's incredible 90's run. He was an answer-all-to leader as well. 4. LaVonte David. I just cant pass this guy up. The kicker is the play he made stripping Braxton Miller in 2011. That play saved the season (as much as a 9-4 season can be saved.....). We were in a bad time, and without that play, that game probably spirals out of control and who knows where things go from there. It's really scary to think about, and he stopped it. With a play that, as incredible as it was, was rather routine for himself. The guy was everywhere at all times. 5. Mike Brown. I thought there should be a DB on the list and Mike was as good at they came. He was also the poster child for Nebraska Football as we know it. Great player. Great person. All-American AND Academic All-American. Excelling on the field, in the classroom and in society. Quote Link to comment
StPaulHusker Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Glover, Suh, J. Peter, Wistrom, M. Brown No linebackers in your top five? I'd put LaVonte David in there before JP. Think what LD could have been had he had all 4 or 5 years under Bo. Think what Terell Farley could have been under TO for 4 years... Didn't TO boot Farley off of the team? Quote Link to comment
Count 'Bility Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 Glover, Suh, J. Peter, Wistrom, M. Brown No linebackers in your top five? I'd put LaVonte David in there before JP. Think what LD could have been had he had all 4 or 5 years under Bo. Think what Terell Farley could have been under TO for 4 years... Didn't TO boot Farley off of the team? yep. pretty much after he got another dui or whatever before the Colorado game in '96. With him on the field, Nebraska probably finds a way to play through the flu bug against texas. But it's rather forgotten that the absence of Farley and the sickness caused major issues with the D that day. Quote Link to comment
HUSKER FREAK Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 What about Terry Conneally Quote Link to comment
StPaulHusker Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 interesting standards Dr Tom had. DUI's? You're off the team. Beat your girlfriend? 6 game suspension, help win a NC. Quote Link to comment
VA Husker Fan Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 What about Terry Conneally One of many fine blackshirts through the years, but never even honorable mention All America. Doesn't belong in this discussion, IMO. Farley might make the list on pure talent and what he did when he played, but drinking himself off the team keeps him way off my list. You've got to be on the team and on the field to produce, and he wasn't there when he was needed. Quote Link to comment
Count 'Bility Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 interesting standards Dr Tom had. DUI's? You're off the team. Beat your girlfriend? 6 game suspension, help win a NC. It was a repeat violation with Farley though. If I recall correctly, he had one in that prior summer, an incident early season (sat out a couple games or one?) and then that 3rd was the final straw. Quote Link to comment
beanman Posted June 13, 2013 Share Posted June 13, 2013 interesting standards Dr Tom had. DUI's? You're off the team. Beat your girlfriend? 6 game suspension, help win a NC. It was a repeat violation with Farley though. If I recall correctly, he had one in that prior summer, an incident early season (sat out a couple games or one?) and then that 3rd was the final straw. What happened with Vedral then? Was that a repeat violation? I think he missed his final game as a Husker because of a DUI? Quote Link to comment
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