Most potential lost by injury

MichiganDad3

All-American
What are the injuries that prevented a Husker player from being All American? My top three are

  1. Deangelo Evans - IMO, he could have won the heisman without the stomach injury. Potentially the best RB ever at NU
  2. Taylor Martinez - IMO, he wins at least one heisman without the ankle injury
  3. Terry Rogers - maybe not a heisman winner, but he looked as quick as Barry Sanders to me when he was healthy.
 
Lawrence Phillips would've won the heisman if he hadn't been suspended during the 1995 season.

 
Doug DuBose could have been a special back, if he didn't tear up his knee, although Keith Jones filled in nicely.

One injury that worked out well for Nebraska was Tony Veland tearing his ACL during spring practice before his RS freshman year. Veland was competing for the starting QB job, but his injury opened the door for Tommie Frazier to come in and start as a true freshman. Veland then moved to safety, became all-conference at that position, and ended up playing a couple years in the NFL.

 
Lawrence Phillips would've won the heisman if he hadn't been suspended during the 1995 season.
I think the committee engraved his name on the trophy a couple of games into the 1995 season, but his loss of potential was not because of injury. LP had 547 yards on 71 attempts (7.7 per carry) in 1995. He only averages 6.0 per carry when he was a sophomore. IMO, he gets over 2000 yards in 1995 if he isn't suspended. Pity

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I forgot about DuBose getting hurt. He was one of my favorite players. We were loaded at IB back then. Keith "End Zone" Jones was a great nickname.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I forgot about DuBose. He was one of my favorite players. We were loaded at IB back then. Keith "End Zone" Jones was a great nickname.
Nebraska running backs were so fun to watch back then. I loved them getting a simple toss, or option pitch, or following their blockers on the counter-trey and then getting the corner on the outside. If people think that running the ball is "boring football" they never watched Nebraska teams in the 80s and 90s.

 
One current Husker that I'm most concerned about is DPE. We still don't really know what we're going to get from him, but he has/had incredible potential prior to his injuries.

However, there's a real chance he may never be the same again.

 
I forgot about DuBose. He was one of my favorite players. We were loaded at IB back then. Keith "End Zone" Jones was a great nickname.
Nebraska running backs were so fun to watch back then. I loved them getting a simple toss, or option pitch, or following their blockers on the counter-trey and then getting the corner on the outside. If people think that running the ball is "boring football" they never watched Nebraska teams in the 80s and 90s.
That is the truth. I especially loved watching blocking 20 yards downfield.

 
One current Husker that I'm most concerned about is DPE. We still don't really know what we're going to get from him, but he has/had incredible potential prior to his injuries.

However, there's a real chance he may never be the same again.
That is what prompted this thread. DPE reminds me of Bobby Newcombe, and I hope he heals better than Newcombe.

 
Really thought Matt Herian was going to have a breakout year in '05 but then he hurt his leg. Never was the same after that.

 
Really thought Matt Herian was going to have a breakout year in '05 but then he hurt his leg. Never was the same after that.
That's exactly who I though of when I read the thread title. He had some great potential. Without that injury, I have no doubt he could still be on an NFL roster right now.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I forgot about DuBose. He was one of my favorite players. We were loaded at IB back then. Keith "End Zone" Jones was a great nickname.
Nebraska running backs were so fun to watch back then. I loved them getting a simple toss, or option pitch, or following their blockers on the counter-trey and then getting the corner on the outside. If people think that running the ball is "boring football" they never watched Nebraska teams in the 80s and 90s.
That is the truth. I especially loved watching blocking 20 yards downfield.
Wiegert operating in space is still one of the coolest, most impressive things I've seen on a football field.

 
Did someone mention Burkhead? His injury cost him a lot of post season accolades and hurt the team to the tune of at least one extra loss.

 
Back
Top