Tenopir has 'big ol' heartache' for friend Young

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Nexus

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My thoughts are with Coach Young and his family. Thanks for all you've done here at Nebraska. Hopefully he'll still be around to watch NU take the field in a bowl game on TV this year.

Milt Tenopir, the former Nebraska offensive line guru, lumbered out of a recent Husker football practice with something on his mind.
He immediately struck a serious tone. His longtime friend and colleague Dan Young is suffering, Milt said.

"I just have a big ol' heartache for him," said Tenopir, who for 17 years worked in tandem with Young -- Tenopir directing the run blocking and Young handling pass protection.

They both retired after the 2002 season.

This past July, the 69-year-old Young was diagnosed with Grade 4 Glioblastoma multiforme brain cancer. After Young recovered from biopsy surgery, doctors discovered his tumor is inoperable.

Young since has experienced ups and downs in his recovery.

"This has been a tough deal, but if anybody can fight it off, Dan's the guy who can do it," Milt said Monday night, his gravelly voice filled with emotion.

Milt sat with Dan in the press box at the Texas game Oct. 16. Dan also attended the Missouri game two weeks later.

Dan hoped to attend this past Saturday's Kansas game, but didn't feel well last week and since has checked back into University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Milt tried to visit Dan on Monday, but doctors were running tests, so no visitors. Milt will try it again Wednesday.

"This thing has just kicked us all in the butt," Milt said. "Everybody loves Dan just because who Dan is. Dan is just Dan. He calls it like it is.

"The kids (players) absolutely loved Dan because of his honesty and the fact he was a straight shooter with them. Ain't nothing phony about him. You knew where you stood with Dan, on the field and in the meeting room."

Nothing phony about Milt, either. He wanted to get something off his chest. He wanted to make sure folks understand that Young was Milt's equal when it came to coaching the Husker offensive line.

During their 17 years together, Nebraska won 10 NCAA rushing titles.

"Everybody always says, ‘Milt did this and Milt did that,' " Tenopir said. "It wasn't Milt Tenopir. It was Milt Tenopir and Dan Young. We spent equal time with our kids in practice.

"People never thought we passed much, but we still had about a dozen pass protections. Dan handled all of that, plus the place-kickers and punters. I don't know if there's anybody in the country that put as many kickers in the NFL as Dan did."

Tenopir's voice trailed ...

"He just doesn't get the credit he should've gotten."

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I saw Dan and Milt at the Mizz game, they were tailgating next to us. Dan didn't look as well as i have seen and talked to him in the past. I wish him the very best.

 
Thanks for posting that Nexus. I hope coach Young can pull through everything he's going through right now and recover. We were so lucky to have him as a coach. 20 years with NU.

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Tenopir is right. Young is very often the unsung hero of the dominant offensive lines Osborne had. I didn't even know about Dan Young until last year, when I accidentally stumbled across his name on Huskers.com and did a little research on him.

My thoughts are with him and his family.

 
Milt and Dan are both special guys. I've had the privilege to work with Milt. And I have met Dan 1 time. Great personality! I wish him the best and my prayers are with him his family and friends.

 
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Just saw this sad story. It doesn't sound good at all for him. My thoughts and prayers and with Dan Young and his family.

 
I remember when he made the jump from coaching high school at Omaha Westside to join the Husker staff. Under Coach Osborne he and Milt built the pipeline again and again.

Many fond thoughts and prayers to Coach Young and his family.

 
Let's dedicate this game today to coach Dan Young. R.I.P.

danyoung.jpg


Published Thursday November 25, 2010

Ex-NU assistant dies at 69

By Rich Kaipust

WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

LINCOLN — Milt Tenopir wasn't surprised Thursday that his phone kept ringing as former Nebraska offensive linemen learned of Dan Young's death.

It would have been hard, Tenopir said, for his old friend and colleague on the Husker football staff to be more popular with his players.

"Dan was a unique guy in that there wasn't anybody that didn't like him," Tenopir said. "His players absolutely loved him. And he and I never locked horns at any time. We just had a great relationship."

Young, diagnosed in mid-July with a cancerous brain tumor, died late Wednesday night. He was 69.

Tenopir said he visited Young on Monday and Wednesday. Tom Osborne, the NU athletic director and former coach, got to see him Sunday.

The trio were together for many of the glory years of Husker football.

"I always felt bad that people didn't consider us as joint line coaches as much as they should have," Tenopir said. "But Dan was tremendously instrumental with all the success we had. Dan wasn't one to look for accolades."

As co-line coach, Young oversaw the Huskers' pass protections until retiring after the 2002 season. He also handled kickers, punters and special teams, and oversaw in-state recruiting.

"He was just a common-sense guy," Tenopir said. "He worked awfully hard for the players and program. There was nothing phony about him. Just a good ol' guy."

Young capped a six-year run as coach at Omaha Westside by winning back-to-back Class A state championships in 1981 and '82. The native of Primrose, Neb., started his NU career as coach of the Huskers' freshman team for three seasons.

Young moved up to join Tenopir working with the NU offensive line — soon to become known nationwide as the "Pipeline" — after Cletus Fischer retired after the 1985 season.

Fittingly, they retired together in January 2003.

"I will miss the players and the competitive nature of being a coach," Young said at an NU press conference. "But I won't miss the long hours."

It was often routine for Young's players at NU and Westside to try and imitate his slow and deliberate style of speaking. Jeff Young said his dad never seemed to care.

"I think he just liked being around young people a lot and working with them, and being a teacher first he had that teacher mentality," Jeff Young said. "He just got along good with kids."

Tenopir said Dan Young loved to fish and golf, saying, "He'd play golf every day if he could."

After leaving NU, he worked as a rep for two different companies that installed synthetic turf fields.

Young went through chemotherapy and radiation, and doctors thought they had the tumor in remission. Young attended a pair of Husker home games last month but it was recently found that the tumor had started growing again.

Young is survived by children Jeff and Kris, five grandchildren and fiancée Cathy Grotbeck. Funeral services are set for 10 a.m. Monday at St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Lincoln, and a visitation will be from noon to 8 p.m. Sunday at Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home.
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Some never heard of him, I for one have been a fan since 3rd grade when his wife was my teacher. He was fantastic. He came to Loveland Elementary in Omaha (prolly just to talk to his wife) and talked to our class. What a great guy. Not sure if he divorced or his wife passed, but I see he had a fiance. RIP Dan Young

 
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i didnt know of his passing until the game but it was in my mind questioning how he was doing..... rip dan young!! my prayers are with his friends and family!

 
My prayers go out to Coach Young's Spirit and his family. Its guys like he and Coach Tenopir who helped mold the Husker tradition.

T_O_B

:throwdabones1: :bonesflag: :throwdabones1:

 
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