Nebraska Cornhuskers football honors and awards Last updated June 04, 2025 National awards The Rimington Trophy , awarded to the country's best center , is named for Nebraska All-American Dave Rimington Player of the year by position Butkus Award (since 1985): [ e] Trev Alberts (1993) Davey O'Brien Award (since 1981): [ f] Eric Crouch (2001) Jet Award (since 2011): [ g] Pat Fischer (1960), DeJuan Groce (2002) (legacy winners ) Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (since 1987): [ h] Tommie Frazier (1995) Lombardi Award (since 1970): [ i] Rich Glover (1972), Dave Rimington (1982), Dean Steinkuhler (1983), Grant Wistrom (1997), Ndamukong Suh (2009) Outland Trophy (since 1946): [ j] Larry Jacobson (1971), Rich Glover (1972), Dave Rimington (1981, 1982), Dean Steinkuhler (1983), Will Shields (1992), Zach Wiegert (1994), Aaron Taylor (1997), Ndamukong Suh (2009) Rimington Trophy (since 2000): [ k] Dominic Raiola (2000) UPI Lineman of the Year (1950–1996): Rich Glover (1972), Dave Rimington (1982), Dean Steinkuhler (1983), Zach Wiegert (1994) Conference awards Tommie Frazier was named Big Eight player of the year in 1995 Athlete of the year Seven Nebraska players have been named conference male athlete of the year, across all sports.
Player of the year Offensive Defensive Big Eight: Jerry Murtaugh (1970), [ l] Rich Glover (1971, [ l] 1972), Clete Pillen (1976), Derrie Nelson (1980), Jimmy Williams (1981), Broderick Thomas (1988), Trev Alberts (1993), Ed Stewart (1994) Big 12: Grant Wistrom (1996, 1997), Ndamukong Suh (2009), Prince Amukamara (2010) Freshman of the year Offensive Defensive Big Eight: Tyrone Byrd (1989), Trev Alberts (1990) Big 12: Ralph Brown (1996) Newcomer of the year Offensive Defensive Coach of the year Big Eight: Bob Devaney (1962, 1963, 1964, 1970), Tom Osborne (1973, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1983, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994) Big 12: Tom Osborne (1996), Frank Solich (1999, 2001) First-team all-conference selections Nebraska has had 523 first-team all-conference selections: 446 in the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association and Big Eight , [ n] fifty-nine in the Big 12 , and eighteen in the Big Ten . [ 14]
Bill Chaloupka – 1907 Harold Cook – 1907 S. T. Frum – 1907 John Weller – 1907 Ernest Kroger – 1908 Owen Frank – 1909, 1910 LeRoy Temple – 1909, 1910 W. F. Chauner – 1910, 1911 Sylvester Shonka – 1910, 1911 Leon Warner – 1910, 1911 E. B. Elliott – 1911 E. Z. Hornberger – 1911 Vic Halligan – 1912, 1913, 1914 J. D. Harmon – 1912 J. T. M. Pearson – 1912 Leonard Purdy – 1912, 1913 Charles Beck – 1913 Guy Mastin – 1913 Dick Rutherford – 1913, 1914, 1915 Max Towle – 1913 E. L. Abbott – 1914, 1915 Roy Cameron – 1914 Guy Chamberlin – 1914, 1915 H. H. Corey – 1914, 1915, 1916 Warren Howard – 1914 Paul Shields – 1915 Hugo Otopalik – 1916 John Cook – 1917 Paul Dobson – 1917 Roscoe Rhodes – 1917 E. H. Schellenberg – 1917 Edson Shaw – 1917 Chick Hartley – 1921 Glen Preston – 1921, 1922 John Pucelik – 1921 Clarence Swanson – 1921 Joy Berquist – 1922, 1923 Chick Hartley – 1922 Dave Noble – 1922, 1923 Leo Scherer – 1922 Bub Weller – 1922 Adolph Wenke – 1922 Rufus Dewitz – 1923 Ross McGlasson – 1923 Choppy Rhodes – 1924, 1925 Ed Weir – 1924, 1925 Harold Hutchinson – 1925 Glenn Presnell – 1926, 1927 Lonnie Stiner – 1926 Blue Howell – 1927, 1928 Ted James – 1927, 1928 Dan McMullen – 1927, 1928 Roy Randels – 1927 Clifford Ashburn – 1928 Marion Broadstone – 1928, 1930 Glen Munn – 1928 Lafayette Russell – 1928 Clair Sloan – 1928, 1929 Steve Hokuf – 1929, 1930, 1932 Ray Richards – 1929 Harold Frahm – 1930 Elmer Greenberg – 1930 Hugh Rhea – 1930, 1931 Lawrence Ely – 1931, 1932 George Koster – 1931 Everett Kreizinger – 1931 George Sauer – 1931, 1932, 1933 Corwin Hulbert – 1932 Chris Mathis – 1932 Lee Penney – 1932, 1933 Clair Bishop – 1933 Hubert Boswell – 1933 Warren DeBus – 1933 Bruce Kilbourne – 1933 Bernie Masterson – 1933 Frank Meier – 1933, 1934 Gail O'Brien – 1933 Henry Bauer – 1934 Lloyd Cardwell – 1934, 1935, 1936 Bernard Scherer – 1934, 1935 Sam Francis – 1935, 1936 Jerry LaNoue – 1935 Fred Shirey – 1935, 1936, 1937 Charles Brock – 1936, 1937, 1938 Ron Douglas – 1936 Les McDonald – 1936 Elmer Dohrmann – 1937 Ted Doyle – 1937 Johnny Howell – 1937 Bob Mehring – 1937 Jack Dodd – 1938 Warren Alfson – 1939, 1940 Harry Hopp – 1939, 1940 Herman Rohrig – 1939 Forrest Behm – 1940 Vike Francis – 1940 Walter Luther – 1940 Roy Petsch – 1940 Ray Prochaska – 1940 Ed Schwartzkopf – 1940 George Abel – 1941 Dale Bradley – 1941 Fred Preston – 1941 Charles Duda – 1942 Vic Schleich – 1942 Gerald Moore – 1945 John Sedlacek – 1945 Dick Hutton – 1946 Tom Novak – 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949 Carl Samuelson – 1946, 1947 Sam Vacanti – 1946 Charles Toogood – 1949, 1950 Fran Nagle – 1950 Bobby Reynolds – 1950 Don Strasheim – 1950 Dennis Emanuel – 1951, 1952 Jerry Minnick – 1951, 1952, 1953 Bill Schabacker – 1951, 1952 Frank Simon – 1951 Don Boll – 1952 Clayton Curtis – 1952 John Bordogna – 1953 Ted Connor – 1953 Charles Bryant – 1954 Don Glantz – 1954 Bob Smith – 1954 Rex Fischer – 1955 Willie Greenlaw – 1955 Jon McWilliams – 1955 LaVerne Torczon – 1955, 1956 Jerry Brown – 1956 Don Olson – 1959 Don Purcell – 1960 Bill Thornton – 1961 Bob Brown – 1962, 1963 Dennis Claridge – 1962, 1963 Tyrone Robertson – 1962 Lloyd Voss – 1963 Walt Barnes, MG – 1964, [ o] 1965 Tony Jeter, TE – 1964, 1965 Larry Kramer, OT – 1964 Kent McCloughan, DB – 1964 Lyle Sittler, C – 1964 Ted Vactor, DB – 1964 Freeman White, SE – 1964, 1965 LaVerne Allers, OG – 1965, 1966 Dennis Carlson, OT – 1965 Mike Kennedy, LB – 1965 Frank Solich, FB – 1965 Larry Wachholtz, DB – 1965, 1966 Kaye Carstens, DB – 1966 Bob Churchich, QB – 1966 Wayne Meylan, MG – 1966, 1967 Kelly Petersen, C – 1966 Bob Pickens, OT – 1966 Lynn Senkbeil, LB – 1966 Carel Stith, DT – 1966 Harry Wilson, HB – 1966 Dick Davis, FB – 1967 Jim McCord, DT – 1967 Dennis Richnafsky, OE – 1967 Joe Armstrong, OG – 1968 Ken Geddes, LB/MG – 1968, 1969 Dana Stephenson, DB – 1968, 1969 Bob Liggett, DT – 1969 Jim McFarland, TE – 1969 Jerry Murtaugh, LB – 1969, 1970 Bill Kosch, DB – 1970, 1971 Donnie McGhee, OG – 1970 Bob Newton, OT – 1970 Joe Orduna, IB – 1970 Ed Periard, MG – 1970 Johnny Rodgers, HB/WB – 1970, 1971, 1972 Paul Rogers, K – 1970 Dave Walline, DT – 1970 Jim Anderson, DB – 1971 Joe Blahak, DB – 1971, 1972 Rich Glover, MG – 1971, 1972 Willie Harper, DE – 1971, 1972 Larry Jacobson, DT – 1971 Carl Johnson, OT – 1971 Jeff Kinney, IB – 1971 Dick Rupert, OG – 1971 Jerry Tagge, QB – 1971 Bob Terrio, LB – 1971 Daryl White, OT – 1972, 1973 Frosty Anderson, SE – 1973 John Dutton, DT – 1973 Steve Manstedt, DE – 1973 Rik Bonness, C – 1974, 1975 Marvin Crenshaw, OT – 1974 David Humm, QB – 1974 Bob Martin, DE – 1974, 1975 Tom Ruud, LB – 1974 Dave Butterfield, DB – 1975, 1976 Mike Fultz, DT – 1975, 1976 Wonder Monds, DB – 1975 Vince Ferragamo, QB – 1976 Bob Lingenfelter, OT – 1976 Ray Phillips, DE – 1976 Clete Pillen, LB – 1976 Dan Schmidt, OG – 1976 Tom Davis, C – 1977 I. M. Hipp, IB – 1977 Greg Jorgensen, OG – 1977 Jim Pillen, LB – 1977, 1978 George Andrews, DE – 1978 Rick Berns, IB – 1978 Kenny Brown, WB – 1978, 1979 Kelvin Clark, OT – 1978 Rod Horn, DT – 1978, 1979 Steve Lindquist, OG – 1978 Junior Miller, TE – 1978, 1979 John Havekost, OG – 1979 Derrie Nelson, DE – 1979, 1980 Jarvis Redwine, IB – 1979, 1980 Dean Sukup, K – 1979 Kelly Saalfeld, C – 1979 Tim Smith, SE – 1979 Kerry Weinmaster, MG – 1979 David Clark, DT – 1980 Andra Franklin, FB – 1980 Russell Gary, S – 1980 Dave Rimington, C – 1980, 1981, 1982 Randy Schleusener, OG – 1980 Roger Craig, IB – 1981 Tony Felici, DE – 1981, 1982 Turner Gill, QB – 1981, 1982, 1983 Dan Hurley, OT – 1981 Jeff Krejci, S – 1981 Ric Lindquist, CB – 1981 Mike Rozier, IB – 1981, 1982, 1983 Sammy Sims, LB – 1981 Jamie Williams, TE – 1981, 1982 Jimmy Williams, DE – 1981 Steve Damkroger, LB – 1982 Mike Mandelko, OG – 1982 Randy Theiss, OT – 1982 Bret Clark, S – 1983, 1984 Irving Fryar, WB – 1983 Mike Knox, LB – 1983 Scott Raridon, OT – 1983 Dean Steinkuhler, OG – 1983 Mark Traynowicz, C – 1983, 1984 Mark Behning, OT – 1984 Doug DuBose, IB – 1984, 1985 Harry Grimminger, OG – 1984 Scott Livingston, P – 1984 Marc Munford, LB – 1984, 1985, 1986 Greg Orton, OG – 1984 Jeff Smith, IB – 1984 Scott Strasburger, DE – 1984 Bill Weber, DE – 1984 Brian Blankenship, OG – 1985 Dale Klein, PK – 1985 Bill Lewis, C – 1985 Tom Rathman, FB – 1985 Jim Skow, DT – 1985 Keith Jones, IB – 1986, 1987 Danny Noonan, MB – 1986 Chris Spachman, DT – 1986 Broderick Thomas, DE/OLB – 1986, 1987, 1988 Tom Welter, OT – 1986 LeRoy Etienne, ILB – 1987, 1988 Steve Forch, ILB – 1987 Keven Lightner, OT – 1987 John McCormick, OG – 1987 Tim Rother, DT – 1987 Neil Smith, DT – 1987 Steve Taylor, QB – 1987, 1988 Dana Brinson – 1988 Ken Clark, IB – 1988, 1989 Charles Fryar, CB – 1988 Willie Griffin, DT – 1988 Tim Jackson, FS – 1988 Andy Keeler, OG – 1988 Todd Millikan, TE – 1988 Lawrence Pete, MG – 1988 Bob Sledge, OT – 1988 Jake Young, C – 1988, 1989 Reggie Cooper, SS – 1989, 1990 Gerry Gdowski, QB – 1989 Doug Glaser, OT – 1989 Jeff Mills, OLB – 1989 Bruce Pickens, CB – 1989, 1990 Pat Tyrance, ILB – 1989, 1990 Kent Wells, DT – 1989 Mike Croel, OLB – 1990 Johnny Mitchell, TE – 1990, 1991 Tom Punt, OT – 1990 Will Shields, OG – 1990, 1991, 1992 Kenny Walker, DT – 1990 Brian Boerboom, OT – 1991 Jon Bostick, SE – 1991 Derek Brown, IB – 1991, 1992 Tyrone Legette, CB – 1991 Keithen McCant, QB – 1991 Mike Stigge, P – 1991 Erik Wiegert, OG – 1991 John Parrella, DT – 1991, 1992 Trev Alberts, OLB – 1992, 1993 Tyrone Byrd, DB – 1992 Calvin Jones, IB – 1992, 1993 Travis Hill, OLB – 1992 Jim Scott, C – 1992 Zach Wiegert, OT – 1992, 1993, 1994 Terry Connealy, DT – 1993 Lance Lundberg, OT – 1993 Ken Mehlin, C/OG – 1993 Barron Miles, CB – 1993, 1994 Kevin Ramaekers, DT – 1993 Troy Dumas, LB – 1994 Aaron Graham, C – 1994, 1995 Donta Jones, OLB – 1994 Lawrence Phillips, IB – 1994 Brenden Stai, OG – 1994 Ed Stewart, LB – 1994 Tyrone Williams, CB – 1994, 1995 Eric Anderson, OT – 1995 Chris Dishman, OT – 1995 Terrell Farley, LB – 1995 Tommie Frazier, QB – 1995 Ahman Green, IB – 1995 Christian Peter, DT – 1995 Aaron Taylor, OG – 1995 Jared Tomich, OLB – 1995 Grant Wistrom, OLB – 1995 Big 12 Chris Dishman, OG – 1996 Jon Hesse, LB – 1996 Mike Minter, DB – 1996 Jason Peter, DT – 1996, 1997 Aaron Taylor, C/OG – 1996, 1997 Jared Tomich, RE – 1996 Grant Wistrom, RE – 1996, 1997 Eric Anderson, OT – 1997 Ralph Brown, CB – 1997, 1998, 1999 Ahman Green, IB – 1997 Josh Heskew, C – 1998 Sheldon Jackson, TE – 1998 Mike Brown, DB – 1999 Eric Crouch, QB – 1999, 2001 Russ Hochstein, OG – 1999, 2000 Carlos Polk, MLB – 1999, 2000 Dominic Raiola, C – 1999, 2000 Steve Warren, DT – 1999 Tracey Wistrom, TE – 1999, 2000 Dan Alexander, IB – 2000 Dan Hadenfeldt, P – 2000 Keyuo Craver, CB – 2001 Dahrran Diedrick, IB – 2001 Toniu Fonoti, OG – 2001 Josh Brown, K – 2002 DeJuan Groce, KR – 2002 Josh Bullocks, FS – 2003 Matt Herian, TE – 2003 Richie Incognito, OT – 2003 Kyle Larson, P – 2003 Demorrio Williams, WL – 2003 Barrett Ruud, MLB – 2004 Adam Carriker, DE – 2005, 2006 Brandon Jackson, RB – 2006 Bo Ruud, LB – 2006 Zac Taylor, QB – 2006 Dane Todd, FB – 2006 Ndamukong Suh, DT – 2008, 2009 Prince Amukamara, DB – 2009, 2010 Larry Asante, S – 2009 Jared Crick, DT – 2009 Pierre Allen, DE – 2010 Jared Crick, DT – 2010 Lavonte David, LB – 2010 Eric Hagg, DB – 2010 Ricky Henry, OG – 2010 Big Ten Lavonte David was named Big Ten linebacker of the year in Nebraska's first season in the conference Rex Burkhead, RB – 2011 Lavonte David, LB – 2011 Alfonzo Dennard, DB – 2011 Brett Maher, K – 2011, 2012 Brett Maher, P – 2011 Spencer Long, OG – 2012 Eric Martin, DE – 2012 Taylor Martinez, QB – 2012 Daimion Stafford, S – 2012 Ameer Abdullah, RB – 2013 Ciante Evans, CB – 2013 Randy Gregory, DE – 2013, 2014 Kenny Bell, WR – 2014 Sam Foltz, P – 2015 Connor Culp, K – 2020 Austin Allen, TE – 2021 Retired numbers and jerseys Nebraska has permanently retired the number of two players: Tom Novak, the only four-time all-conference selection in Nebraska history; and Bob Brown , the first All-American coached by Bob Devaney. [ 14] Novak's no. 60 and Brown's no. 64 have not been worn since being retired. [ p]
Nebraska has retired the jersey of twenty-three other players, allowing the numbers to remain in circulation. The name and number of each honoree is displayed below the North Stadium press box at Memorial Stadium. Each major award winner has his jersey retired, typically in an on-field ceremony following the end of his collegiate career. [ 14] In 2017, the school recognized eight early College Football Hall of Fame inductees, including Guy Chamberlin , whose career predated the use of numbers on jerseys. [ 14]
Academic honors and awards Notes ↑ The Bronko Nagurski Trophy was established by the Football Writers Association of America in 1993 to honor the country's best defensive player. [ 2] ↑ The Chuck Bednarik Award was established by the Maxwell Football Club in 1995 to honor the country's best defensive player. [ 3] ↑ The Maxwell Award was established in 1937 by the Maxwell Football Club to honor the country's best player. [ 4] ↑ The Walter Camp Award was established in 1967 by the Walter Camp Football Foundation to honor the country's best player. [ 5] ↑ The Butkus Award was established in 1985 to honor the country's best linebacker . [ 6] ↑ The Davey O'Brien Award was established in 1977 to honor the best player in the Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Four years later, it began honoring the country's best quarterback . [ 7] ↑ The Jet Award was established in 2011 to honor the country's best return specialist . [ 8] ↑ The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award was established in 1987 to honor the country's best upperclass quarterback . [ 9] ↑ The Lombardi Award was established in 1970 to honor the country's best lineman . [ 10] ↑ The Outland Trophy was established in 1946 by the Football Writers Association of America to honor the country's best interior lineman . [ 11] ↑ The Rimington Trophy was established in 2000 by the Boomer Esiason Foundation to honor the country's best center . [ 12] 1 2 Jerry Murtaugh and Rich Glover were named Big Eight player of the year prior to the creation of separate offensive and defensive awards in 1972. 1 2 3 4 5 All position-specific conference awards were presented by the Big Ten only. ↑ In 1928, the ten member schools of the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association agreed to a splintering of the conference – Iowa State , Kansas , Kansas State , Missouri , Nebraska, and Oklahoma retained the MVIAA name and Drake , Grinnell , Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State), and Washington University formed the Missouri Valley Conference . The MVIAA became commonly known as the Big Six, and later the Big Seven and Big Eight. Its name was officially changed to the Big Eight in 1964. [ 13] ↑ The 1963 season was the final college football season to require a one-platoon system . Beginning in 1964, teams were allowed unlimited substitutions to create dedicated offensive, defensive, and special teams units, and the Big Eight began publishing all-conference teams with players listed by position. [ 15] 1 2 Novak also wore no. 68 and no. 61 during his career, which are not retired. Brown's no. 64 was worn by many players prior to its retirement in 2004, most recently by offensive lineman Kurt Mann. ↑ The year the player's jersey or number was retired by the university. References ↑ Evan Bredeson (April 3, 2022). "Nebraska's Heisman Winners and Finalists" . Cornhuskers Wire . Retrieved May 11, 2025 . ↑ "Trophy History – The Bronko Nagurski Trophy" . Charlotte Touchdown Club . Retrieved May 11, 2025 . ↑ "Bednarik Award" . Maxwell Football Club . Retrieved May 11, 2025 . ↑ "The Robert Maxwell Award" . Maxwell Football Club . Retrieved May 11, 2025 . ↑ "The Walter Camp Player of the Year" . Walter Camp Football Foundation . Retrieved May 11, 2025 . ↑ "Butkus Award – College" . Butkus Award . Retrieved May 11, 2025 . ↑ "National Quarterback Award – Davey O'Brien Award Winners" . Davey O'Brien Award . Retrieved May 11, 2025 . ↑ "Jet Award Legacy Winners" . Jet Award . Retrieved May 11, 2025 . ↑ "Our History" . Golden Arm Foundation . Retrieved May 11, 2025 . ↑ "About The Lombardi Award" . Lombardi Award . Retrieved May 11, 2025 . ↑ "FWAA Outland Trophy" . Football Writers Association of America . Retrieved May 11, 2025 . ↑ "Rimington Trophy" . National College Football Awards Association . Retrieved May 11, 2025 . ↑ Braden Gall (June 29, 2012). "The History of Big 12 Realignment" . Athlon Sports . Retrieved February 13, 2025 . 1 2 3 4 "2024–25 Football Record Book" (PDF) . Nebraska Athletics. Retrieved February 13, 2025 . ↑ "Huskers to Hit Gophers With 2 Teams Saturday" . Lincoln Journal Star . September 24, 1964. Retrieved April 28, 2025 .
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