Catching up with the Nebraska football legend ahead of his return to campus

The former Nebraska football and NFL star defensive lineman has done countless interviews since emerging from Portland, Oregon, as a national prospect two decades ago. Not until lately have the sessions required next-level multitasking.

Suh on this normal weekday morning spoke while grinding through a home workout, staying in shape for a pro career that may or may not hold another chapter. One of his twin 3-year-old boys, Kingston, wandered in to see what his dad was doing. The conversation wound from past gridiron glories to real-estate development to his foray into broadcasting.

That’s life at age 37 for Suh, who is now pursuing much more than just quarterbacks.

“I’ve got my hands on a bunch of different things,” Suh said. “I love learning; I love being able to be creative and add value to different businesses.”

For a couple of days this weekend, though, Suh will again be a Blackshirt first. He’s one of six former Huskers across multiple sports set to be inducted into the Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame during his first trip back to Lincoln since May 2023.

Suh plans to throw the bones. He plans to tour a campus and athletics space drastically transformed since his last college season in 2009, when he was a Heisman Trophy finalist and a tackle-for-loss force on the most dominant NU defense of the 21st century. He’ll reminisce on beating Missouri as a senior and his pick-six against Colorado as a junior, when he bowled over the quarterback on his rumble into the Memorial Stadium end zone.

“Every single time I’m presented something of this nature, it’s something we soak up as a family,” Suh said. “Not everybody is fortunate enough to have great athletic careers and at the same time be part of a great state like Nebraska.”

Suh met his wife, the former Katya Leick and Nebraska women’s basketball player, in Lincoln. His relationship with former NU staffer and businessman Joe Moglia sparked his ongoing passion for finance. He learned a deeper work ethic under coach Bo Pelini that stayed with him through 13 stellar NFL seasons and 199 total games including a Super Bowl title with Tampa Bay in 2021.

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said Suh represents everything he wants for current Huskers. A football change agent whose purpose extends far beyond the sport.

“It’s really a great powerful message when your players see that the best days of their lives are not their recruiting rankings and are not how they were drafted, even,” Rhule said. “Each thing should be better than the last and life after football should be the ultimate.”

Super Bowl LVII in February 2023 remains Suh’s most recent on-field appearance when he and the Philadelphia Eagles lost to Kansas City by a field goal. He had opportunities to play last season, he said, but none made sense for his family at the time. He still trains like he could line up somewhere next Sunday.

“I have always said the door is always open,” Suh said. “Will I accept an offer and move forward with anything? Only time will tell.”

Suh doesn’t miss being part of a team because he’s still part of many. He works as a part-time analyst with Sky Sports and expects to be in London for all NFL games in the United Kingdom this season. Since becoming involved with Omaha-based Blue Sushi out of college, he’s ventured further into hospitality and is a co-owner of numerous local Portland food chains. Through his Generals Restaurant Group, he owns and operates other establishments in three time zones.

The primary Florida resident with estimated career NFL earnings of more than $168 million is also investing in technology and real estate. He’s been a lead advocate for exploring ways to make housing costs attainable to all.

Teammates used to jokingly challenge Suh, like the time 6-foot-1, 200-pound cornerback Prince Amukamara offered to box the 6-4, 300-pounder in a makeshift ring in the Nebraska locker room in 2009. The sparring session lasted one punch — “He balled up in the corner pretty quickly,” Suh said, chuckling.

Suh still gets callouts from people who don’t know any better. In the business community. From high schoolers after speaking to a team. At other philanthropic events. Sometimes he lets them “feel a little bit.” It’s more fun to mess with their heads than to overpower their bodies.

“I try to show them from a technique perspective that it’s not always about brute strength,” Suh said. “It’s about the mind and the combination of experience that can take me over the hump.”

Suh will watch Saturday’s Nebraska game looking for bragging rights over some business partners who went to Rutgers. He’ll also catch up with Dominic Raiola, the former offensive lineman whom he lined up against in practice regularly when they were Detroit Lions teammates from 2010-14. Suh considers current Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola “a nephew” after watching him grow up during those five seasons. They still exchange messages.

“I always give him a hard time like, ‘I may hit you just for the hell of it because I don’t like quarterbacks,’” Suh said. “No, but I obviously care a lot about him and think he’s doing an amazing job. He’s got a lot of room to grow but love to see where his trajectory is going so far.”

A life of many hats brings a daily reward, Suh said. Husband, father, mentor, businessman, broadcaster. And — at least for now — a football player still going strong after six knee surgeries, a shoulder operation and more dislocated fingers than he can remember.

This weekend he’s No. 93 in a red jersey again.

“I could go out there and beat a 25-year-old right now if I wanted to,” Suh said. “Overall at 37, I still feel really good.”