Nebraska football icons reminisce on 1994 championship

“Day by day, we get better and better ….” 

Vershan Jackson’s voice trailed off as he recited the Husker Prayer.

A group of iconic Blackshirts finished the line with gusto.

“We get better and better. … Won’t be beat!”

And with that, Nebraska fans were transported back in time at “The Huddle,” hosted by Husker Extra/93.7 The Ticket on Friday at Apothecary in downtown Lincoln. More information, including tickets, for future “Huddle” events can be found here.

On Friday, ex-Blackshirts Donta Jones, Dwayne Harris, Jason Jenkins and Toby Wright took the stage, in town as part of the 1994 national championship team being recognized during Nebraska’s game vs. Colorado on Saturday.

The former teammates took turns estimating how long it had been since they had seen each other. For a couple of them, it was at least 20 years. Yet, for two hours, the group reminisced, told stories and played off each other’s jokes as if they hung out every Friday night. 

Jones caught himself smiling at one point.

“I’m happy to see my guys, man,” he said. “It’s been a privilege to play with these guys.”

While the others teased Jones for being an introvert, he is a captivating storyteller.

The setting: Lawrence, Kansas, on Nov. 6, 1993. It’s the Huskers vs. Jayhawks. Nebraska is playing to protect its undefeated 8-0 record; Kansas is attempting to play spoiler — and doing it well. 

Kansas is, let’s say, faring better than many expected against the stout Nebraska defense. Jones said Thursday that NU just couldn’t figure out KU’s variation of the Wing-T scheme.

That’s when Jones heard from Wright.

“Toby grabbed me, and I can’t use some of the language here, but he was like, ‘Man we gotta get this stuff together!” Jones recalled.

A few plays later, Jones looked to meet a Jayhawk ball carrier head-on. Jones said the collision was perhaps the hardest hit of his playing career — and he later learned it was Wright who hit him while trying to make the tackle himself.

“We call it friendly fire,” Jones said to laughter.

The big hit woke Jones up, he said, and it apparently jolted the rest of the Blackshirts, too. Nebraska’s defense tightened up — until Kansas scored a touchdown with 52 seconds left in the game to make the score 21-20.

Then came the drama. Kansas wanted to go for a two-point conversion and sink Nebraska’s national championship hopes. The Jayhawks had the right call, too, as Jones remembers a wide-open Kansas receiver in the end zone.

But it was Harris’ pass rush that forced an errant pass, sealing Nebraska’s win.

“My boy Dwayne over there forced him to throw into triple-coverage,” Harris said. “And that was the reason we went to the national championship.”

Later, Wright shared an encouraging update regarding his son, Javin Wright, who was set to start this season for the Huskers at inside linebacker before he was ruled out indefinitely due to a “health condition” on Aug. 17. The elder Wright said his son could see the field sooner than later, echoing a sentiment shared by Nebraska coach Matt Rhule on Thursday.

“I’m ready to see this guy actually, finally, show that after all of these years of injuries that, ‘Hey, now I can come out and go.”