The Backyard Dream – University of Nebraska

The Red Letter

Some might say I skipped a few steps in thinking I was going to go from my backyard to the NFL, but honestly, that was the only thing I could think about as a kid. I wanted the pinnacle of the sport. I really wanted to be at the top, you know?

If you couldn’t tell by now, I was a big Denver Broncos fan growing up. If I wasn’t Elway throwing the ball, I was Steve Atwater or Karl Mecklenburg laying a big hit on somebody.

I guess you can say I played two-way football in that backyard.

But growing up in the ’90s, Nebraska was starting to come alive, and I started paying closer attention to them as well. How could I not be amazed by what was taking place right here in my home state?

I wanted to be the best, and when you start talking about Nebraska football in the ’90s, they were the best.

So, inevitably, I started thinking about college football as well.

I signed up for a summer camp at Nebraska as a freshman in high school and met with both Tom Osborne and Turner Gill.

I ended up throwing the ball for them and going through some speed and agility drills. Overall, it was a great workout, and I think that’s when they started to follow my career a bit.

In my sophomore year then, Nebraska’s recruiting efforts got more serious. To this day, I still very vividly remember Coach Osborne’s home visit — no doubt, it was one of the highlights during my recruiting phase.

Eventually, I received that red letter with the big white “N” on it. I’ll never forget that moment.

And the best part about Nebraska?

Out of all the schools that recruited me, Nebraska was the only one that stepped up and said, “You’re going to play quarterback here.”

That made my decision really easy at that point. It was a done deal.

You spend your whole life working towards this goal, and just seeing it all come to fruition, right in front of your eyes—man, there’s nothing like it. I was staying put in my home state and playing for my home university.

It was like a fairy tale.