Retired Jersey #20

1972 Heisman Trophy Winner

1972: Johnny Rodgers, Wingback (1970-1972)

Omaha, NE

     Johnny Rodgers, the 1972 Heisman Trophy winner, came to the University of Nebraska from Omaha Tech and became one of the most exciting players to ever play for the Huskers.

     Earning All-Big Eight honors as a sophomore slotback and wide receiver in 1970, Rodgers blossomed as a national star in 1971 to help lead Nebraska to its second consecutive national championship.

     It was Rodgers sensational 72-yard punt return for the first touchdown that ignited the Huskers thrilling 35-31 victory over Oklahoma in the Game of the Century in 1971. His 77-yard punt return touchdown against Alabama helped trigger the 38-6 Orange Bowl victory that sewed up Nebraska's second national title.

     Capping a tremendous career with a fantastic final performance, Rodgers devastated Notre Dame in the 1973 Orange Bowl. In the most sensational finale ever for a Heisman winner, Rodgers moved into the I-back spot and blitzed the Irish with four touchdowns, runs of eight, four and five yards, and a 50-yard pass from quarterback Dave Humm. Rodgers passed for another, a 52-yard strike to Frosty Anderson. Rodgers' point total set an Orange Bowl record.

     The top pass receiver and kick return man in Big Eight history, Rodgers owns 40 school records, seven conference records and four NCAA records. He was named ABC-Chevrolet Offensive Player of the Year in 1972 and received a $5,000 scholarship. Few players in NCAA history have shown Rodgers' versatility. During his three-year career, in which Nebraska posted a 32-2-2 record, Rodgers gained a then-NCAA-record 5,487 all-purpose yards with a total of 6,059 including bowl games. His 13.8 career average was a national record for yards per touch. Rodgers was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Dec. 14, 2000, in New York.

     Rodgers, who still holds NCAA records for punt return touchdowns in a career (seven) and most career kick return touchdowns (nine), ranks as Nebraska's all-time leading pass receiver with 143 catches for 2,479 yards, and ranks fifth in points with 264 on 44 touchdowns in his career. In all, he currently holds or shares 40 school records, including most career all-purpose yards (5,586), most touchdown receptions in a season (11) and career (25) and most receiving yards in a career (2,479).

     Rodgers lives in Omaha and is involved in community and public relations, including the Husker Heisman weekend and his company, Jetwear.

 

Rushing/Receiving
Year	Att.	Net	Avg.	TDs	Rec.	Yds.	Avg.	TDs
1970	36	219	6.1	2	35	665	19.0	7
1971	36	259	7.2	2	53	872	16.5	11
1972	58	267	4.6	7	55	942	17.1	7
Totals	130	745	5.7	11	143	2,479	17.3	25

Retired Jersey #30

1983 Heisman Trophy Winner

1983 Walter Camp Award Winner

1983: Mike Rozier, I-Back (1981-1983)

Camden, NJ

     Mike Rozier became Nebraska's second Heisman winner in 1983, when he rushed for a school-record 2,148 yards and 29 touchdowns. Rozier's 4,780 rushing yards are tops on Nebraska and Big Eight Conference career charts and his 52 touchdowns trail only Heisman winner Eric Crouch.

     Rozier rewrote the Nebraska rushing and scoring record book, along with making a considerable dent in the Big Eight and NCAA books during a phenomenal senior season. Rozier was a first-round selection by both the USFL (first pick overall) and the NFL (second pick overall in the supplemental draft) after setting Nebraska's rushing records for attempts in a season (273) and career (668) and a then-school record for yards in a game (285 vs. Kansas). Rozier set Big Eight marks for yards per carry in a season (7.81) and career (7.16) and yards gained in four consecutive games (929 in his last four). He set the Nebraska and Big Eight marks with 29 touchdowns and 174 points in 1983, while his 51 career rushing touchdowns and 312 points trail only fellow Heisman winner Eric Crouch's 59 rushing touchdowns and 368 career points among position players in the Husker record book. All 29 of Rozier's touchdowns in 1983 came on the ground, setting an NCAA record, in addition to tying the NCAA record for total touchdowns.

     His 11 100-yard games in 1983 tied yet another NCAA record, shared by six others, and his 1983 total of 2,148 yards is the fifth-highest total in NCAA history. He was the second rusher in NCAA history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. Rozier was Nebraska's first-ever NCAA rushing champion (179.0 yards per game) and its second national scoring leader (Bobby Reynolds was the first in 1950) with an average of 14.5 points per game. His career total of 4,780 yards is the 10th-best in NCAA history and ranks sixth all time at Nebraska.

     Rozier set another Husker record with 2,486 all-purpose yards in 1983, topping Johnny Rodgers? 1972 total of 2,011. Named All-Big Eight as a sophomore in 1981, Rozier began to dominate as a junior when senior Roger Craig was hampered by ankle injuries. He gained a then-Husker record 1,689 rushing yards in 1982 to vault himself into the national spotlight, earning All-America and Big Eight Player-of-the-Year honors, and finishing 10th in the Heisman voting. The New Jersey native won the conference player-of-the-week award six times in his final two seasons.

 

.	Kick Returns				All-Purpose			Scoring
Year	PR	Yds	Avg.	TDs	No.	Yds.	Avg.	TD	TP
1981	5	162	32.4	1	160	1169	7.3	6	36
1982	4	55	13.8	0	252	1790	7.1	17	102
1983	11	232	21.1	0	296	2486	8.4	29	174
Totals	20	449	22.5	1	708	5445	7.7	52	312

Retired Jersey #7

2001 Walter Camp Player of the Year

2001 Davey O'Brien Quarterback Award Winner

2001 Sporting News National Offensive Player of the Year

2001 ABC/Chevrolet National Player of the Year

2001 First-Team All-American (AP, AFCA, The Sporting News, ABC Sports Online)

2001: Eric Crouch, Quarterback (1998-2001)

Omaha, NE

     In his final year as one of the best option quarterbacks in college football history, Eric Crouch won three major national awards, including the Heisman Trophy, Walter Camp Player-of-the-Year award and the Davey O'Brien quarterback award. Crouch led Nebraska to the Bowl Championship Series national title game in the Rose Bowl against Miami. Against the Hurricanes, the All-American capped his career with 114 yards rushing on 22 carries to lead all rushers, while adding 62 yards on five completions through the air. Crouch played the bowl game with his degree in hand after graduating in December 2001.

     He went on to be drafted as a wide receiver in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams with the 95th overall pick. Crouch led Nebraska on the field as one of five team captains, the first quarterback to earn the honor in a decade. He also shared the Guy Chamberlain Trophy with Tracey Wistrom for play, contributions and dedication to the Nebraska football team.

     Crouch ended his NU career by holding 32 school records. He was one of three quarterbacks in NCAA history to rush for 3,000 yards and pass for 4,000 yards in a career, while becoming just the 13th quarterback in NCAA history to rush and pass for 1,000 yards in the same season in 2001.

 

Rushing
Year	G	Att.	Cmp.	Int.	Pct.	Yds.	Y/A	Y/G	LP	TD	Eff.R.
1998	8	101	49	4	48.5	601	5.95	75.1	45	4	103.65
1999	12	160	83	4	51.9	1,269	7.93	105.8	70	7	127.93
2000	11	156	75	7	48.1	1,101	7.06	100.1	52	11	121.66
2001	12	189	105	10	55.6	1,510	7.99	125.8	78	7	124.31
Totals	43	606	312	25	51.5	4,481	7.39	104.2	70	29	121.14

 

Total Offense
Year	G	Att.	Yards	Y/A	Y/G	TDs
1998	8	197	1,060	5.4	132.5	9
1999	12	340	2,158	6.3	179.8	23
2000	11	325	2,072	6.4	188.4	31
2001	12	392	2,625	6.7	218.8	25
Total	43	1,254	7,915	6.3	184.1	88