The Common Fans keep rolling with their Mount Rushmore series, and this time the boys tackle one of the toughest categories imaginable: the Mount Rushmore of Nebraska football defenders.

Friend of the program Brian Christopherson from Husker247 joins the conversation, along with Brandon Vogel of Counter Read newsletter, to sort through decades of Blackshirt greatness and try to identify the four most important defensive players in Nebraska football history.

Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh!!!!!!!

Some debates are hard. This one is not.

Ndamukong Suh’s 2009 season remains one of the most dominant individual seasons in college football history. The Texas game alone is basically its own museum exhibit: seven tackles for loss, four and a half sacks, one of the great single game performances of all time.

Suh also played for Bo Pelini at a critical juncture in Nebraska history, as the program was getting back on stable ground after the disappointing Bill Callahan era.

Everyone agrees: Suh is on the mountain.

Is there a Blackshirt with a better résumé than Grant Wistrom?

Wistrom’s résumé speaks for itself: three national championships, a Lombardi Award, Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, and one of the defining motors in Nebraska football history.

But the discussion goes beyond stats. Wistrom helped define the edge, attitude, and relentlessness of the 1990s Blackshirts. He played a critical role on Tom Osborne’s best teams, and along with Jason Peter and others, helped set the tone for the final championship run of the Osborne era.

Was Rich Glover Suh before Suh?

The conversation reaches back to Rich Glover, one of the greatest defensive linemen in college football history and a cornerstone of Nebraska’s early-1970s dominance.

Glover finished third in the Heisman voting in 1972, won the Outland and Lombardi trophies, and helped establish Nebraska’s defensive identity long before the 1990s Blackshirts became a national brand.

Who gets the final spot?

That’s where things get interesting.

The group debates Trev Alberts, Lavonte David, Mike Brown, Ralph Brown, Jerry Murtaugh, Barrett Ruud, Jason Peter, Larry Jacobson, Wayne Meylan, and several others. Alberts has the Butkus Award. David has the game-changing plays and modern-era dominance. Mike Brown has the tackling, leadership, and NFL legacy. Murtaugh has championship-era significance.

In the end, the final spot goes to Lavonte David, giving the Common Fan defensive Mount Rushmore a final four of Suh, Wistrom, Glover, and David.

A Program Built on Defense

More than anything, this episode is a reminder that Nebraska’s path back to national relevance probably has to start where so many great Husker teams were built: on defense, and especially in the trenches.

The Blackshirts have produced an embarrassment of riches over the years. The hope now is that the next great Nebraska defense is still ahead.

Check out the episode on YouTube, listen on the Common Fan website, or find it on any audio platform where you get your podcasts.

As always, GBR for LIFE!

The Common Fans’ Mount Rushmore series rolls on, and with this latest episode, we’re looking at the men in the headsets. Who belongs on the Mount Rushmore of Nebraska football coaches? And how do you even begin to compare head coaches, coordinators, assistants, strength coaches, and figures from completely different eras of Husker history?

To help sort it all out, the boys are joined by two friends of the program: Henry Cordes, longtime Omaha World-Herald reporter, author of multiple books on Nebraska football, and now investigative reporter for the Flatwater Free Press; and Brandon Vogel of Counter Read newsletter, who is back with us for every episode of this summer series.

Two Obvious Faces on the Mountain

There’s no real suspense at the top. Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne laid the foundation of modern Nebraska football. They are Nebraska football. If you surveyed every Nebraska football fan on planet earth, there would be 100% agreement on this point.

Devaney is the program’s George Washington: the coach who took Nebraska from afterthought to national power and delivered the Huskers’ first two national championships. Osborne is the Abraham Lincoln figure: the coach who preserved, perfected, and elevated what Devaney built, ultimately producing one of the greatest runs in college football history.

Those two are automatic. The real debate starts after that.

How far back should we be looking?

One of the best parts of this conversation is the deep dive into early Nebraska football history. Henry and Brandon both make a strong case for Jumbo Stiehm, whose Nebraska teams from 1911 to 1915 went 35-2-3, won five conference titles, and helped establish Nebraska as a serious football program long before the Devaney/Osborne era.

The question becomes: how much weight should we give to a coach from more than a century ago? If Nebraska fans take pride in being one of the winningest programs in college football history, then the early architects of that history deserve serious consideration.

Which assistant coaches belong in this conversation?

Boyd Epley, Monte Kiffin, Charlie McBride, Milt Tenopir, and Frank Solich all come up in the conversation.

Epley helped revolutionize strength and conditioning, not just at Nebraska but across college football. Kiffin was the first Nebraska assistant to hold the title of defensive coordinator, and helped shape the Blackshirts during the Devaney era. McBride’s defenses became the backbone of the 1990s dynasty. Tenopir helped build the Pipeline. Solich played a massive role as a longtime assistant before taking over as head coach.

Who made the final four?

After plenty of debate, the group lands on four names: Tom Osborne, Bob Devaney, Jumbo Stiehm, and Monte Kiffin.

That leaves some painful omissions, especially Boyd Epley and Charlie McBride. But that’s what makes these conversations fun. The goal is not simply to pick the most familiar names. It’s to identify the most important and consequential figures in Nebraska football history.

And with coaches, that conversation runs deep.

Check out the episode on YouTube, listen on the Common Fan website, or find it on any audio platform where you get your podcasts.

As always, GBR for LIFE!

The Common Fans’ summer series is officially underway, and the boys are starting in the most obvious place: quarterbacks.

This summer, the Common Fans are working to build the definitive Nebraska Football Mount Rushmore. Not just the four “best” names by stats alone, but the most important, most consequential figures in Husker history. Impact, championships, leadership, cultural significance, defining moments – everything will be considered.

For episode one, Mitch Sherman from The Athletic and the Locked On Nebraska podcast joins the show, along with Brandon Vogel from Counter Read newsletter, who will be part of every episode in the series.

First up: the Mount Rushmore of Nebraska quarterbacks.

Who is the first face on the mountain?

There was no debate here. Tommie Frazier is the obvious starting point.

Two national championships. A 33-3 record as a starter. The stolen Heisman. The swagger. The standard. The mentality.

More than anything, Frazier helped define what Nebraska football became at its absolute peak. The guys discuss how his toughness and leadership shaped the entire program, and why he remains the clearest, easiest choice in this whole exercise.

How much weight do championships carry?

That question comes up quickly as the conversation turns to Jerry Tagge, Scott Frost, and the other quarterbacks who played a part on national championship teams.

Tagge’s case is built around the first two championships in program history, including the Game of the Century and the iconic goal-line moment against LSU. Frost’s case is more complicated, given everything that happened later as Nebraska’s head coach, but his role in the 1997 title season still matters.

The Common Fans wonder if it’s possible to separate the player from everything that came after – or if it’s necessary to take it all into consideration.

The Turner Gill Factor

For several members of the panel, Turner Gill was an easy choice.

He didn’t win a national championship, but he helped transform Nebraska’s offense, beat Oklahoma, and quarterbacked some of the best teams Tom Osborne ever had. His impact on the program went beyond stats, and his later role on Osborne’s staff only adds to his legacy.

What about Crouch, Berringer, Martinez, and the others?

Eric Crouch also gets strong support, and for good reason: Heisman Trophy, unforgettable moments, and the last true flash of national-title-level joy for Nebraska fans.

The guys also discuss Taylor Martinez, Tommy Armstrong, Adrian Martinez, Steve Taylor, Joe Ganz, Zac Taylor, and others who deserve to be remembered — even if they don’t quite make the final four.

And of course, it is agreed among the group that Brook Berringer deserves his own separate monument, given his contributions to the program, and the place he holds in Nebraska football history.

So who makes the final Mount Rushmore of Nebraska QBs?

After plenty of debate, the crew settles on four names: Tommie Frazier, Eric Crouch, Turner Gill, and Jerry Tagge.

The quarterbacks are only the beginning. Over the next several weeks, the Common Fans will tackle coaches, offensive players, defensive players, special teams, walk-ons, and finally the ultimate Mount Rushmore of Nebraska football.

Listen to the full debate by checking out the episode on YouTube, listening on the Common Fan website, or finding it on any audio platform where you get your podcasts.

As always, GBR for LIFE!