LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -Say “Blackshirts” to a college football fan and it conjures up images of the punishing Nebraska defenses of yesteryear.
The nickname dates to the 1960s and is derived from the color of the jerseys defensive starters have traditionally worn at practice. Over time, the term came to represent excellence, not to mention a marketing opportunity for the university.
A month into the regular season, those coveted black practice tops that used to be awarded the week of the season opener remain packed away.
Coach Bo Pelini says his defense isn’t worthy despite giving up the fewest points in the nation.
“I’m not disrespecting the tradition of it,” Pelini said. “It’s something you’ve got to earn.”
The Huskers (3-1) are allowing just seven points and 285 yards a game. They held three opponents from the Sun Belt Conference to a total of 12 points, and they were impressive on the road against Virginia Tech before two late defensive busts in the Hokies’ 16-15 victory.
A big performance against Blaine Gabbert and No. 24 Missouri on Thursday night just might make Pelini think about putting his defense back in black.
Or not.
Pelini waited until the second week of November to award Blackshirts last year. He said it’s possible he won’t give out any this season.
Former coach Tom Osborne and his longtime defensive coordinator, Charlie McBride, have no qualms with Pelini’s policy. In fact, they say Pelini is paying respect to the tradition by insisting that his defenders meet a high standard.
“I think there is merit to what Bo is doing,” said Osborne, now the athletic director.
McBride, retired and living in Arizona, said some of his greatest coaching memories stem from presenting Blackshirts.
“I’d have guys cry. It was that meaningful to them,” he said.
If Pelini’s plan is to motivate his defenders, it’s working. Senior nose tackle Ndamukong Suh, for one, is plenty motivated.
“I want my third Blackshirt,” the Big 12’s preseason defensive player of the year said. “It’s tough, but it’s not a main focus of the coaches to hand them out. It would mean a lot to get another one, but you have to prove it on and off the field. We have done it to a point, but not every single play of every single game.”
last season.
Under former coordinator Kevin Cosgrove, the Huskers surrendered 477 yards and 38 points a game in 2007. Last year, with Carl Pelini as coordinator and Bo overseeing all facets, the Huskers lopped those averages down to 350 yards and 28.5 points.
The numbers this year are better yet.
Terry Connealy, the defensive tackle who sacked Miami’s Frank Costa to secure Nebraska’s 1994 national championship, said Pelini is enhancing the Blackshirt tradition by making his defenders truly earn their shirts.
“There was an era we went through where I don’t think ‘Blackshirts’ meant anything,” Connealy said.
The backdrop for Blackshirts dates to 1964 when Bob Devaney sent assistant Mike Corgan to a Lincoln sporting goods store to buy practice jerseys. The black ones were given to the defensive starters.
At first, the starters wore black and everybody else wore gray, and a player’s color assignment could change by the day depending on his performance. By the late 1960s, the coaching staff was awarding black shirts at the end of preseason practice, though a player could be stripped of his because of poor performance.
Local pundits started calling Nebraska’s defense “Blackshirts” shortly after the concept was launched and the national media followed suit about 1967, when the Huskers ranked No. 1 in total defense.
ows up and his black shirt is hanging in his locker,” said Adrian Fiala, a linebacker on the ’67 team who now is a Nebraska football radio commentator. “There is a lot of emotion and intensity and a great feeling from knowing you have joined an illustrious club that has persevered over the years.”
By the 1990s, the Nebraska athletic department started marketing Blackshirt T-shirts, hats and flags featuring a logo with a skull and crossbones. A Lincoln clothing store even used to sell a line of “Blackshirt” blazers endorsed by McBride.
Blackshirts, to be sure, became the identity of Nebraska’s defenses. This season, however, it’s in name only until Pelini sees fit.
“I’m not satisfied with where we are as a defense,” he said. “We have a long way to go yet.”
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