We Spent the Summer Debating Nebraska Football's Greatest Legends. Here's Where We Landed.

by T.J. Birkel

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We spent much of the summer on the Common Fan Podcast attempting perhaps an impossible task: building the definitive Mount Rushmore of Nebraska football.

Over the course of seven episodes, we looked at quarterbacks, coaches, offensive players, defensive players, special teams players and walk-ons before finally attempting to narrow the long and glorious history of Nebraska football down to four players (for the final list, we let the coaches episode stand on its own, and only focused on players. That was hard enough).

We were joined throughout the series by Brandon Vogel of the Counter Read newsletter, along with a tremendous group of featured guests including Mitch Sherman, Henry Cordes, Brian Christopherson, Mike’l Severe, Gary Sharp and Mike Babcock.

From the beginning, this wasn't simply about identifying the four best players. When sculptor Gutzon Borglum designed the actual Mount Rushmore, he wasn't simply selecting the four greatest presidents. The idea was to represent figures who were particularly important and consequential in the story of the country.

We tried to take the same approach with Nebraska football. That meant considering championships and individual accomplishments, of course. But also impact on the program, leadership, innovation, longevity, cultural significance and the moments and players that helped define the history of Husker football.

When you host a podcast, you’re constantly thinking about…

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