of the Husker walk-on program
Omaha showings: 2 p.m., 3:30 p.m.,
5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday,
Village Pointe Cinema
Tickets: $10
TV: 7 p.m. Tuesday on NET1
Bo Pelini's first reaction six years ago to the swollen Nebraska roster created by the school's walk-on program that has, for years, helped define NU football?
“It looked like organized chaos.”
So says the second-year NU coach, remembering his initial impressions of spring practice in 2003 after he was hired as defensive coordinator. Pelini made the comment in a new documentary, “Walk Ons: Huskers' Edge,” to air Tuesday on NET1 and NET-HD.
The one-hour program will be screened Thursday in Omaha. Showings at Village Pointe Cinema are set for 2, 3:30, 5 and 7 p.m. Tickets are $10.
The program documents the history of walk-ons at NU — from the 1941 Rose Bowl team to the 2008 Huskers.
Nebraska coaches and officials have emphasized the importance of revitalizing the walk-on program since the hiring of former coach Tom Osborne as athletic director in October 2007 and Pelini two months later as head coach.
The NET show presents a case that Nebraska's walk-ons formed the foundation that led to three national titles in the 1990s.
It also follows the Huskers through last season, capped by four straight victories.
Walk-ons loomed large at the end of 2008, with Alex Henery booting a school-record 57-yard field goal to beat Colorado in the regular-season finale. Walk-on safety Matt O'Hanlon then contributed a game-saving pass breakup late in the Huskers' Gator Bowl win over Clemson.
Joel Geyer, the veteran producer of the program, watched anxiously as the season unfolded.
“I was grinding my teeth in the middle,” Geyer said. “I didn't know where the season was going. I didn't know who was going to emerge. This is one of the hardest programs I've ever produced. If we hadn't had that kick and the Gator Bowl, it would have been tough. The walk-ons made the program.”
Geyer has worked on more than 25 documentaries, including nine on NU football. His credits include “Coach Osborne: More Than Winning” and three parts of the “Husker Century” series.
Geyer said the latest project grew out of an idea to film another documentary on Osborne.
Geyer followed 2008 walk-ons Jordan Makovicka of Ulyssses, Neb., and Taylor Dixon of Wauneta, Neb. The program shows Makovicka and Dixon in their hometowns and at the Red-White game in 2008.
As usual for a Geyer-produced NET documentary, this project includes plenty of classic footage — including portions of a 1985 interview with Steve Pederson, then the NU recruiting coordinator under Osborne.
Pederson later served as Nebraska's athletic director and hired coach Bill Callahan, leading to a period in which walk-ons were de-emphasized.
Geyer tells the story of Langston “Trey” Coleman, a 1963 walk-on who paved a path for many of the modern-day players who climbed from obscurity to stardom.
The producer, an Indiana native who has lived in Nebraska for 30 years, said he expects this project to resonate especially well with Nebraskans, because the walk-on persona is so strongly rooted in the state's culture.
“I can say with confidence that Nebraska has a very strong set of values that makes it a culture that is better connected than a lot of places,” Geyer said. “There's a sense of loyalty and self-sacrifice here.
“Who are we? What do we value? What makes us unique? Of course, Husker football is one of the things that really helps tie the state together.”
Contact the writer:
402-473-9587, mitch.sherman@owh.com
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