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LINCOLN — Jordan Burroughs had nowhere else to go.

It wasn't back to football, not after he went through his freshman season at 98 pounds and never got into a game.

It wasn't off to another sport. Burroughs didn't run track, play basketball, swing a golf club or tennis racquet.

So Burroughs had to stare hard at that 16-10 record — and ponder what he was going to do about it — after his first season of wrestling at Winslow Township High in Atco, N.J.

“I was terrible,” Burroughs said. “I lost the first night of districts. I was just small.”

On a “rough team of guys,” that wasn't easy. Burroughs heard about it. He got tired of losing. He got tired of the teasing.

That's when he encountered a defining moment in his wrestling career: Walk away. Or stay and fight.

He stayed. And fought.

“All I had was wrestling,” Burroughs said. “If I'm not good at the only thing I have in life, I've got to get better at it.”

Today, he's a 2012 Olympic hopeful — perhaps a serious gold medal candidate. He is coming off a Husker career in which he twice posted undefeated seasons and as a senior won the Hodge Trophy — awarded to the nation's most outstanding wrestler.

Burroughs' never-give-up attitude and overall contributions to the Nebraska program also landed him the Fred Ware Award as the 31st student-athlete honored by The World-Herald.

The Ware Award is given annually to the four-year college athlete in Nebraska who, in the judgment of the newspaper's editors, made the most significant achievement in sports while representing the best traditions of his or her institution. The late Fred Ware organized The World-Herald sports department and served as sports editor from 1924 to 1942, and later was managing editor and a member of the newspaper's board of directors.

As in many success stories, Burroughs first battled failure and disappointment. He hit hard times during his first season at Nebraska and again between his junior and senior seasons with a serious knee injury. By the end of his NU career, he had solidified his status as a Husker great.

“He's kind of like our Ndamukong Suh,” NU wrestling coach Mark Manning said, referring to the former Husker football star and 2010 Ware Award recipient. “He's incredible.”

It comes from a mix of persona and persistence.

Manning said kids routinely gravitated toward Burroughs at NU events or camps, and asked for him when he wasn't there. It wasn't unusual for basketball coach Doc Sadler or football coach Bo Pelini to swing by a Husker practice and hang around with him.

Without breaking stride, Burroughs could go from owning a room with his presence to dominating it with his speed, strength and athleticism — and the belief that he was going to win every time.

“He's a freak mentally as much as he is an athlete,” Manning said.

Manning never witnessed the time Burroughs had to battle back from the lower rungs in high school. But the veteran coach saw something similar after Burroughs arrived at NU, confronted by the usual challenges of a true freshman trying to find his way in a major-college wrestling program.

Chasing a spot in the Nebraska rotation, he was beaten 13-6 in a wrestle-off by an in-state walk-on.

“I remember one of my assistants told me, ‘Coach, I don't know, we might have made a mistake recruiting this guy,' ” Manning said. “By the end of the year he was nearly an All-American, but four months before that he was just an average guy.”

Burroughs took the staff's advice that it was time to work harder, lift harder, train harder. By Christmas break that season, he had beaten badly the same teammate twice and was coming out of a redshirt season.

Manning told that story to 70 or so coaches during a recent Husker wrestling camp.

“And away he went,” Manning said. “Mentally, I haven't seen a kid make a move like that in my 20 years. He just figured it out.”

Burroughs carried it through a 128-20 career at NU, where he became the program's first two-time NCAA champion. Coming back from knee surgery and a medical redshirt in 2009-10, he finished 36-0 at 165 pounds as a senior.

With little break, he rushed to the U.S. Open, U.S. World Team Trials and Beat the Streets Dual. Burroughs spent two weeks recently at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Next is a tour of the Ukraine and Poland with USA Wrestling, then the world championships in September in Istanbul, Turkey.

“I've only had about 10 days off since NCAA nationals,” he said. “I've been working hard, chucking at it, trying to get better. I don't want to be disappointed. I want to put all the work in now.”

Manning will make both trips, because of both his duties with the U.S. national team and a strong connection to his former Husker star.

“He has a great opportunity to do some great things the next year and a half, and he wants me to be a part of it and I want to be a part of it,” Manning said. “Whatever I can do to make him give his best, I want to be there for him.”

Burroughs is starting to reap other rewards, as well as a World Team membership.

His rise and potential have led to sponsorship deals with Adidas and Cage Fighter. USA Wrestling handles his travel. It allows him to worry only about his training.

“Obviously it's not like an NFL or NBA contract, but it's more than I ever had,” said Burroughs, who graduated from NU in May with a degree in sociology.

Even with his busy schedule, Burroughs found time this summer to work a handful of camps and clinics in New Jersey. He still makes regular appearances at the RAW 241 Academy where he previously trained near his home in Sicklerville.

RAW 241 Director John Johnson said Burroughs dives in each time, with a knack for being hands on and patient with kids while also able to carry out the teaching aspect.

“He is, without question, the best character athlete at that level of any athlete I've met,” Johnson said. “When people get a chance to meet him, to rub elbows with him for a while, they walk away and say, ‘I'd love for my son to be like that.' ”

Staying down-to-earth and accessible is something Burroughs sees as another way to give back. One of his favorite memories is an appearance by national champion Joe Williams of Iowa at a clinic when he was a youngster. Burroughs was struck by how Williams made himself approachable.

Down the line, Burroughs said he could see himself starting his own club and teaching kids — and being around all the time.

“I love kids — they're so carefree and always put a smile on my face,” he said. “I'd definitely like to give back. I know a lot of kids watch college wrestling and a lot of kids watch me, want to meet me and introduce themselves. I just love being around them … ”

Burroughs pauses, thinks back a decade or so and continues.

“ … because I was one of them one time.”

* * *

WARE AWARD FINALISTS

TREVER ADAMS
The Creighton senior outfielder led the team in nearly every offensive category, including batting average (.387), slugging percentage (.665), on-base percentage (.467), runs (46), hits (89), RBIs (57), triples (4), home runs (14), total bases (153), walks (28) and stolen bases (15) as Creighton advanced to the NCAA regionals. Adams, out of Lincoln Southeast, was drafted in June in the 16th round by the Texas Rangers. He was named second-team All-American by Baseball America, second-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and third-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball. Creighton finished 45-16 and became the first team in program history to sweep the MVC regular-season and tournament titles in the same season.

JOEY MARTIN
A first-time captain with the UNO hockey team, the senior distinguished himself in a big way during the Mavs' first season in the rugged WCHA. As UNO finished third in its new conference — the highest league finish ever for the Mavs — Martin led the team with a career-high 35 points. He was a driving force both on and off the ice as UNO made its first NCAA tournament appearance in five years. The center from Thorold, Ontario, was honored as UNO's most valuable player and also became the 12th player in school history to surpass 100 career points (103).

BROOKE DELANO
Delano last fall etched her name among the best middle blockers in Nebraska volleyball history, becoming the 21st Husker to earn first-team AVCA All-America honors. The junior led the team in hitting percentage (.406) and blocks per set (1.42), and ranked among the top 10 nationally in both categories. The Bellevue West graduate became just the fourth player in school history to hit .400 or better in a season. Delano was a team captain as Nebraska finished 29-3 and won an outright Big 12 championship in its last year in the league.

PRINCE AMUKAMARA
The senior cornerback helped anchor a Nebraska football secondary that ranked among the nation's best in both 2009 and '10. Amukamara was a first-team All-American and Jim Thorpe Award finalist last season, and went on to be the No. 19 overall pick in the NFL draft in April. The native of Glendale, Ariz., earned his degree in sociology last December, completing his undergraduate work in seven semesters, and was a 2010 member of the Brook Berringer Citizenship Team.

BJ LAWRENCE
The 2012 Summer Olympics are one of the next goals for Lawrence, a Doane College senior-to-be and Omaha Northwest graduate who would represent his home country of St. Kitts and Nevis. The World-Herald Male Midlands College Athlete of the Year was the NAIA indoor and outdoor track champion in the 200 meters last season, and the national runner-up in the 60 and 100. He also ran a leg on the Tigers' 400 relay team that won an outdoor title. Lawrence was recognized as the NAIA outdoor championship athlete of the meet as the Doane men placed second.

MEGAN BOBER
During a breakthrough year for Creighton volleyball, Bober made her mark both on the court and in the classroom. The sophomore setter guided the Bluejays on their first trip to the NCAA tournament, where they upended Iowa State in the first round. The versatile 6-foot lefty from Murdock, Neb., averaged 10.26 assists, 1.95 digs, 1.48 kills and 0.92 blocks per set, and her 114 total blocks were the second-most nationally among all setters. She was named first-team All-Missouri Valley and also was recognized on the ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-District honor roll.

ASHLEY HAGEMANN
As Nebraska softball returned to national prominence, the junior pitcher shouldered the load for the 41-14 Huskers. Hagemann, a right-hander from Elkhorn, finished 31-13 with 344 strikeouts. She notched the second-highest single-season strikeout total in school history, and her victory total was third-highest all-time at NU. Off the field, Hagemann also was a second-team CoSIDA Academic All-American.

DOUG MCDERMOTT
The son of head coach Greg McDermott exploded onto the Creighton basketball scene by becoming the first freshman since 1952 to be a first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection. The 6-foot-7 forward started all 39 games and led the Bluejays in both scoring (14.9 points a game) and rebounding (7.2), while shooting 52.5 percent from the field and 40.5 percent on 3-pointers. Also joined Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony as the only freshmen since 2003 with at least 525 points, 270 rebounds and 40 3-pointers in a season. Made the USA Basketball under-19 team last month and is playing in the FIBA World Championships in Latvia.

Contact the writer:

402-444-1042, rich.kaipust@owh.com

twitter.com/RKaipustOWH

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