Huskers Announce 2003 Team Awards

Lincoln - Seniors Jammal Lord, Jason Lohr, Demorrio Williams, Kyle Larson and Trevor Johnson were honored for their contributions to the Nebraska football program by earning the Huskers’ team honors announced on Friday.

The five award winners will be honored at the First Data Corporation Outland Trophy Award Dinner presented by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee on Thursday, Jan. 8, at the Downtown DoubleTree Hotel in Omaha. The event begins at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are $75 or $750 for a table of 10. For tickets and more information, please call (402) 346-8003.

Lord and Lohr were named the co-winners of the Tom Novak Trophy, which was established by J. Gordon Roberts in 1950, voted on by members of the media, and presented to a Husker senior who best exemplifies courage and determination despite all odds in the manner of Nebraska All-America center Tom Novak.

Friday Practice Report

Lincoln -- The Huskers worked out in sweat clothes in the Cook Pavilion on Friday, for about an hour and a half. After the light practice, Offensive Coordinator Barney Cotton addressed the media.

"We had a good workout," Cotton said. "Everyone is staying focused and working on the task at hand."

Cotton said today’s practice was more conditioning type, and getting back into playing shape. "The Michigan State film arrived here on Tuesday," Cotton said, "We are still formalizing our game plan. By next Tuesday, we should have about 80 percent of our final game plan in place."

Lord, a 6-2, 220-pound senior from Bayonne, N.J., has started 26 consecutive games as Nebraska’s quarterback and ranks fifth on the NU career chart with 5,182 yards in total offense. In 2002, Lord set the Nebraska season total offense record with 2,774 yards, including a single-game record 369 total offense yards in a win over McNeese State. He also set the NU single-season quarterback rushing record with 1,412 yards in 2002. This season, he has guided the No. 22 Huskers to a 9-3 mark and a trip to the Alamo Bowl, while passing for 1,145 yards and rushing for a team-high 869 yards. He was chosen as a Husker captain by his teammates before the start of his senior season.

Lohr, a 6-2, 275-pound nose tackle from Tulsa, Okla., will complete his six-year Husker career in the Alamo Bowl. Lohr was a standout on the defensive line in his first three seasons, before suffering a knee injury early in the 2001 campaign. In his career, he has played in 45 games with 92 tackles and 16 tackles for loss, including five games and four tackles this season. After appearing in every game as a true freshman reserve in 1998, Lohr played a role in NU’s run to the 1999 Big 12 title. He appeared in every game while rotating with Steve Warren at nose tackle and finished with 33 tackles. Lohr started every game in 2000 and finished with 46 tackles, including six tackles for loss and two sacks. His career changed dramatically in Nebraska’s win over Notre Dame in 2001, when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first half. He missed the final 10 games of 2001, all 14 games in 2002, and the first three games this season before returning at Southern Miss.

Williams earned the Guy Chamberlin Trophy, which is voted on by members of the media. The award was started in 1967 in memory of the former great Nebraska All-American who went to both the college and pro football halls of fame. It is presented to the senior player who has shown by the play and contributions to the betterment of the University of Nebraska football squad that he has the qualities and dedication of Guy Chamberlin to the great Cornhusker tradition.

Williams, a 6-1, 215-pound linebacker from Beckville, Texas, earned first-team All-Big 12 honors from the Associated Press and honorable-mention All-America accolades, after being named a semifinalist for the Butkus Award. A two-time Big 12 Defensive Player-of-the-Week honoree in 2003, Williams led a Husker defense that ranked among the nation’s best. He set Nebraska linebacker single-season records with four fumble recoveries, nine sacks, and 18 tackles for loss. His 122 total tackles rank as the seventh-best season total in school history. A transfer from Kilgore Junior College, Williams became the first junior college player in in more than 45 years to be named a Husker captain by his teammates.

Larson and Johnson were selected as winners of the Cletus Fischer Native Son Award, which is presented annually to a Husker senior who best exemplifies the following qualities: good work ethic, competitiveness; leadership; forthrightness; sense of humor; pride; loyalty; and love of Nebraska. The award, which is determined by Husker coaches, was established in 1992 and named for Fischer in 2001.

Larson, a 6-0, 200-pound punter from Funk, Neb., has been a key player in Nebraska’s special teams success over the past three seasons. As a senior, Larson was named a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association and was a finalist for the Ray Guy Award. The first-team All-Big 12 selection is on track to set the Husker single-season record by averaging 45.39 yards per punt this season, which ranks seventh nationally. He ranks second in Husker history in career punting average with 43.7 yards per punt on his school-record 188 career punts. Larson is also a three-time second-team academic All-Big 12 honoree.

Johnson, a 6-4, 250, defensive end from Lincoln, Neb., has earned the respect of his teammates and coaches throughout his career. The Lincoln Northeast graduate was named a captain by his teammates before the start of his senior season and was honored for his hard work and dedication by being named the 2003 Nebraska Lifter of the Year. A four-time first-team academic All-Big 12 selection, Johnson started all 12 games this season and finished fifth on the team with 63 tackles, including seven tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. Johnson’s play earned him honorable-mention All-Big 12 accolades this season. After redshirting in 1999, and playing 10 games as a tight end in 2000, Johnson appeared in 12 games as a defensive end in 2001, before starting nine of 14 games last season. He has produced 126 career tackles with 20 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.