Following Nebraska Football - Brenden Stai

By Nate Rohr

In his three-point stance at guard, No. 66 Brenden Stai surveys the field. The harsh glare of spotlights surround him, as does a slew of big-name stars. Characters of ill-repute and ill-temper dance around on the other side of the line of scrimmage, trying to throw him off his game. Cameras encompass the field, capturing his every move.

Is this the 1995 Orange Bowl, with Stai forming the middle of the vaunted ?Pipeline’ as they try to mow down the Miami Hurricanes? Or Super Bowl XXX, with Stai trying to clear a path to a World Championship for the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Dallas Cowboys?

Actually, it’s what Stai did this summer, acting in the forthcoming Paramount Pictures movie ?The Longest Yard.’ Stai received a role in the movie thanks to an assist from his father-in-law.

"My wife’s father told me about that they were having a casting call for the movie," said Stai, who has returned to his native California since closing his professional football career. "There were only 40 guys who made it out of 3,000."

The movie, which is set for release on Memorial Day, 2005, is a remake of the 1974 classic that starred Burt Reynolds as Paul "Wrecking" Crew. This time, Reynolds appears as Coach Nate Scarboro who, along with Crew, as played by Adam Sandler, tries to assemble a team of inmates to defeat a team of guards in a football game. Other stars include Chris Rock, Michael Irvin and Nelly.

"It’s highly anticipated in Hollywood, and there are a ton of cameos in the movie," Stai said.

Acting as one of the guards is a man Husker fans are used to seeing cast as the villain. Former Oklahoma linebacker Brian Bosworth plays the role of Guard Garner, joining Bill Romanowski on the side of the guards. Also playing for the guards are professional wrestlers Bill Goldberg, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Kevin Nash.

"If you’re a sports fan, you’ll love it," Stai said of the movie.

For Stai’s part, he does not play a prison guard or an inmate, at least in principle. He plays the role he filled so capably for four years at Nebraska and in an eight-year NFL career: right guard, No. 66.

"I get to play myself. I’m not doubling for anyone," Stai said.

It is a return to the spotlight for Stai, who stepped into its glare at Nebraska. Stai came to NU from Yorba Linda, Calif. The distance from home made Stai’s transition all the more difficult as he entered college.

"When I went to college, I realized that it was time for me to grow up, and I did a lot of that," Stai said. "I realized that this (college) was a one-time opportunity, and that I had to take advantage of it."

Stai took full advantage, on and off the field. On it, he was a letterman on four Big Eight Championship teams. His senior year, he was a first-team All-American and a Lombardi Award finalist on a squad that won the national championship. Off the field, Stai earned his degree in criminal justice.

"I laid the foundation for the rest of my life with my degree, and that’s something no one can take from me," Stai said. "Looking back, coming to Nebraska was the best decision I ever made."

From there, Stai leapt into a career in professional football. He was drafted in the third round by Pittsburgh in the 1995 NFL Draft. Just over a year removed from playing for and winning the national championship, Stai started for the Steelers in Super Bowl XXX against the Dallas Cowboys.

"It was an unusual career, coming right off a national championship, going right into the Super Bowl and starting both games," Stai said.

Stai would play for the Steelers until 1999.

"I enjoyed my time there as a player," Stai said. "It’s a great town. They love their football and they love their players, and my wife and I enjoyed it."

After playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars for two years, Stai wrapped up his NFL career with the Washington Redskins in 2002. Since then, he has been catching up on activities pushed aside by the hectic schedule of the professional football player.

"I’ve just been doing some of the things that I’ve always wanted to do and never really had the time to do," Stai said. "In the off-season, you get a few chances here and there, but commuting back and forth from California really limited that for me. Now that it’s all over and the book is closed in football, it’s nice just to sit back and reap the rewards of the years that I played."

Stai has not completely turned his back on the game of football. He serves as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Anaheim Esperanza High School. And of course, his movie role put him back into cleats and shoulder pads.

Even though he appears among a star-studded cast in ?The Longest Yard,’ do not think that Stai is going to be in Hollywood long. Lured by business interests and a better environment in which to raise his family, Stai is planning a move back to the state of Nebraska at some point next year.

"There’s a lot about Nebraska that I love," Stai said. "I think it’s a little better place for raising kids, and there are some business opportunities for me back here."

And so the story will come full circle for Stai. Just as he sees himself in the spotlight of a major motion picture, he will return to the place where he first stepped into its glare ? Nebraska.