Paul, Thenarse, Henery Leave Meaningful Nebraska Football LegaciesPaul, Thenarse, Henery Leave Meaningful Nebraska Football Legacies
Football

Paul, Thenarse, Henery Leave Meaningful Nebraska Football Legacies

Randy York's N-Sider

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OMAHA - Legacy is a big word, and it's not just reserved for men and women who defend our liberties or presidents who put people on the moon. Everyone can leave a legacy, including parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, coaches, even football players, and the 2010 Outland Trophy Award Dinner proved that here Thursday night at the Downtown Doubletree Hotel.

While 2010 Outland winner Gabe Carimi of Wisconsin and 1959 Outland winner Mike McGee of Duke were the headline honorees, videos and presentations honoring Nebraska's top three senior awards impressed both of them.The Outland banquet format is different than most events, giving national award winners an inside look at Nebraska football culture, and McGee, in particular, was moved after watching:

If the only thing you can take with you when you're gone is what you leave behind, McGee saw clear-cut legacies from all three Husker award winners.

"The way you honored those three seniors tonight was very special. I'm a great fan of college football, and I am just in awe of all three," said McGee, a former head football coach at East Carolina and Duke and a former athletic director at three BCS schools - Cincinnati, Southern Cal and South Carolina.

That's not all. McGee also founded and directed the prestigious Sports Management Institute, the leading in-service training academy for professional staff in intercollegiate athletics, for nearly two decades. So he knows all about leading, learning and legacies and how discipline and effort can deliver multiple rewards.

Here, in a nutshell, are the legacies of all three Husker honorees:

Niles Paul's Dream: To Play for Nebraska

Nebraska coaches select the Cletus Fischer Native Son Award, which is presented annually to the senior who best exemplifies work ethic, competitiveness, leadership, forthrightness, sense of humor, pride, loyalty and love for Nebraska.

Paul was unable to make it to the banquet because of his decision to train in Bradenton, Fla., for a possible career in the NFL. "I really appreciated getting the Cletus Fischer Native Son Award, and I truly wish I could have been in Omaha to receive the honor myself," Paul said by telephone Friday. "It's a great honor because it's named after a great Husker, and it's humbling to receive the same honor that so many great Huskers have received in the past."

From previous Fischer award winners Terry Connealy and Russ Hochstein to Matt O'Hanlon last year, Paul joins elite company and belongs there.

"If there's a tougher young man across the country, I want to meet him," Nebraska Receivers Coach Ted Gilmore said. "All the qualities they talk about for this award, he represents. He literally gave up everything to be the best, and when he broke his foot at the end of the year, we cried like babies."

Gilmore recalled Paul's disappointing performance against Texas and how he came back from that with a superlative effort at Oklahoma State that included a kickoff return for a touchdown.

"I can remember that young man calling me at home," Gilmore said. "He was upset, and it's a reminder that sometimes we forget they are student-athletes, and we forget they are just kids. The reality is that young man gave it all he has and then some."

Gilmore believes Paul has a great future in the pros. "One thing that does not show is what that young man is capable of becoming," he said. "He's as good as any receiver across the country. He's still untapped, still capable of so much more."

In accepting his award, Nick Paul remembers how his son was ranked as the state's No. 1 recruit and one of the nation's best. "He could have visited almost anywhere, but he didn't want to," his dad said. "He's wanted to be a Husker since he was 7 or 8-years old. He didn't see any need to visit somewhere else."

Paul hopes his dad communicated the respect he has for the Fischer award. "I just  want Nebraska fans to know how much it means to me," he said, "and I want them to know that I'm putting everything I have right now into my future, just like I gave Nebraska everything I had over these past four years."

Dr. Tim Fischer, a former Husker football letterman defensive back and son of the late Cletus Fischer, said his family is eager to watch Paul succeed in the NFL.

Rickey Thenarse's Journey: Against All Odds

The media votes on the Tom Novak Trophy, which is awarded to the senior who "best exemplifies courage and determination despite all odds in the manner of Nebraska All-America center Tom Novak."

There was no doubt what award became the most emotional one Thursday night - a Tom Novak Trophy that may have been its most poignant example of "against all odds" yet. If nothing else, it ranks right up there with such past winners as Pat Fischer, Clete Pillen, Kenny Walker and Tommie Frazier, who came back from life-threatening blood clots in his legs.

"We've had some great winners over the years, but Rickey's journey not only to play, but get a college degree is definitely one of the most inspiring ones," said Tom Novak Jr., the oldest son of the first Nebraska player to have his jersey retired and the only Husker in history to make first-team all-conference for four consecutive years.

Marvin Sanders, Nebraska's secondary coach, choked up talking about Thenarse last month at Nebraska's football banquet, and it happened again Thursday night when he hit a certain point in his introduction.

Sanders explained how difficult it was for Thenarse to have two brothers shot and killed in the rough Los Angeles neighborhood in which he grew up. He also pointed out how difficult it was for Rickey to come back from two serious injuries during his career.

Last fall, when Thenarse returned an interception for a touchdown against Idaho, Sanders remembers how emotional it was for him in the press box, pausing to collect himself, clear his throat and explain why. "It took me back to all the things he's gone through and how his mental toughness had gotten him through it time after time when most of us would have wilted," Sanders said.

Equally poignant for Sanders was the applause from the banquet audience when the video showed Thenarse wearing his cap and gown and receiving his college diploma.

"Of all his accomplishments and all that he's achieved, that speaks volumes about what he's all about," Sanders said. "I was never so proud. It was an honor to coach Rickey for three years, and I love him like a son. He's a Husker through and through, and he's done the Novak family proud."

Thenarse was quick and humble in his acceptance. "My experience at Nebraska has been great," he said. "It's taught me responsibility, respect and honor and helped me become a better person."

Thenarse plans to use his degree in Sociology to teach, coach and help others beat the odds and overcome the obstacles in their lives.

Alex Henery's Legacy: Money in the Bank

The media also votes on the Guy Chamberlin Trophy, which essentially goes to a senior whose play contributes to the betterment of the team.

Alex Henery used a record 57-yard field goal late in the win over Colorado as a sophomore as the springboard for much more excitement to come.

"We've had a lot of great football players in the history of Nebraska football, and Alex has to rank right up there with any," Sanders said, pointing out how Henery became the most accurate kicker in NCAA history and the leading scorer in Nebraska history.

Henery's legacy, therefore, is rather simple.  Any time he set foot on the field, "there was never a doubt in anyone's mind," Sanders said. "Alex was money."

Henery's rise to the top of the NCAA kicking charts has been well documented.

Those attending the Outland banquet cheered a video showing Henery taking off at Oklahoma State and making a first down instead of punting. "I just want everyone here tonight to know that it wasn't a fake punt at all," Sanders said. "It was just Alex being Alex."

Sanders admitted he was like like all Husker coaches that watched the run-instead-of-punt drama unfold. "We were all thinking or saying: "What is he doing?" Sanders recalled. "Then, after we saw the result, we were all saying ... 'Good job, Alex! ... good job!'"

True to form, Henery downplayed his records or any idea of greatness. "Everyone always asks me: 'Is it (Nebraska football) everything I dreamed it would be?'" he said. "I never really dreamed of being in this situation, and even if I did, I don't think I could have drawn a picture like this and had it be that great."

After competing mostly as a walk-on, Henery earned a scholarship and now uses his UNL degree in Construction Management to earn parttime work in the Athletic Department's Capital Planning and Construction group, where he helps plan, estimate, oversee and close out various aspects of facility upgrades and new facility construction.

Henery is also taking some time off to rest his leg and prepare for two major events this spring - the NFL draft in late April and his wedding in late May. His fiancé, Johna Heldridge, and her parents, Steve and Sheila, sat with Alex, and his parents, Guy and Mary, at the Outland banquet.

Last month, Johna  was instrumental in convincing Henery to visit a school she once attended in Omaha - St. Wenceslaus - before graduating from Marian High School. Even though Alex is quiet and finds it difficult to talk about his accomplishments, she's convinced that his visit was an experience that inspired others to dream big, just like he did when he was their age.

Winning the Guy Chamberlin Trophy, of course, puts Henery in a special category that includes such Husker legends as Dave Rimington, Will Shields, Trev Alberts, Grant Wistrom, Eric Crouch, Barrett Ruud and Ndamukong Suh -- a fraternity which welcomes him in as the only first-team All-America kicker in Nebraska football history.

Like Thenarse and Paul, Henery is just beginning to build his lifetime legacy, and his actions on a football field, no doubt, will inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more.

Yes, legacy is a big word, but not too big for these three Huskers in their early 20s. They know the benefits of being brave, courageous and bold, and they have the rest of their lives to keep proving why those traits are so important.

Respond to Randy

Voices from Husker Nation

Rickey Thenarse deserves a gold star. Considering where he came from and what he's been through, he's beaten all the odds. Congratulations, Rickey, and good luck inspiring others who come from the same kind of background you did! You give them proof that it can be done!! Barbara Brown, Inglewood, California 

Rickey rocks! For everything he's experienced, he deserves everyone's respect. Dan Johnson, Wichita, Kansas

I think Niles Paul is going to be like Roger Craig - a very good college player who will become an even better pro because he has great athleticism and a team-first attitude. Sounds like his success will not surprise his position coach or his dad. They know his potential is still not fully tapped. Larry Moore, Des Moines, Iowa

It's great that Alex Henery will take the time to visit an elementary school - the age when dreams are born. What a role model! Where else can someone go from walk-on to the greatest kicker in the history of college football? How impressed do you think those kids were meeting him and listening to what he had to say? Even better, his legacy will only grow when he turns pro. Paul Murphy, Omaha, Nebraska

First, I want to thank you for bringing these exceptional and inspirational stories to Huskers.com. I read almost all of them and instantly am so energized I feel like I can take on anything. It is awesome to read about Nebraska athletes and how they contribute to the community, what odds some have overcome, and the overall experience they have had at Nebraska. I am a diehard Nebraska fan and have been since I was born. I grew up in Ceresco, Nebraska, and lived there with my family until I was 12 years old. My dad accepted a job in Tennessee, and we moved there in 1995. I am now 27, still live in Tennessee and still support the Huskers as faithfully as I did when I was 5. Your articles are a big part of what has kept that fire burning! It is so hard to be in a different state and cheer for another team, especially where the fans are passionate about their own team (nowhere close to the passion of a Big Red fan, but passionate in their own right). I can't begin to explain to them how there is no fan like a Nebraska fan. I share your stories every chance I get and encourage them to go to Huskers.com and read them. Thank you again for the way you portray the Husker life so that anyone who I send them to or anyone who may stumble on to Huskers.com will keep coming back and see what a great university and what rich tradition we have. I am proud to be a Husker fan and will be until the day I die! Keep doing your thing - you touch more lives and reach out to more people than you know. GO BIG RED! Dan Porer, Alcoa, Tennessee

The three honorees you wrote about represent the spectrum that defines Nebraska football. You have two players from Omaha - one highly recruited and one not recruited at all, yet walks on and makes first-team All-American. Rickey overcomes great odds after leaving LA's toughest neighborhood and becomes a man at Nebraska. Things don't go the way Rickey or Niles planned, but they learn valuable lessons for life, and really, that means it couldn't have gone any better for either because becoming better people is more important than anything, isn't it? Great story on three gifted young men who paid a price and left their mark. Paul Carlson, Omaha, Nebraska