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By Randy York
One of Nebraska's smartest athletes in any sport, Tucker Lane,is getting smarter, and it has nothing to do with his 3.98 grade-point average as a graduate student in Broadcast Journalism. A two-time first-team Academic All Big 12 wrestler and a CoSIDA second-team Academic All-American, Lane received his diploma last month. The second the fiercely-driven Husker heavyweight turned the tassel on his graduation cap, he must have felt the weight of the world lift off his shoulders because he's now wrestling with the same intelligence he takes into the classroom every day.
"In his first 4½ years of college, I think Tucker's had 3 A-minuses and all the rest A's," Nebraska wrestling coach Mark Manning said. "He's a very bright student and a very gifted athlete. He has enough talent to be a national champion this year." Here's the kicker: In his first four years at Nebraska, Lane has been so consumed with covering every mental and physical barrier he can, he's beaten himself more than his opponent has beaten him. Lane is such a multi-tasker and such a perfectionist by nature, "what Tucker is doing now is learning how to relax and how to focus on staying loose, so he doesn't become so one-dimensional. He's been a good wrestler since his freshman season, but I think even he would tell you that he probably should have been an All-American a couple of times already."
Last Friday night, the pressure was on, and Lane set the tone for the Huskers' 18-16 upset of No. 6 Ohio State with a dominating win in the opening match. A three-time NCAA qualifier, Lane gave his father the only birthday present he asked for - an individual win for Tucker and a Husker team victory over the Buckeyes. Tucker's dad is none other than Larry Lane, a.k.a. "Red Dog Lane" when he wrestled professionally out of Charlotte, N.C., before becoming "Cowboy Larry Lane from Muleshoe, Texas" and touring North America with the National Wrestling Alliance, based in Amarillo.
If all goes as planned this year, Tucker Lane will become the 20th Husker to win 100 matches in his career that will hopefully end in a meaningful All-America performance at the NCAA Championships in mid-March in St. Louis. In the meantime, a smart kid getting smarter will continue to concentrate on his studies, listen to lots of classic rock and oldies and strive represent the values of Rulon Gardner, his favorite athlete, who, by the way, said his diploma from Nebraska was worth more to him than his Olympic gold medal. I'm sure Tucker's father would say the same thing. He's one of the most fascinating interviews I've had in the last five years. If you want to see why, check out an N-Sider we called The Legend of Tucker Lane is Just Beginning. Right now, it looks like that prediction is going to come full circle.
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