New Jersey a Hotbed for Producing NU Greats

Randy York's N-Sider

On Saturday, Nebraska welcomes Rutgers University to Lincoln. One of the nation’s premier public research universities, Rutgers played in and won the first-ever college football game in 1869. In its first year as a member of the Big Ten Conference, Rutgers visits Memorial Stadium, the collegiate football home of Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier, Outland Trophy winner Rich Glover and First-Team All-Americans Daryl White, Irving Fryar and Jason Peter. Those five New Jersey natives are among nearly three dozen Garden State student-athletes who have worn Nebraska’s scarlet and cream.

Lincoln and New Brunswick, N.J., may be 1,289 miles apart and an estimated 19-hour, 47-minute straight drive from each other, but we share a bond, according to a Hall-of-Fame football coach who is now a member of the first-ever College Football Playoff Selection Committee. Since Tom Osborne spends 12 to 14 hours every Saturday watching college football and was a three-term U.S. Congressman, he disdains overstatement and insists facts must be the bridge to opinions, so listen carefully to this conclusion from Osborne, who says: “When you look at the size of New Jersey, the great players that come from there, the population and the density of that state, no other state outside the state of Nebraska has been as productive as New Jersey.”

New Jersey a Major Part of Nebraska's Tradition

Before your mind triggers a debate with Dr. Osborne, understand this: He knows Nebraska has recruited more players from Texas and understands that California has been a positive, productive pipeline of talent for the Huskers, but his conclusion is based on geography and density and he insists that any measurement of imported talent must reflect the obvious. “New Jersey has certainly been a major part of our football tradition. They’ve been great contributors all the way around,” Osborne said. “Despite its distance from Nebraska, I would rank New Jersey as the most productive state for us in recruiting other than our own state.”

The most interesting fact behind that analysis is how Nebraska spotted New Jersey talent, measured it and then developed it once it arrived in Lincoln. Mike Rozier and Irving Fryar are two of the best known names in Nebraska football history, so Osborne saves one of his biggest kudos for the man who recruited both – Frank Solich (above with then defensive coordinator Bo Pelini on the sideline). 

“Mike and Irving were two of the first players Frank recruited after he left high school coaching,” Osborne recalled, chuckling about the difficulty all college recruiters face when they visit certain parts of New Jersey. “It can really be a confusing place to find your way around,” Osborne said. “That was the first state Frank visited on the road. He recruited Mike and Irving and the Peter brothers (Jason and Christian). He had a few second thoughts about college coaching at that time, but he settled in and did fine.”

Rozier, Fryar Did Not Have a Flashy Reputation

The most surprising part of recruiting Rozier (above) and Fryar in their high school days was how low their levels were in terms of prospects. “Mike was a very talented guy. I remember watching film of him with Frank,” Osborne said. “Mike was playing fullback in the wishbone and didn’t touch the ball much. He was probably out of position and the film wasn’t very good quality, so it was really hard to see if he was a great player.”

The same applied to Fryar, whose cousin, Charles Fryar, had a productive career at Nebraska as a cornerback in the late 1980s. “Irving played tight end in high school and they never threw him the ball,” Osborne said. “All he did was block. His film wasn’t very good either, and you have to really say it was a real reach to offer Irving a scholarship.”

Fortunately, Solich developed a bond with their high school coaches and was able to determine that despite their limited roles and poor film, both prospects had good competitive reputations and Nebraska was banking on that more than anything else. “Mike was one course short, so he had to go to Coffeyville, Kansas, and play junior college ball before he could transfer here,” Osborne said. “Once he ended junior college ball, the recruiting process started all over again. He probably received some offers that weren’t legitimate, but he turned everyone down and stood by his word with us, even though he was very heavily recruited the second time around.”

Kiffin Spearheaded New Jersey Recruiting Early

Osborne credits former assistant Monte Kiffin for spearheading the successful recruitment of Glover (No. 79 above, rushing the quarterback against Kansas during Nebraska's 1971 national championship season). Kiffin also recruited White, another first-team All-American, and others. “Back in the ’70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, you didn’t see a lot of New Jersey players going to their own schools,” Osborne said. “The nearest program they considered was Penn State, and we always felt if we could get a player past Penn State, we had as good a chance as anybody to recruit him.

“Rutgers was more an Ivy League-like school,” Osborne said. “It’s not that they didn’t have a real strong local presence. They did. Rutgers had a definite revival and got competitive. We felt if those kids weren’t going to stay home, we had a shot at recruiting them.”

White and Glover both became prominent high school coaches in New Jersey. “It’s an interesting state,” Osborne said. “There are some real tough places where the practice fields don’t even have grass. They have a few cinders and some broken glass. You wonder how kids can play in that environment, and yet the middle part of the state is very affluent. Paul Miles and Barron Miles came through there.”

Gunfight Ended Rozier’s Homecoming at Halftime

Rozier came from Camden, N.J., one of the tough spots that ended a homecoming game once at halftime because a gunfight broke out. I remember visiting Camden and writing about that experience the summer before Rozier’s senior season. We sat in the stadium, so Rozier could describe what happened and why he and his teammates were unable to finish the game. “New Jersey is a varied state with a lot of agriculture,” Osborne said. “The state is just so different but it’s been good for us…very productive.”

New Jersey Natives Earning Nebraska Letters 

Player	Pos.	Hometown	Letters
Luis Almanzar	DT	Jersey City	1998
Andrew Scott Baldwin	IB	Roselle	1990-91
Shukree Barfield	DT	Camden	2007-08
Ernie Beler	LB	Bayonne	1991-92-93
Troy Branch	LB	Camden	1990-91-92-93
Tom Coccia	DE	Hillside	1975
Doug Colman	LB	Ventnor	1991-93-94-95
Rich Costanzo	OT	Jersey City	1974-75
Joe Daily	QB	Jersey City	2003-04
Dodie Donnell	FB	Hackensack	1975-76-77
Charles Fryar	CB	Burlington	1986-87-88
Irving Fryar*	WB	Mt. Holly	1981-82-83
Mike Fullman	CB	Roselle	1995-96
Rich Glover*	MG	Jersey City	1970-71-72
Jason Jenkins	DT	Hammonton	1994-95
John Lee	MG	Red Bank	1973-74-75
Jammal Lord	QB	Bayonne	2000-01-02-03
Greg McGraw	S	Milville	1998-99
Barron Miles	CB	Roselle	1992-93-94
Paul Miles	IB	Princeton	1983-84-85
Jeff Mills	LB	Montclair	1987-88-89
Brian Morro	P	Middletown	1998
Wali Muhammad	DE	Bloomfield	2004-05
Christian Peter	DT	Locust	1993-94-95
Jason Peter*	DT	Locust	1994-95-96-97
Khari Reynolds	CB	Mays Landing	1997
Guy Rozier	S	Camden	1983-85
Mike Rozier*	IB	Camden	1981-82-83
Tony Samuel	DE	Jersey City	1975-76-77
Stan Waldemore	T	Belleville	1975-76-77
Cartier Walker	CB	Atlantic City	1987-88
Daryl White*	OT	East Orange	1971-72-73
Larry Young	DE	Jersey City	1976-77
Nick Zanetich	OG	Hoboken	1974
*First-Team All-American

 Send a comment to ryork@huskers.com (Include city, state)

 Follow Randy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RandyYorkNsider

 Randy’s N-Sider Blog Archive

 Randy’s N-Sider Column Archive

College Football Voices

As a graduate of Rutgers, I enjoyed reading your article on all the Cornhusker players from New Jersey. I especially enjoyed the way it presented New Jersey in a fair light. Sometimes, that can be hard to find, even in journalism. I have an actuarial exam next week, so it's unwise to travel the weekend prior.  Luckily, RU is scheduled to play in Lincoln again in 2017, so I plan to be there for that one. Andrew Orlando, East Windsor, New Jersey