Punt Blockers Join Three Honorees as MVPs

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Even though defense and special teams carried Nebraska to a 35-14 win over Purdue on November 1, the Huskers used film study as positive evidence to name Imani Cross Offensive Player of the Game while Nate Gerry and Josh Mitchell shared the Defensive Player of the Game honor.  Equal impact enabled Kieron Williams and Brandon Reilly to share the Special Teams Player of the Game accolade.  Each blocked a punt that led to two crucial touchdowns that kept Purdue out of contention to manufacture an upset.

For those who like to measure individual performance from historic angles, here are facts that might interest you: Saturday was the first time in 11 years that Nebraska has blocked two punts in the same game, dating back to a 2003 game against Iowa State. (Note: a year earlier, Nebraska’s Lannie Hopkins blocked two punts himself against Kansas).

Senior Corner Mitchell Sacks Purdue Twice

Mitchell’s two sacks against Purdue produced one of the best lines in the post-game media session. “I just threw my body at the quarterback as hard as I could…all 160 pounds of me,” he said. Mitchell also broke up three passes, increasing his career total to 23, advancing the senior captain from Corona, Calif., from 12th place on NU’s all-time list of passes broken up to eighth place, passing Daniel Bullocks, Stanley Jean-Baptiste, Pat Ricketts and Bret Clark.

Cross Has Six Multiple TD Rushing Games

Cross’s 66 yards rushing and pair of short touchdown runs in the second and third quarters gave the junior I-back from Gainesville, Ga., his sixth multiple rushing touchdown game of his career. Cross (above) filled in for All-American Ameer Abdullah, who spent the last three quarters on the sideline with a knee injury.  “Ameer is very explosive and a great player and he went down,” Cross said. “That’s why we practice all week and prepare, so the next guy can produce. I just reminded myself that this is not new. This is football. I’ve gotten carries before. Just because one person is not around while I’m getting those carries doesn’t make it any different. I just had to focus on the task at hand, and I was happy we got the win.

"The expectation level is high at the University of Nebraska … in the locker room, the meeting rooms, in the weight room, and on the football field,” Cross said. “The expectation level is very high. So when we make mistakes we tend to get down on ourselves. But it’s OK. The adversity that we faced out there is going to make us better.”

Gerry Has Team-Leading Four Interceptions

Gerry (above), a sophomore safety from Sioux Falls, S.D., made an athletic catch in the end zone for a team-leading fourth interception. Mitchell believes the defense is getting better every week. “If we can just keep on improving and take this bye week to improve more, it’s going to give us more time to break down film and more time to work on technique,” he said. “We can be as good as we want to be.”

In addition to Cross on offense and Gerry and Mitchell on defense, Williams and Reilly were critical factors in the outcome. Williams is a 6-foot, 185-pound freshman defensive back from Air Force Prep and Shreveport, La., and Reilly is a 6-foot-1, 195-pound sophomore wide receiver from Lincoln (Neb.) Southwest High School.

Wilbon, Stovall Receive Scout Team Honors

Scout Team Honors included:

• Mikale Wilbon, a 5-foot-8, 190-pound freshman I-back from De La Salle Institute in Chicago, on offense.

• Zach Stovall, a 5-foot-11, 195-pound redshirt freshman defensive back from Bellevue East (Neb.) High School on defense.

Two Scout Team players shared the Special Teams weekly honor:

• Luke McNitt, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound sophomore tight end from Kearney (Neb.) via the University of Nebraska-Kearney, and

• Connor Ketter, a 6-foot-5, 240-pound redshirt freshman tight end from Norfolk (Neb.) Catholic High School.

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