Josh Bullocks Shares His Hall-of-Fame Wisdom

Randy York N-Sider

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As Friday night's final individual Nebraska Football Hall of Fame honoree, Josh Bullocks did what great defensive backs do. He intercepted the attention inside Memorial Stadium's third floor and took them all the way home. From the minute he addressed the crowd until he finished his acceptance speech, Bullocks drew laughs, smiles and applause for his analysis, humor and keen sense of wisdom.

Tom Osborne, Nebraska's Hall of Fame football coach and former Director of Athletics (pictured above with Bullocks), chuckled hearing the Chatanooga, Tenn., native describe his mother's work ethic and the influence she had when he chose to become a Husker, spurning other suitors, including Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee and Mississippi State.

Bullocks remembers his mom saying the family had only one video tape to send via mail and it was going to Nebraska. She also told him if he got into any trouble, no one was coming to get him and he would not welcome back home. "Nebraska always taught me about work and appreciation. I never worked so hard in my life like I did in Nebraska, which will always be my second home."

The New Meets and Congratulates The Old, "Light Horse" Wilson

Friday night was an opportunity for Nebraska's new regime to mix, meet and marvel at the Huskers' rich football history. Dan Van De Riet, Nebraska's first-year associate athletic director for football operations under head coach Mike Riley, met Harry "Light Horse" Wilson (pictured above) andcongratulated his double celebration weekend. Wilson looked at Van De Riet and asked him "Do you know who I am?" The congratulator said: "I read up on you. I know who you are and I know what you did in the 1960s."

Half a century later, Wilson was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame Friday night, then joined his 1965 teammates Saturday for a reunion that celebrated the first Husker team ever to wear Blackshirt practice jerseys, the first to be ranked No. 1 nationally and the first to play for a national championship in a bowl game.

Wilson told his fellow inductees that he grew up a "mother's boy". His grandma didn't want him to play football either. "But I could run," Wilson said, remembering how his running back coach, Mike Corgan, taught him how to be tough. Wilson also shared that he should have been the MVP in the Senior Bowl. At Nebraska, "Tom Osborne kept me on the straight and narrow," Wilson said, adding that his three years with the Philadephia Eagles in the NFL were marred by multiple injuries. 

Walk-On Jeff Krejci Reminisces about His Career at Nebraska

A first-team All-Big Eight Conference safety under Coach Osborne, Jeff Krejci led the Blackshirts with four interceptions as a senior on the 1981 team that lost to national champion Clemson in the 1982 Orange Bowl. Krejci, pictured above with his wife after receiving his Hall of Fame honor, remembers the first speech he heard Osborne deliver after he came to Nebraska as a walk-on. "He said the three most important things for success was character, work ethic and having a spiritual side," Krejci said.

Krejci also remembers Nebraska's Saturday morning walks on NU's East Campus when the Huskers played home games. On one of those walks, a fellow defensive back, Paul Letcher, stepped into "some dog stuff," Krejci recalled, "and we went on to win a big game that day." So what happens the rest of the season? "(The late) Lance Van Zandt, our defensive coordinator, was so superstitious he made us walk around until we found more dog stuff to bring us good luck...true story."

Jan Berringer Accepts Her Late Son Brook's Hall of Fame Award

Jan Berringer, pictured above, is the mother of the late Brook Berringer and accepted her son's Hall of Fame Award, along both of her daughters, both sons-in-law and eight grandchildren. "We lived in Goodland, Kansas," she said. "Half the town wanted Brook to go Kansas State and the other half wanted him to go to Kansas. Nebraska was the right place for him because Tom Osborne was his coach."

A unanimous vote from the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame Executive Committee Board of Directors enabled Brook's induction after he played major roles in the Huskers' back-to-back 1994 and 1995 national championship seasons.

Nebraska had two more 2015 Hall of Fame inductees: 1) quarterback Scott Frost, who led the Huskers to the 1997 national championship with a 42-17 win over Tennessee in the Orange Bowl; and 2) Demorrio Williams, a first-team All-America linebacker and team captain in 2003. Bullocks, Williams and Frost all played in the NFL. Frost and WIlliams were both unable to attend the ceremony. Frost, the offensive coordinator for an Oregon team that lost a close game at Michigan State Saturday night, recorded his acceptance via video in Eugene, Ore.

Ryan and Olinda Boslau Receive Lyell Bremser Special Merit Award

Byron and Olinda Boslau, pictured above, have been signifcant contributors of their time and support to Nebraska Athletics throughout their lives. Byron is the retired president, chairman and CEO of Farmers Mutual Insurance. Olinda is a former supervisor of student teachers at Nebraska. In addition to their generous gifts to Nebraska Athletics, the Boslaus are extensively involved with Special Olympics. Their 34-year-old son, Brad, pictured above, has earned more than 225 Special Olympics medals since he began competing at age 12. The Bremser Special Merit Award was created in 1974.

Kelly, Virginia Holthus Earn Clarence E. Swanson Meritorious Service Award

Also at Friday night's Nebraska Football Hall of Fame Dinner, Kelly and Virginia Holthus received the Clarence E. Swanson Meritorious Service Award, presented annually since 1972 to honor a person or family for outstanding contributions to the University of Nebraska and the Department of Athletics. Kelly grew up on a farm. Since 1977, he has been the chairman, president and CEO of family-owned Cornerstone Bank in York, Neb. He also has served as the chairman of the Nebraska Bankers Association, the Nebraska State Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the York City Council. Virginia does extensive volunteer work in the church and York community. The Holthus family are devout Husker football, volleyball and men's basketball fans.

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