One Father?s Faith, Another Father?s Premonition

Go Inside the Husker Locker Room for Hip-Hip-Hurray

Westerkamp's 61 Yards Paved Way to Reilly's Final 30

Huskers Focus on Rutgers   Nebraska Escapes, 39-38

Social Media Recap Rocks   Succeeding and Trending

Randy York N-Sider

Official Blog of the Huskers

While rewinding Nebraska’s 39-38 upset win over No. 6 Michigan State last Saturday night, two vivid portraits remain deeply imbedded in the memory bank. The first window in my mind was one father taking a knee, by himself, on Tom Osborne Field within minutes of what became an unlikely prolonged and serendipitous postgame celebration. An equally compelling second window etched into my mind an hour later while watching another father stand next to his son, a walk-on who was signing dozens upon dozens of autographs in the North Stadium shadows of the Osborne-Brook Berringer Statue.

Nebraska’s Imani Cross (Senior I-back, Gainesville, Ga.) was the first father. His faith is paramount, and he needed private time to honor the sacred moments that have carried him through a rough and tough season of heartbreak and broken promises. Paul Reilly, a former University of Nebraska-Kearney tight end, was the second proud father watching his son, Brandon Reilly (Junior wide receiver, Lincoln, Neb.), accommodate every fan who became part of an impromptu huddle long after the game had ended. Paul shared with me a premonition he had when Nebraska faced 91 yards of field turf with less than a minute to play.

Both scenes emerged from a 4-6 season that created new hope and strengthened the confidence and camaraderie of a team that’s still learning from a first-year coaching staff with a mission to build the foundation to end a 16-year championship drought. Cross’s emotions, following a game in which he rushed 18 times for 98 yards and a third-quarter touchdown, were not surprising. “This hasn’t been the easiest season,” he told me. “There have been a lot of downs and when you have an up, I give all glory to God. We were struggling and all I could do was thank God for the opportunity that presented itself against a great football team.”

A Reluctant Imani Cross No Longer Sees Hip-Hip-Hurray as Cheesy

According to Cross, “We were struggling as a team, and I was struggling as a player,” he said.  “All I could do was thank God and pray that this opportunity would work out." The timely late-season gift was so special that Cross became an ear-to-ear grinning, all-in participant in the Huskers’ Hip-Hip-Hurray postgame locker room. “It was awesome. I enjoyed it. It was the first time I actually did it,” Cross said. “I usually don’t because I honestly thought it was kind of cheesy. But tonight, it wasn’t cheesy at all. I could feel every one of those hip-hips.”

Husker fans who haven’t seen that uplifted locker room can click here to  see the chemistry and sense the jubilation when Coach Riley says "that's what happens when you believe" and labels the achievement as "a great lesson of what your team's going to be all about." Even those who have seen the celebration once or as many as 10 times should watch it again because every one of the 10 hip-hip-hurrays stands on its own. To me, the best one was the first because a cheesy head coach welcomed more players to the cheese party. Watch, listen and feel the confidence launch with the first hip. It’s the buy-in pitch, enabling the build-up to resonate and reach a certain crescendo that even a football-playing father like Imani Cross can enjoy.

Paul Reilly, the father with a premonition, played college football at UNK but had no idea that Brandon would even suit up, let alone catch a 30-yard touchdown pass to beat a national championship contender with 17 seconds left in a nationally televised game in November.

Brandon Reilly Walked On at Nebraska with a Chip on His Shoulder

“Brandon was a multisport athlete that grew late,” Paul told me. “He decided to play football in college midway through his senior year, so Division I scholarships weren’t really an option. He had a lot of Division 1AA offers, but he goes, ‘Dad, I’m going to Nebraska and I’m going to work hard and I’m going to make it.’ And I said, ‘Well, you’ve got the right attitude. Play with a chip on your shoulder. You’ll get rewarded someday.’”

A weekend earlier at Purdue, Brandon landed and jammed the big joint on his right foot. “It was black-and-blue and swelled up. It looked terrible,” Paul said of his son. “He was in a boot for four days. I had the same injury in college. It’s painful. I didn’t figure he’d even be able to play against Michigan State.” Seven days of hard rehab changed the prognosis. “Brandon was determined to play on ESPN on Saturday night in a big game,” his dad said. “He loves the moment. He always has in every sport that he played. Tonight he was rewarded. It’s been great.”

When Paul played college football, he always showed his confidence. “Probably too much,” he admitted. “Brandon’s got a lot of inner confidence. He’s a believer in himself. If somebody else makes a big play, he supports his teammates. He just loves, absolutely loves the big-time moments. He always has. You’re just born with that.” Thankfully, Reilly was born so he could be in the same class as teammate Jordan Westerkamp, who just happened to catch two passes for the other 61 yards to set up Nebraska’s game-winning touchdown, which is even better when you watch this slowed down YouTube version.

Reilly’s Life Has Changed, But It’s Been Fun and He Deserves It

Watching Brandon graciously sign every autograph without complaint, Paul realized something about his son. “His life has changed now and it’s been fun, but he deserves it,” he said. “This team really needed this win. It’s been a tough year. No off weeks. They’re beat up, but they just kept fighting. They fought hard. They believed. I called it in the stands with a minute to go. I said, ‘If they give Brandon a shot, he’s going to make the play to win the game.’ I told that to my wife and the people around me. I said, ‘No. 87’s going to win the game. Just watch.’”

After he signed autographs, I asked Brandon (pictured above with junior co-captain Jordan Westerkamp) what the upset win means to Nebraska. “I think it shows both the team and the fans that we can play with anyone,” he said. “We just have to play consistent. Everyone says we may not be as talented as other teams, but I feel we just kind of proved them wrong.”

Reilly may have been the one signing autographs late Saturday night and the one who would make the highlight reel on ESPN, but he could not walk away from a quick interview until he shared something beating in his heart – a vote of confidence for Zach Sterup, 6-foot-8, 320-pound offensive lineman from Hastings, Neb. “Zach definitely deserves recognition,” Reilly said. “It was the first game he’s ever played at offensive guard, and it was against one of the best d-lines in the country. Zach held his own in there, and I was very, very happy for him.”

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

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

N-Sider Archives