Husker Walk-on Q-n-A: Lane McCallum

Sophomore Lane McCallum, a native of Norfolk, joined the Nebraska program in January of 2018, transferring from Air Force and accepting a walk-on offer. He began his Husker career as a safety and has served on the scout team but has been thrust into kicking duties because of injuries. Originally a kicker at Air Force, McCallum has made 7 of 8 extra point attempts, and also had a successful field goal against Illinois that was nullified because of a penalty. McCallum visited with Brian Rosenthal for this week's Husker walk-on Q-n-A segment.
 
BR: How did you make your original decision to attend Air Force, and what was your experience like?
Lane: "They were my first offer, and I loved it there when I visited, and I saw an awesome future. A great opportunity for life, to be successful. I committed pretty early, right after my offer, and had no regrets with it."
 
BR: What led to your decision to transfer and accept a Nebraska walk-on offer?
Lane: "I didn't necessarily enjoy Air Force. I definitely could've got through it. Then Coach Frost came back, and that was definitely a big thing. I saw an interview one time where he said there were guys from the state that aren't here that we definitely think they should be here. I kind of took that personally. My heart was definitely always here in Nebraska, and it worked out to come here."
 
BR: What positions did you play at Air Force?
Lane: "When I started there, I was a kicker, and definitely just got bored sitting on the sideline during practice. I was behind an all-conference kicker, so it was going to be hard for me to play. I wanted to do anything just to be a part of the team, help them grow, so I played scout team wide receiver for pretty much the whole fall, and that was pretty fun."
 
BR: When did you begin working on kicking at Nebraska?
Lane: "In the spring it was just Barrett, and one of the coaches had said, 'Hey, your leg still feeling good?' I jokingly said, 'Yeah, it's always feeling good.' Then I took it more serious. I was thinking about it, how I could definitely help the team out there. So I kicked a little bit in the spring and a little bit over the summer, but they had more kickers come in so I didn't think that they would really need me. I was just there to fill the need. And obviously both of our kickers have gone down, so they asked me to start back up again, and here I am."
 
BR: How have your experiences kicking here gone so far?
Lane: "Against Northern Illinois, it was pretty cool. I never really thought it was going to happen. Definitely a dream come true to put a couple of balls through the uprights, for sure."
 
BR: How much pride do you take in working on scout team as a walk-on?
Lane: "A lot of pride. I think that's where our team grows, those guys on scout team who don't get noticed who are busting their butt every single day and making the ones and twos a lot better throughout the week. I think Coach Frost knows that, too. That's why he puts an emphasis on how important our walk-on tradition is, because those guys make us a lot better."
 
BR: What kind of bond do the walk-ons have?
Lane: "It's a big bond. Honestly, there's not really a divide. It's more so one team, one heartbeat, not walk-ons and scholarship guys. We practice what we preach; whether it's meals or playing time, you see a bunch of walk-ons on the field every week. The one team, one heartbeat really means something."

BR: Did you have any walk-ons growing up that you admired?
Lane: "Oh, man. I mean, my dad (Kent) was a walk-on here, so I always thought growing up it'd be cool to fill in his shoes. My uncle (Kurt) was also a walk-on, both in the 80s. I think that's really cool to look up to those guys and know what they've gone through. They talk about how tough it was, especially being a walk-on, you have to pay your dues and just keep working your butt off, and eventually your opportunity is going to come and you've got to make the most of it. I think that's what every walk-on would say. It's not an easy path but it's definitely worth it."
 
BR: When you see a walk-on earn a scholarship, what does that mean to you?
Lane: "That's awesome. That's honestly one of the coolest things, I think, to see that, see their hard work has paid off, because they definitely have earned them."
 
BR: What's the biggest piece of advice you've taken from Coach Frost?
Lane: "No fear of failure, obviously. It's the easiest but also the hardest thing to truly believe until you finally do it. At first, when I got here, I was like, 'Don't mess up, don't mess up,' anything to not get your name called. Once you figure out how great the coaches are and how they're not going to cuss you out and they're not going to get on your butt, it's really easy to get out there and fly around, I think. They honestly want us to mess up, but 100 percent, full speed. It definitely makes you play so much more confident. I think you're really starting to see that with the defense this year."

BR: It's that big of a factor?
Lane: "It really is. Coach Chins tells us to fly around and shoot your guns. That's pretty much his motto. If one guy misses, the next guy's going to make a play, or if the next guy misses, the next guy is going to make a play. It's going to be a gang tackle and everybody is going to be swarming him."
 
BR: What other sports did you play in high school?
Lane: "I played basketball, and I also did soccer and track."
 
BR: How does playing multiple sports in high school translate to playing on the Division I level?
Lane: "I think it just shows much more raw potential you have. Specializing in one sport all through high school, I think you probably hit your peak quicker. Having those other sports and not focusing on one and then coming here and specializing in one sport, you definitely grow. That's how it was for me, for sure. Finding just any way to be competitive and having those clutch situations, where you have to go through pressure, I think all of those situations help instead of just playing one sport."
 
Reach Brian at brosenthal@huskers.com or follow him Twitter @GBRosenthal.