David Highlights 2026 Nebraska Football Hall of Fame Inductees

A pair of former Husker greats with more than a decade of NFL experience are among a class of six Nebraska standouts who will be inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame this fall. The Nebraska Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame will also honor a state college All-American, a Hall of Fame coach and a long-time Nebraska radio voice.

Husker football standouts included in the 2026 Hall of Fame Class include defensive back Charles Fryar (1980s era), offensive lineman Jim Scott (1990s), fullback Cory Schlesinger (1990s), I-back Cory Ross (2000s), linebacker Lavonte David (2010s) and late punter Sam Foltz (2010s). 

Joe Planansky, a two-time All-America tight end at Chadron State, is this year’s state college inductee. The second annual Nebraska Football Hall of Fame Legend Award will be presented to Frank Solich, a member of the Hall both as a player and a coach.  Kent Pavelka, a member of the Husker Football radio crew for two decades, will receive the Lyell Bremser Special Merit Award.

The 2026 Nebraska Football Hall of Fame class will be officially inducted at a ceremony on Friday, Sept. 4. The group will be recognized the following day at Memorial Stadium when Nebraska opens the 2026 season against Ohio. 

David joins the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame after announcing his retirement from the NFL earlier this year. In his two years with the Huskers, David accumulated 285 tackles, including a school-record 152 tackles in 2010, earning him second-team All-America and first-team All-Big 12 honors. In his final season, David had 133 tackles and was a first-team All-America selection and the Big Ten Linebacker of the Year. David spent his entire 14-year NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was a three-time All-Pro selection and part of the Bucs Super Bowl LV championship team. David had more than 1,700 tackles in his standout professional career.

One of a long line of great Husker fullbacks, Schlesinger enjoyed a prolific NFL career after making history in the Nebraska backfield. He scored a pair of touchdowns to cap the Huskers' come-from-behind 24-17 win over the Miami Hurricanes in the 1995 Orange Bowl, giving Nebraska its first national title since 1971. Schlesinger rushed for 456 yards as a senior, averaging 7.2 yards per carry, and finished his career with more than 700 rushing yards. A sixth-round selection by the Detroit Lions, Schlesinger played 12 seasons in the Lions’ backfield. A three-time Pro Bowler and member of Detroit’s 75^th Anniversary Team, Schlesinger finished his NFL career with 473 rushing yards and 1,445 receiving yards.

A New Jersey native, Fryar was a two-time All-Big Eight selection in the Husker secondary in the late 1980s.  In his three seasons as a starting corner for the Big Red, Fryar totaled 121 tackles, including 90 solo stops. He intercepted seven passes, including a memorable 86-yard return for a touchdown against Oklahoma State in 1988. He added 19 pass breakups, two tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.  Fryar’s play as a senior in 1988, helped Nebraska rank in the top 10 nationally in pass defense and total defense on its way to a Big Eight Conference title.  

Scott was a key part of a Husker offensive line that paved the way for back-to-back NCAA rushing titles and consecutive Big Eight titles in 1991 and 1992. A native of Ansley, Neb., who began his career at UNK, Scott was the starting center on a 1992 team that averaged 328 rushing yards per game, while also ranking second nationally in scoring. A co-captain as a senior, Scott earned first-team All-Big Eight honors as a senior and was also an Academic All-District selection. Scott shared time at center in 1991, when the Huskers averaged better than 350 yards per game on the ground.

Ross ranks as one of the top all-around running backs in school history, excelling as both a runner and receiver out of the Husker backfield. The Denver native ranks in the top 15 in school history in rushing yards, accumulating 2,743 yards in his career from 2002 to 2005. Ross was the Huskers’ Offensive MVP as both a junior and senior and earned All-Big 12 accolades in each of his final two seasons. As a junior, Ross eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark with 1,102 rushing yards. He added 71 catches for 729 yards out of the backfield, including 43 receptions in his senior season.

The late Sam Foltz was one of the top punters in Nebraska history in his three seasons as a starter. Foltz was the Big Ten Punter of the Year and a first-team all-conference selection in the 2015 season when he averaged better than 44 yards per punt. A native of Greeley, Neb., Foltz was an honorable-mention All-Big Ten choice as a sophomore in 2014, and he averaged better than 42.6 yards per boot over his three-year career. Foltz was also a standout in the classroom and in the community, before he was tragically lost before his senior season.

Joe Planansky was a four-year starter and a three-time unanimous all-conference selection for Chadron State at tight end in the 1990s. Planansky caught 154 passes for 1,879 yards during his career and was a second-team All-American as a junior and a first-team selection as a senior. He was the first Chadron State player to be selected to play in the Snow Bowl in Fargo, N.D. He signed a contract with the Dolphins and appeared in two games in 1995. Planansky was inducted in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Hall of Fame in 2005.

Frank Solich will receive the Hall’s Legends Award. Solich was an integral part of Nebraska Football’s success for parts of five decades and has been inducted into the Hall of Fame as both a player (1992) and as a coach (2012). Solich was a member of Bob Devaney’s first recruiting class at Nebraska and starred as an all-conference fullback in the mid-1960s. He served as an assistant coach from 1979 to 1997, before taking over as head coach in 1998. Solich guided Nebraska to 58 wins in six seasons and was twice the conference coach of the year.  He then went on to serve as the head coach at Ohio University for 16 seasons where he guided the Bobcats to 115 victories and 11 bowl appearances.

Kent Pavelka will receive the Lyell Bremser Special Merit Award.  Pavelka has served as a radio voice for Husker Athletics since 1974 when he joined the KFAB football radio crew as a color commentator alongside Bremser, this award’s namesake.  Following Bremser’s retirement, Pavelka took over football play-by-play duties for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1995, calling Husker national championship seasons in 1994 and 1995. Pavelka has also served as Nebraska basketball’s play-by-play announcer for more than 40 seasons and has called more than 1,000 Husker hoops contests.