Honors & Awards
- Member of Two Nebraska National Championship Teams (1994, 1995)
- University of Nebraska Graduate (December, 1995)
- Two-Time Phillips 66 Academic Honor Roll (1994, 1995)
Career
Aaron Penland lettered four years as a reserve linebacker and valuable member of special teams. He made the 60-man travel squad all four years and totaled 35 career tackles (11 solo) in 36 games. Penland played in all three national title bowl games.
1995 (Senior)
Penland was one of four Huskers on the active roster who hailed from Florida. He served as a backup to Ryan Terwilliger and Terrell Farley at Will linebacker. Penland was also a member of specials teams where he had 17 tackles on the season (six solo) including one for a one-yard loss. He had a career-best day against Michigan State with five tackles, while he had four against Oklahoma State in the season opener, including the tackle for loss.
1994 (Junior)
Penland was a backup to Butkus finalist and consensus All-American Ed Stewart and Ryan Terwilliger at Will linebacker. A member of special teams, Penland had nine tackles (two solo) in 10 games. He earned a spot on the Phillips 66 Academic Honor Roll. Penland played in the 1995 Orange Bowl but did not have any tackles.
1993 (Sophomore)
Penland served as a backup at weak-side linebacker and played in seven games. He had four tackles on the season (one solo), one each against North Texas, Colorado State, Iowa State and Oklahoma. Penland played in the 1994 Orange Bowl but did not have any tackles.
1992 (Freshman)
Penland played in eight games in 1992 and made five tackles.
1991 (Redshirt)
A walk-on, Penland redshirted his first season at Nebraska.
Before Nebraska (University Christian High School)
Playing linebacker and center for Coach Robbie Pruitt at University Christian, Penland was a first-team all-state center as a junior and a first-team all-state linebacker as a senior. He helped lead his team to championship titles in 1987 and 1989, to a regional championship in 1988 and to a state runner-up finish in 1990. He recorded 130 tackles as a junior and 168 as a senior.
Personal
The son of Dave and Cynthia Penland, Aaron was born on May 22, 1973. A business administration major, Penland posted a 3.148 cumulative GPA and graduated with his bachelor's degree in December, 1995. His brother Matt also played for the Huskers in 1992-93 and served as a student assistant coach in 1994. Aaron served as a volunteer speaker for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Penland's Career Statistics
| . | . | Tackles | . | . | Fum. | . | . | . | QB | Int. | ||
| Year | G/S | UT | AT | TT | TFL | Sacks | C-R | BK | PBU | PI | Hry. | Csd. |
| 1991 | Redshirted | |||||||||||
| 1992 | 8/0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1993 | 7/0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | 10/0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 25/0 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1994 Orange Bowl vs. Florida State: Tackles, None
1995 Orange Bowl vs. Miami: Tackles, None
1996 Fiesta Bowl vs. Florida: Tackles, 1 UT