Baker Steinkuhler Season 2012

Honors & Awards

• Second-Team All-Big Ten (Coaches, Phil Steele, 2012)
• Honorable-Mention All-Big Ten (Media, 2012)
• Academic All-Big Ten (2011, 2012)
• Nebraska Team Captain (2012)
• Honorable-Mention All-Big Ten (Coaches, Media, 2011)
• Honorable-Mention All-Big 12 (Coaches, 2010)
• Honorable-Mention All-Big 12 Freshman Team (ESPN.com, 2009)
• Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall, 2011; Spring 2012)
• Big 12 Commissioner's Spring Academic Honor Roll (2011)

Defensive tackle Baker Steinkuhler completed a productive Nebraska career with a standout senior season. However, Steinkuhler's career came to a premature end when he suffered a knee injury at Iowa in the regular-season finale, causing him to miss the Big Ten Championship Game and the bowl game.

The 6-6, 290-pound Steinkuhler finished his senior season with 47 tackles, including 23 solo stops, with seven tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. The Lincoln native tallied 150 career tackles, one of just 12 interior defensive linemen to reach 150 career tackles.

Before being injured, Steinkuhler anchored the Nebraska front four and helped the Huskers rank in the top 35 nationally in total defense. His play was recognized as he was chosen as a second-team All-Big Ten pick by the league's coaches. Steinkuhler was also honored by his teammates for his leadership, being chosen one of five captains for the 2012 season.

Steinkuhler earned his degree in December of 2011, completing his undergraduate work in 3 ½ years. He was one of 28 Huskers to earn Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2012, marking the second straight year he received that recognition.

2012 (Senior)
Southern Miss: Played in his 40th career game and made his 27th career start as a Husker... tied for second on the team in tackles with eight, his most since posting nine against Northwestern in 2011... led the team with two TFL's, including a sack with P.J. Smith. UCLA: Started against the Bruins at defensive tackle, but produced just one tackle. Arkansas State: Delivered three tackles on the day, all solo stops, as NU held ASU to 286 yards of total offense. Idaho State: Tied six other Huskers for second on the team in tackles with three... all three tackles were solo stops, including his seventh career sack in the first quarter. Wisconsin: Led a defensive line that held the Badgers to 56 yards rushing... produced five tackles, including three solo stops... notched a pair of TFLs for three yards. Ohio State: Totaled three tackles against the Buckeyes, including one solo stop. Northwestern: Tied Eric Martin for third on the team in tackles with six... notched one QB hurry, his first of the season...played nearly every snap while helping the Blackshirts force 10 three-and-outs. Michigan: Totaled six tackles, including two solo stops from his defensive end position... notched one TFL, his sixth of the season... added one QB hurry. Michigan State: Registered a pair of tackles... produced a QB hurry for the third straight game. Penn State: Recorded his first sack during conference play in the third quarter when he took down Matt McGloin for an eight-yard loss... tied for fourth on the team with six tackles. Minnesota: Played in his 50th career game as a Husker in his final game at Memorial Stadium... finished the game with two tackles. Iowa: Was limited to just two tackles before leaving the game due to injury. Wisconsin (Big Ten Championship): Was unable to play in the title game due to an injury. Georgia (Capital One Bowl): Did not play because of injury.

2011 (Junior)
An honorable-mention All-Big Ten defensive tackle, Steinkuhler started every game on a banged up Nebraska defense. He had five games with at least four tackles, including a career-high nine tackles and two TFLs against Northwestern.

Steinkuhler posted six tackles and a hurry in Nebraska's victory over Fresno State, and tallied four stops in the Big Ten opener at Wisconsin. Steinkuhler played a key role against Michigan State with a pair of tackles and a sack as the Huskers held the No. 9 Spartans to just 187 total yards in a 24-3 win. A week later, he added his second sack of the year as part of his nine-tackle effort against Northwestern. Steinkuhler added four tackles each against Michigan and South Carolina, and had one tackle for loss in each of those games.

2010 (Sophomore)
An honorable-mention All-Big 12 choice at defensive tackle by the league's coaches, Steinkuhler started the first 13 games before sitting out the Holiday Bowl, and had at least five tackles in five games as a sophomore. In his first career start against Western Kentucky, Steinkuhler had an eight-yard sack. The following week against Idaho, he had a career-high 1.5 sacks for 14 yards. He picked up a sack for the third straight week at Washington, throwing Jake Locker for an eight-yard loss. Steinkuhler had five tackles each against South Dakota State and Kansas State, then had a season-high eight tackles, a breakup and a hurry against Texas. He had seven tackles against Kansas, and combined for four tackles in the final two games of the regular season, before adding three stops and a breakup against Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game.

2009 (Redshirt Freshman)
Steinkuhler totaled 17 tackles, while seeing action in 13 of 14 games. He had a season-best five-tackle performance against Florida Atlantic and produced one tackle for loss at Virginia Tech. He added four tackles against Louisiana-Lafayette and three each vs. Arkansas State and Baylor. Steinkuhler also had two pass breakups on the year.

2008 (Redshirt)
Steinkuhler redshirted in 2008 and worked on defense after being recruited with the possibility of playing on either side of the ball.

Before Nebraska (Southwest HS)
Steinkuhler had a standout prep career at Lincoln Southwest High School, where he earned Lincoln Journal Star Super-State honors three straight years and Omaha World-Herald All-Nebraska honors his final two seasons. Steinkuhler was also recognized as the top lineman on the prestigious Parade All-America team, which consisted of the nation's top 58 players, while earning second-team All-America honors from USA Today.

Steinkuhler was a four-year starter and starred on both sides of the ball for Coach Mark King at Southwest. As a senior, he recorded 36 solo stops, and 36 assisted tackles, helping the Southwest defense allow just 190 yards per game.

Steinkuhler also anchored the Silverhawk offensive line. During his junior season, Steinkuhler anchored the lines for a 10-1 Southwest team that was ranked No. 1 for much of the season. As a sophomore, Steinkuhler helped the Silverhawks to a state runner-up finish.

Steinkuhler was the No. 8 overall prospect in the country by Rivals.com, and the No. 2 offensive tackle by both Rivals.com and Scout.com. Steinkuhler played defense at the U.S. Army All-American Game. Steinkuhler committed to Nebraska at the start of his junior season .

Personal
Baker is the son of Sue Steinkuhler and Dean Steinkuhler and was born on July 12, 1989. His father, Dean, played offensive line for Nebraska from 1981 to 1983 and won both the Outland and Lombardi awards in 1983, helping Nebraska feature one of the most prolific offenses in college football history.

Baker’s older brother, Ty, also played for the Huskers from 2005 to 2008. Baker was an academic All-Big Ten pick last fall, is a two-time member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll and a member of the 2011 Big 12 Spring Academic Honor Roll. Steinkuhler has volunteered his time with local hospital visits.

Steinkuhler's Career Statistics

Single-Game Highs
» Tackles-9 vs. Northwestern (2011)
» Solo Tackles-7 vs. Northwestern (2011)
» Tackles for Loss-2 five times (most recently vs. Southern Miss, 2012)
» Sacks-1.5 vs. Idaho (2010)
» Pass Breakups-1 six times (most recently vs. Northwestern, 2011)