Honors & Awards
- Two-Time CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-American (1987, 1988)
- Honorable-Mention All-Big Eight (1987, 1988)
- Academic All-Big Eight (1987, 1988)
- CBS/Toyota Leader-of-the-Year Award (1988)
- CBS Leadership Award, vs. Oklahoma (1987)
- ESPN Nebraska Student-of-the-Game vs. Arizona (1988)
- CBS Nebraska Toyota Leadership Award vs. Oklahoma (1988)
1988 (Senior)
Mark Blazek finished his senior season with 40 tackles and three interceptions for 80 yards. His big moment came against UCLA when he made an interception and returned it 75 yards. A two-time first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American, Blazek also claimed the CBS/Toyota Leadership Award in 1988. Blazek was also invited to play in the Japan Post-Season All-Star game.
1987 (Junior)
Blazek started at free safety his junior year and led the secondary with 45 tackles, the team with three interceptions and Big Eight defensive players in grade-point average with 3.957. His GPA also earned him a spot on the GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America team, as well as academic Big Eight laurels. Blazek's first two interceptions in 1987 were both big plays for the Huskers. The first came against then-12th -ranked Arizona State when he intercepted a Daniel Ford pass in the Nebraska end zone, keeping the Sun Devils from an early lead. A week later, he intercepted a ball against South Carolina and ran for 46 yards, the Huskers' longest interception return of the season. In 1987, he recorded his career-high eight tackles in a game on two occasions.
1986 (Sophomore)
Blazek started spring ball listed seventh on the depth chart. By the fall, he had made his way up to second behind two-year starter Bryan Siebler. At the end of the season, Blazek was fourth in tackles among defensive backs recording 27 in 11 regular-season games. He tied for third on the team in interceptions with two, which he returned for 26 yards.
1985 (Redshirt)
While preparing for the Army National Guard, Blazek redshirted while going through basic training. He came back as a sophomore in the spring of 1986.
1984 (Freshman)
Blazek was a walk-on in 1984. He played reserve safety for that fall's 4-1-0 freshman team and was credited with five total tackles.
Before Nebraska (Raymond Central HS)
Blazek was an all-state and two-time all-conference selection as a running back, wingback and safety for Raymond Central. He helped lead his team to records of 8-1, 9-1 and 10-2. As a senior he intercepted eight passes and returned one 101 yards for a touchdown. Blazek was second-team all-state in basketball and received Raymond Central's outstanding athlete award in both basketball and track his junior and senior years. Blazek was also on the honor roll and participated in National Honor Society. He was listed in Who's Who Among American High School Students and in Distinguished American High School Students.
Personal
Mark is the son of James and Darlene Blazek, he has one brother and one sister. Mark was born on Dec. 30, 1965 in Lincoln, Neb. He was a social science major in Nebraska's teachers college.
Blazek's Career Statistics
Tackles Year UT AT TT Sacks/Yards For Loss/Yards Int. PBU FR Blocked Kicks1986 17 10 27 1/21 1/21 2 0 0 01987 26 19 45 0/0 0/0 3 5 0 01988 19 21 40 0/0 1/3 3 1 0 0TOTALS 62 50 112 1/21 2/24 8 6 0 0
Interceptions Year No. Yards Avg. LP TD1986 2 26 13.0 26 01987 3 48 16.0 46 01988 3 80 26.7 75 1TOTALS 8 154 19.3 75 1