- 1983 Heisman Trophy Winner
- 1983 Maxwell Award Winner
- 1983 Walter Camp Award Winner
Mike Rozier became Nebraska's second Heisman winner in 1983, when he rushed for a school-record 2,148 yards and 29 touchdowns. Rozier's 4,780 rushing yards are tops on Nebraska and Big Eight Conference career charts and his 52 touchdowns trail only Heisman winner Eric Crouch.
Rozier rewrote the Nebraska rushing and scoring record book, along with making a considerable dent in the Big Eight and NCAA books during a phenomenal senior season. Rozier was a first-round selection by both the USFL (first pick overall) and the NFL (second pick overall in the supplemental draft) after setting Nebraska's rushing records for attempts in a season (273) and career (668) and a then-school record for yards in a game (285 vs. Kansas). Rozier set Big Eight marks for yards per carry in a season (7.81) and career (7.16) and yards gained in four consecutive games (929 in his last four).
He set the Nebraska and Big Eight marks with 29 touchdowns and 174 points in 1983, while his 51 career rushing touchdowns and 312 points trail only fellow Heisman winner Eric Crouch's 59 rushing touchdowns and 368 career points among position players in the Husker record book. All 29 of Rozier's touchdowns in 1983 came on the ground, setting an NCAA record, in addition to tying the NCAA record for total touchdowns.
His 11 100-yard games in 1983 tied yet another NCAA record, shared by six others, and his 1983 total of 2,148 yards is the fifth-highest total in NCAA history. He was the second rusher in NCAA history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. Rozier was Nebraska's first-ever NCAA rushing champion (179.0 yards per game) and its second national scoring leader (Bobby Reynolds was the first in 1950) with an average of 14.5 points per game. His career total of 4,780 yards is the 10th-best in NCAA history and ranks sixth all time at Nebraska.
Rozier set another Husker record with 2,486 all-purpose yards in 1983, topping Johnny Rodgers' 1972 total of 2,011. Named All-Big Eight as a sophomore in 1981, Rozier began to dominate as a junior when senior Roger Craig was hampered by ankle injuries. He gained a then-Husker record 1,689 rushing yards in 1982 to vault himself into the national spotlight, earning All-America and Big Eight Player-of-the-Year honors, and finishing 10th in the Heisman voting. The New Jersey native won the conference player-of-the-week award six times in his final two seasons.
More recently, Rozier was one of six Huskers named to Sports Illustrated's 85-player All-Century Team, joining Johnny Rodgers, Dean Steinkuhler, Rich Glover, Tommie Frazier and Aaron Taylor.
Rozier was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006 and will be officially inducted during ceremonies in 2007.
Career Rushing/Receiving Statistics
Year
Att.
Net
Avg.
TDs
Rec.
Yds
Avg.
TDs
1981
151
943
6.2
5
4
64
16.0
0
1982
242
1,689
7.0
15
6
46
7.7
2
1983
275
2,148
7.8
29
10
106
10.6
0
Totals
668
4,780
7.2
49
20
216
10.8
2
Year
PR
Yds
Avg.
TDs
No.
Yds.
Avg.
TD
TP
1981
5
162
32.4
1
160
1,169
7.3
6
36
1982
4
55
13.8
0
252
1,790
7.1
17
102
1983
11
232
21.1
0
296
2,486
8.4
29
174
Totals
20
449
22.5
1
708
5,445
7.7
52
312