Tyrone Hughes Season 1991

Honors & Awards
Honorable-Mention All-Big Eight (Coaches, 1992)
Three-Time Big Eight Kickoff Return Champion (1990, 1991, 1992)
Big Eight Punt Return Champion (1989)
Fifth Round NFL Draft Pick (New Orleans Saints, 1993)
Six NFL Seasons (New Orleans, 1993-96, Chicago, 1997, Dallas, 1998)
Pro Bowl (New Orleans Saints, 1993)
Second-Team All-Pro (New Orleans Saints, 1993)
Three-Time NFL Kickoff Return Yardage Leader (1994, 1995, 1996)
New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame Inductee (2015)

1992 (Senior)
The fastest Husker, Tyrone Hughes earned honorable-mention All-Big Eight recognition as a senior while capturing his third consecutive Big Eight Kickoff Return title. A two-way player in his final season, Hughes saw time at both split end and cornerback while also returning kickoffs and punts. In the spring of 1992, he also teamed with fellow Husker split end and return man Corey Dixon to help Nebraska earn silver in the 4x100 relay at the Big Eight track meet. Hughes played in 11 regular-season games as a senior. He returned 19 kickoffs for 424 yards for a Big Eight-best 22.3 yards per return. He added 25 punt returns for 269 yards (10.8 ypr), while managing four catches for 58 yards. He also had two carries for eight yards. He finished the year with 759 yards on 50 all-purpose attempts. He played both split end and cornerback against Missouri to become the first Huskers since Ben Gregory (I-back/linebacker) in 1966 to play both ways in the same game. He also played on both sides of the ball against Colorado and Kansas State, when he recorded one tackle. In the 1993 Federal Express Orange Bowl against Florida State, Hughes had two unassisted tackles and a pass breakup. He added two kickoff returns for 35 yards and two punt returns for 11 yards against the Seminoles.

Tyrone played in 41 career regular-season games and finished with a school-record 1,443 kickoff return yards. He added 817 punt return yards on 65 returns, while finishing with 31 career receptions for 451 yards and five touchdowns. He also had 33 rushing attempts for 80 yards to total 2,791 career all-purpose yards.

Following his final season as a Husker, Hughes participated in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., before being selected in the fifth round of the 1993 NFL Draft (137th overall pick) by his hometown New Orleans Saints. He spent four seasons with the Saints, before heading to Chicago for the 1997 season. He closed his NFL career in 1998 with the Dallas Cowboys. In 1996, he set the NFL record for kickoff return yards in a season (1,791) and combined kickoff and punt return yards in a season (1,943). He led the league in number of kickoff returns and return yards from 1994 to 1996. He ended his NFL career as the New Orleans Saints all-time leader in kickoff return yards (5,717), punt return yards (1,060) and return touchdowns (5). 

1991 (Junior)
A split end early in the season, Hughes made the move to cornerback when he was hindered by a broken wrist suffered against Colorado (Nov. 2). He missed the next two games before returning to action in the regular-season finale against Oklahoma (Nov. 29). He opened the second half with a 30-yard kickoff return that set up NU’s first touchdown after falling behind 14-0. Hughes also played cornerback against OU, helping Nebraska rally to win 19-14. After helping the Huskers to a share of the Big Eight regular-season title, Hughes played corner in the 1992 Federal Express Orange Bowl against Miami. He finished with five tackles against the Hurricanes and had two kickoff returns for 44 yards. Despite the injury, Hughes finished fourth among the Huskers in all-purpose yards (642) on the season. He led the Big Eight in kickoff return average (21.13 ypr) for the second consecutive year. Hughes, who moved from wingback to split end in spring practice, was NU’s third-leading receiver with 12 catches for 208 yards and two touchdowns. He also averaged 13.7 yards per return on seven punt returns. He hauled in a career-high five receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown against Oklahoma State. He also recorded two unassisted tackles on special teams.

1990 (Sophomore)
Nebraska’s alternate at wingback behind Nate Turner, Hughes led the Big Eight and ranked third in the NCAA in kickoff return average at 29.1 yards per return. He set the Nebraska kickoff return yardage record with 523 and tied the NCAA single-game record for all kick return yardage with 247 at Kansas State. He had a school-record 151 yards on kickoff returns, including a 99-yard touchdown. Hughes also ranked second in the Big Eight and 16th nationally in punt returns at 12.5 yards per return. He finished seventh in the conference in all-purpose yards at 92.0 per game. His 251 all-purpose yards at K-State ranked seventh in Husker history at the time. On the season, he pulled down 10 receptions for 113 yards and one touchdown. He earned a start against Baylor. He helped the Big Red earn a trip to the 1991 Florida Citrus Bowl, where he had one punt return for 11 yards.

1989 (Redshirt Freshman)
Hughes won the Big Eight punt return title (15.13 ypr), helped by a 59-yard return against Missouri. He played in all 11 games and made his first career start against Iowa State. He finished the season with five receptions for 72 yards and two touchdowns. Hughes helped the Huskers earn a trip to the 1990 Sunkist Fiesta Bowl.

1988 (Redshirt)
Hughes redshirted in his first season at Nebraska, while the Huskers won the Big Eight title.

New Orleans St. Augustine High School
The 1987 Louisiana Offensive Player of the Year, Hughes averaged 13.6 yards per carry by totaling 845 yards on 62 attempts from his wingback position. He also caught 20 passes for 601 yards in a run-based offense. Overall, he scored 22 touchdowns while averaging a whopping 40.4 yards on kickoff returns. A high school teammate of Huskers David White and Vincent Hawkins, one of Hughes’ high school coaches was former Husker Burton Burns.

Personal
The son of Arthur and Anita Hughes, Tyrone was born in New Orleans. He has one brother and two sisters. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Nebraska as a human development major in December 1992.