Brian Shaw Season 1997

Honors & Awards

• NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Recipient ($5,000)
• Big 12 Postgraduate Scholarship Recipient
• University of Nebraska Graduate (December, 1999)
• Member of Two Nebraska National Championship Teams (1995, 1997)
• Burger King Division I Scholar-Athlete and Scholar-Athlete of the Year (Oct. 2, $10,000; Dec. 9, $25,000, donated to school's general scholarship fund, 1999)
• Three-Time Brook Berringer Citizenship Team (1998, 1999, 2000)
• Two-Time Second-Team GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American (1998, 1999)
• Three-Time GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America Nominee (1997, 1998, 1999)
• Four-Time First-Team Academic All-Big 12 (1996-97-98-99)
• Four-Time Big 12 Commissioner's Fall & Spring Academic Honor Roll (1996-97-98-99)
• Cletus Fischer Native Son Award Winner (1999)
• Two-Time Successful Farming All-American (1998, 1999)
• Sports Illustrated All-Walk-on Team (1997)

Career

Boasting a perfect 4.0 GPA in the classroom, Brian Shaw was a leader on and off the field. He was honored before the Oklahoma State game on Oct. 2, 1999 when he was the Burger King Scholar-Athlete of the Week and $10,000 was donated to the school's general scholarship fund. He was again honored at the ESPN/Home Depot Awards Show as the Division I Burger King Scholar-Athlete of the Year and $25,000 more was donated to the school in his name. In his career, $36,000 has been donated in his name. Shaw earned postgraduate scholarships from both the NCAA and Big 12. He was a two-time second-team GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American and became the third Husker all-time to be a four-time academic all-conference winner, joining punter Mike Stigge (1989-92) and offensive tackle Rob Zatechka (1991-94).

Shaw appeared in 48 games, starting 15 of them, throughout his Husker career. He finished with 112 tackles (43 solo), 14 tackles for 70 yards lost and 4.5 sacks which resulted in minus-39 yards. Shaw also forced a fumble and recovered two, blocked two punts, had five pass breakups and caused three interceptions with his 17 quarterback hurries.

1999 (Senior)

During his senior season, Shaw alternated with fellow senior Tony Ortiz at Sam linebacker. Shaw started three games (Iowa, Texas A&M and Kansas State) while Ortiz started the other nine. The pair made the position one of Nebraska's strongest the past three years. Shaw finished the season with 23 tackles (nine solo), two tackles for 14 yards lost and one 13 yard sack. He also forced a fumble and recovered one, had two blocked kicks, two pass breakups and five quarterback hurries. His first blocked kick came against California when he blocked a punt and picked it up for a 12 yard gain while his second blocked punt came against Oklahoma State where he picked it up for a 22 yard gain. In the 2000 Fiesta Bowl against Tennessee, Shaw recorded two assisted tackles.

1998 (Junior)

Shaw started the first four games and Ortiz started the last nine at Sam linebacker. Shaw saw plenty of action and finished 11th on the team with 39 tackles (12 solo), including four tackles for loss (one sack) and four quarterback hurries, causing two interceptions. In game two against UAB, Shaw led the team in tackles with a career-best 10 tackles. He had tackles for loss at California, Texas A&M, Missouri (a five-yard sack) and Texas. He had QB hurries causing interceptions against No. 9 Washington (tipped by Carlos Polk and intercepted by Chad Kelsay) and against Iowa State (Clint Finley intercepted). He had one tackle in the Holiday Bowl against Arizona.

1997 (Sophomore)

The starting Sam linebacker in eight of the first nine games, Shaw gave way to Ortiz in the last three games. He still saw plenty of action and racked up 28 tackles (12 solo), including five tackles for 32 yards lost, one sack for 10 yards against Baylor, and three pass breakups. He had four quarterback hurries on the season and caused an interception against Akron. Shaw had two tackles for 16 yards lost against nationally ranked Kansas State and a season-best five tackles. A former walk-on, Shaw was one of three Huskers named to the 1997 Sports Illustrated All-Walk-on Team. He played in the Orange Bowl against Tennessee, but did not have any tackles.

1996 (Freshman)

Shaw played in every game as the backup Sam linebacker to Jamel Williams, the Huskers' leading tackler in 1996. Shaw had 22 tackles (10 solo) on the season. He had a season-best four tackles, including three solo stops against Baylor. He had 1.5 sacks for 11 yards lost and three tackles for 13 yards lost. Shaw had a fumble recovery on an Eric Warfield blocked punt against Michigan State for a seven-yard gain and four quarterback hurries in 1996. He had one tackle for loss against Missouri, when he had three tackles and shared an eight-yard sack with Mike Rucker. He also had a seven-yard sack against Baylor. He played in the 1996 Orange Bowl against Virginia Tech, but did not have any tackles.

1995 (Redshirt)

A walk-on athlete, Shaw redshirted his first year in Lincoln.

Sandy Creek High School

Shaw played linebacker and running back for Sandy Creek High School. He rushed for 1,740 yards as a sophomore, 1,250 as a junior and 2,121 yards as a senior. He was his school's leading tackler his final year. He was a member of the Lincoln Journal Star second-team Super-State squad and Class C-1 all-state in both football and basketball. Shaw helped lead his gridiron team to a state runner-up finish in 1994, and his basketball team to the state championship the same year. He also lettered and won five Class C gold medals in track in the 110-meter hurdles, the 300 hurdles and the 400-meter dash as a junior and senior.

Personal

The son of Steve and Kathy Shaw, Brian was born on Oct. 11, 1976. Brian majored in animal science and earned his bachelor's degree from Nebraska in December of 1999. He was one of three Huskers with perfect 4.0 cumulative GPA's, joining Chris Kelsay and Will Dabbert. At the 1997 and 1998 University of Nebraska Honors Convocation, Brian received a "High Scholar" award for posting a cumulative grade-point average of 3.6 or higher. Active in the community, he was a volunteer visitor at area hospitals and a reader for the Lincoln Public Schools. He was also a keynote speaker at the Sidney Tour of Excellence. For his efforts, Brian was a two-time member of the Brook Berringer Citizenship Team (1998, 1999).

Shaw's Career Statistics

.	.	Tackles			.	.	Fum.	.	.	.	QB	Int.
Year	G/S	UT	AT	TT	TFL	Sacks	C-R	BK	PBU	PI	Hry.	Csd.
1995		Redshirted
1996	12/0	10	12	22	3-13	1.5-11	0-1	0	0	0	4	0
1997	12/8	12	16	28	5-32	1-10	0-0	0	3	0	4	1
1998	12/4	12	27	39	4-11	1-5	0-0	0	0	0	4	2
1999	12/3	9	14	23	2-14	1-13	1-1	2	2	0	5	0
Totals	48/15	43	69	112	14-70	4.5-39	1-2	2	5	0	17	3

Blocked Kicks: 2 punts, one vs. California (1-12 punt return) and Oklahoma State (1-22 punt return), 1999
Fumble Returns: 1-7 yards vs. Michigan State, 1996

Bowl Stats

1996 Orange Bowl vs. Virginia Tech: Tackles, None
1998 Orange Bowl vs. Tennessee: Tackles, None
1998 Holiday Bowl vs. Arizona: Tackles 0 UT, 1 AT, 1 TT
2000 Fiesta Bowl vs. Tennessee: Tackles 0 UT, 2 AT, 2 TT