Jason Wiltz Season 1997

Honors & Awards

• Drafted by the New York Jets (1999 - 4th Round, Pick #123)
• University of Nebraska Graduate (May, 1999)
• Member of Three Nebraska National Championship Teams (1994, 1995, 1997)
• Honorable-Mention All-Big 12 (Coaches, 1997)
• Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2016)

Career

Jason Wiltz finished his collegiate career appearing in 36 games (starting 19) for the Huskers. Throughout his career he totaled 89 tackles (29 solo), including nine tackles for 21 yards lost, four sacks for 24 yards lost, three pass breakups, two interceptions and 13 quarterback hurries while also forcing three fumbles and recovering another. Wiltz ended his Nebraska career as a member of all three 1990 national championship teams. For his efforts, he was drafted in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. Wiltz would stay with the Jets until his release from the team in 2001. He would go on to sign with the Chicago Bears, but would retire from the game prior to the 2002 season concluding.

He returned to Nebraska to complete his bachelor's degree as a sociology major in December of 2016.

1998 (Senior)

A returning starter, senior Jason Wiltz appeared in 10 games (starting nine). He was expected to move over and replace Jason Peter at tackle, with Steve Warren taking over at nose, but after splitting the first six games with Loran Kaiser, Wiltz moved back to nose tackle for the remaining seven games (including the 1998 Holiday Bowl). He finished his senior season with 35 tackles (10 solo), including one tackle for seven yards lost, one sack against Iowa State for a seven-yard loss, two pass breakups, two interceptions, four quarterback hurries and a forced fumble. Wiltz had a season-best five tackle day against Missouri. Of his two interceptions, the first came against Louisiana Tech where he had a 27-yard return and the second came against Washington in which he picked up five-yards on the return. In the 1998 Holiday Bowl against Arizona, Wiltz recorded four tackles (two solo), including two tackles for 10 yards lost, a five-yard quarterback sack and one pass breakup.

1997 (Junior)

Wiltz took over the starting defensive tackle position next to Peter, which was vacated by graduate Jeff Ogard. Wiltz played in 11 games and started 10 (all except the season opener against Akron and the Kansas game). Wiltz finished ninth on the team with 34 tackles (14 solo), including five tackles for six yards lost and two sacks for 11 yards lost. He had a nine-yard sack against Baylor and a two-yard sack against Texas Tech. He had career-best tackle days against Texas Tech, Missouri and Colorado when had had six stops. He had a career-best five solo tackles against Missouri. He also had one breakup, one fumble recovery and seven quarterback hurries on the year. He had a career-best three tackles for loss against Central Florida. Wiltz started at nose tackle against Tennessee in the 1998 FedEx Orange Bowl, but did not record any tackles.

1996 (Sophomore)

As a sophomore, Wiltz played in all 12 games, plus the bowl game, and recorded 20 tackles. Five of those were solo stops, including a six-yard sack against Kansas State. He had a season-best three tackles three times, against Colorado State, Missouri and Iowa State. Wiltz also had two quarterback hurries and another two tackles for loss, giving him 3-8 on the year. Wiltz played in the 1996 Orange Bowl against Virginia Tech and had one assisted tackle.

1995 (Freshman)

Wiltz played in three games as a backup defensive tackled behind Christian Peter, but did not have any tackles.

1994 (Redshirt)

A scholarship athlete, Wiltz redshirted his first year in Lincoln.

Before Nebraska (St. Augustine High School)

A SuperPrep All-America defensive tackle for Coach Tony Biagas at St. Augustine, Wiltz was named the most valuable player in his district and earned all-state and honorable-mention All-America honors from USA Today. As a senior Wiltz was credited with 76 tackles, including 12 sacks and 11 others for losses. He also had four fumble recoveries for state-qualifying St. Augustine High School. SuperPrep rated Wiltz as the nation's fourth-best defensive lineman in 1994, while Bluechip named him to its all-region team. Wiltz comes from the same high school that produced ex-Husker linebacker David White (1989-92) and receivers Tyrone Hughes (1989-92) and Vincent Hawkins (1990-92). Wiltz was also a standout first baseman and pitcher on his high school baseball team. He chose Nebraska over Texas A&M, Colorado, Texas, LSU and North Carolina.

Personal

The son of Stanley and Brenda Wiltz, Jason was born on Nov. 23, 1976. He majored in sociology and earned his bachelor's degree from Nebraska in May of 2016.

Wiltz's Career Statistics

.	.	Tackles			.	.	Fum.	.	.	.	QB	Int.
Year	G/S	UT	AT	TT	TFL	Sacks	C-R	BK	PBU	PI	Hry.	Csd.
1994		Redshirted
1995	3/0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0
1996	12/0	5	15	20	3-8	1-6	2-0	0	0	0	2	0
1997	11/10	14	20	34	5-6	2-11	0-1	0	1	0	7	0
1998	10/9	10	25	35	1-7	1-7	1-0	0	2	2	4	0
Totals	36/19	29	60	89	9-21	4-24	3-1	0	3	*2	13	0

*Interceptions: 2-32; 1-27 vs. Louisiana Tech, 1-5 vs. Washington, 1998

Bowl Stats

1996 Orange Bowl vs. Virginia Tech: Tackles 0 UT, 1 AT, 1 TT
1998 Orange Bowl vs. Tennessee: Tackles, None
1998 Holiday Bowl vs. Arizona: Tackles 2 UT, 2 AT, 4 TT; TFL 2-10; Sacks 1-5; Pass Breakups 1