Octavious McFarlin Season 1997

Honors & Awards

• Member of Three Nebraska National Championship Teams (1994, 1995, 1997)

Career

Octavious McFarlin ended his collegiate career appearing in 43 games. During his four NU career he recorded 110 tackles (38 solo), four tackles for 14 yards lost, had a five-yard sack, two fumble recoveries, three pass breakups and 11 quarterback hurries, which caused two interceptions.

1997 (Senior)

McFarlin alternated with Mike Minter at rover last year and even followed Minter to the Will linebacker position for the last few games when the Huskers were trying to fill a void. McFarlin moved permanently to Will before spring ball began. He started every game except Kansas State. McFarlin had 50 stops on the year (14 solo) to finish sixth on the team. Along with those stops he recorded four tackles for 14 yards lost and one five-yard sack. McFarlin also recovered one fumble, had two pass breakups, 11 quarterback hurries and caused two interceptions thanks to those hurries. His career-best outing came against Oklahoma when he recorded nine tackles (two solo). In the 1998 Orange Bowl against Tennessee, McFarlin had three tackles (two solo) and a 43-yard fumble return.

1996 (Junior)

McFarlin served as Minter's backup at rover for the first 10 games, then alternated with Eric Stokes at rover the last two regular-season games when Minter moved to Will linebacker. He began practicing at Will before the Colorado game, and backed up starter Ryan Terwilliger and Minter in the 1996 Orange Bowl against Virginia Tech. He was Nebraska's third-leading tackler in that game with nine stops (three solo). He had 1.5 sacks for 15.5 yards lost, sharing one sack with Jason Peter and recording a solo sack for 11 yards lost. In 12 games last year, McFarlin recorded 24 tackles, including five solo stops. His season-best outing was five tackles against both Missouri and Iowa State. On the season, McFarlin was third on the team with 11 punt returns for 73 yards, including a long of 26 against Missouri.

1995 (Sophomore)

Serving as Minter's backup at rover, McFarlin played in every game. McFarlin had 21 tackles on the year, including 13 solo stops and one fumble recovery. His top tackle day was six in the season opener against Oklahoma State (four solo), while his season high was seven (four unassisted) against Pacific in 1994. McFarlin also returned two punts for 11 yards, with a long of nine against Missouri, and one for two yards against Iowa State. McFarlin had two punt returns for seven yards each, but no tackles against Florida in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl.

1994 (Freshman)

A true freshman, McFarlin didn't play in the first two games, but after free safety Mike Minter went out with a season-ending knee injury in game two, McFarlin became a valuable contributor. He played in eight games as Kareem Moss' backup at rover (all but Wyoming and Colorado) and recorded 15 stops, including six solo tackles and one pass breakup. He had a season-high seven tackles (second on the team) with four solos and a breakup against Pacific. He also had four tackles against Kansas and three against UCLA. McFarlin and Grant Wistrom were the only two true freshmen to play in 1994, but Jamel Williams and Michael Booker were also first-year players for the defense that ranked in the top 10 in all four categories. McFarlin played in the 1995 Orange Bowl against Miami but did not have any tackles.

Before Nebraska (Bastrop High School)

McFarlin, a safety, punter and punt returner, was a three-year starter for Coach Les Johnson at Bastrop. He was named to the Fabulous 55 squad, which represents the top players in the state, and made the All-Central Texas team. He led the state with 166 tackles (72 solo) as a senior. He also had five sacks, three fumble recoveries, one interception and posted a 39.1 yard punting average. McFarlin earned all-district two years and honorable-mention All-Centex three years. A 6-10 high jumper, McFarlin was the district champ in both the high and long jumps (23-8) and had a personal best of 48-10 in the triple jump. He was also an all-district guard in basketball.

Personal

The son of Janie McFarlin, Octavious was born on Aug. 10, 1975.

McFarlin's Career Statistics

.	.	Tackles			.	.	Fum.	.	.	.	QB	Int.
Year	G/S	UT	AT	TT	TFL	Sacks	C-R	BK	PBU	PI	Hry.	Csd.
1994	8/0	6	9	15	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	0	0
1995	11/0	13	8	21	0-0	0-0	0-1	0	0	0	0	0
1996	12/0	5	19	24	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0
1997	12/11	14	36	50	4-14	1-5	0-1	0	2	0	11	2
Totals	43/11	38	72	110	4-14	1-5	0-2	0	3	0	11	2

Fumble Returns: 1-43 yards in 1997
Punt Returns: 13-84-0 (none in 1994; 2-11-0 in 1995, 9 long; 11-73-0 in 1996, 26 long; none in 1997)

1996 Fiesta Bowl vs. Florida: Tackles, None; Punt Returns, 2-14
1996 Orange Bowl vs. Virginia Tech: Tackles 3 UT, 6 AT, 9 TT; TFL 2-15.5; Sacks 1.5-15.5; Punt Returns 1-7
1998 Orange Bowl vs. Tennessee: Tackles 2 UT, 1 AT, 3 TT