- 2005 ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-American
- 2006 Rimington and Outland Trophy Watch List
- 2006 Preseason Second-Team All-Big 12 (Lindy’s)
- Two-Time CoSIDA Academic All-District VII (2004, 2005)
- Two-Time First-Team Academic All-Big 12 (2004, 2005)
- 2005 Second-Team All-Big 12 (AP, Kansas City Star)
- 2005 Honorable-Mention All-Big 12 (Coaches)
- 2005 Lombardi Award Watch List
- 2004 Honorable-Mention All-Big 12 (Coaches)
- Two-Time Brook Berringer Citizenship Team (2005, 2006)
- Four-Time Big 12 Commissioner's Fall Academic Honor Roll (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005)
- Four-Time Big 12 Commissioner's Spring Academic Honor Roll (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006)
2006 (Senior)
Center Kurt Mann entered 2006 as one of <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska’s most experienced players, having started every game over the previous two seasons. Mann and fellow senior Greg Austin were asked to lead an offensive line that featured several young players. However, Mann’s final year at Nebraska took a drastic turn after the season opener when he became ill, limiting his impact for the 2006 Huskers. <?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>
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Mann lost approximately 20 pounds while ill and returned to the practice field in early October. By the time of his return, junior Brett Byford had taken over at center, leaving Mann as a backup for the rest of the season. In the opener against Louisiana Tech, he helped the Huskers get off to a strong start with 584 yards of total offense and 252 yards rushing. Mann missed the next five games with illness, before seeing action against KansasState and OklahomaState.
2005 (Junior)
Mann was one of two Husker offensive linemen to start all 12 games, manning the center position throughout the season. Mann anchored an offensive line that helped Zac Taylor have a record-setting passing season. Taylor threw for a school-record 2,653 yards and had the top two passing games in school history with 431 yards against Iowa State and 392 at Colorado. Mann also helped the offensive line open holes for senior I-back Cory Ross, who moved into the top 10 on the Nebraska career rushing list.
In addition to being selected as a second-team All-Big 12 pick by the Associated Press, he was an honorable-mention all-league choice by the coaches. Mann picked up first-team academic All-America honors, increasing Nebraska’s nation-leading total in that category.
2004 (Sophomore)
Mann started all 11 games at center after winning the job in fall camp, and helped ease the transition to the West Coast Offense.Mann earned honorable-mention All-Big 12 honors for his efforts.The offensive line was a question mark entering the season, but became one of the strengths of the Husker offense.
Mann and his offensive line cohorts helped the Huskers feature a balanced attack that gained 186.9 yards per game through the air and 176.3 per contest on the ground. The offensive line allowed 16 sacks on the season, including six games with one or zero sacks. On the ground, I-back Cory Ross topped 1,100 yards rushing running behind the Nebraska offensive line.
2003 (Redshirt Freshman)
Mann played in five games as a reserve center behind Josh Sewell, seeing action against Southern Miss, Troy State, Texas A&M, Iowa State and Kansas. The Husker offensive line helped Nebraska average nearly 240 yards rushing per game.
2002 (Redshirt)
Mann redshirted in his first season at Nebraska.
Before Nebraska (Grand Island HS)
Mann earned first-team All-Nebraska and Super-State honors from the Omaha World-Herald and the Lincoln Journal Star, respectively, as an offensive lineman in 2001, and was the Journal Star Male Athlete of the Year for 2001-02. A three-year starter on the defensive line, he was a member of the World-Herald’s Super Six team, and earned first-team Class A all-state honors from both papers as a junior and senior.
A football team captain, Mann attended the Big Red Football School twice, and also played post for Grand Island’s state champion basketball team, averaging 12 points and 10 rebounds per game. In track, Mann won the state shot put title as a senior after finishing second in both his sophomore and junior seasons. He also threw the discus, with a fifth-place showing in 2001. Mann earned academic all-state honors and ranked first in his class of more than 350 students with a 4.03 cumulative grade-point average. He committed in June before his senior year, choosing the Huskers over Iowa State and Stanford.
Personal
The son of Kent and Cindy Mann, Kurt was born on Aug. 17, 1983, in Hutchinson, Kan. His family moved to Nebraska in 1987. He completed his undergraduate work in mechanized systems management in May, finishing with a 3.982 cumulative grade-point average. He is one of four Husker seniors playing the entire 2006 season as graduate students. In addition to his academic All-America honors, Mann is a two-time first-team academic All-Big 12 pick and an eight-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll.
Mann has taken part in numerous community outreach activities, including Nebraska’s hospital visits and as a motivational speaker on Nebraska's Fall Tour of Excellence. He is also active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Mann’s Career Numbers
Games Played?28 (5 in 2003, 11 in 2004, 12 in 2005)
Games Started?23 (11 in 2004, 12 in 2005)