Honors & Awards
» FCS Punter of the Year (2021 at Montana)
» FCS First-Team All-American (2021 at Montana)
» First-Team All-Big Sky (2021 at Montana)
» Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2022; Spring 2022, 2023)
» Brook Berringer Citizenship Team (2023)
» Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2023)
2023 (Junior)
Brian Buschini, who is wearing the No. 18 this season to honor the late Brook Berringer, has started every game at punter for Nebraska the past two seasons. Playing the 2023 season as a graduate, Buschini punted three times at Minnesota, placing all three of his punts inside the 20-yard line. He averaged 47.7 yards per punt at Minnesota, including a 60-yarder. Buschini also kicked off once, resulting in the Gophers starting their drive inside the 20-yard line. At Colorado, Buschini punted four times and produced a touchback on his lone kickoff. He averaged 42.8 yards on six punts against Northern Illinois and had one punt downed at the 1-yard line. Buschini kicked off three times against NIU with two touchbacks. He had terrific placement against Louisiana Tech, putting five of his six punts inside the 20-yard line while averaging 45.3 yards per punt.
Entering the Michigan game, Buschini has placed 36 percent of his career punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line, while 31 percent of his career punts have covered at least 50 yards.
2022 (Sophomore)
Buschini started all 12 games at punter in 2022. Despite battling a midseason injury, he averaged 44.0 yards per punt on 68 attempts which was the eighth-highest season average in school history. Buschini ranked 25th nationally in punting average in 2022. He had 16 punts of 50 yards or longer and had 14 punts downed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. For his performance, Buschini was recognized as Nebraska's Special Teams Player of the Year.
In his Husker debut against Northwestern, Buschini averaged 47.2 yards on six punts with four punts downed inside the 20. Against North Dakota, Buschini punted twice, averaging 42.0 yards per punt. He averaged 50.5 yards on four punts against Georgia Southern, including a then-career-long 65-yard punt. Buschini battled through an injury to average 40.8 yards on six punts against No. 6 Oklahoma.
He punted eight times against Indiana, placing four of his punts inside the 20-yard line. Buschini punted seven times at Rutgers. At Purdue, two of his four punts covered more than 50 yards. He punted six times against No. 17 Illinois, averaging 48.2 yards per punt with three punts longer than 50 yards. Buschini booted five of his six punts for longer than 50 yards against Minnesota en route to a career-best 55.5 average. He punted seven times at No. 3 Michigan with a long of 54 yards.
Buschini unleashed a career-long 74-yard punt against Wisconsin, the seventh-longest punt in school history. He ended the year by placing two of his six punts against Iowa inside the 20-yard line.
Before Nebraska (Capital HS/Montana)
Buschini transferred to Nebraska from Montana, where he was recognized as the top punter in the FCS. Buschini spent three seasons (2019-21) at Montana.
Buschini played in 15 games at Montana, averaging 45.8 yards on 75 career punts. He had 30 punts of 50 yards or longer with the Griz, while placing 35 of his 75 punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Buschini also handled kickoffs for Montana, recording 35 career touchbacks.
Buschini started all 13 games for the Griz as a redshirt freshman in 2021, when he was named the FCS Punter of the Year and a first-team All-American. Buschini ranked third nationally with an average of 46.0 yards per punt in 2021, and he helped Montana lead the nation in net punting average. His 46.0-yard average was a school record, breaking the previous record of 44.7 set in 1985. Buschini punted 69 times in 2021 with 30 punts downed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line and 28 punts covering 50 yards or longer.
Montana did not play in the fall of 2020 due to the pandemic and played only two games during an abbreviated 2021 spring schedule.Buschini averaged 43.3 yards per punt that season, placing five of his six punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Buschini redshirted in 2019.
Previously, Buschini was a three-time honorable-mention all-state selection for Capital High School in Helena, Mont., where he handled both the punting and place-kicking duties.
Personal
Brian was born on April 25, 2001. He and his wife, Kellie, were married in 2021. A criminology and criminal justice major, he earned his bachelor's degree from Nebraska in December of 2022 and is pursuing his master's degree in construction engineering and management. He has volunteered his time at the Legacy Retirement home, the Nebraska Football Road Race, local Thanksgiving hospital visits and Nebraska’s Day of Service.