Best Husker D-Line of All Time?

[zrob]

Tomich was a 2 time All American. That’s 3 out of 4 All Americans on one line. Not only do I believe it’s the best in NU school history but maybe the best of all time in college football

I believe he was second or third team AA. I know he wasn't a unanimous or consensus AA.

 

[zrob]

If you want to get argumentative, I will throw the non conventional choice into the ring:

The 1999 Huskers with Steve Warren, Kyle Vandenbosch, Aaron Wills, Loren Kaiser, Chris Kelsay, Jason Lohr, and Jeremy Schlecta is actually the correct answer.

I almost added them to my op... They were a great crew, I just think they weren't quite as great as the other ones listed.

 

[SoFL Husker]

'96 had more studs overall up front on DL. Suh was just a one man wrecking crew on that '09 Defense. That Blackshirt bunch was spectacular considering how much they were on the field since our offense sucked horribly! Best DL was '96, best overall defense was '09.

Crick was a beast.

 

[SoFL Husker]

1987 is underrated here. Smith, Thomas, Pete, Walker, Wells. Croel was a stud OLB. Not too shabby.

I always considered Neil Smith to have been the most talented Husker DL ever. He was a perennial Pro Bowler and sought after DE wrecking machine, with 2 Super Bowl rings. He did more with his God given talent at all levels than any Husker DL ever, IMO.

 

[Sooner_or_Later]

1971 With two Outland Trophy winners. Throw in reserves Monte Johnson and John Dutton and they were a force.

 

[zrob]

I always considered Neil Smith to have been the most talented Husker DL ever. He was a perennial Pro Bowler and sought after DE wrecking machine, with 2 Super Bowl rings. He did more with his God given talent at all levels than any Husker DL ever, IMO.

I'm surprised smith never won a Lombardi trophy and never was a consensus or unanimous All American

 

[bbarry464]

'96 had more studs overall up front on DL. Suh was just a one man wrecking crew on that '09 Defense. That Blackshirt bunch was spectacular considering how much they were on the field since our offense sucked horribly! Best DL was '96, best overall defense was '09.

Crick was no slouch....

Which Husker Defensive Line was the best in Husker history? Some people call Nebraska "Running Back U" but IMO it would be better named "Defensive Line U" (or even "O-Line U").

1971:
*Willie Harper - 2 time All American
*Larry Jacobson - All American, Outland Trophy winner
*Rich Glover - All American, Outland Trophy winner, Lombardi Trophy Winner

1996:
*Jason Peter - All American
*Grant Wistrom - 2 time All American, Lombardi Trophy Winner
*Jared Tomich
Other contributors - Mike Rucker, Chad Kelsay, Steve Warren

2009:
*Ndamukong Suh - All American, Outland Trophy, Lombardi Trophy, Bednarik Trophy, Nagurski Trophy, AP Player of the Year
*Jared Crick
*Pierre Allen
*Barry Turner

It's a tough choice IMO. I obviously didn't list all the accolades these players received, they all earned a ton of awards and were recognized for their play. I apologize for leaving off other key contributors...

Had Carriker been 2 years younger him and Suh as Sr's would have been crazy.

If a frog had wings.....I know.

 

[whatsuphuskerfans]

1971 was the best.

 

[Redondo]

71 had two Outland trophy winners by the time their careers ended.

That’s still hard to trump.

Yeah, a lot on here are too young to remember. 71 I believe was # 1 in total and rushing defense (at least until the OU game) and maybe 1 in scoring up till then I may not remember that totally correctly, but what is, also, not well known is that John Dutton and Monte Johnson couldn't even break the starting lineup on that team and they became all pro later (Johnson as a linebacker with the raiders)

 

[Redondo]

Now that is dedication to the team!!!

There is no doubt in my mind that the 1971 line was our best. Comparing 71 to the 90's is a bit like apples and oranges given differences in style of play, weights and so on. But the combo of Glover, Jacobson, and Harper was a combo of three true All Americans. The fact that 71 OU had Mildren running wild against them is more of a testament to how good that OU offense was than it is a comment on our defense. Alabama also had a powerful wishbone attack that year but our defense, literally, smothered them and made them look like a high school team.

Other lines in our history had more depth (94-99, 2009). But if we are looking at just starters and how much they dominated opposing teams of their era then 71 has no rivals. 2009 had Suh and looked great against OU and Texas. But they had some sketchy outings that year as well, earlier in the season. Furthermore, the 71 line did not have the quality supporting cast that other NU lines had (like 2009). Our linebackers in 71 were good, but our db's were very average. That said... I will give this to the 2009 line... the 71 team had a much, much better offense that ate clock. That 09 offense was wretched.

Full disclosure: I am 59 years old and attended the game of the century at OU in 71 with my dad, and attended every home game as well by climbing the fence and watching from underneath the end zones. So I have a strong emotional bias in favor of that 71 team

Yes, NU was a 5-2 in 71, not a 4-3 like the others compared to.

 

[BeautifulDayintheNeighborhood]

2009, no question. Almost carried the entire team to the Fiesta Bowl.

 

[Redondo]

In 1971 Glover had 92 tackles and Jacobson had 73.

Rich Glover was every bit as good as Suh (he was also a Heisman finalist and recorded 100 tackles his senior season) and Larry Jacobson was significantly better than Crick.

But the thing that sets 1971 far above 2009 is Willie Harper. Harper is one of the 5 best DE's to play at Nebraska. Noone on the 2009 roster is anywhere close.

IIRC Harper still holds the record for most Interceptions of any DE/OLB to play here.


-------

Best ever though? I actually throw 1994 into the mix. You had the entire 1995 DL depth chart plus two more all conference players in Terry Connealy and Donta Jones.

Willie Harper could NOT be blocked. He was NEVER on the ground all year from a block. Truth, if you don't believe that, do the research.

 

[Redondo]

You are forgetting one thing just as Suh posted 84 total tackles in 09, Crick had 74 total tackles that year. I love the 71 and 95 squads but none of those interior defensive linemen on the 2 aforementioned squads come even close to the production of Suh and Crick in 09. You tell me the last time that any College or Pro defensive line had it's two tackles put up that much production in one season. Speaking of Jared Tomich, he was a two-time All-American and was considered a better defensive end than Wistrom as Tomich was the SDE and Wistrom was WSE. You don't believe me, research it?

Glover had 22 tackles against OU in 71 and many of those were double and triple teamed. Watch it, phenomenal.

 

[Redondo]

Glover had 22 tackles against OU in 71 and many of those were double and triple teamed. Watch it, phenomenal.

Forgot to say that was against Tom Brahaney, OU all american center. 22 in just that 1 GAME against the # 1 offense in the country. That is every bit as dominant if not more than Suh against OU in 2009. Taking nothing away from N. Suh

 

[HVHusker]

Tomich was a 2 time All American. That’s 3 out of 4 All Americans on one line. Not only do I believe it’s the best in NU school history but maybe the best of all time in college football

The 1971 line had two, count em two, Outland trophy winners and another was a 2 time All American. 1971 hands down!

 

[zrob]

I too am partial to any group that includes Rich Glover. It's hard to compare eras, and I know a lot of people scoff at the notion that Glover could have been better than Suh or the Peter brothers. But if you never saw Glover play, it's nearly impossible to explain how much better he was than anyone else on the field - even when facing t
op 5 teams with All-Americans on the O-line.

I agree, he is the next best thing to having a Suh on your D-Line.
I'd go with the '71 team first, '09 second, 95 third. It's super close though.

2009:
Suh - 24 TFL, 12 Sacks, 1 INT, 3 Blocked Kicks
Crick - 15 TFL, 9.5 Sacks
Turner- 16 TFL, 5 Sacks
Allen - 12 TFL, 5 Sacks

1995:
Wistrom - 20 TFL, 9.5 Sacks
Tomich - 10 TFL, 5 Sacks
J Peter - 10TFL, 4 Sacks

1971: (couldn't find Sacks...)
Willie Harper - 20 TFL
Rich Glover - 13 TFL
Larry Jacobson - 12 TFL

 

[Redondo]

I agree, he is the next best thing to having a Suh on your D-Line.
I'd go with the '71 team first, '09 second, 95 third. It's super close though.

2009:
Suh - 24 TFL, 12 Sacks, 1 INT, 3 Blocked Kicks
Crick - 15 TFL, 9.5 Sacks
Turner- 16 TFL, 5 Sacks
Allen - 12 TFL, 5 Sacks

1995:
Wistrom - 20 TFL, 9.5 Sacks
Tomich - 10 TFL, 5 Sacks
J Peter - 10TFL, 4 Sacks

1971: (couldn't find Sacks...)
Willie Harper - 20 TFL
Rich Glover - 13 TFL
Larry Jacobson - 12 TFL

NU was a 5-2 in 71, not a 4-3 like the others compared to.

 

[planored]

The bigger ? Is when will we have a DL again to be in the conversation. That is what we have been missing and OL

 

[Bugeater]

All those lines that won or came close to winning NC's were awesome, and they were fun as hell to watch. If you held a bazooka to my head, I'd probably go with the '71 line, followed very, very closely by the '95 line and then the '94 line.

Wouldn't it be great to have one of those types this year?

 

[zrob]

The bigger ? Is when will we have a DL again to be in the conversation. That is what we have been missing and OL

Agreed. The trenches on both sides the ball is what makes great CFB teams.

 

[Scrunge68]

Gotta go 71

 

[dckchusker]

Which Husker Defensive Line was the best in Husker history? Some people call Nebraska "Running Back U" but IMO it would be better named "Defensive Line U" (or even "O-Line U").

1971:
*Willie Harper - 2 time All American
*Larry Jacobson - All American, Outland Trophy winner
*Rich Glover - All American, Outland Trophy winner, Lombardi Trophy Winner

When John Dutton was in the lineup, which was about 50% of the time, that was a future consensus All-American ('73) and future Pro Bowler alongside the other three. IMHO, the best DL of all time, anywhere.

For depth, add Monte Johnson, a back-up DT who became a starting linebacker for eight years for the Super Bowl champion Oakland Raiders. That is an absurd level of talent.