BIG RED BREAKFAST 9/25/15 WITH FORMER NU KICKER KRIS BROWN
(New format: Panel with Jim Rose, Kris, Sean, Ross Jernstrom, Chris Baker)
From Ross Jernstrom:
Their QB is very good, has passed for 919 yds in 3 games. If NU can make them one dimensional we can win. They will score some. NU has some injuries, esp. at LB. Banderas and Valentine both questionable. Mentally the team is okay. They are 8 pts away from an undefeated season. Tommy has really been a leader of this team, watching him come off the field last week, he was slapping guys on the shoulder pads, good to see after the ending that he had in Miami.
From Chris Baker:
What I want to see this week is what we saw in the 4th quarter last week for all 4 quarters. Tommy really merged as a leader last week and carried the team on his back.
From Sean Callahan:
Banderas injury surprising, he did practice this week. NU has never played an opening schedule like this or not for years, 2 quality teams in the first three games. Maybe is has helped show us where we need to improve and build down the road. S Miss will put some pts up; they are also averaging 200 rushing yds per game, so they are not one dimensional. Just one visitor in town, hard on recruits, these early games. Jordan Elliott will be here. The Wisconsin and MIchigan St games will set up as big recruiting weekends.
Guest Panelist: Former NU Kicker Kris Brown – highest scorer I NU history. Represents one of the truly great eras at NU, 2 national championships.
After Drew missed the 2nd FG against BYU what was your physical condition?
I knew he was going to be disappointed. After the game, I was proud of how he handled it, how he stood up and addressed the media. Certainly last week he had a big kick against Miami.
You didn’t miss too many.
The hardest part is waiting until the next game and getting into that rhythm. There are other positions out there, if they don’t do their jobs, you might not notice it. With us, it is always noticed. I tell Drew, don’t find yourself thinking that your missed FGs are the reason why we lost a game – these are not the only plays that make the difference.
Kris, you came from Texas, was NU your first choice?
Really good story about how I got to NU. Summer before my senior year, my dad was looking at school to send me to football camp. My stepmom is from Kimball, NE. She suggested I go to NU. NU was one of the cheaper camps, so dad signed me up. Same weekend as state baseball finals and we were in the tournament was out in West TX. Bottom of 7th, we are down by 1 run, I am at the plate, we win the game. Next game was same weekend at NU camp. I was batting .700. I strikeout, we lose. Dad said, sometimes there is a reason for why things happen. If we would have won the baseball game, I wouldn’t have been able to go to NU camp. The camp was shoulder pads and helmet camp. I wasn’t too excited about being there. Some testing went on in Cook Pavilion. I feel a tap on my shoulder, it was Turner Gill!! He let me know they were happy to have me there. Coach Osborne next day made an announcement – need to see Kris Brown. Coach said we really like you, we know that you can kick. They were going to call my coach, look at film. They called me on July 15 from TG, they kept recruiting me, offered by scholarship in August and I accepted later that month.
There is something to be said for guys that played other positions and in other sports, more from a physical then a mental standpoint. Darren Erstad really set the trend here. They stated to look for guys in other sports. You can’t prepare yourself mentally to step onto the field and make a big kick – the only way to do it is by playing other sports and experiencing similar type moments. This changed the trajectory of certainly my life.
Rose was up in the office after that camp, Turner was looking at films. Saw he was looking at Kris’ films. Turner said Kris was good enough to get a scholarship as a kicker. They recruited me before the ’94 championship. Darren had left the program, he was drafted Top 3 in MLB draft, and I owe a debt of gratitude to him.
I couldn’t have walked into a better situation; I kicked a lot of extra points. Haha! Crazy that it’s been 20 yrs since the ‘95 championship. Now you look back and say WOW what a special group of players. I came to the first breakfast with Jason. To see these guys now and talk about those teams is really special.
You were really close to Bo. What are biggest differences now with Riley?
I think there is a level of calmness now, probably goes without saying. There is not the edge that was around. That is good. I think your team reflects who your leader is. Riley has come in and calmed the waters a little bit; you can see that in the games that we’ve had. You could see it last week in Miami, there was never a panic. Calmness is what was needed, what we were missing. Good things are happening.
Special teams coordinator – what is it like having this asset?
Coaches always say that kicking is a third of the game and that is true. More impactful plays than on offense or defense. But at the college level, there is rarely anyone who focuses on it, so kind of unique at NU. Most coaches will divvy it up amongst the staff. Different terminology can be confusing. Have a specific coordinator; they can develop their own terminology. It’s a trend that you will start to see in most colleges.
You starting as a FR was very unusual back then. Now, it’s about getting the guys on the field right away. Kids aren’t as developed sometimes. How challenging is it as a true FR to take the field against D1 teams?
It’s crazy. It’s more about the mental side of it. Very tough to do. That’s why you don’t see it happen as much. A lot of places want that first year to develop the kids mentally. Nick Saban has a policy that he will never play a true FR QB. If I put a FR out there and he fails, I might lose him for the rest of his career. That makes sense. You have to add the physical side in too. You go through the same thing going from college to the NFL.
When you are out there as kicker, you are working with snapper and holder. How important is the holder? Sam went down that first game.
I told Drew that mentally this is one of the hardest things you will have to do. You’ve worked with Sam for months; all of a sudden he isn’t there. Just get out there with the new guy and work as hard as you can, get comfortable. At least Sam came back for the Miami game. The guys that are really impressive are these long snappers, these guys are so good, they know how many rotations the ball takes so that the kicker can grab the ball with laces facing forward – that is precision right there.
Jerome Bettis – your former teammate was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame, what was it like being there with him and other Huskers being inducted?
The coolest thing about what I’ve done is the relationships that I’ve built. It was a once in a lifetime experience. For Jerome to get that honor, of all the guys I’ve played with, you are not going to find a better human being. He was really interested in what I was doing, with the Dunkin Doughnuts business. I told him I was shocked to get an invite, I was one of 300 that he asked to come. My career in Pittsburgh was short; I was only there 3 years. But everyone remembered me; it was cool to see Will Shields inducted also. When we invest in young people like Kris Brown who came from Dallas TX. The investment is that yrs later, he is back in Nebraska, building a business, employing people. He is now a doughnut and coffee baron! Next week we will have free coffee all week, M-F. No purchase necessary!
Talk about that transition from pro football to private life. How did you get involved in Dunkin Doughnuts? Did your NFL pension not work out – haha!
I had this recurring nightmare. You know at some point your career in NFL was over. For my first 5 years in NFL, I had an internship in the offseason. I was able to connect with Zach Wiegert. Played with him at Houston. We started thinking about what we would do when we were done, I had a good idea that we would be back in NE. He retired in 2008 and I was still playing. He used to go to Dunkin Doughnuts and it was always really busy – we decided to do it together. We are in Omaha, Northern KC. Six stores open now. He does the finance/real estate, I do operations.
How many guys did you see have financial problems in the NFL?
I think sometimes you see the headlines, you see the guys that have issues. I don’t know that it’s an NFL issue, it’s a society issue. People just aren’t that well versed in their finances. People need to find mentors to show them what to do. Biggest issue is guys transitioning. Doing the internships was great, it pointed me in the right direction, I knew what I did and did not want to do, didn’t waste 2-3 yrs after I was done playing to figure all of that out. Even as prepared as I was, it was an emotional struggle not playing any more. It was depressing. I started playing in 7th grade, all of a sudden not playing any more, which was tough.
You played multiple sports. Did you watch kickers growing up?
I started in 7th grade, my dad would never let me play, he thought I would get hurt. One of his friends was paralyzed playing. My parents got divorced, so I went to my mom and asked her if I could play and she said yes, I think just to piss my dad off – haha! In 8th grade, I hit a 38 yarder in a game, set a record for my school. In my FR year in high school I hit a 55 yarder. I was also the QB, so kicking was never really my focus. Spent 5 minutes a week on it, I was just really blessed. When I got to NU, really wanted to focus on it.
Did you want to play QB somewhere else?
No, I knew my future was not at QB.
How many fakes did you have?
My career rushing average was 6 yards.
Fastest guy on the field was our kicker, you had 4.5 speed. How many tackles did you make?
I had a few. In Houston, I was laying on the sideline, had a pretty bad concussion, didn’t know who my wife and son were. She didn’t want me to have to make any more tackles; I decided that really wasn’t my job.
Most people don’t remember you missing an extra point and FG. But you missed the first one. Most important was at Missouri game. What were you thinking after the euphoria of the TD?
Oh crap, the game isn’t tied yet, I still had to kick extra point. The Missouri fans were already on the goal post to tear it down, they thought they had one the game.
What are thoughts on NFL moving EP back?
Oh yeah, there will be a handful of games that will be decided by the EP. It’s like making a 33 yarder. You will see more teams going for 2 now, that’s what the Steelers are saying. That’s the objective NFL wants more teams to go for 2.
We’ve talked about the 60-3 run. No one has done it before; no one will probably do it again. Is it fair to expect that there could be a stretch of undefeated seasons at NU again?
Conventional thinking is probably not. The game has changed from the ‘90’s. But it may happen, if it does, it will be an amazing feat. Parity is there. Used to be only a handful who could win it all, now there are so many teams who have a shot. NU is off to 1-2 record; last time this happened was 1981. Lost to Big 10 champ Iowa. Ended up playing for the national championship against Clemson. It’s not all lost when you are 1-2. Not at all. We are seeing some things on the field that we haven’t seen in a while. Their comeback was pretty impressive; they fought and tied the game up. They have areas that they have to improve in but I am excited. Penalties are a problem. Most penalties are discipline, procedure/formation, there is no excuse. Personal fouls. You can come up with all of the excuses you want, it’s got to come from team leaders, they have to set the standard.
What about Sam Foltz? Last week not a good game.
I love Sam, great kid. Heart of gold. He is going to have a chance. From stature standpoint, he is tall, long legs. He can punt a ball, has the hang time they look for. All kickers do that rugby style kick, that’s what they like.
Are you surprised at the meek inheriting the earth, like TCU, Baylor, and Old Miss beating Alabama for 2nd year in a row?
I think the parity is great, you never know what you are going to get. Look at OSU last week--that was a close game. Good for the interest. I think Baylor when I was in school won one game in 10 years, they were bad.
Did they ever have a play when you threw the ball?
I threw a 2 pt conversion my FR year.
When you see the kickers that are also punters, does that mess with the mechanics?
I am not a fan of it; they are two different motions—that’s why you seldom see it. It was amazing that Alex was really good at both, that’s rare.
Did they work you at QB ever?
I did a little bit. You could only take so many people on the road; it would have had to have been a dire emergency for me to have played. Knew enough to be dangerous.
__________________________________
That's all she wrote for this week. Can't wait for the game tomorrow. It's gonna be a beautiful day for a 90's era beat-down. NU wins big.
GBR!
-Thor
(New format: Panel with Jim Rose, Kris, Sean, Ross Jernstrom, Chris Baker)
From Ross Jernstrom:
Their QB is very good, has passed for 919 yds in 3 games. If NU can make them one dimensional we can win. They will score some. NU has some injuries, esp. at LB. Banderas and Valentine both questionable. Mentally the team is okay. They are 8 pts away from an undefeated season. Tommy has really been a leader of this team, watching him come off the field last week, he was slapping guys on the shoulder pads, good to see after the ending that he had in Miami.
From Chris Baker:
What I want to see this week is what we saw in the 4th quarter last week for all 4 quarters. Tommy really merged as a leader last week and carried the team on his back.
From Sean Callahan:
Banderas injury surprising, he did practice this week. NU has never played an opening schedule like this or not for years, 2 quality teams in the first three games. Maybe is has helped show us where we need to improve and build down the road. S Miss will put some pts up; they are also averaging 200 rushing yds per game, so they are not one dimensional. Just one visitor in town, hard on recruits, these early games. Jordan Elliott will be here. The Wisconsin and MIchigan St games will set up as big recruiting weekends.
Guest Panelist: Former NU Kicker Kris Brown – highest scorer I NU history. Represents one of the truly great eras at NU, 2 national championships.
After Drew missed the 2nd FG against BYU what was your physical condition?
I knew he was going to be disappointed. After the game, I was proud of how he handled it, how he stood up and addressed the media. Certainly last week he had a big kick against Miami.
You didn’t miss too many.
The hardest part is waiting until the next game and getting into that rhythm. There are other positions out there, if they don’t do their jobs, you might not notice it. With us, it is always noticed. I tell Drew, don’t find yourself thinking that your missed FGs are the reason why we lost a game – these are not the only plays that make the difference.
Kris, you came from Texas, was NU your first choice?
Really good story about how I got to NU. Summer before my senior year, my dad was looking at school to send me to football camp. My stepmom is from Kimball, NE. She suggested I go to NU. NU was one of the cheaper camps, so dad signed me up. Same weekend as state baseball finals and we were in the tournament was out in West TX. Bottom of 7th, we are down by 1 run, I am at the plate, we win the game. Next game was same weekend at NU camp. I was batting .700. I strikeout, we lose. Dad said, sometimes there is a reason for why things happen. If we would have won the baseball game, I wouldn’t have been able to go to NU camp. The camp was shoulder pads and helmet camp. I wasn’t too excited about being there. Some testing went on in Cook Pavilion. I feel a tap on my shoulder, it was Turner Gill!! He let me know they were happy to have me there. Coach Osborne next day made an announcement – need to see Kris Brown. Coach said we really like you, we know that you can kick. They were going to call my coach, look at film. They called me on July 15 from TG, they kept recruiting me, offered by scholarship in August and I accepted later that month.
There is something to be said for guys that played other positions and in other sports, more from a physical then a mental standpoint. Darren Erstad really set the trend here. They stated to look for guys in other sports. You can’t prepare yourself mentally to step onto the field and make a big kick – the only way to do it is by playing other sports and experiencing similar type moments. This changed the trajectory of certainly my life.
Rose was up in the office after that camp, Turner was looking at films. Saw he was looking at Kris’ films. Turner said Kris was good enough to get a scholarship as a kicker. They recruited me before the ’94 championship. Darren had left the program, he was drafted Top 3 in MLB draft, and I owe a debt of gratitude to him.
I couldn’t have walked into a better situation; I kicked a lot of extra points. Haha! Crazy that it’s been 20 yrs since the ‘95 championship. Now you look back and say WOW what a special group of players. I came to the first breakfast with Jason. To see these guys now and talk about those teams is really special.
You were really close to Bo. What are biggest differences now with Riley?
I think there is a level of calmness now, probably goes without saying. There is not the edge that was around. That is good. I think your team reflects who your leader is. Riley has come in and calmed the waters a little bit; you can see that in the games that we’ve had. You could see it last week in Miami, there was never a panic. Calmness is what was needed, what we were missing. Good things are happening.
Special teams coordinator – what is it like having this asset?
Coaches always say that kicking is a third of the game and that is true. More impactful plays than on offense or defense. But at the college level, there is rarely anyone who focuses on it, so kind of unique at NU. Most coaches will divvy it up amongst the staff. Different terminology can be confusing. Have a specific coordinator; they can develop their own terminology. It’s a trend that you will start to see in most colleges.
You starting as a FR was very unusual back then. Now, it’s about getting the guys on the field right away. Kids aren’t as developed sometimes. How challenging is it as a true FR to take the field against D1 teams?
It’s crazy. It’s more about the mental side of it. Very tough to do. That’s why you don’t see it happen as much. A lot of places want that first year to develop the kids mentally. Nick Saban has a policy that he will never play a true FR QB. If I put a FR out there and he fails, I might lose him for the rest of his career. That makes sense. You have to add the physical side in too. You go through the same thing going from college to the NFL.
When you are out there as kicker, you are working with snapper and holder. How important is the holder? Sam went down that first game.
I told Drew that mentally this is one of the hardest things you will have to do. You’ve worked with Sam for months; all of a sudden he isn’t there. Just get out there with the new guy and work as hard as you can, get comfortable. At least Sam came back for the Miami game. The guys that are really impressive are these long snappers, these guys are so good, they know how many rotations the ball takes so that the kicker can grab the ball with laces facing forward – that is precision right there.
Jerome Bettis – your former teammate was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame, what was it like being there with him and other Huskers being inducted?
The coolest thing about what I’ve done is the relationships that I’ve built. It was a once in a lifetime experience. For Jerome to get that honor, of all the guys I’ve played with, you are not going to find a better human being. He was really interested in what I was doing, with the Dunkin Doughnuts business. I told him I was shocked to get an invite, I was one of 300 that he asked to come. My career in Pittsburgh was short; I was only there 3 years. But everyone remembered me; it was cool to see Will Shields inducted also. When we invest in young people like Kris Brown who came from Dallas TX. The investment is that yrs later, he is back in Nebraska, building a business, employing people. He is now a doughnut and coffee baron! Next week we will have free coffee all week, M-F. No purchase necessary!
Talk about that transition from pro football to private life. How did you get involved in Dunkin Doughnuts? Did your NFL pension not work out – haha!
I had this recurring nightmare. You know at some point your career in NFL was over. For my first 5 years in NFL, I had an internship in the offseason. I was able to connect with Zach Wiegert. Played with him at Houston. We started thinking about what we would do when we were done, I had a good idea that we would be back in NE. He retired in 2008 and I was still playing. He used to go to Dunkin Doughnuts and it was always really busy – we decided to do it together. We are in Omaha, Northern KC. Six stores open now. He does the finance/real estate, I do operations.
How many guys did you see have financial problems in the NFL?
I think sometimes you see the headlines, you see the guys that have issues. I don’t know that it’s an NFL issue, it’s a society issue. People just aren’t that well versed in their finances. People need to find mentors to show them what to do. Biggest issue is guys transitioning. Doing the internships was great, it pointed me in the right direction, I knew what I did and did not want to do, didn’t waste 2-3 yrs after I was done playing to figure all of that out. Even as prepared as I was, it was an emotional struggle not playing any more. It was depressing. I started playing in 7th grade, all of a sudden not playing any more, which was tough.
You played multiple sports. Did you watch kickers growing up?
I started in 7th grade, my dad would never let me play, he thought I would get hurt. One of his friends was paralyzed playing. My parents got divorced, so I went to my mom and asked her if I could play and she said yes, I think just to piss my dad off – haha! In 8th grade, I hit a 38 yarder in a game, set a record for my school. In my FR year in high school I hit a 55 yarder. I was also the QB, so kicking was never really my focus. Spent 5 minutes a week on it, I was just really blessed. When I got to NU, really wanted to focus on it.
Did you want to play QB somewhere else?
No, I knew my future was not at QB.
How many fakes did you have?
My career rushing average was 6 yards.
Fastest guy on the field was our kicker, you had 4.5 speed. How many tackles did you make?
I had a few. In Houston, I was laying on the sideline, had a pretty bad concussion, didn’t know who my wife and son were. She didn’t want me to have to make any more tackles; I decided that really wasn’t my job.
Most people don’t remember you missing an extra point and FG. But you missed the first one. Most important was at Missouri game. What were you thinking after the euphoria of the TD?
Oh crap, the game isn’t tied yet, I still had to kick extra point. The Missouri fans were already on the goal post to tear it down, they thought they had one the game.
What are thoughts on NFL moving EP back?
Oh yeah, there will be a handful of games that will be decided by the EP. It’s like making a 33 yarder. You will see more teams going for 2 now, that’s what the Steelers are saying. That’s the objective NFL wants more teams to go for 2.
We’ve talked about the 60-3 run. No one has done it before; no one will probably do it again. Is it fair to expect that there could be a stretch of undefeated seasons at NU again?
Conventional thinking is probably not. The game has changed from the ‘90’s. But it may happen, if it does, it will be an amazing feat. Parity is there. Used to be only a handful who could win it all, now there are so many teams who have a shot. NU is off to 1-2 record; last time this happened was 1981. Lost to Big 10 champ Iowa. Ended up playing for the national championship against Clemson. It’s not all lost when you are 1-2. Not at all. We are seeing some things on the field that we haven’t seen in a while. Their comeback was pretty impressive; they fought and tied the game up. They have areas that they have to improve in but I am excited. Penalties are a problem. Most penalties are discipline, procedure/formation, there is no excuse. Personal fouls. You can come up with all of the excuses you want, it’s got to come from team leaders, they have to set the standard.
What about Sam Foltz? Last week not a good game.
I love Sam, great kid. Heart of gold. He is going to have a chance. From stature standpoint, he is tall, long legs. He can punt a ball, has the hang time they look for. All kickers do that rugby style kick, that’s what they like.
Are you surprised at the meek inheriting the earth, like TCU, Baylor, and Old Miss beating Alabama for 2nd year in a row?
I think the parity is great, you never know what you are going to get. Look at OSU last week--that was a close game. Good for the interest. I think Baylor when I was in school won one game in 10 years, they were bad.
Did they ever have a play when you threw the ball?
I threw a 2 pt conversion my FR year.
When you see the kickers that are also punters, does that mess with the mechanics?
I am not a fan of it; they are two different motions—that’s why you seldom see it. It was amazing that Alex was really good at both, that’s rare.
Did they work you at QB ever?
I did a little bit. You could only take so many people on the road; it would have had to have been a dire emergency for me to have played. Knew enough to be dangerous.
__________________________________
That's all she wrote for this week. Can't wait for the game tomorrow. It's gonna be a beautiful day for a 90's era beat-down. NU wins big.
GBR!
-Thor
