Nebraska Huskers Football

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are looking for a new head coach.

Nebraska announced Sunday that Scott Frost was fired after four seasons leading the team. He ends his tenure with a 16-31 record. Associate head coach Mickey Joseph was named interim head coach.

Amie Just of the Lincoln Journal-Star reported Joseph becomes the first black head coach in any sport in Nebraska history.

Frost's run was defined by ineptitude in crucial moments. Nebraska lost 22 games decided by eight points or less while he was at the helm, and the team's nine single-digit losses during 2021 set a college football record.

While Frost was at the helm, the Cornhuskers never appeared in a bowl game and posted a 0-14 record against ranked opponents. They struggled in Big Ten play, going 10-26 in conference games.

Nebraska's 2022 season got off to a rough start when the team blew an 11-point second-half lead in a 31-28 loss against Northwestern.

Frost came under fire for a peculiar decision to go for an onside kick after taking a 28-17 lead in the third quarter. The Wildcats recovered the ball and scored on the ensuing drive to spark their comeback victory.

The 47-year-old conceded after the loss that he wouldn't make the call for the onside kick if he could do it over again. He was asked directly if he would ever consider stepping down from his position, but he said he would "fight with the guys as long as I can fight."

While Frost's tenure in Nebraska has ended unceremoniously, the team will have to make the right decision for its next head coach if it wants to return to success. The Cornhuskers haven't finished with a winning record since 2016.

As a team that looks like it's going nowhere this season, Nebraska will have to continue to trudge its way through the year with Joseph at the helm until it finds a permanent replacement.

Nebraska's coaching staff has unwittingly become the source of controversy in the wake of head coach Scott Frost's comments about how hard the entire offensive line is being pushed in practices leading up to the start of the regular season.

During an appearance on his monthly radio show (h/t Evan Bland of the Omaha World-Herald), Frost said members of the offensive line vomit a combined total of 15-20 times every practice.

"It’s not because they’re not in shape—he’s just working them hard," Frost said of offensive line coach Donovan Raiola. "I think they love it. He’s kind of freed them up to go be aggressive and I love the way they’re coming off the ball."

After Frost's comments came out, there was swift backlash to the coaching staff for allowing this to happen.

ESPN's Kevin Seifert called the comments "an absurd and embarrassing thing to brag about" and noted he covered the death of an NFL player (Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman Korey Stringer, who died in 2001) from heatstroke caused in part by vomiting during practice.

In July 2021, ahead of the 20th anniversary of Stringer's death, Seifert wrote an article for ESPN.com highlighting some of the ways the NFL and individual states have changed safety protocols to protect football players from heat exhaustion.

"A total of 38 states have changed laws or adopted new guidelines to mandate safety protocols, and an estimated 75 percent of high schools in the country have cold water immersion tubs available to reverse the onset of heat illness, according to Douglas Casa, chief executive officer of KSI and a professor of kinesiology at UConn," Seifert wrote.

Morgan Campbell of CBS Sports said he would be asking questions if he saw that many players getting sick on the field during practice.

Frost presumably thought he was making a comment about how hard the players are working to ensure the Cornhuskers have a good season, but this will only raise questions about the staff's coaching style and philosophy.

Nebraska is set to open the 2022 season on Aug. 27 against Northwestern at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. The Cornhuskers have a 15-29 record in four seasons with Frost as head coach.

The implementation of NIL rules has allowed college athletes to take full advantage of the star power carried by their names. Nebraska freshman wide receiver Decoldest Crawford is doing just that with a unique deal that is a match made in heaven.

Crawford signed on to represent SOS Heating & Cooling, a Nebraska-based HVAC company.

A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, Crawford was a 3-star prospect in the class of 2022, according to 247Sports' composite rankings. He originally committed to LSU in 2019 before reopening his recruitment last December and committing to the Cornhuskers.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is making a change to its cartoon mascot, Herbie Husker, to eliminate confusion about the meaning of a hand gesture he does that has been connected to white supremacy, according to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).

Originally, the mascot made an "OK" sign with his left hand. The mascot's index finger and thumb formed a closed circle, which some hate groups have used as a sign for white power in recent years. 

The mascot now makes a "We're No. 1" gesture with his index finger raised, per the Associated Press. 

"The concern about the hand gesture was brought to our attention by our apparel provider and others, and we decided to move forward with a revised Herbie Husker logo," Nebraska Athletics said in a statement to The Associated Press. "The process of changing the logo began in 2020, and we updated our brand guidelines in July of 2021. The revised logo is now the only Herbie Husker mark available to licensees."

According to Jordan Pascale of the Lincoln Journal-Star, the original gesture's meaning was brought to the attention of the Lonna Henrichs, the athletic department’s licensing and branding director, weeks after George Floyd was murdered by then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. 

Floyd's murder and several other similar cases prompted protests around the United States, including some where white supremacy groups flashed the "OK" hand gesture, Pascale noted. 

Henrichs said, per Pascale:

That hand gesture could, in some circles, represent something that does not represent what Nebraska athletics is about. We just didn't even want to be associated with portraying anything that somebody might think, you know, that it means white power. 

We made that change as quick as we could.

 The Anti-Defamation League added the "OK" hand gesture to its Hate Symbols Database two years ago, noting “particular caution must be used when evaluating this symbol.”

Nebraska is one of several schools to make changes to its mascot for such reasons. One such example saw the University of Illinois drop the Chief Illiniwek logo in 2007, though they are still called the Illini, because it was considered offensive to Native Americans.

Several professional sports teams have also undergone name changes for sensitivity reasons, such as the Washington Football Team and Cleveland Guardians. 

Adrian Martinez is going to finish his college football career with Kansas State. 

The former Nebraska quarterback announced Thursday he is transferring to the Wildcats for the 2022 season. 

Martinez announced Dec. 2 that he was entering the transfer portal after spending four years at Nebraska. 

Coming out of high school in 2018, he was one of the first big recruiting wins for head coach Scott Frost. The California native was a 4-star prospect and the No. 7 dual-threat quarterback in his class, per 247Sports composite rankings. 

Despite some promising moments, Martinez's tenure with the Cornhuskers was largely disappointing. He threw for 8,495 yards, 45 touchdowns and 30 interceptions and completed 63.5 percent of his attempts in 39 games. 

A shoulder injury prevented Martinez from starting Nebraska's regular-season finale against Iowa. Freshman Logan Smothers started in his place and accounted for 262 yards with two rushing touchdowns in a 28-21 loss. 

Kansas State has a need for a new starting quarterback with Skylar Thompson set to wrap up his college career in the Texas Bowl against LSU on Jan. 4.

If Wildcats head coach Chris Klieman wants to have a competition for the starting job, Martinez will likely contend with Will Howard throughout the offseason.    

Former Nebraska wide receiver Johnny Rodgers, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1972, has been hospitalized in an intensive care unit with COVID-19, according to the Associated Press. 

Rodgers told KETV NewsWatch 7 in a text message that he expects to head home "in a week or so" but "might stay a little longer" to punish the coronavirus for "doing me like this."

His business partner, Denny Drake, told the Omaha World-Herald that Rodgers was hospitalized on Thanksgiving with COVID-19 and pneumonia (h/t AP). While he appeared to improve after a few days in the hospital, his condition worsened and he was admitted to the ICU last week.

"He was pretty weak until late yesterday," Drake told the Omaha World-Herald on Sunday (h/t AP). "He called me this morning, and his voice sounded good."

Rodgers texted "We will talk later" when KETV NewsWatch 7 asked him if he was vaccinated. 

The 70-year-old played for three seasons at Nebraska, tallying 154 receptions for 2,679 yards and 27 touchdowns as a receiver and 836 yards and 14 touchdowns as a runner. He posted 58 receptions for 1,013 yards, 73 rushes for 348 yards and 19 total touchdowns in his Heisman-winning season. 

He was the first receiver and first Cornhusker to ever win the award. He was also a two-time All-America selection, two-time national champion and the 1972 Walter Camp Player of the Year award winner. He is a College Football Hall of Famer. 

Rodgers was a first-round pick of the San Diego Chargers in 1973, though he instead signed with the CFL's Montreal Alouettes, where he played through the 1976 season, before joining the Chargers for two years. 

While he was a three-time CFL All-Star, he appeared in just 17 NFL games, catching 17 passes for 234 yards and no touchdowns. 

Adrian Martinez announced Thursday he's transferring from Nebraska.

Martinez leaves the Cornhuskers after having thrown for 8,495 yards and 45 touchdowns and run for 2,288 yards and 35 scores. No player in program history accounted for more yards (10,772) than the California native.

His transfer could be mutually beneficial for both parties.

Martinez can ride off into the sunset with a big year at another school a la Russell Wilson or Gardner Minshew. He's probably achieved all he can in Lincoln.

The 6'2" signal-caller should have some suitors in the Power Five given his dual-threat abilities and starting experience.

Minshew is a prime example of how transferring and finding the right fit can work wonders. He followed two largely middling years at East Carolina with a monster season at Washington State in 2018 that resulted in winning the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year.

Maybe a change of scenery will help Martinez raise his ceiling.

The Cornhuskers, meanwhile, can continue wiping the slate clean after having already fired offensive coordinator Matt Lubick and three other offensive assistants.

Oklahoma's Spencer Rattler, UCF's Dillon Gabriel, Fresno State's Jake Haener and LSU's Myles Brennan have already entered the transfer portal. Even if head coach Scott Frost is unable to land one of the four, there will inevitably be more quarterbacks looking to move as the offseason unfolds.

Frost might also expect big things from Logan Smothers.

Smothers was the No. 14 dual-threat quarterback in the 2020 recruiting class in 247Sports' composite rankings. The Alabama native went 16-of-22 for 198 yards and one interception and ran for 64 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries in his lone start, a 28-21 loss to Iowa on Nov. 26.

Having already restructured his contract and reshuffled his staff, Frost is likely to be sitting on the hot seat in 2022 after Nebraska finished 3-9. Eventually, being a school legend doesn't matter if a coach isn't delivering results.

Whether it's leaning on Smothers or dipping into the transfer portal, identifying the right starting quarterback to succeed Martinez will go a long way toward turning Frost's tenure around.

Scott Frost will return to Nebraska for the 2022 season after the two sides agreed to a restructured contract that was announced Monday:

The Cornhuskers are 3-7 in 2021, marking the fourth straight losing season under Frost.

"We all recognize our record has not been what anyone wants it to be," director of athletics Trev Alberts said in a statement. "I have been clear that I have been looking for incremental progress, and I have seen that in several key areas this season."

Nebraska is 1-6 in Big Ten play this season and 10-23 in four years since Frost took over in 2018. 

The poor record might not be indicative of Nebraska's ability this year, however, with all seven losses decided by single digits. 

The squad lost by seven to Oklahoma, three to Michigan State, three to Michigan and nine to Ohio State, and all four opponents rank inside the Top 10 in the latest Associated Press poll. Different outcomes on a few key plays could have been the difference between the current record and a winning season with multiple impressive victories.

Nebraska is ready to give Frost another chance to turn things around as the program seeks its first bowl game since 2016.

The coach's contract could also be a significant factor. Sam McKewon of the Omaha World-Herald reported the original deal required a $20 million buyout if Frost was fired after this season. Though details of the new contract have not been released, the restructure could create more team-friendly terms.

The vow of confidence could still be enough to help Frost build toward 2022, hopefully improving a recruiting class that ranks dead last in the Big Ten and 71st nationally, per 247Sports.