Dave Feit's Greatest Huskers by the Numbers: 32

Dave Feit is counting down the days until the start of the 2025 season by naming the best Husker to wear each uniform number, as well as one of his personal favorites at that number. For more information about the series, click here. To see more entries, click here.

Greatest Husker to wear 32: Ed Stewart, Linebacker, 1991-1994

Honorable Mention: Ken Clark, I.M. Hipp, Brandon Jackson, Kent McCloughan, Gerald Moore

Also worn by: William Andreson, Brody Belt, Tim Brungardt, Woody Cox, Imani Cross, Dale Endorf, Adrian Fiala, Tom Humm, Ochaun Mathis, Marcus Mendoza, Barret Pickering

Dave's Fave: Kent McCloughan, Halfback, 1962-1964, I.M. Hipp, I-back, 1975-1979, Ken Clark, I-back, 1985-1989, Brandon Jackson, Running Back, 2004-2006

Picture an inside linebacker from the 1960s, '70s or '80s.

The mental image in my head is a hulking beast of a man with a grass-stained uniform, athletic tape over his bleeding knuckles and a neckroll towering above oversized shoulder pads. Our prototypical linebacker isn't going to win a 100-meter dash, but when he hits you - and it is a "when," not an "if" - you'll feel it for days.

These are your Dick Butkus types. Guys like Mike Singletary, Jack Lambert and Ray Nitschke. The kind of guys whose highlights would be narrated by John Facenda of NFL Films.

That's not the type of linebacker Ed Stewart was, nor the football player he aspired to be.

Ed Stewart with a pick-six against Oklahoma in 1992. | Nebraska Athletics

Stewart came to Nebraska picturing himself as a defensive back. A safety like Ronnie Lott delivering punishment to receivers who dared to go across the middle. Nebraska's staff watched him in practice and could see his talent - a reliable, punishing tackler with a nose for the ball.

But there was one problem: He wasn't quite fast enough to get on the field in the defensive backfield.

In Nebraska's traditional 5-2 defense, a guy like Ed Stewart was destined to be a role player, or worse, buried on the depth chart. The coaching staff could see the potential in the Chicago native, but they knew his future wasn't at safety. As secondary coach George Darlington told Paul Koch in "Anatomy of an Era": "Here we have Ed Stewart sitting on his butt. And he’s a very good player, and we need to get him on the field."

Fortunately for Stewart's career, changes were brewing behind the scenes for the Blackshirts.

The coaches knew they needed more speed on the field. They also knew that their 5-2 was becoming ineffective against the offenses they were seeing - especially in bowl games. Moving from a 5-2 defense to a 4-3 would essentially trade a slow middle guard for a fast and athletic linebacker.

Ed Stewart's move from the defensive backfield brought needed speed to the linebacker position. | Nebraska Football Media Guide

What if Ed Stewart was that linebacker? It was a lightbulb moment in the evolution of Charlie McBride's defensive transition. Instead of a skilled player who (according to coach Darlington) "didn’t have great foot speed compared to the secondary guys," Stewart became a new breed of linebacker - fast and athletic, but still able to lay a hit.

The move worked early and often. As a redshirt freshman in 1991, Stewart broke up a pass on Oklahoma's final play to preserve a 19-14 win. He had 11 tackles in the 1992 Orange Bowl. During the 1992 season, he was described in the media guide as "one of the most pleasant surprises on defense," earning honorable mention All-Big Eight recognition. Against Oklahoma, Stewart had a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown. Stewart's junior year (1993) was even better: Second on the team in tackles, and he accumulated sacks, tackles for loss, pass breakups, fumble recoveries and interceptions from sideline to sideline. He was a second-team All-Big Eight honoree.

In Ed Stewart's senior season (1994), he put together an excellent campaign. He was the defensive leader and a force on Tom Osborne’s first national championship team. All-Big Eight, Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year, consensus All-American, Defensive Player of the Year finalist by the Football Writers, and finalist for the Butkus Award as the nation's best linebacker.*

*Personally, I think Stewart was robbed of the Butkus Award. Dana Howard of Illinois? C’mon. If you ask me, they didn’t want to give the award to two Huskers in a row.

Ed Stewart as a freshman in the 1992 Orange Bowl against Miami. | RVR Photos-Imagn Images

In the 1995 Orange Bowl, Stewart suffered a serious hamstring strain. But Nebraska's co-captain was not going to sit out. In the fourth quarter, Stewart came back on the field with his thigh wrapped in what looked like two rolls of athletic tape. Even though Stewart was running like a pirate with a peg leg, he made a critical tackle as the Blackshirts kept Miami from getting a single first down in the decisive quarter.

After leading Nebraska to the national championship, Ed Stewart has continued to be a leader throughout his professional career. He has been an associate athletic director at Missouri, the associate commissioner for football of the Big 12 Conference, and is currently the senior associate AD at Southern Cal. The last two times Nebraska's athletic director job has come open, Stewart has been a very popular candidate among the fan base.

***

In the NFL, 32 is the ultimate running back number. Marcus Allen, Franco Harris, Edgerrin James, Jim Brown, O.J. Simpson, Ricky Watters, Maurice Jones-Drew, Ottis Anderson, Jamal Anderson and many more.

In college football, you can add stars like Ki-Jana Carter, Cedric Benson, John Riggins, Anthony Thomas and others.

But at Nebraska, 32 doesn't have as deep a history as, say, 30. But once a decade or so, it is worn by a player who has memorable moments - even if his name isn't on the Mount Rushmore of Nebraska's greatest backs.

1960s: Kent McCloughan (1962-1964)
A fine halfback on Bob Devaney's first teams, McCloughan finished second on the team in rushing (behind Frank Solich). In the 1964 Missouri game, he was part of a wild play.

With less than seven minutes to go, Nebraska was clinging to a 2-0 lead. Bob Churchich drops back to pass and gets flushed immediately. A near tackle causes him to spin a circle as darts back to his left and picks up a key block from… the referee, who gets trampled by one Tiger. The pileup pauses another player's pursuit. This gives Churchich just enough time to find McCloughan all alone at the 27. McCloughan catches the ball near west sideline, but cuts back to the east across the middle of the field.

As McCloughan crosses the far hash mark, a Tiger defender grabs him near the 22. Just then, tackle Larry Kramer comes in and delivers a kidney-crushing block that springs McCloughan free for the touchdown. McCloughan dives over the goal line for a little extra flourish. It was one of his team-high 12 touchdowns in 1964 when he was first-team All-Big Eight.

1970s: I.M. Hipp (1975-1979)
Isaiah Moses (I. M.) Hipp saw Nebraska on TV in the "Game of Century" and knew that's where he wanted to go. After graduating from high school in South Carolina, he borrowed money from his girlfriend, drove to Lincoln and walked on. As a redshirt sophomore in 1977, he got his chance. When starter Rick Berns left the Baylor game with a hip pointer, Hipp came in and ran for 122 yards.

The following week, Hipp got the start against a pesky Indiana team led by coach Lee Corso. Hipp had 28 carries for a school-record 254 yards - 43 yards more than the previous mark set by Berns in 1976. Hipp also set the record - which still stands - for the longest run without scoring a touchdown (73 yards). Hipp did not score any touchdowns, but did have a two-point conversion.

After the game, the newspapers weren't sure if Hipp should be referred to as "Isaiah" or "I.M." There was also some uncertainty as to where "I.M." originated. The Omaha World-Herald credited an unnamed assistant coach. The Lincoln Journal-Star said it was the NU sports information office. Regardless, it was a coming-out party for the man who would leave as Nebraska's all-time leading rusher with an all-time great name.

Ken Clark picks up some of his 256 rushing yards against Oklahoma State in 1988. | Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

1980s: Ken Clark (1985-1989)
The Omaha Bryan High graduate followed Keith Jones as Nebraska's starting I-back. Twice, he led the team in rushing and earned first-team All-Big Eight honors. Clark had several notable moments (165 yards and the lone touchdown in a 7-0 win over Colorado, 225 yards against Kansas as a junior, 177 against KU as a senior, and so on). But his biggest moment occurred as a junior in 1988.

No. 7 Nebraska was hosting No. 10 Oklahoma State. The Cowboys had a very potent offense, with quarterback Mike Gundy, wide receiver Hart Lee Dykes, and running back - and Heisman favorite - Barry Sanders. Many pundits were predicting a Nebraska loss that would send Okie State to the Orange Bowl.

Ken Clark had other plans.

One minute and five seconds into the game, Clark ran 73 yards for a touchdown. Less than 2½ minutes later, Charles Fryar had an 86-yard pick six - high-fiving teammate Reggie Cooper as they ran for the end zone. Two minutes after that, Clark scored again from nine yards out. Quarterback Steve Taylor would have 103 yards rushing… on his two touchdown runs… ALL IN THE FIRST QUARTER.

After 15 minutes, Nebraska led 10th-ranked team in the country 35-0.

The Cowboy offense would wake up. They gained 455 yards of total offense and scored 42 points - the most allowed in Tom Osborne's career to that point. But the Huskers gained 662 yards and scored 63 points. The 105 combined points is the most in Memorial Stadium's history.

Barry Sanders was brilliant: 35 carries for 189 yards and four touchdowns. But Ken Clark was better. 27 rushes for 256 yards and three touchdowns.

Brandon Jackson breaks free for a fourth-quarter TD against Texas in 2006. | Bruce Thorson-Imagn Images

2000s: Brandon Jackson (2004-2006)
Brandon Jackson was a part of some very crowded running back rooms. He wasn't the biggest (that would have been Cody Glenn). He wasn't the most heralded (Marlon Lucky). He may not have been the fastest (possibly Kenny Wilson?).

B. Jax, though, was the most complete.

He had excellent breakaway speed and good burst through the hole. And if the hole wasn't really there, he could lower his shoulder and create his own space. Despite starting only nine games in 2006, Jackson rushed for nearly 1,000 yards (989). Jackson was also a legit receiving threat out of the backfield, finishing the 2006 season with 33 receptions - one less than Maurice Purify, who was second on the team.

In the 2006 Colorado game, Jackson showed his full skill set. He had a career-high 34 carries for 142 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown run that put Nebraska ahead for good. He also had a team-high six catches for 42 yards, with a 15-yard touchdown reception. Brandon Jackson was first-team All-Big 12 and turned pro after the 2006 season.

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