Dave Feit’s Greatest Huskers by the Numbers: 40

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 40: Pat Tyrance, Linebacker, 1987-1990

Honorable Mention: none

Also worn by: Don Bloom, Lance Brandenburgh, Kenny Brunk, Daniel Cerni, Ron Clark, Pat Fischer, Lannie Hopkins, Jon Kelley, Blake Lawrence, Billy Legate, Pat Morell, Terry Rogers, Cory Schlesinger

Dave's Fave: Cory Schlesinger, Fullback, 1991-1994

"There are over 400,000 student-athletes, but almost all of them will go pro in something other than sports."

That is the tag line from a classic NCAA commercial campaign talking about the positive impact sports have on student-athletes. While we can knock the NCAA for numerous failures and shortcomings, I appreciate that - at least in their commercials - the NCAA tries to remember their primary mission is academics instead of being a feeder system for various professional leagues.

Former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones famously tweeted: "Why should we have to go to class if we came here to play FOOTBALL, we ain't come to play SCHOOL, classes are POINTLESS." To his credit, Jones did finish his degree, but he did say the quiet part out loud: Some student athletes don't care about the "student" portion.

Graduating from college is an accomplishment, especially when a full-time student is also a full-time athlete. When push comes to shove, it is easy for academics to take a back seat to athletics. Nebraska - like every other power conference school - has academic support staff to help players study, pass and stay on track for their degrees. This can take the form of tutors, study halls and advisors who might help a struggling player find a less rigorous major or class.*

*I'm not going to look down my nose at the "easy A" courses that tend to have a lot of student athletes in them. Plenty of non-athletes took them as well.

Case in point: Entomology 222, aka "Insects in Society." It was an excellent science elective for people not going into a scientific field. The course focused on the intersection of insects and humans, particularly in areas like food, disease, and popular culture. One assignment was to watch a movie about insects (I chose "Godzilla versus Mothra") and write a paper on whether or not the representation was accurate, citing examples and suggesting how it could be made more realistic. It was an extremely interesting - and entertaining - course. My average going into the final was something like 119 out of 100.

I'm not going to knock players who choose to keep their academics on the lighter side. But some student athletes do choose a more rigorous course load, in a more complex field of study. Over the years, there have been numerous Huskers who have majored in some rather intense subjects (engineering, physics, chemistry, pre-law and more). Maybe it's just my non-scientific mind, but I always had a deep admiration for the pre-med majors.

Pat Tyrance is one of those players who embraced the "student" part of the student athlete. In fact, let’s start on the academic side:

Tyrance, a Biology/Pre-Med major, was a two-time Academic All-American. He was named a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete in 1990. He earned the prestigious NCAA Today's Top Six Award in 1990, one of the top honors for student athletes.*

*Tyrance's wife, Renita Robinson - the 1989 NCAA triple jump champion for Nebraska's track team - was also an Academic All-American and was Today's Top Six finalist the previous semester.

Tyrance's GPA was "only" 3.46, partially due to being on academic probation in his first semester at UNL. By the end of his college career, he would come home after practice and study for several hours. Also, I'm guessing he wasn't taking "Insects in Society" or "History of Rock & Roll" to boost his GPA. In a 1990 article with the Baltimore Sun, Tyrance said his courseload was "pretty demanding, but I like it. That makes it fun. It's not quite as worthwhile when you're taking easy classes."

Oh yeah - in addition to his rigorous academic load, hours of studying, and everything that goes into being a star linebacker, Tyrance was a new father as a college senior. Tyrance's son, Pat III, was born after his junior season. I have no idea when he slept.

On the football field, Tyrance was no slouch.

Lightly recruited out of Millard North High School, Tyrance played in every game as a redshirt sophomore, with five starts. In his junior season (1989), he was an All-Big Eight pick. His senior season (1990) got off to an unconventional start. In addition to having a wife and newborn son at home, Tyrance missed the spring game to take the Medical College Admission Test. He did find time to hit the weight room, as evidenced by his team-best 446-pound bench press.

In the 1990 season opener against Baylor, Nebraska was clinging to a 6-0 lead in the fourth quarter. The Bears had second-and-goal from the 5, but Tyrance forced a fumble at the three. Nebraska scored a late touchdown to win 13-0. In a loss to eventual co-national champion Colorado, Tyrance forced two more fumbles and an interception with his pressure on quarterback Darian Hagan. Tyrance led the team in tackles his last two seasons and finished 13th in career tackles (currently 37th). A team captain, Tyrance repeated as an All-Big Eight pick. He was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

Despite a strong football résumé, Tyrance didn't receive any invites for the various postseason all-star games or NFL scouting events. As draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. bluntly put it: "I think a lot of people want to know what his intentions are going to be." Tyrance, who hoped to play pro ball to help pay for medical school, fell to the eighth round.

After a year in the NFL, Tyrance started medical school at Harvard Medical School, where he earned his Doctor of Medicine. Since that wasn't enough of a challenge, he also earned a Master of Public Policy in Healthcare Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School. In 2015, he received an MBA from the George Washington School of Business. Dr. Pat Tyrance is currently an orthopedic surgeon. In 2009, he was inducted into the CoSIDA Academic All-American Hall of Fame, making him just the second Nebraska football player (Dave Rimington) and third Husker overall (basketball's Karen Jennings).

Pat Tyrance is not the first doctor to come out of the Nebraska football program. Far from it. In addition to being the first black player - and captain - at Nebraska in the 1890s, George Flippin was one of the first players to become a doctor. Flippin graduated from med school in Chicago in 1900 and returned to Nebraska and opened the first hospital in Stromsburg.

Since George Flippin, numerous Nebraska football players have gone on to become doctors in a medical discipline.*

*No disrespect to the PhDs out there - but we're going to focus on the MDs.

This is definitely an incomplete list, but it gives a good cross-section of eras and specialties:

Anesthesiologists: Dr. Monte Christo, Dr. Kyle Ringenberg, Dr. Chris Weber, Dr. Rob Zatechka
Dentists: Dr. Dennis Claridge, Dr. Will Dabbert, Dr. Rich Duda, Dr. Ben Gessford, Dr. Tom Milius, Dr. Ernie Sigler
Dermatology: Dr. Tyler Evans
Ophthalmologist: Dr. Mike Stuntz
Oral surgeon: Dr. Brandon Chapek.
Orthopedic Surgeons: Dr. Pat Clare, Dr. Thomas Heiser, Dr. Kellen Huston, Dr. Justin Makovicka, Dr. Randy Schleusener, Dr. Scott Strasburger, Dr. Patrick Tyrance, Dr. Dane Todd, Dr. Steve Volin
Pediatrics: Dr. Tim Fischer
Physical therapy: Dr. Joel Makovicka, Dr. Wyatt Mazour
Physicians: Dr. Kaye Carstens, Dr. George Flippin
Plastic surgeon: Dr. Sean Fisher
Urologic surgeon: Dr. Judd Davies

***

They say lightning never strikes twice.

But thunder - like a fullback - can rumble all night long.

Miami had the lead in the fourth quarter of the 1995 Orange Bowl (played on the Hurricanes' home field), but the tide was turning. Tommie Frazier had been reinserted into the game. Nebraska's offensive line - the original Pipeline - was asserting its dominance as Miami players gasped for air.

On first-and-10 from the Miami 40, Lawrence Phillips rushed for 25 yards. On the next play, Frazier gave the ball to Cory Schlesinger on a fullback trap play. The play caught the Hurricanes completely off guard. Schlesinger rambled in for a 15-yard touchdown and the Huskers tied the game with a two-point conversion.

After the Hurricanes went three and out, NU got the ball 58 yards from the end zone and a national championship. Clearly, this would be Frazier's time to shine. The great quarterback completed a short pass to Reggie Baul, then scrambled for 25 yards on a third-and-4. Phillips and Frazier combined for another first down, giving the Huskers first-and-10 at the Miami 14. Everybody in the building knew the ball would be in Frazier's hands for the decisive plays.

Technically, it was. Frazier took the snap and gave the ball to Cory Schlesinger on another trap play. With some excellent blocking in front of him, the senior fullback from tiny Duncan, Nebraska, went in nearly untouched. It was the perfect play call* at the perfect moment.

*Speaking of perfect calls, I can recite Kent Pavelka's call of Schlesinger's second touchdown from memory: “The give on the trap play, and it’s Schlesinger inside the five..in there for the touchdown! He’s got the touchdown! It’s the touchdown for…Cory Schlesinger, and Nebraska takes the lead with 2:46 left to go in the ball game.”

According to Schlesinger, his favorite play of that Orange Bowl occurred well before those two fourth-quarter touchdowns. On the opening kickoff, he knocked a Miami defender unconscious with a devastating block. It was a tone-setting moment for the game and an excellent example of what Nebraska's bruising fullback could do.

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