Dave Feit’s Greatest Huskers by the Numbers: 81 – Willie Harper

Bob Devaney vs. Bear Bryant and a eulogy for the wingback

Counting down the greatest Nebraska football players by jersey number. / HuskerMax

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 81: Willie Harper, Defensive End, 1970 – 1972

Honorable Mention: Frank Simon

Also worn by: Larry Arnold, James Carnie, Lawrence Cole, Ben Cornelsen, Ben Cotton, William Hawkins, Sherwin Jarmon, Josh Mueller, Gabe Rahn, Guy Sapp, Dave Shamblin, Brad Smith, Kade Warner, Aaron Wills

Dave’s Fave: Ben Cornelsen, Wingback, 1999 – 2002


Tom Osborne’s coaching nemesis was Barry Switzer of Oklahoma. For Bob Devaney it was Alabama’s Paul “Bear” Bryant.

At the of the 1965 regular season, Nebraska was a perfect 10-0, Big Eight champions and ranked third. On Jan. 1, 1966, the dominoes started to fall. Second-ranked Arkansas lost to LSU in the Cotton Bowl. That afternoon, top-ranked Michigan State lost to UCLA. This meant the door was wide open for Nebraska to win its first national championship with a victory in the Orange Bowl. All the Huskers had to do was beat No. 4 Alabama.

The teams were tied at seven early in the second quarter. But then the Crimson Tide erupted for 17 unanswered points. Nebraska’s normally stout defense allowed 518 yards of total offense, and the Husker rushing attack struggled to get on track. Final score: Alabama 39, Nebraska 28. The Tide, led by legendary head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, won their second straight national championship.

A year later, Nebraska was 9-1 and ranked sixth. A 10-9 loss to Oklahoma on Thanksgiving Day ended their championship dreams, but the No. 4 Huskers still looked to make a bowl game. Bear Bryant called Devaney and said, “Let’s get together and have some more fun, Bob.”

(Narrator voice): Bob did not have much fun.

Bama QB Kenny Stabler found All-America end Ray Perkins for a 45-yard completion on the game’s first play from scrimmage. Nebraska trailed 17-0 after the first quarter, and 27-0 before scoring early in the fourth quarter. Final score: Alabama 34, Nebraska 7.

The Huskers did not make a bowl game in 1967 or 1968. In 1969, Nebraska bounced back with an 8-2 regular-season record. Once again, Devaney received a phone call from Bryant looking to arrange another bowl matchup. Devaney told the story like this:

“I said, ‘Which bowl did you have in mind, Bear?’ and he said, ‘Well, we were thinking about the Liberty Bowl.’ I said, ‘Gee, sounds great.’ The next day we signed to go to the Sun Bowl.” The Huskers blew out Georgia 45-6 in the 1969 Sun Bowl. Colorado defeated Alabama 47-33 in the Liberty Bowl.

I’m not sure what Devaney’s reaction was when his 1971 team – the No. 1-ranked defending national champions – was matched up against Bryant’s No. 2-ranked Crimson Tide in the 1972 Orange Bowl. Was there trepidation? Cautious optimism?

I’m guessing there was a healthy amount of confidence. You see, Devaney learned some valuable lessons in those humbling defeats to Bryant. Nebraska needed better athletes. Nebraska needed to be more balanced on offense. Nebraska needed speed at every position, especially on defense. In 1970 – and especially 1971 – Devaney had checked all these boxes.

Nebraska defensive end Willie Harper on the sideline during the Huskers' 1971 national championship season. / Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

Devaney also had something else Alabama did not: a fully integrated roster. In the 1972 Orange Bowl, Johnny Rodgers, Gary Dixon and Bill Olds combined for 271 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. On defense, Rich Glover, Willie Harper and Jim Branch combined for one-third of NU’s total tackles. In 1971, John Mitchell and Wilbur Jackson became the first black players – ever – at Alabama.

The 1972 Orange Bowl was a lot like the 1996 Fiesta Bowl against Florida. Despite being the defending national champions, few experts gave Nebraska much of a chance. Devaney – still stinging from the previous losses to Alabama felt the pressure too. Instead of sending his assistants out on the road to recruit during December, Devaney kept them in Lincoln to study film.

Bob wanted to beat the Bear.

Then the game started.

Bob Devaney on the sidelines during the 1972 Orange Bowl game against Alabama. / Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

In the first quarter, a fumbled snap on a Bama punt gave NU the ball near midfield. The Huskers would drive down for a touchdown. The Blackshirts stopped Alabama on their next possession, which led to another punt attempt. Good news: their punter fielded the snap cleanly and got off a good kick. Bad news: Johnny Rodgers was waiting to catch it.

When Rodgers picked the ball up after a couple of bounces, there were five Crimson Tide defenders between him and the next-closest Husker teammate. Johnny faked inside, bounced outside and turned on the jets. The 77-yard touchdown was his fourth punt-return touchdown of the season. It was 14-0 after one quarter and 28-0 at halftime.

*A side note on Rodgers: After the game, Johnny gave the game ball to Rex Lowe, a letter-winning split end on the 1969 and 1970 teams. Lowe was battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma and watched the game from a wheelchair. He would die six weeks later. 

Willie Harper tackles Alabama quarterback Terry Davis during the 1972 Orange Bowl. / Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

Alabama scored midway through the third quarter and Nebraska added 10 more points for good measure. Final score: Nebraska 38, Alabama 6. The Huskers – who Bear Bryant said were “one of the greatest, if not the greatest, college football team I’ve ever seen.” – repeated as national champs.

“They just toyed with us.”

While Rodgers and the Husker offense got the headlines, it was the Blackshirts who won the game. Controlling Bama halfback Johnny Musso and the Tide’s wishbone attack was a centerpiece of the defensive game plan. In a 2016 interview with HuskerMax, middle guard Rich Glover put it a little more bluntly: “Every time I tackled Johnny Musso I tapped him on the butt and said ‘Every time you look up I’ll be right here waiting on you.’ The game was going to be won up front so we had to dominate. It was just a matter of getting busy.”

Defensive end Willie Harper said, “John Adkins had him on one side. I had him on my side. Rich had him in the middle.”

A standout performer on some of Nebraska’s (and college football’s) greatest teams, Harper was a two time All-American and a three-year starter.

Harper’s Husker story starts with Bill “Thunder” Thornton, NU’s fullback during the transition from Bill Jennings to Bob Devaney (1960 – 1962). Thornton was coaching high school football in his hometown of Toledo, Ohio when Devaney asked him to join his staff. Thornton recruited Harper – one of his former players – to join him in Lincoln. Thornton ended up as Harper’s position coach.

Willie Harper in action against Kansas State. / Nebraska Football Media Guide

In his sophomore and junior seasons (1970 and 1971), Harper had double-digit tackles for loss, including an absurd 20 TFL in 1971. The combined yardage lost spanned the length of a football field, in each season. Harper was the most valuable lineman in the 1971 Orange Bowl against LSU, blocking a Tiger punt. During the 1971 season, Harper had three interceptions, which is both the single-season and career Nebraska record for defensive ends, rush ends and outside linebackers.

As a senior in 1972, Harper didn’t rack up gaudy TFL numbers, but he did anchor a defense that shut out four teams in a row. For his career, Harper has 41 TFL, which is tied (with Adam Carriker) for sixth-most in school history. It’s worth noting that the five players ahead of him all played four varsity seasons. Due to freshmen being ineligible, Harper played only three.

Bob Devaney thought very highly of him, writing in his 1981 autobiography, “Although Willie Harper never won the Outland Trophy, I’d have to put him in the same class with (Outland winners Larry) Jacobson and (Rich) Glover.”

In the 1972 Orange Bowl, Willie Harper had six solo tackles and was named the defensive MVP. His efforts were a big reason that Bob finally beat the Bear in the final meeting between the two legendary coaches.

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“Wingback” is such a cool-sounding position. The word evokes speed, guys literally flying around the field. The wingback was first listed as a position in Tom Osborne’s offense in 1972. The first Husker wingback? Johnny Rodgers. He won the Heisman Trophy and set a ridiculously high standard for those who followed.

At their peak, wingbacks were versatile big-play threats, often wrapped in a tiny package. Send ’em deep or throw a screen. Give them the ball on a reverse, end around, or in the option, and let their speed and open field moves take over. When the ball was not in their hands, you better believe they were tenacious perimeter blockers.

Over the years, Nebraska had some great and exciting players at wingback: Von Sheppard, Riley Washington, Shevin Wiggins, John Gibson, Bobby Newcombe, Lance Brown, Richard Bell, Ritch Bahe, Jon Vedral, Irving Fryar, Abdul Muhammad, Dana Brinson, Clester Johnson, Anthony Steels, and so many more.

The top of Ben Cornelsen's entry in the 2002 Nebraska Media Guide / Nebraska Athletics

But Ben Cornelsen holds a special distinction. And no, it is not because he’s one of four Cornhusker players with “Corn” in their names.*

*The others: Cornealius Fuamatu-Thomas, Joel Cornwell, and a player from 1906 who appears in the roster as “(No First Name Listed) Cornell.” Sadly, Cornell the Cornhusker’s first name has been lost to history.

Ben Cornelsen (along with seven other players from the 2002 team, including Troy Hassebroek, Mike McLaughlin, and others) were the last of the Nebraska wingbacks.

In 2002, Nebraska had one of it worst seasons in 50 years, going an unheard-of 7-7. There was massive turnover on the coaching staff. Barney Cotton was brought in as the offensive coordinator. His system did not utilize wingbacks. None of the other numerous offensive coordinators in the last 20+ years have found a need for a wingback either. Given how some of those systems struggled to move the ball and score points, maybe they should have brought the wingback back.

This isn’t the first time Nebraska fans have had to eulogize a once-great position. Halfbacks became I-backs, and I-backs became running backs. Former offensive coordinator Tim Beck believed tight ends were becoming obsolete. Fullbacks have been an endangered species for years.

But wingbacks? They’re extinct.

Sure, it’s possible that a speedy player will line up a step outside and a step back from the tight end. But the TV announcer will call him a slot receiver. The roster will list him as a wide receiver. Maybe, an offensive coordinator will say a hybrid player like Wan’Dale Robinson is playing a unique position called “Duck-R.”

But he won’t be a wingback.

Ben Cornelsen had a rather modest career. After a car accident delayed his enrollment by a semester, he played in 37 career games but never got a chance to start. He had nine catches for 124 yards as well as 11 carries for 157 yards. His lone Husker touchdown came on a 71-yard punt return against Kansas in 2001.

Often, a career like his will be largely forgotten. Just another random kid who once wore a jersey. But not Ben Cornelsen.

He was the last of the wingbacks.

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