LINCOLN — Doug Glaser and Jake Young used to share stories with their Nebraska teammates about Texas high school football, and it was hard sometimes for Husker players to even imagine.
“I’d tell guys my high school stadium sat 22,000, and they were like, ‘What?’ ” Glaser said. “We didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”
Glaser played at Mesquite High and was from Balch Springs, just outside of Dallas. Young graduated in 1986 from Midland Lee, which was the archrival of Odessa Permian, whose 1988 season was the focus of the movie “Friday Night Lights.”
“So I probably didn’t appreciate it as much as Jake,” Glaser said.
The two future All-American offensive linemen were in the middle of a Nebraska recruiting boom in Texas. The Huskers signed 25 players out of the state between 1985 and ’89, including Broderick Thomas, Kenny Walker and Travis Hill.
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Glaser lost his close friend in 2002, when Young was among 202 people killed in the bombing of a nightclub in Bali. He called the center a big reason why that line remained tight-knit for years after they were done playing.
Glaser, 48, now is a senior vice president for Kiewit Infrastructure, and moved to Omaha in 2014 after spending the previous 22 years back in Texas. His son, Dustin, briefly joined the NU football program as a walk-on in 2013, but is now concentrating on his major in construction management, the same as Doug.
Some other look-back thoughts from Glaser, who lettered from 1987 to ’89 when the Huskers were averaging 373.5, 382.3 and 375.3 rushing yards per game, respectively:
Q: If you would have stayed closer to home, which school do you pick?
A: It really came down to three places: Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. All my family wanted me to go to Texas. I went to the Nebraska-Oklahoma game (in 1985) and Coach (Barry) Switzer had me and another recruit come up with them to accept the Orange Bowl (invitation). But it just never felt right. I came up here, and it just felt like a more caring place, and felt like the place to go. Gene Huey recruited me, and I really liked Coach Huey. I came home and told my mom I think I want to go to Nebraska, and she said, “No, you don’t.”
Q: OU was about to win a national championship. Was it hard to not go that route?
A: It just didn’t feel like it was the right place. Switzer felt like a used car salesman, and you’re in the locker room before the game and (Brian) Bosworth had his own recliner and is sitting there with his headphones on. They promised me I’d come in and start at a guard position as a true freshman. It just didn’t ever feel like they were telling me the right story.
Q: What was different about Nebraska?
A: The thing that stood out to me was the tradition of the linemen. You come in, and it’s all part of a system. Coach Osborne was pretty open of, ‘Hey, you’ll play freshman ball, then redshirt, get your strength up, and if you contribute for two years of those last three, you’ll have a successful career here.’ It was totally opposite of Coach Switzer. Nebraska also was the only place out of four recruiting trips where they took me to a class.
Q: Did the academic side at the time mean a lot to you?
A: I grew up in a single-parent family, and I really didn’t know. I didn’t have the road map how to do anything. I just knew that I needed some structure to help me get there. I struggled my freshman year, and Coach (Milt) Tenopir and I had a long talk. He brought me in and said, ‘You can play here, but you’ve got to go to school and you’ve got to pass,’ and the light kind of went on.
Q: You come in at something like 6-7 and 290 pounds. What did Boyd Epley and the strength staff think when they first saw you?
A: In high school I weighed about 330, had lots of baby fat on me. I’ll never forget after I signed, Coach Osborne and Boyd said, “Hey, you can either lose some weight now or lose it when you get here,” and they said it would be easier to do before you get here. So I dropped about 40 pounds and just figured those guys would work on me to put it back on the right way. Freshman year I might have just went through the motions, but after that I really bought in with Boyd and Dave Kennedy and some of the assistants.
Q: Were winning NCAA rushing titles (1988 and ’89) big deals to the offensive line and were you cognizant of those rankings?
A: We were always really proud of and shot for that. They used to print the stats out after the game, and we’d all sit around and wait to get that piece of paper, and see the rushing yards. We won it three of the four years I was there, and disappointed the year we didn’t.
Q: What lessons did you learn from Milt other than how to block people?
A: A lot. But on the field, I think he taught you lessons that you took off the field. You never realized it when you were there, but it was how disciplined you had to be. I mean, if you were an inch off on a step, he was all over us. That’s what we studied on film. Really every day we would spend our time on our technique and our footwork. Once the light goes on, that translates into class and some of the other things, that discipline and that structure.
Q: How did you handle not getting picked in the NFL draft?
A: I was really disappointed. Of course back then you think you’re going to play 10 or 12 years. It’s interesting, Jake and I were both All-Americans and neither one of us was drafted. It came down to they were just getting to the whole “we couldn’t pass block” and were too much of a risk.
Q: What happened next?
A: I went to the Redskins, and as soon as you get there you figure out it’s a business. I roomed with Mohammed Elewonibi, the Outland winner, and they only had one position open, and they weren’t going to cut Mohammed so I could kind of see it would be an uphill battle. I got cut, so I came back and went back to school. The Redskins called back after the third game, and I said, “I’ll come back if you keep me for six weeks, because I have to drop out of school.” They said they would keep me (for as long as they could), but it could be two weeks if they needed something like a quarterback all of a sudden. I never looked back and it’s been good.
Q: How much did guys within the program feel the hype before the 1987 NU-OU game?
A: We definitely heard it all. It was the year we jumped them that week (from No. 2 to No. 1). Yeah, you hear it … Game of the Century, all of that. I’ll never forget the feeling after that game of, “Man, we ever going to beat those guys?” You just thought Switzer had our number. So it felt good my junior and seniors years to beat Oklahoma.
Q: What was it like when Gerry Gdowski got his chance as a senior in 1989 and was replacing Steve Taylor at quarterback?
A: Heck of a leader, great athlete, and I tell you, he was one of us. He was on the same level as us. Where Steve had way more athletic talent, Gerry just was really a true leader for us. With Gerry, you always felt like he was right there beside you and had your back. He was kind of in that same Clete Blakeman role. When you asked Clete to step in, he did a pretty good job. Gerry was the same way. Give Gerry one more full year, I think he’d have an incredible year.