1-on-1 with DP – 93.7 The Ticket KNTK - 5 Most Popular Current Husker Athletes: June 30th, 11:00am

Episode Date: June 30, 2025

5 Most Popular Current Husker AthletesAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Coming at you live from the heart of Lincoln America, a 93-7-a-ticket and the ticketfm.com. Here is your host, Derek Pearson, brought you by Canopy Street Market. Boom. In your face. Chest up, chin up. Eyes forward. Let's have a conversation. The Sartre Hayman, Tech.

line 402, 464, 56685. You want to be a part of what we're doing? You are invited in. Come on in. Fist bumps are allowed. Head nods, if you must. Those universal head nods, which just as a positive acknowledgement of the other person.

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We can be where you're at. Simplicit, whether in the car or at home or wherever you are. We can do that. Greatly appreciate you hanging out with us over the course of the next two hours. I do want to go into some spaces. I was asked often what happens for a show. It is the idea that is passed along from other people over the course of conversations. And I was asked this question this weekend.

And I want to thank Bach for participating in this. And Bach knows that when I sit in the chair, often I'm just going to throw grenades at him. And I want it. I don't necessarily. need to send Bach a whole list of preparation questions because I want his authentic true reaction to it. But if I ask you to list the five most popular current Nebraska athletes, the five most and, right, that the five most. So if let's say aliens land in Lincoln and they say,

take me to your athletic leaders, your leaders, the people who are the best specimens of what a Husker is. And then, because it will help us identify, one, what the elite Husker is. Like, what should it look like? What does it accomplish, right? What kind of success and lessons have they learned because in order to have this conversation, you have to say what's most important about being husky. What's most important? Is it success, winning, name, ceiling? At some point, social media engagement comes into the discussion, but I'm not sure

that it is the thing that most people would put at the top of the list. but social media engagement and following can't be the number one thing of engagement. Now, if we said the most popular or the most known, that's different than what five athletes, if you wanted to say these are the five best Huskers. And text on, feel free to join in. And there are no wrong answers. So, Bach, sir, I am asking. for your list of five.

Five. And Skaper starts it off. He says Harper, Dylan, Emmett, Jordy, Dane Key. I'm not sure how Daneke makes the list, being that most people don't know. Has Daneke experienced the Husker experience? Not yet, I don't think. Right? Do they know what this is?

And I'm not sure. And again, there's no wrong answer. If it's the five that comes to mind for you, it's the right answer. So Bach, sir. So this is the current Nebraska. Current Nebraska right now. We're going to get to the all-time Huskers. We're going to get, oh, you better believe at 12 noon we're getting into the top five Huskers. But Bach, current Husker athletes. Yeah, I like kind of what Byron was kind of thinking there. I think Dylan has to be first. He's almost the face of the Husker football program. And, you know, I don't think his experience as a Husker is typical of many other huskers that have even ever been through it.

But he's almost the face of the program. So I think you have to start with that. I do like Harper Murray and Jordy Ball being included on there. Obviously, you know, Harper Murray's social media presence is quite big. Gordy ball is just maybe the best softball player in the nation. So I think he definitely got to put those folks in the mix. I think Rick Mass probably deserves to be in there. Took a year off, you know, had a year off.

So maybe a little bit less acknowledged at this point. But I think once we kind of get back into the swing of basketball and realize he's going to be the leader, you know, one of the leaders on that team, you know, he's going to be in the category for me. then we all, I mean, I guess we are in a football state, aren't we? So I suppose to run it out, I'm trying to think some other names, but I think Emmett Johnson does kind of come to mind. He's been doing some of the media stuff that deal. I mean, he's kind of been walking along with Dylan and some of these things. So, you know, and again, I'm a wrestling fan.

So I've seen Emmett and Dylan on the WW screen national television. So I'd throw him in there as well. So here's what's fun. Here's what's funny to me. that if I'm going to tell the universe, the country, the Big Ten, and future Huskers, current Huskers, current Huskers, what the standard is for being an elite Huskers. Elite Huskers.

The best of the best of the best, from not on image, on work done. Work done. Bach? have we lost our minds in not saying that, I don't know, there's three, there's four, four Huskers who are literally the best in the country at what they do. Four national titles. Remember that thing, national titles? Oh, yeah. Remember national championships?

Remember, remember when being a Husker met, you were in the, not only in the discussion, but you're in the production vacuum that exists that says there are Nebraska Huskers who are the best, the best in the country, not only in the Big Ten, right? That some of this, we give too much to people who haven't done a thing yet. That's the part that, like, to me,

we give credit to people for being basic, for being basic. There's a bowler that's the best in the country. We know that Julia Martin is the best bowler in the country. Bowl over the year. Like, earn, not given, not crowned, best. Earned, standing on the highest pedestal on the podium that you can stand, that a Husker stands at the top of a podium.

Antral Taylor, best in the country. Ridge Love it. Best in the country. Jordy Ball, player of the year. In several factions, several journalistic spaces, and based on players. that those four, before we say anything else,

and they're national champions in track. Like we know that, right? We know that we know that on the track team there are Huskers who are the best in the country at what they do, or at least in the discussion. Would, would, Bach, would you say that Emmett Johnson was an all Big Ten running back? Not yet, no, hasn't earned that.

Would you say that Rink Mass was all Big Ten basketball performer? Did he get 13? I can't remember, but not national field champion. But again, the popularity of the sports kind of factor in in football is always going to be the face of Nebraska athletics. So should you lower expectations in every other sport because football is playing 500? Is that what we're doing? I wouldn't, I wouldn't lower expectations, but I would acknowledge that all, all the craziness in the NCAA, it's not just Nebraska. Football is the king of America. So all the craziness in the NCAA.

Well, look at the NFL ratings. Look at the college football ratings. I thought, I thought baseball was America's past time. Past time, sure. That's fine. Like, in that attendance? You have to go back quite a bit. What sport is the most attended in America?

What are the two? What are the three? I don't know. I'm not sure the NFL is in the top four. Well, they have to, they have a limited amount of game. That part. Exclusivity sets expectation and demand, right?

That if you only, you're only available for, for eight home games, there's less asked of you than of the people who have to deliver for, you know, 81 home games. or 41 home games, right? I mean, that, that's a strange thing to say that we give more cretons and credibility to football. But if you say that Nebraska is a football state, right?

Right? Yeah, hard to argue. Right? Football state. And that is the engine that moves everything. It's the straw that stirs the drink, as Reggie said. Yes. Right? but do you lower the standard because of it or do you or should you raise the standard because of it?

Which which program do you feel best about in the Husker Athletic Department? Which one do you trust the most? Which one do you know? Right? And it is, I'm not asking this because in having an answer for it. I'm asking it to literally get to a common ground with it. What program, if we said what athletic program, the University of Nebraska has set the highest standard of what Husker athletics is and should be,

what program would you say? Probably say volleyball. Fair? Yeah. Fair. So if we're doing that, right, that volleyball's the standard. Why is it the standard? Well, because it's the top five program.

So, I mean, you'd love to be there. Now, there's some other sports that could argue that as well. But yeah, success is winning. Yeah, yeah. Development. Yeah. Right. So we can't, it's just a little strange to me to say out loud that,

the standard is volleyball, but the acceptance and the model is football? What are we saying? Well, I don't want to. The football has struggled over the years, but it is a five-time national champion of blue blood in college football. And like I said earlier, it's not just Nebraska that relies heavily on football in the athletic department. That's where a lot of the kind of the money moves are made.

So I like the question because it, like, you said, there's all different kind of categories you can kind of break it into is, you know, so, you know, if you, if you just kind of go, well, who are the most popular Huskers, where a lot of those are going to be on the football team because there's, who are the best? Yeah, who are the best? Who are the best? So I'll re-ask the question. Who are the best athletes at the current athletes at the University of Nebraska? Well, then I think you have to go through the national championship list. And I don't know if a football player makes the list. So imagine, and I can't speak, for Troy Daniel. And I don't want to speak for the regents and I don't want to speak for the top

boosters because I, there are different questions. Those folks may say who are the most important athletes? Who are the most important athletes in the Husker Athletic Department? Different question than who's the best. But I think I would pay attention to both in full. Because list one, best, list two, most important. We can easily say that currently, as we stand, if we were to take, if this was an election, it would almost be a route in that Dylan Rayola is currently the most recognized, apparent, and highlighted athlete at Nebraska. Fair?

Yeah. You know, it always kind of goes back to the quarterback in Nebraska. You say, you know, how many people could name the governor versus the quarterback of Nebraska? And if you, and if we ask the question, who's, if football is all important. And if football is the straw that stirs the drink, then shouldn't all five top five be football? Because there's a time, there was a time and a long time. A 30 year stretch where every one of the top five was a football player. of most important.

Yeah, most important. Yeah. Right. Yeah. But if you ask best, best, because national championships weren't just falling off trees. Right? We know that there are certain programs, like basketball's never been in that conversation, right? Men's or women.

Baseball. No. National championship in softball. So if we're resetting standard and vision and perspective of how we think about Husker athletics, Then we're saying, well, but there are people who have figured out how to, how to be the best at Nebraska. How to be national, Big Ten champions and National Champions while at Nebraska. And I'll give baseball credit for figuring out how to win, at least win the Big Ten tournament. Because that is not that common either.

Right? Yeah, yeah. Right? So give me five football players who are the most important. Give me the five most important football players. Are this upcoming here? Well, currently on the roster, right? Currently on the roster.

Five most important Husker football players. Again, I think you start with Dylan. Okay. There's a lot of guys that have a potential to break out. So you kind of have to see there. I mean, I'd probably go with Decori Barney in there as a guy. So let's use simple theory of relatively what we know versus what we think we know, right? Because we can speculate on importance or we can speak to what we know.

But they're, there, give me five players that we know are going to produce. Give me five, the five most productive Huskers. the roster. Well, again, then you go to, does Dane Key's career at Kentucky count? No, no. It doesn't? We don't know. Well, we do know that he's at the SEC level of proven why we, we, but we,

have you done it in the big building down, down the street? Right. That, that would be what we know because we don't know what system most, 90% of the people listening don't know what system they ran at Kentucky. They don't know his route tree. They don't know the, the, the, the, the, the, the percentage. of catches per route, yards per catch, yards after catch. Most people don't know those things about Daneke.

They just don't. Well, Nebraska led Travis Hunter in the transfer portal. You assume that we wanted to be on this list, wouldn't you? No, we can't make that assumption because that's how mistakes are made. That's how mistakes are made. That's how in recruiting and transfer portal, you give a whole lot to people who haven't done it for you. Now, your work has been done.

We're not devaluing the work that they've done. I'm just saying in this discussion, the five most productive returning Husker football players. Well, even in that, I mean, it's kind of interesting to go through it. I mean, I suppose you go with Dylan, Emmett. You probably get into the backfield there as far as the defensive backfill. I mean, I think Sierra Wright would probably be. belongs in the discussion.

You know, you look up front. Maybe you kind of get into some folks there. I don't know. That's what's tough about this whole thing is if you pick five. This is why we, listen, we get the joy of being able to have these conversations. And I'll say this out loud that Emmett Johnson rushed for 598 yards last year. 598 yards. How many yards did you,

Jukori Barney create last year? I don't know. Right, like if we're having these discussions, right? He had 55 receptions. Right? So from, from a productive, from a production standpoint, the returning Huskers of importance would be

those who have produced 447 yards on 55 catchers. And 130 rushing as well with three touchdown. Right. That's where you got a manzo. So both right around the 600 yard mark. Right? Mm-hmm. In production.

So Dylan, Emmett, Jacori, and that. Defensive, if you said, Sierra right, being productive and returning. Who's the leading? Is there a leading tackler return? is there, Shavers maybe? David, right? If you're telling how many years they've been there? Javan, right.

Buddha is certainly in the discussion. Safeties are in play, right? Singleton, maybe. Right, they're in play. And I'm just not sure that it's just that simple. And here's an interesting thing, Bach. For the first time in the five years we've been here, we have not spent the entire offseason talking about

kickers or punners. Is that a statement that things have gotten better? I guess not made stuff last year. Your laugh, your laugh just said, it spoke so loud. But right? Like I, I want to understand, and it's often in this space that we're in is resetting the GPS for where we are. Like, here's where we are. Right. And are we where we think we are? Are we better than that? Or are we relying on new talent to raise the standard of what Husker football is? And if that's so, has that been done?

Right? Because if the returning players don't give you all the warm and fuzzies, then you probably need to hope that the new players are going to give you the warm and fuzzies. Bach, do the new players give you the warm and fuzzies? I mean, some of them do. I mean, to get, you know, a Williams one area out of the portal is huge. If you would have got him out of high school, you know,

you'd want to be one of the biggest names on the roster. I think he still is. I think, Isaiah Hunter, Dinkie, you know, these guys do have at least, you know, track records of being good, solid, wide receivers, you know, out there, Deshaun McCullough, Marquis Watson, Trent. I mean, the man's had over three, you know, three seasons with 100 plus tackles. He won a defensive player of the year in his conference. In that system.

So, well, right. I mean, they're going to have to change. But it's, I mean, that's different than bringing in a guy that's made 15 tackles. But we've brought in people from Alabama, Georgia, Texas, who came in, changed systems and did not produce at the level that they were producing at before. They're not even producing at the levels. they produced that in high school. And we can say that for a whole bunch of transfers. Oh, yeah.

We can circle a bunch of people that came in. And remember, there are different coordinators and different systems in play than Husker fans are familiar with. We don't know the systems of the two coordinators or the special teams. Yeah, we can, we can, we can, we can, we can, we can estimate. But have we seen it enough to know in high repetition, high volume, what these coordinators are going to, to do with these players?

Not necessarily. Not with the personnel you have. It's always, New Year's always different. Okay. This, this, Bach, you just said it. New Year, this is different. And again, it's not the mission to get to the right question, to the right, to have the answer, it's to get the right question.

Because I'm not sure what this Husker football team is and where it stands. if Bach, I put you back on the spot, based on production, trust, not value, not popularity. Where would you put the Husker football program in Husker athletics? How many programs would you rank higher

in your trust of them as a fan above Nebraska football? Where would, where does the, Nebraska football fall. We know it's number one importance and priority. I'm asking in a matter

of trust from the fan base. And Bach, you are the ambassador and spokesperson for the day of Husker fan base. When we come back, I will ask you, where does, in a matter of trust as a fan, where do you put Nebraska football? Bach will give us the list

when we come back.