Emotional Suh accepts Outland Trophy, looks back on time at Nebraska
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By BRIAN CHRISTPHERSON / Lincoln Journal Star
OMAHA — It was Ndamukong Suh as we’ve never seen him — a tear on the cheek, a Kleenex in his hand.
At Thursday’s Outland Trophy banquet, the big man was greeted with three standing ovations and three "Suuuuuh" calls.
Before Suh goes off to shake Roger Goodell’s hand and torment quarterbacks on Sundays, there had to be this. The goodbye.
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At Thursday’s Outland Trophy banquet in Omaha, three Huskers were honored with awards given annually to seniors on the team.
Ndamukong Suh received the Guy Chamberlin Award, given for the past 33 years to a Husker who best exemplifies the qualities and dedication of Chamberlin, an All-American who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1962.
Safety Matt O’Hanlon was awarded the Cletus Fischer Native Son Award, given to the player that “best exemplifies good work ethic, competitiveness, leadership, forthrightness, a sense of humor, pride, loyalty and love of Nebraska.”
Linebacker Phillip Dillard claimed the Tom Novak Award, given annually to a Husker who shows “courage and determination despite all odds.”
It wouldn’t come without a tear or two.
After a speech by Pelini and a video feature about the star defensive tackle, Suh took the podium before a hotel ballroom full of people who paid $75 a seat to give tribute to the NFL-bound Husker.
“I’m not a very emotional person ... but for some reason it hit me when we watched that video that this is the last time I’ll be in Nebraska as a Cornhusker,” Suh said. “I’m definitely going to miss it, and that great chant you guys do. It means a lot. It’s tremendous how far I’ve come these last five years.”
A couple minutes into his speech, Suh began to talk about his defensive coordinator and line coach, Carl Pelini.
“This staff, Coach Carl....” Suh said, breaking up. He did his best to gather himself, the crowd applauding. Suh looked over at Carl: “It really means a lot. .... Just small talk, just sitting in your office, just me and you with the door closed. ... It means a lot and I appreciate it.”
Suh’s speech followed a video that featured sound bytes and highlights of him. The crowd roared upon seeing the defensive tackle’s “rag doll toss” of Texas quarterback Colt McCoy. They boomed again when Suh hammered a Missouri Tiger.
There were pictures of a smaller (yet not too small), younger Suh dressed in a soccer uniform.
“I was so physical, I’d get cheap calls,” Suh said on the video of his soccer days. And so he found football, where he realized he could “hit people and not get in trouble for it.”
Earlier, while taking a turn at the podium, ESPN.com’s Tim Griffin noted that he thought Suh might be the best Blackshirt ever.
But Suh didn’t want to claim that title on this night.
“Mr. Tim Griffin, I definitely cannot accept that,” Suh said. “I’m very happy that you would say that, but I can’t accept it because there’s been some great guys here in the past....”
But Bo has said it’s hard to think there’s been a better one.
While introducing Suh to accept his Outland award — given to college football’s best interior lineman — Pelini noted a conversation he had with the player shortly after he was named Nebraska’s coach in December of 2007.
“In that time, I was trying to recruit my first recruiting class here… and somebody told me … ‘The No. 1 recruiting (job) you got to do is you got to recruit Big Suh,” Pelini recalled.
At that time, Suh had actually submitted his name to see where he might land in the NFL Draft after his sophomore season.
So Pelini checked out the film of Suh, seeing what he had before calling him into his office.
“He was very reserved and didn’t have much to say,” Pelini said. “I kind of took a black-and-white approach with him. I said, ‘You can do what you want to do. But if you want to be the best, you can stay here at Nebraska.’”
College quarterbacks wish he hadn’t. Husker fans now call him one of the best.
“I can’t be more proud of one person as I am of him…” Pelini said. “Last year he told me, ‘I want to have an impact on the University of Nebraska forever. I came here to make an impact and to go down in history as somebody to have a long-lasting impact on the program that they’re going to be talking about forever.’”
The coach looked at the man of the evening: “I think (you) accomplished that goal, Ndamukong.”
Reach Brian Christopherson at bchristopherson@journalstar.com or 473-7439.
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