Band Of Brothers: Nebraska Cornhuskers Pick Cotton, Prove Bloodlines Run Deep

Ask any college football team in America and they’ll tell you the same thing.

They’re more than just a team. They’re a fraternity of sorts.

A brotherhood.

At the University of Nebraska, they take that term literally. You see, in Nebraska, football is a family affair.

Brothers, sons, nephews and even grandsons of former players have followed their family’s footsteps to Lincoln so they could wear the Scarlet and Cream. It’s a long-standing tradition.

One that continues to this day.

Lincoln Southeast lineman, Jake Cotton, the younger brother of redshirt freshman tight end, Ben Cotton, gave his verbal commitment to Bo Pelini several weeks ago, though the news was just recently made public.

Their father, Barney, is the offensive line coach for the Huskers and played on both sides of the ball for Nebraska from 1975-78.

With the addition of brothers Jake and Ben to the Nebraska roster, they become the latest Husker family name in a long and illustrious list.

The Ruuds and the Makovickas. The Steinkuhlers and the Wistroms. The roll of great Nebraska players from the same family goes on and on.

Some of the names are lesser known. Some are carved in granite. Literally.

While each family’s place in Husker history is debatable, the sheer amount of Husker family connections is not.

The most obvious example starts with the Huskers’ head coach, Bo Pelini. Even casual fans know that his brother, Carl, is the defensive coordinator.

Granted, neither played for Nebraska, but the sight of Bo, pacing the sidelines in his sweatshirt and relentlessly working a piece of gum, and Carl, clad in black shirt and hat, is an indelible one.

The image of the two hard-nosed brothers has quickly become synonymous with Nebraska’s no-nonsense, defensive style of play.

Aside from Ben Cotton (and soon to be, Jake), current players with ties to the past are redshirt freshman Jordan Makovicka, whose older brothers, Jeff and Joel, were starting fullbacks for the Huskers in the 90s, and Baker Steinkuhler, whose father, the great Dean Steinkuhler, won both the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Award.

Baker’s older brother, Ty, was a defensive end for the Huskers from 2005-08, signed as an undrafted free agent with the New York Jets and was then subsequently released.

Earlier this season, Grant Wistrom was honored during the Iowa State game as the 14th Husker to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.  He later went on to play nine seasons in the NFL, six for St. Louis, where he helped the Rams win Super Bowl XXXIV. His younger brother, Tracey, played tight end for Nebraska from 1998-2001.

Identical twin brothers, Josh and Daniel Bullocks stalked the Nebraska secondary in the early part of this decade.  Both made it to the NFL, Josh leaving a year earlier, where they remain today, playing for the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions, respectively.

Another former Husker in the NFL, Scott Shanle, was once a walk-on who now plays linebacker for the New Orleans Saints. His younger brother, Andrew, was a free safety for the Huskers until 2006.

However, not all the stories of Husker brothers ended well, as evidenced by Christian and Jason Peter. According to the Boston Globe, Christian was arrested eight times for various offenses and convicted four times.

Also mentioned in the Globe article was the claim that, in 1993, he sexually assaulted two women (allegedly in some circles) and was sentenced to 18 months probation.

His brother, Jason, recently wrote a New York Times best-selling book, Hero of the Underground, which intimately details his addiction to heroin, cocaine, painkillers and alcohol.

While both made it to the pros (Christian played for three teams during a six-year span), neither lived up to their potential as All-America defensive tackles at Nebraska. Jason also co-hosts a radio broadcast, “The Spread,” on 1480 AM in Lincoln.

Perhaps the most interesting story belongs to Bo and Barrett Ruud. Barrett, a MLB from 2001-04 is the all-time leading tackler for Nebraska with 432 career stops. Bo, the younger of the two, played from ’04-’07.

Barrett who now plays on Sunday for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is considered to be one of the NFL’s premiere linebackers. This year, Bo briefly joined his brother on the Bucs’ squad, but was waived on Sept. 5.

Apparently playing linebacker is in their blood. Their father, Tom, and uncle, John, played the same position for the Big Red from 1972-74 and ‘78-’79, respectively.

Even more remarkable is the fact that a second uncle, Bob Martin, lettered as a defensive end from ‘73-‘75 and their great-grandfather, Clarence Swanson, was a Cornhusker from '18-'21.

The names flow on like time itself.  Chris and Chad Kelsay. Dan and Mike Erickson. Cortney and DeAntae Grixby. Adam and Matt Ickes. Chris and Mark LeFlore.

What’s amazing is that I’m leaving out some examples for sake of space.

And if you start to factor in the more distant family relations, it becomes even more mind-boggling.

Longtime Green Bay Packer and former Husker running back Ahman Green is the uncle of former I-back Tierre Green and cousins with current NU receiver, Niles Paul.

Third-string quarterback LaTravis Washington is cousins with ex-Husker Fabian Washington, who now plays cornerback for the Baltimore Ravens.

Even the future holds such connections. Tyler Moore, a 2011 commit from Countryside High School in Clearwater, Florida, is related to four past Huskers.

His father, Brian, played tight end for NU in the 80s. He also has two cousins and an uncle who spent their Saturdays battling for the Big Red.

The uncle? Vince Ferragamo.

But sometimes, things don’t come full circle, even for Husker legends.

Irving Fryar’s son, Londen, wanted to continue in his father’s legacy and play for Nebraska. 

Nebraska, however, wasn’t interested.

Londen wound up playing for the Western Michigan Broncos as a cornerback. A team that, as fate would have it, ended up playing the Huskers in their 2008 season opener.

It was strange seeing the elder Fryar on the sidelines in Lincoln wearing a white Western Michigan jersey. But he was there in support of his son.

“When he was getting ready to graduate from high school and thought he had an opportunity to play ball on the next level, I really envisioned him being here, playing in front of the Big Red. But it didn’t work out that way.

"Fortunately for him, he’s doing well. I’m so happy for him. He’s doing a great job, I’m proud of him,” Fryar told the Lincoln Journal-Star.

It’s a bittersweet anecdote to end an article, but remember, Londen Fryar was turned away during the Callahan regime.

Which only serves to underscore the fact that the Pelinis appreciate the value of tradition.

Tradition and family.