The addition of the Nebraska Cornhuskers to the Big Ten in 2011 means there are now two NUs in the league. And there’s connections between the Northwestern Wildcats and the Huskers. Former blackshirt/cornerback Wes Mabin (1968-1971), won two national titles under Bob Devaney (Tom Osborne was still offensive coordinator) at Nebraska in the early 1970s. The 6-2, 184 DB played left corner and wore #39.
His nephew is 5-11 (and that’s a very generously listed height) Northwestern cornerback Jordan Mabin, a three year starter.
The two NUs haven’t played all that much, so they don’t have much of a rivalry and obviously, the two programs are at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to winning tradition. But they will meet in Lincoln November 5th. Jordan Mabin talked about the addition of Nebraska to the conference.
“They’re a great program and they have a great tradition. It makes everyone’s play in the Big Ten go up a couple levels, just knowing that it’s their first year here and you don’t want them to come in and just run the show,” he said.
Jordan started all 13 games last year, winning honorable mention All-Big Ten selection by conference media. He led the Big Ten and ranked in a 12th-place tie nationally with 15 passes defended (1.15 per game)and was named to Phil Steele’s second-team Midseason All-Big Ten squad and third-team Postseason All-Big Ten team. The winning ways of Wes’ program inspired him to work hard and become successful too.
“I grew up watching Nebraska win national titles when I was a little bit younger, so it’s going to be fun. My uncle always tells me stories like how he had a Heisman candidate on his team, and how they won a national title,” Jordan said.
“That’s all you can ask for as a college football player, to get into that big dance, and we have the same goals here. We hope to get into that big dance, and the Big Ten Championship, and hopefully big things like that.”
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site that generates millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports
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