Dave Feit's Greatest Huskers by the Numbers: 66 – Wayne Meylan

Meylan had one of the best games of his legendary career against Wisconsin. In addition to his duties as an animal control officer, Meylan blocked a third-quarter punt and landed on the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. That started an avalanche that led to a 31-3 victory.*

*The Blackshirts had four interceptions in the game, one of them by linebacker Barry Alvarez – who would later become Wisconsin’s head coach and athletic director. Alvarez returned his interception 25 yards in what the Lincoln Star described as a “slow, but steady gallop” before being chased down by an offensive lineman.

In 1966, Meylan blocked three punts and recovered two for touchdowns. That stood as the school record for punt blocks in a season for nearly 30 years until cornerback Barron Miles broke it in 1994. “Coach Devaney told me to line up wherever I wanted to on punts,” Meylan said after the Wisconsin game. “I just moved up and down the line when they were punting.” Meylan’s pressure on a later attempt resulted in an 18-yard shank by Wisconsin’s rattled punter.

Meylan was a fearsome presence in the middle for the early Devaney teams. He was named Big Eight Player of the Year in his junior and senior seasons. He was a first team All-American in 1966 and 1967, the first Cornhusker to repeat as All-American since Ed Weir in 1924 – 25. Meylan finished ninth in the 1967 Heisman voting, with 11 first place votes.

Wayne Meylan grew up just 90 miles away from Michigan State’s campus in Bay City. He grew big and strong working on his dad’s navy bean farm. When the Spartans received a commitment from defensive lineman (and future NFL All-Pro) Bubba Smith, the door was open for Devaney to swoop in and snag a standout player from his old stomping grounds.

Meylan started out as an offensive lineman but was moved to defense because of his speed. At 6’1″ and 231 pounds, he was on the smaller end for a middle guard. But he brought other attributes to the table. Nebraska assistant George Kelly said, “Meylan is the only player I’ve ever coached or seen who combines all the ingredients we’re always looking for finesse, speed, blocker, strength, toughness and quickness.” He would often use his strength to throw offensive linemen out of the way before chasing down the backs.

Meylan also had a great sense of humor. Before a game, he was asked if though that the Huskers would win. His response: “Just as sure as my number is…” (a perfectly timed pause while Meylan looked down at his jersey) “…99, we will get it done.”

He finished as Nebraska’s all-time leading tackler – a title he would hold until Jerry Murtaugh broke it in 1970. Meylan is still 20th in career tackles, ahead of players like Jay Foreman, Carlos Polk, Ndamukong Suh, Rich Glover and Grant Wistrom. His 119 tackles in 1967 remain the position record for a defensive tackle / middle guard / nose tackle.

After football, Meylan enjoyed flying World War II era fighter planes in air shows. Tragically, he was killed in 1987 when one of those planes crashed at a show in Michigan. He was posthumously elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1991.

***

January 17, 1991.

Nebraska had recently completed a disappointing 1990 season, limping to the finish line with three losses in the last four games by a combined score of 117-43. Sure, we can look back now and note that two of those losses were to teams – Colorado and Georgia Tech – that shared the 1990 national championship. But in the moment, it absolutely felt like the sky was falling.

Bad attitudes and poor work ethic were spreading like wildfire. Dozens of players – including several of NU’s stars – were skipping workouts. Yelling at them wasn’t working. There were punishments for skipping, but some players found it easier to do the punishment than to complete the workout. It was getting grim.

On this particular day, Tom Osborne was out of the road recruiting. Strength coach Boyd Epley gathered the returning players to provide instruction for the offseason workout program.

Walking into the noisy room, Epley didn’t say a word. He made no effort to get the players to be quiet so he could speak.

Instead, he held up a gigantic national championship ring. The room grew silent as Epley continued to stand up front, holding the ring.

Finally, he spoke.

“Gentlemen, this is a national championship ring,” he said.* “I have a plan to help you earn a championship ring, but I need your help.”

*Actually, what Epley held up was a paperweight that was shaped like a championship ring. But since it has been nearly 20 years since Nebraska had won a national title, nobody in the room knew the difference.

“But we’re gonna have to make some changes, and the changes are gonna have to come today,” Epley said. He explained how every team is composed of three groups of people:

1. “Players who want to be here.” – They do what is asked, they work hard, lift their teammates up, and hold themselves – and everyone else – accountable.
2. “Players who have to be here.” – Players who were on the team because their parents, family, or friends told them they had to play for Nebraska.
3. “Jerks.” – I suspect Boyd wanted to use a more colorful description that day, but jerks definitely gets the point across.

Epley said “eliminate the jerks” was step one. “Starting tomorrow, you come to train because you want to. If you choose not to come, don’t come back. If you miss more than once, you’re done. There will be no more punishment for missing lifting or running.” Step two was transforming the “have to be here” guys into “want to be here” players.

At the end of his speech, Epley handed out red practice jerseys to be worn for winter conditioning. “When your neck passes through this jersey, I want to you to remember you’ve committed to these goals. If you show up over there without the red jersey, you’re done. If you’re gonna commit to these goals, put the jersey on.”

Every player in the room put the red jersey on.

Six weeks later, winter conditioning was over, and it was time for performance index testing – a structured way of measuring results. In most years, there would be 15 or so new school records set during testing. This time, there were 78 new records, which also set a record.

As a team, the Huskers completed over 6,500 workouts that winter. Only two players were dismissed for not meeting the standard. Along the way, attitudes and accountability improved. Team unity took a big step forward. The record in 1991 (9-2-1) looked similar, but Nebraska did tie for the Big Eight championship. More importantly, a foundation had been laid.

The freshmen in that January meeting – guys like Brenden Stai – went on to win four straight Big Eight titles. They capped off their careers by fulfilling Boyd Epley’s prophecy, winning a national championship in the 1995 Orange Bowl.

Stai was 300 pounds of muscle and brute strength that opened gaping holes all through his standout career. An absolute bulldozer of a guard, Stai earned first-team All-America recognition playing on the 1994 Pipeline.*

*According to teammate Joel Wilks, Stai is the one who gets credit for originating the Pipeline name.

After a lengthy NFL career, Stai is currently an assistant athletic director, working with the Husker Athletic Fund.

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