NCAAF News

Home

Teams

Quizzes

Newsletter

Power Rankings

Dave Feit’s Greatest Huskers by the Numbers: 95 – Danny Noonan and Jack Gangwish

Originally posted on Nebraska Cornhuskers on SI
By Joe Hudson | Last updated May 25, 2025 7:00 AM ET

Dave Feit is counting down the days until the start of the 2025 season by naming the best Husker to wear each uniform number, as well as one of his personal favorites at that number. For more information about the series, click here. To see more entries, click here.

Greatest Husker to wear 95: Danny Noonan, Middle Guard, 1983 – 1986

Honorable Mention: Pierre Allen

Also worn by: Gerald Armstrong, Paul Brungardt, Sam Buda, Jack Gangwish, Paul Koch, Spencer Lindsay, Al Mackevicius, John Noonan, Rick Panneton, Jason Peter, Ben Stille, J.P. Wichmann

Dave’s Fave: Jack Gangwish, Defensive End, 2011 – 2015

When I was in fifth or sixth grade, my friends and I would watch our school’s basketball games. Often, when the other team was shooting free throws, I’d hear somebody in the crowd yell “Miss it! Noonan!” Twelve-year-old me could not figure out what Nebraska’s star middle guard had to do with trying to distract a basketball player. A year or so later, I saw the movie “Caddyshack” for the first time.

For most people, the name “Danny Noonan” conjures the unassuming protagonist of “Caddyshack” (played by Michael O’Keefe), not the greatest Husker to ever wear #95. But since “Caddyshack” is one of the most quotable movies of all time, let’s combine the two.

Cinderella story. Out of nowhere.”

A Lincoln native and Northeast High grad, Noonan did not receive a ton of recruiting interest. He was reportedly the final name on Nebraska’s in-state offer list and did not get a scholarship offer from any other school.

“Hey, Kid! Park my car, get my bags… and put on some weight will ya?”

By the time he was a college senior, Danny Noonan was a mountain of a middle guard: 6’4″, 275 pounds, most of it pure muscle. But as a freshman, Noonan was a 225-pound defensive end. In a 2016 interview, he talked about getting his butt kicked by Outland and Lombardi Trophy winner Dean Steinkuhler in 1983.

Noonan knew the answer to never having that happen again: Husker Power. Few players are more synonymous with Husker Power than Danny Noonan.

As a teenager, Noonan’s dad would drop young Danny off at a weightlifting gym and pick him up an hour later. Boyd Epley used to kick him out of the weightroom on the day before games. When Nebraska released the Husker Power 50-Year Team, it was no surprise that Noonan was one of the honorees. After his lengthy NFL career ended, Noonan worked with Epley and Husker Power in multiple capacities.

“The world needs ditch diggers, too.”

Before his junior season, Noonan was moved to middle guard. In Nebraska’s 5-3 defense, that meant frequent double teams from centers and guards. Middle guard is vitally important to a team’s success, but it’s not exactly a place to accumulate great statistical numbers.

“Well… We’re waiting.”

It took time for the spotlight to shine on Danny Noonan. As a sophomore in 1984, he recorded six sacks, despite being a backup. In his junior year, he had 11 sacks and finished second on the team in tackles for loss. Noonan picked up second-team All-Big Eight honors behind two All-Americans (Jim Skow and Oklahoma’s Tony Casillas).

“There’s a force in the universe that makes things happen. And all you have to do is get in touch with it, stop thinking, let things happen, and be the ball.”

As a senior in 1986, Noonan was a dominating force. Seven more sacks to bring his career total to 24 (the fourth most in NU history). First team All-Big Eight. Big Eight Athlete of the Year. Consensus first team All-American. First-round draft pick by the Dallas Cowboys.

And he cemented his legacy as one of the greatest Huskers of all time.

So, he’s got that going for him, which is nice.

***

Five Reasons Why Jack Gangwish is my favorite 95

He’s a second-generation, small-town (Wood River) Husker walk-on. His dad (Paul, from Gibbon) earned a letter in 1985 at defensive end.
Gangwish paid his dues and built himself from no playing time (redshirt freshman and sophomore) to scholarship player (junior), and finally into starter and team captain (senior).
He understands what it means to be a Blackshirt. I love the 2015 video of Gangwish receiving his first Blackshirt. He quietly holds it, staring at in, and seemingly trying to process the journey from walk-on to starter. The cut of him overcome with emotion is relatable to anybody who is familiar with the Blackshirt mystique.
He is one of the most quotable Huskers. Before the 2015 season started, Gangwish said “we’ve got some head-butting mother-fathers down there in that locker room. We’re ready to go, I’ll tell you that”. It might be my all-time favorite quote from a Husker player.
He took a selfie with a raccoon. One night, Gangwish was driving north of Lincoln when he spotted a raccoon by the side of the road. He thought (as I’m sure many of us have done before) ‘hey, I should take a selfie with that raccoon’. Unfortunately, Mr. Raccoon was not feeling especially photogenic and bit Gangwish on the calf. Knowing that wild animals can potentially be rabid – which would explain the raccoon’s reluctance to participate in the selfie – Gangwish knew he should have the animal tested. Since the animal was not interested in being a willing passenger in Gangwish’s truck, Jack attempted some roadside anesthesia via a crescent wrench. Alas, the Blackshirt was too strong, resulting in “death by crescent wrench”.

You know, just your typical, could-have-happened-to-anybody story.