Nebraska Football's All-Quarter-Century Team: The Specialists

Josh Brown served as a four-year starter at place kicker from 1999-02, earning All-Big 12 honors as a senior. In the 2000 Alamo Bowl, he tied the NCAA bowl record for most PAT attempts and makes with a 9-for-9 performance. His 43 career made field goals are fourth on the all-time list. Brown ranks fifth all-time for career scoring at Nebraska.

Jordan Congdon only kicked at Nebraska for two years, but did enough to find himself all over the record books. In his first year, he was named a first-team freshman All-American from multiple outlets, while earning second-team All-Big 12 honors. His 19 made field goals in 2005, including 11 consecutive, were a school record at the time and now rank fourth. Congdon ranks 33rd all-time for career scoring at Nebraska.

Connor Culp transferred to Nebraska from LSU ahead of the 2020 COVID-19 season. He made the most of the short campaign, earning Big Ten Kicker of the Year in addition to being a first-team all-conference selection. He is tied for the 13th-longest field goal in program history, a 51-yarder against Oklahoma in 2021.

Alex Henery set the NCAA record for career field goal percentage, knocking through 89.5% of his attempts from 2007-10. When combined with PATs, he put the ball through the uprights 96.7% of the time in his career. He also holds Husker records for PAT/FG% in a season, FG% in a career, longest field goal made (57 yards, Colorado 2008), consecutive PATs made (116), consecutive field goals made (18), most makes in a season (24), and most makes in a career (68). A multiple-time All-Big 12 selection, Henery earned first-team All-America in 2010. He trails only Dale Klein's 1985 effort against Missouri for most field goals in a game, making five against Virginia Tech in 2009. He is tied twice with Paul Rogers from the 1969 Sun Bowl for most makes in a bowl game: four in the 2009 Gator Bowl and in the 2009 Holiday Bowl. He is tied with himself (2009 and 2010) for 10th in single-season scoring. Henery ranks first all-time for career scoring at Nebraska.

Brett Maher held for Henery during his first two seasons in Lincoln, but then took over the role and dominated Nebraska's first two seasons in the Big Ten Conference. Maher earned Big Ten Kicker of the Year in both 2011 and 2012, also seeing his name on the All-America team in 2011 from one outlet. His 54-yarder against UCLA in 2012 is tied for the sixth-longest in program history. That same season, he made 20 field goals, good for the third-most in a single season, while in 2011, he made 19, which is tied for fourth. His 39 career field goals are good for fifth on the all-time chart. He is sixth in single-season scoring. Maher ranks 13th all-time for career scoring at Nebraska.

Punters

Isaac Armstrong took over as the starting punter midway through his junior season. From there, he put together the ninth-best career for punting average (41.84). In 2018, he averaged 43.62 yards per punt, good for the ninth-best for a single season in program history. His 73-yarder against Bethune-Cookman in 2018 is tied for the eighth-longest in school history.

Sam Foltz was a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2015, earning Big Ten Punter of the Year. His 64-yarder in the 2014 Holiday Bowl remains a program bowl record. His 44.23 yards per punt average in 2015 is good for seventh in school history. His 42.58 punting average from 2013-15 is fifth in program history. Foltz tragically lost his life in an automobile accident on July 23, 2016, just ahead of his senior season.

Dan Hadenfeldt was awarded a sixth year of eligibility and put it to good use in 2000. His 43.62 punting average that season is eighth in program history. While he is also in the record books for season average and a 73-yard punt, those came prior to 2000. Still, it is worth noting that his 44.54 yards per punt average is the best ever by a Husker.

Alex Henery earned All-Big 12 honors twice as a punter. His 76-yarder against Virginia Tech in 2009 is tied for the fifth-longest in program history. He launched 77 punts that season, more than any other Husker has done in a single season. From 2007-10, he averaged 42.18 yards per punt, good for seventh-best in a career.

Sam Koch was named All-Big 12 and an All-American in 2005 after a dominant season. Two of the five longest punts in school history came that year: 84 yards vs. Pittsburgh and 76 yards vs. Wake Forest. His 46.51 yards per punt in 2005 is a school record. Koch only trails Hadenfeldt for career average, at 44.04.

Kyle Larson is one of four Huskers to ever launch a punt at least 80 yards, something he did against Texas in 2003. His 45.12 average that season is second on the single-season list. From 2001-03, he booted a career-record 195 punts. Larson's 43.67 yards per punt career average is third in program history.

Brett Maher was named the Big Ten Punter of the Year in 2011, also earning All-Big Ten honors in 2012. His 44.51 yards per punt average in 2011 is the sixth-best single season in school history. His 43.15 career average is fourth-best.

William Przystup is tied for the second-longest punt in school history, with an 84-yard bomb against Northwestern in 2021. His 43.39 yards per punt average that season is good for tenth in a single season. His 42.47 career average from 2019-21 is sixth.

Returners

Ameer Abdullah holds the school record for most kick return yardage in a game, accumulating 211 yards on five returns against Fresno State in 2011. He took one of those returns 100 yards for a touchdown, which is the second-longest in school history behind Owen Frank's 105-yarder against Kansas State in 1911. Abdullah is fourth for single-season kickoff return yards (763) and third for a career (1,592).

Kenny Bell is tied for the fifth-longest kickoff return in school history, with a 99-yarder against Penn State in 2013. His 609 kickoff return yards that season are seventh in school history for a single season. Bell is fifth in career kickoff return yards with 1,277.

Josh Davis has the second-most kickoff return yards in a season, taking 42 kicks for 994 yards in 2002. His 2003 season is eighth with 596. Davis has the most career kickoff returns (92) and career return yards (2.265) in school history.

Cortney Grixby has the ninth-most punt return yards in a single season, with 333 in 2005. Two years later, he set the single-season program records for kickoff returns (45) and kickoff return yards (1,094). That single season's kickoff return production earned him eighth on the career chart.

DeJuan Groce took a pair of punts to the house against Troy State in 2002, something no other Husker has achieved. One of those returns was for 83 yards, good for the ninth-best in school history. His 89-yard punt return later that year is the fourth-best in program history. He has the two longest punt returns for a Husker in a bowl: 71 in the 2002 Rose Bowl and 60 in the 2022 Independence Bowl. Groce's 2002 season saw him set the single-season punt return yardage record (732), while his 2001 output (469) ranks fifth. Only Johnny Rodgers has more career punt return yards.

Eric Hagg has the longest punt return in school history, making a 95-yard return touchdown against Texas in 2010.

Bobby Newcombe has the second-longest punt return in school history, a 94-yarder against Missouri in 2000. Primarily a 1990s standout, Newcombe has the school record for punt return average in a single season (20.33 in 1997) and is fourth for career punt return yards (829).

Terrence Nunn earned first-team All-Big 12 as a punt returner in 2005. That season, he finished third nationally in punt returns with an 18.3-yard average.

Niles Paul has the seventh-best season in school history for punt return yards, with 407 in 2009. The following season, he took a kick return 100 yards for a touchdown, which is the second-longest in school history behind Owen Frank's 105-yarder against Kansas State in 1911. His 969 kickoff return yards in 2008 are the third-best for a single season, while 1,887 career kickoff return yards rank second. He holds the school record for career kickoff return touchdowns with two.

De'Mornay Pierson-El was named the 2014 Jet Award Punt Returner of the Year, earning All-America honors for his return ability. His 44.67 yards per punt return average against Iowa that year is a single-game record. Also that year, he had an 86-yard return against Fresno State, which is the seventh-longest punt return in school history. His 596 punt return yards in 2014 are third in school history for a single season, which is the same slot he sits in for career punt return yards (904).

JD Spielman has the most recent kick return touchdown in program history, with a 99-yarder against Arkansas State in 2017. That's tied for the fifth-longest ever by a Cornhusker. His 669 kickoff return yards in 2017 are sixth on the single-season list, and his 835 kickoff return yards are 10th for a Husker career.