Dave Feit's Greatest Huskers by the Numbers: 57 - Mark Traynowicz

By his own admission, the coaches didn't see somebody who could match Rimington's brute strength. In a 2015 interview with the Omaha World-Herald, Traynowicz humbly said, "I contend I was probably the weakest guy ever to start on the offensive line at Nebraska."

Whatever the coaches saw in Mark Traynowicz, they were spot on.

In his first year as a center, Traynowicz was the anchor for the offensive line for the 1983 "Scoring Explosion" offense. He regularly graded out as well as - or better than - Outland and Lombardi Trophy winner Dean Steinkuhler. He earned All-Big Eight honors and got Nebraska to the brink of a national championship (and was photographed telling a Miami player that he was #1)

As a senior, Traynowicz was All-Big Eight, a consensus All-American and a first-team Academic All-American.

Mark Traynowicz may have had some big shoes to fill as Dave Rimington’s replacement, but he left big shoes of his own.

***

Has there ever been a more inspirational Husker than Kenny Walker?

At age 2, he contracted spinal meningitis and lost his hearing. A naturally gifted athlete, he had the talent to play college football. But Walker struggled to find a school willing to work with his deafness (The Americans With Disabilities Act was not passed until Walker was a college senior). Nebraska saw his potential and made him their first deaf scholarship signee.

Walker had the size (6'4," 240 pounds) and speed of a prototypical linebacker, but he faced challenges when the defense needed to be changed before the snap. Early in his sophomore season, he was moved to the defensive line. On the line, it was easier to adjust - a teammate would tap him on the left or right if he needed to shift - and he could watch the snap. But his lack of size was still an issue. He did not play until the bowl game.

Given the obstacles Walker had to overcome, his junior season was a huge success. Walker played in every game, recording 21 tackles and seven tackles for loss. During Big Eight play, Walker had a stretch of four straight games with a sack, finishing with five sacks (and 12 quarterback hurries) on the season.

But Kenny Walker was just getting started.

As a senior, he had 73 tackles and team-high 21 TFL (at the time, the second-best single-season total in school history). Walker had 11 sacks (fifth-most by a Husker in a single season). Four of those sacks came in against Oregon State, another school record. Walker was the Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team All-American.

I was not there, but I have often heard that Walker’s ovation on his Senior Day (instead of clapping and cheering, the Memorial Stadium crowd gave Walker a “Roar of Silence,” waving their hands in the air) was one of the most moving moments in school history. A newspaper account from 1990 referred to it as "the biggest ovation you never heard."

While Mimi Mann (his interpreter at NU) and his mother, Julia, wiped away tears, Kenny Walker signed back "I love you."

Walker played in the NFL with the Denver Broncos and later coached at a school for the deaf.

More from Nebraska on SI