Tommie Frazier Season 1995

Honors & Awards

• Member of Two Nebraska National Championship Teams (1994, 1995)
• University of Nebraska Graduate (May, 1996)
• First-Team All-American (Football Writers, Walter Camp, AP, AFCA, UPI, American Football Quarterly, College Sports, All-American Football Foundation, 1995)
• Heisman Trophy Runner-up (1995)
• Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Winner (1995)
• UPI Player-of-the-Year (1995)
• Sporting News Player-of-the-Year (1995)
• Sullivan Award Finalist (Amateur Athlete-of-the-Year, 1995)
• Davey O'Brien Quarterback Award Finalist (1995)
• Maxwell Award Finalist (1995)
• Walter Camp Offensive Player-of-the-Year Finalist (1995)
• Red Blaik Leadership Award (All-American FB Foundation, 1995)
• TD Club of Columbus Quarterback-of-the-Year (1995)
• National Quarterback Club Football-Player-of-the-Year (1995)
• Football News Offensive Player-of-the-Year Finalist (1995)
• ESPY Player-of-the-Year Finalist (1995)
• U.S. Sports Academy Jan. Amateur Male Athlete-of-the-Month
• First-Team All-Big Eight (AP, Coaches, 1995)
• Big Eight Offensive Player-of-the-Year (AP, Coaches, 1995)
• Tom Novak Award Winner (1995)
• Bowl MVP (1994, 1995, 1996)
• Davey O'Brien Quarterback Award Semifinalist (1993)
• Second-Team All-Big Eight (AP, Coaches, 1993)
• Big Eight Freshman/Newcomer-of-the-Year (Coaches, AP, 1992)
• Coca-Cola Bowl MVP (1992)

Career
The Heisman Trophy runner-up to Eddie George of Ohio State, and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award winner, Tommie Frazier finished his stellar four-year career with a bang. The 1995 consensus All-America quarterback became just the second quarterback to lead his team to back-to-back national titles in 1994 and 1995, posting perfect seasons, joining Jimmy Harris of Oklahoma in 1955-1956 (11-0, 10-0). Even as a true freshman, Frazier showed that he was something special. He wasn't necessarily flashy, but consistently utilized a calm, methodical approach to winnings games--much like his coach. Frazier is the reason Nebraska set an NCAA record, becoming the only school in history of Division I football to win 36 games in any three-year span. Under Frazier, Nebraska posted three straight perfect regular seasons and played in the title game each year. Without redshirting, Frazier led the Huskers to four straight Big Eight Conference Championships, posting a 33-3 overall record, 31-1 in regular-season games as NU's starting signal caller.

More recently, Frazier was one of six Huskers named to Sports Illustrated's 85-player All-Century Team, joining Johnny Rodgers, Mike Rozier, Rich Glover, Dean Steinkuhler and Aaron Taylor.

One of the 10 greatest college football players of the century according to Sport magazine, Frazier's No. 15 jersey was retired in 1996. Frazier spent four seasons as an assistant coach for running backs at Baylor, before joining the Nebraska Athletic Development Office. Frazier left his job as an assistant director of development to become the head football coach at Doane College in Crete, Neb., before the start of the 2005 season.

1995 (Senior)
During his senior season, Frazier narrowly beat Brook Berringer to return to the starting lineup after missing out on majority of his junior year due to a blood clot. As the trigger man for the No. 1 Huskers he led an explosive offense, which ranked first in rushing (399.8 ypg), second in total offense (556.3 ypg), first in scoring (52.4 ppg) and averaged 156.5 ypg passing. The best option quarterback in the nation, Frazier finished second in the Big Eight in passing efficiency at 156.14, a figure which would have ranked sixth in the nation if he had the prerequisite 15 attempts per game (he averaged 14.81, two attempts short). In 11 games, Frazier was second on the team in rushing with 97 attempts for 604 yards, an incredible 6.2 per carry and 54.9 per game. His average of 6.2 yards per rush was better than all but one of the nation's top 20 rushers. He completed a career-best 56 percent of his passes (92-163), had just four interceptions (had a string of 100 attempts, and 24 quarters prior to KU pickoff), 1,362 passing yards and 17 TDs. He finished first on the team in total offense with 1,966 yards, averaging 178.7 per game and third in scoring with 86 points, and 7.8 points per game. Frazier totaled 319 yards rushing after contact, scoring 10 TDs, and had season bests of 45 yards after hits against Missouri and 44 yards against Kansas. Frazier capped his senior season by leading the Huskers to their second consecutive national championship under his direction.

1996 Fiesta Bowl vs. Florida: He rushed for 199 yards on 16 carries (12.4 ypc) and scored two TDs against No. 2 Florida, an all-time bowl record for a quarterback and a Nebraska record. His spectacular 75-yard TD run was a Husker bowl record and a Fiesta Bowl long TD run. He threw for 105 yards (6-10) and another TD.

1994 (Junior)
A preseason Davey O'Brien and Heisman favorite, Frazier had started 23 consecutive games and posted a 20-3 record (counting two Orange Bowls against Florida State) prior to his injury. In 1994, he led NU to a 4-0 record before being sidelined prior to the Wyoming game (fifth of season) with blood clots. In just four games, Frazier was the team's seventh-leading rusher, averaging 7.5 yards per carry and 62.0 a game. He had 33 carries for 248 yards and six scores and completed 19-44 passes (.432) for 273 yards and four TDs.

Frazier played just nine plays of the first two series against Pacific (31 total yards, but led NU to two quick scores) then complained of a sore leg. A blood clot was discovered on Sept. 25. He returned to drills while taking anti-coagulant drugs, but when hoping to be cleared for the Oklahoma State game, doctors found the blood clot had reformed. Frazier was readmitted to the hospital on Oct. 4, and subsequently had surgery (Oct. 6) to tie off a small, superficial vein in his lower calf, which contained a small clot that may have contributed to the larger blood clots. He took two different blood-thinning drugs Coumadin (oral) and Heparin (shots) and returned to non-contact practice on Nov. 14. He was cleared, but did not play against Oklahoma on Nov. 25, two months after the original clot was found. Following the OU game, Frazier went back on his anti-coagulant drugs and did not have contact until the Huskers' last scrimmage in Miami on Dec. 24, when he won back the starting job from Brook Berringer. Frazier, who had not redshirted, was denied a medical hardship appeal by the NCAA Administrative Review Panel, prior to the OU game.

1995 Orange Bowl vs. Miami: Frazier was the NBC/Orange Bowl MVP for the second consecutive year as he led Nebraska to two come-from-behind scores in the fourth quarter for a 24-17 win over Miami on its home field. The win gave Nebraska its first national championship since 1971. Frazier was 3-5 passing for 25 yards and one interception (first quarter) in his first start since the Pacific game on Sept. 24. He rushed seven times for 31 yards, including a long run of 25 yards on third and four at the UM 48 which led to Cory Schlesinger's winning touchdown. When Schlesinger scored the game-tying touchdown with 9:52 remaining, Frazier hit Eric Alford with a bullet two-point conversion pass to tie the game at 17-all. He was 2-2 passing in the fourth for 19 yards.

1993 (Sophomore)
Frazier quickly earned a reputation as one of the nation's best option quarterbacks as he led the Huskers to five come-from-behind victories, their third consecutive Big Eight championship and to the national title game in the Orange Bowl. Just a sophomore, Frazier was the only underclassmen named to the 10-man Davey O'Brien semifinal list for the nation's best quarterback and earned second-team All-Big Eight honors by both the AP and the coaches. Frazier finished as the team's second-leading rusher with 704 yards, 5.6 per carry and 64.0 per game. He rushed for nine TDs and threw for 12 in 11 games to lead Nebraska to its first undefeated regular season (11-0) and its highest final ranking (No. 3) since 1983. Frazier completed 77-162 passes (.475) with four interceptions for 1,159 yards, 12 TDs and a 127.1 pass efficiency rating. He was the first Husker QB to pass for more than 1,000 yards since Keithen McCant in 1991 (1,454) and one of 17 overall. He led the team in total offense with 1,863 yards, the eight best total by a Husker, averaging 169.4 yards per game and 6.5 per play, and his average ranked as the best for an NU player since 1989. He passed for more than 100 yards six times, including a career-best 206 against Texas Tech. He rushed for more than 100 yards twice, with 125 against Iowa State and a then-career-best 158 against Kansas State when he also had a personal-best 312 yards of total offense, just seven yards off the NU record. Frazier ranked seventh in the Big Eight in rushing (64.0 ypg), fourth in passing efficiency (127.1), fifth in total offense (169.4 ypg) and 12th in scoring (4.9 ppg).

1994 Orange Bowl vs. Florida State: Frazier matched Heisman winner Charlie Ward yard-for-yard as they both totaled 283 total-offense yards. Frazier was sacked just once (to ward's five) and was the game's leading rusher and the Nebraska MVP with 14 carries for 77 yards. He completed 13 of 24 passes for a career-high tying 206 yards and one TD. On NU's final drive, he completed a 29-yard pass to Trumane Bell to the FSU 28 to set up a 45-yard field goal attempt with 0:01 remaining.

1992 (Freshman)
Frazier came to Nebraska in August of 1992, and with just five short months of learning the system and gaining experience, he took over the starting duties and led Nebraska to its second consecutive Big Eight championship. Frazier was the first true freshman to play quarterback for the Husker varsity since Steve Taylor in 1985 and was the first quarterback ever to start for Nebraska as a true freshman. Frazier led the Huskers to a 5-2 record as a starter and on the season played in nine games, accumulated 727 yards passing, 399 rushing (then the third-best mark ever for a Husker freshman) and 1,126 yards in total offense with 17 touchdowns (seven rushing, 10 passing). He ran or threw for at least one touchdown in every game except the season opener. Frazier was NU's fourth-leading rusher, averaging 44.3 yards per game (4.6 yards per carry) and was second in total offense at 125.1 ypg (6.1 per play). He ranked second in the Big Eight in pass efficiency rating at 136.1 and would have ranked 10th nationally if he had the required 15 attempts per game to qualify. He was fifth in the Big Eight in total offense per game (83rd nationally) and 11th in rushing. He set a school season record for lowest interception rate with one in 100 attempts (0.01). The poised Frazier was the unanimous Big Eight Offensive Newcomer/Freshman-of-the-Year by both the AP and coaches, earned second-team freshman All-America honors by Football News and was an honorable-mention AP All-Big Eight pick.

1993 Orange Bowl vs. Florida State: Frazier rushed seven times for 20 yards and completed 10-21 passes for 146 yards and two TDs (to Corey Dixon, 41 yards, and to Gerald Armstrong) in the 27-14 loss to FSU.

Before Nebraska (Manatee High School)
The USA Today All-America quarterback, Frazier threw for 2,600 yards and 30 TDs and ran for over 1,600 yards and 33 TDs as a two-year starter at manatee in Bradenton, Fla. As a senior, he completed 47.6 percent of his passes for 989 yards and 17 touchdowns. Frazier chose NU over Clemson and Notre Dame. He was a teammate of fellow Husker Tyrone Williams.

Personal
The son of Tommie and Priscilla Frazier, Tommie was born July 16, 1974. Tommie majored in communication studies and earned his bachelor's degree from Nebraska in May of 1996.

Frazier's Career Statistics

Rushing
Year	G/S	Att.	Yds.	Avg.	Y/G	TDs
1992	9/6	86	399	4.6	44.3	7
1993	11/11	126	704	5.6	64.0	9
1994	4/4	33	248	7.5	62.0	6
1995	11/11	97	604	6.2	54.9	14
Totals	35/32	342	1,955	5.7	55.9	36

 

Passing
Year	G/S	Att.	Comp.	Int.	Pct.	Yds.	A/A	A/G	TDs
1992	9/6	100	44	1	.440	727	7.7	121.2	10
1993	11/11	162	77	4	.475	1,159	7.2	105.4	12
1994	4/4	44	19	2	.432	273	6.2	68.3	4
1995	11/11	163	92	4	.564	1,362	8.4	123.8	17
Totals	35/32	469	232	11	.495	3,521	7.6	100.6	43

 

Total Offense
Year	Att.	Yds.	Y/G	TDs
1992	186	1,126	125.1	17
1993	288	1,863	169.4	21
1994	77	521	130.3	10
1995	260	1,966	178.7	31
Totals	811	5,476	156.5	79

1993 Orange Bowl vs. Florida State: Rushing, 7-20-0; Passing, 21-10-2, 146 yards, 2 TDs
1994 Orange Bowl vs. Florida State: Rushing, 14-77-0; Passing, 24-13-2, 206 yards, 1 TD
1995 Orange Bowl vs. Miami: Rushing, 7-39-0; Passing, 5-3-1, 25 yards
1996 Fiesta Bowl vs. Florida: Rushing, 25-199-2; Passing 14-6-2, 105 yards, 1 TD