Dave Feit’s Greatest Huskers by the Numbers: 44 – Calvin Jones

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.

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Greatest Husker to wear 44: Calvin Jones, I-back, 1990-1993 Honorable Mention: Randy Gregory, Jon Hesse, Stephen Hokuf, Mike Knox, George Koster, Bernie Scherer Also worn by: Gregg Barrios, Pat Clare, Percy Eichelberger, Jay Foreman, Harry Johnson, Mike McNeill, Jay Moore, Garrett Nelson, Bill Olds, Mick Stoltenberg Daves Fave: Garrett Nelson, Edge, 2019-2022 Previously, weve talked about how Tom Osbornes offensive philosophy shifted and evolved during his Nebraska football coaching career.

He was fairly balanced during the Devaney era, more willing to pass it when he took over as head coach, and shifted to a power running game in 1977.

As part of that emphasis on power running, Osborne knew he needed more options on offense.

Figuratively and literally.

Fun fact: The option was always a part of the Osborne playbook even in the passing years.* But in 1980, Osborne started to emphasize it as a cornerstone of the offense.

*According to the incomparable Mike Babcock, in Osbornes early years, Dave Humm and Vince Ferragamo would run the option a couple of times each game.

But neither was what todays recruiting services would consider a dual-threat quarterback.

For their careers, Humm and Ferragamo had a combined 42 yards rushing...

on 247 carries.

Even though sacks did not become an official stat until 1981, lost yardage from drop-backs is undoubtedly why they averaged a measly 0.17 yards per carry.

In football especially in the college game the option comes in many shapes and sizes and can be run out of a variety of formations.

Oklahoma loved its wishbone.

Osborne was a big believer in the I-formation and used it as the basis for his option plays.

A common misconception about Nebraskas option attack was that the Huskers ran only the triple option.

Osborne ran a variety of option plays out of numerous different formations with multiple positions involved.

But the triple option is a good starting place for a high-level overview.

Since Im not a big Xs and Os guy, Im bringing in a guest instructor: Dr.

Tom Osborne (as told to the Washington Post in 2009): The traditional triple option, when the ball is snapped, you really dont know whos going to carry it; it depends on the defensive reaction.

So, the first option is the fullback.

If the defense closes on the fullback, then the quarterback pulls the ball; if the defense doesnt close, you hand it to the fullback.

The second option, of course, is the quarterback running with the ball if the defensive end or contain man takes the pitch.

If the defensive end plays the quarterback, the ball will be flicked out to the I-back (a.k.a.

Option Three), who has been shadowing the quarterback.

The I-back will hopefully be able to turn the corner and make a nice gain.

We always felt our options plays should average more than seven yards a carry, Osborne said.

And they usually did.

When it all comes together, a crisp option play is one of the most beautiful things in sports.

It is a well-choreographed ballet of speed and brutality, with sleight-of-hand fakes and daring high-wire pitches.

The option was successful for a number of reasons, but here are three reasons why it caused problems for opposing defenses: Stopping it meant opposing defenses had to be fundamentally sound, understand their assignments and execute them consistently.

The option can create a bit of a pick your poison feel for a defense.

Not being disciplined is often the difference between a 4-yard gain and 40-yard touchdown.

Opponents dont see the option very often.

Pretend youre the defensive coordinator for, say, Missouri.

Your team, having played six straight games, now has four practices to learn the defensive responsibilities needed to slow down the option...

while being alert for play-action passes.

Nebraska week likely caused a lot of insomnia for coordinators across the Big Eight.

The option can be run effectively without elite talent.

Theres a reason the service academies still run a lot of option: It is a tremendous equalizer.

Nebraska won at least nine games every year when Osborne was calling option plays.

Without disparaging any former players, Ill simply note that NU did not always have all-conference caliber talent in the backfield.

But when that talent was elite....

look out.

By the early 1980s, Tom Osbornes offense revolved around power football and the option.

More than any other play, the option became synonymous with Nebraska football.

And no position was more synonymous with Osbornes offense than the I-back.

Calvin Jones was a tremendously gifted back in Osbornes offense.

Big and strong with sprinters speed, he was just as effective between the tackles as he was taking an option pitch around the edge.

As a redshirt freshman in 1991, Jones came off the bench for an injured Derek Brown at Kansas.

In that game, Jones had 27 carries for a (then) school-record 294 yards and a Big Eight record six touchdowns.

A few weeks later against Oklahoma, Nebraska had a shot at the Big Eight title and a trip to the Orange Bowl.

However, the Huskers were trailing 14-13 late in the game.

A freezing rain fell most of the day, turning the Memorial Stadium Astroturf into a green sheet of ice.

Yet, on the go-ahead scoring drive, Jones was sure-footed, cutting and sprinting his way down the field and into the end zone.

Nebraskas final drive covered 80 yards and took 10 plays.

Calvin Jones had nine carries for 78 yards, including a gutsy fourth-and-1 conversion and 15-yard touchdown on the next play.

One of the most memorable moments of Joness Husker career was a 47-yard touchdown against Colorado in 1992.

Yeah, he might have been in such a hurry to rip off his helmet in celebration that he dropped the ball before he crossed the goal line.

But he would have scored from 99 yards out.

You put in your backup, and he runs his first play for 47 yards.

But this is just not your ordinary backup, ESPNs Gary Danielson said on the telecast.

This is a man who can really run.

The fastest player on the team.

Its easy to look at that helmet-off celebration and assume that Jones was a selfish, me-first back.

But Calvin Jones was a true team player.

Hes one of the two players in Husker history most associated with the word we.

In 1992, Jones (a sophomore) and fellow I-back Derek Brown were dead even at the end of fall camp.

Both were worthy of being the starter.

Whoever got the lions share of carries was likely to put up impressive statistics and be a candidate for various postseason honors.

Even in the days before the transfer portal, it wouldnt have been unheard of for a player to make an ultimatum in hopes of getting more carries.

Instead, Brown and Jones made a pact with each other to support whoever was named the starter.

They even called a meeting with Osborne and running backs coach Frank Solich to share their idea.

Osborne commended them for their willingness to put the team first and then told them his plan: They would rotate and split carries.

The We-Backs, as they were known, were a two-headed rushing machine, combining for 2,221 yards (201.9 yards per game and 6.6 yards per carry) and 18 touchdowns.

As a junior in 1993, his final season at Nebraska, Jones had another 1,000-yard season despite missing time with a knee injury.

He was an All-Big Eight pick for the second straight season and a finalist for the Doak Walker Award.

Jones finished his standout career as Nebraskas second leading rusher (currently seventh) even though he started just 12 games in his career.

I love this quote from Jones (taken from Paul Kochs Anatomy of an Era ).

They remembered you scoring touchdowns, but they dont remember you picking up the linebacker on the blitz or carrying out a play fake: the little things that really matter but never show up on the stat sheet.

But it was just as important as running the ball for fifty or sixty yards for a touchdown.

Calvin Jones had a successful NFL career, winning a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers.

He was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

Jones died in his home of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning in 2025.

He was 54.

Im not sure it is possible to fully appreciate how utterly bizarre the 2020 college football season was.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted every aspect of our lives.

There were 700 million cases.

Approximately seven million people died.

In Nebraska, the number of reported cases (563,028) is roughly the number of fans to fill Memorial Stadium every season.

Looking back on it five years later, it was a stressful, unpredictable and often chaotic time.

Everyday life was turned upside-down.

Schools were closed.

Those of us who worked from home saluted the handful of essential workers risking it all to keep the world running.

Masks and sanitizer were necessities for any trip out of the house.

The stress of it all only increased our desire for the normalcy of sports.

We needed something to fill the vacuum of our socially distanced lives in those unprecedented times.

And yet, sports like everything else were impacted too.

The 2020 college football season especially for Nebraska and the Big Ten Conference was a wild rollercoaster of emotions.

It felt like every single day produced a bombshell of news, which sparked an avalanche of opinions and scorching hot takes.

This is a high-level timeline of events from a season like none other.

March 11, 2020 This is generally regarded as the day COVID-19 changed everything.

The World Health Organization declared a global pandemic.

Some early positive cases had been being flown to Camp Ashland for quarantine and observation by virologists from the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Tom Hanks and his wife tested positive.

An NBA game was called off after Rudy Gobert tested positive.

Nebraska basketball lost to Indiana in the first round of the Big Ten basketball tournament.

In the second half, a visibly ill coach Fred Hoiberg slumped on the Nebraska bench.

He turned out to have a common cold, but the remaining games were played without spectators.

On a personal note, March 11, 2020, was my sons eighth birthday.

We had cake and ice cream with family.

April 18 With Nebraskas annual Red-White spring game cancelled, NU hosted a virtual spring game.

Two teams of Husker legends were formed within a video game, controlled by members of the 2020 team.

The action was called by Husker Sports Network announcers Greg Sharpe and Matt Davison.

The White team, starring a virtual Eric Crouch, won 63-60 in overtime.

May 25 George Floyd dies while being arrested by members of the Minneapolis Police Department.

His death sparked nationwide protests (and, in some cities, riots).

Nebraska football players participated in the protests in Lincoln.

July 9 the Big Ten announced its teams would play a conference-only schedule to allow flexibility in scheduling and control over testing protocols.

Nebraskas nonconference games against Central Michigan, South Dakota State and Cincinnati were lost.

Aug.

5 The updated 10-game conference-only schedule was released.

Aug.

11 The Big Ten voted 11-3 to indefinitely postpone all fall sports, including football.

Nebraska, Ohio State and Iowa were the dissenting votes.

In a press conference, Nebraska coach Scott Frost floated the idea of Nebraska playing as an independent team for 2020.

Aug.

12 Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren shot down the idea, saying No.

Not and be a member of the Big Ten Conference.

As other leagues vowed to keep playing, pressure mounted on the Big Ten to resume football.

Aug.

27 Garrett Nelson is one of eight Nebraska players who sued the Big Ten Conference, requesting the no-play decision be reversed.

Sept.

16 An abridged, eight-game, conference-only schedule was approved.

Sept.

19 the updated schedule, featuring games against the six other teams in the division plus two crossover games against teams from the other division, is released.

Oct.

2 As NU prepares for its first game, Frost tells reporters his team is excited for a chance to complete, even if its in Uzbekistan.

Oct.

24 The 2020 season begins.

Nebraska loses 52-17 at Ohio State.

Oct.

28 Nebraskas second opponent, Wisconsin, cancels its Oct.

31 game against Nebraska due to a COVID outbreak within its team.

Oct.

29 Reports surface that Nebraska attempted to schedule FCS school Tennessee-Chattanooga to fill the hole on its schedule.

The Big Ten denied this request.

This set off a firestorm of negative pushback against Nebraska by the Big Tens old guard (and the national media members who carry the leagues water).

People wanted to kick NU out of the Big Ten.

Many Husker fans wanted to leave.

Nov.

14 Nebraska plays its first home game of the 2020 season.

Fans are not allowed inside Memorial Stadium.

Instead, 6,000 corrugated plastic cutouts featuring pictures of fans, cheerleaders, and even pets are placed in the stands.

One Omaha company purchased 25 cutouts featuring Saint Bernards with barrels around their necks.

Nebraskas NCAA-record streak of consecutive sellouts is paused at 375 for the season.

The Huskers beat Penn State 30-23.

Nov.

21 Nebraska turns the ball over five times, allows nearly 500 yards of total offense, and gets smashed by Illinois 41-23.

The Huskers trailed 28-10 at halftime.

Dec.

12 Despite missing nearly three dozen players, Minnesota beats Nebraska 24-17.

The Gophers jumped out to a 10-0 lead and controlled the game from start to finish.

Dec.

18 Nebraska closes the 2020 season with a 28-21 victory at Rutgers.

Despite finishing with a record of 3-5, the Huskers have the potential to play in a bowl game.

However, the team votes to decline a bowl bid.

In a statement, Frost said This year has been a long grind and it is time for our guys to have a break.

Although I disagreed with the player lawsuit against the Big Ten in 2020, I really liked Garrett Nelson as a player.

He played with a high motor and passion that several of his out-of-state teammates seemed to lack.

I loved his sack celebration that mimicked Pete Townshends guitar windmill (Im a sucker for a good sack celebration).

Nelson finished that 2020 season with (then) career highs in tackles and sacks.

He would improve upon those numbers each of the next two seasons.

He was second-team All-Big Ten in 2022, technically his junior year.

I say technically, because the 2020 season did not count as a year of eligibility for anybody regardless of how many games they played.

As a result, it was not uncommon for players in that era to be on a roster for six seasons and play in parts of five years.

Nelson could have come back for the 2023 season, but he declared for the NFL draft.

He had already played four full seasons, starting 32 straight games.

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