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Greatest NE fullback.


Huskerthom said:
So watching old games got me to thinking. The choice to me comes down to one of 4.5 choices.
1. Andre Franklin
2. Rathman
3. Shlesinger
4. Pick a Makovicka

I would go 2,1,3,4.
Click to expand...
I pretty much agree with you. The real sad question, one with no answer, is how Franklin would have done in the NFL had his career not been cut short by his ankle injury. Would he have had as strong an NFL career as Rathman? I would think so. Plus he'd have been playing with a very strong HOF QB, too. Both were threats as runners and receivers. Rathman being quite a bit taller, IIRC.

I have always cringed when I hear of "broken ankles" it seems like I have only heard of players coming back from those in the past couple of years.
 
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I just like saying Pick a Makovicka!! :thumbsup:


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Huskerthom said:
So watching old games got me to thinking. The choice to me comes down to one of 4.5 choices.
1. Andre Franklin
2. Rathman
3. Shlesinger
4. Pick a Makovicka

I would go 2,1,3,4.
Click to expand...

Rathman he was by far the best athlete of the bunch. He rushed for 800+ yards his senior year from the FB spot. Played what, 10 years in the pros? He is my choice.

Andre Franklin was probably the first really memorable FB at Nebraska in the Osborne era.

I remember Jeff Makovicka was originally a IB. Weighed about 200 his sophomore year. He bulked up to about 220 his jr and sr year to get on the field and play more. If you see him now me probably only weighs about 180.
 




Schlesinger gets a bit of recency bias. Well, not really all that recent, but maybe "memorable" bias. The guy busted a couple of critical TD runs against Miami for Osborne's first national title and those FB trap plays are pretty legendary in Husker fans' minds. Hard to look at just the stat lines and compare them based on production alone. I also remember Schlesinger rattling off some impressive runs against Colorado, if memory serves. He was a bull charging out of a gate and I remember him being the guy who broke facemasks and caused bloody noses - both his own and for would-be tacklers. He obviously also had a great career for the Lions.

However, here are their career numbers. Schlesinger is literally the least productive of the bunch.

Rathman: 1425 yards, 12 TDs (70 yards / 1 TD Receiving)
Joel Makovicka: 1143 yards, 11 TDs (127 yards / 1 TD Receiving)
Jeff Makovicka: 902 yards, 6 TD (19 yards / 0 TD Receiving)
Schlesinger: 706 yards, 6 TDs (no Receptions at NU)
 
NUinID said:
Rathman he was by far the best athlete of the bunch. He rushed for 800+ yards his senior year from the FB spot. Played what, 10 years in the pros? He is my choice.

Andre Franklin was probably the first really memorable FB at Nebraska in the Osborne era.

I remember Jeff Makovicka was originally a IB. Weighed about 200 his sophomore year. He bulked up to about 220 his jr and sr year to get on the field and play more. If you see him now me probably only weighs about 180.
Click to expand...
Rathman was great, but nobody destroyed more facemasks in the NFL than Schlesinger!
 
DuckTownHusker said:
Schlesinger gets a bit of recency bias. Well, not really all that recent, but maybe "memorable" bias. The guy busted a couple of critical TD runs against Miami for Osborne's first national title and those FB trap plays are pretty legendary in Husker fans' minds. Hard to look at just the stat lines and compare them based on production alone. I also remember Schlesinger rattling off some impressive runs against Colorado, if memory serves. He was a bull charging out of a gate and I remember him being the guy who broke facemasks and caused bloody noses - both his own and for would-be tacklers. He obviously also had a great career for the Lions.

However, here are their career numbers. Schlesinger is literally the least productive of the bunch.

Rathman: 1425 yards, 12 TDs (70 yards / 1 TD Receiving)
Joel Makovicka: 1143 yards, 11 TDs (127 yards / 1 TD Receiving)
Jeff Makovicka: 902 yards, 6 TD (19 yards / 0 TD Receiving)
Schlesinger: 706 yards, 6 TDs (no Receptions at NU)
Click to expand...

So I guess your vote is for Schlesinger? They are all great and you are right CS had those runs against Miami. It was cool seeing a FB do that. The thing is any of the guys on this list could have done that. The holes were huge to run through.
 




If you ever saw Schlesinger wrestle in person its hard to make a case against him not being the best athlete, he was a legend on the mat for Columbus.
 
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